Art Update + Winter Summit Commences
over 7 years ago – Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 11:47:20 PM

Hello everyone from the Crafty Games home office!

Autumn has finally come and spirits are high as we close on another major milestone for Mistborn: House War. As we mentioned during the campaign, one of the last major bits of development still to go was the remaining art. We are so happy to announce that as of early this month every last piece for the game has been assigned!

Not including the amazing cover by Tommy Arnold, the awe-inspiring board background by Waclaw Wysocki, and the many other gorgeous game graphics by Michal Cross and Peter Wocken, there are a total of 76 unique illustrations for the Personality and Problem cards in the core game.

As of today, final versions of 55 card illustrations are in hand. Only 21 pieces remain outstanding, and most of those are in various stages of completion.

Want a look at some of the new hotness? We thought you might. Here's one of our favorite recent deliveries, by one of the most prolific illustrators on the game. Enjoy!

Getting the last 21 pieces across the finish line is our highest priority right now, and after that we will be moving on to final graphic production for the game. Dragonsteel approvals will continue throughout to ensure that everything meets the same very high standard we've all set for ourselves since our first Mistborn product.

In other news, Crafty Games' biannual company summit starts later this week in Portland, OR. Among many other things, we'll be discussing further plans for Mistborn: House War. Once we have those nailed down, you'll be the first to know, of course. Until then, we wanted to give you a heads up that we may not be quite as available for the next week or two.

As always, we appreciate your support. Stay Crafty!

BackerKit Glitch + Answers
over 7 years ago – Tue, Sep 06, 2016 at 11:50:43 AM

A big thank you to everyone that took the time to comment, message and email us about 'The Glitch'.

The last couple days have been one big stress-ball for us. Something we did when setting up the pledge manager was wrong - and none of us (Crafty Games nor BackerKit) caught the error during our review.

We think the error is fixed.

PLEASE do not email us that your order was in error before reading this update and checking your BackerKit again to note whether it is now fixed. There are thousands of you and only three of us!

What follows, below, is a laundry-list of responses to all the questions we've gotten over the last 48 hours. Please take a moment and read through our responses.

If you don't see an answer to your question, please don't hesitate to email us: [email protected]

BackerKit Inventory Errors

Many of you have reported that BackerKit was listing you as having multiple copies of Mistborn: House War (both retail and prestige editions) that you did not order. Apparently, the error was caused by how we set up the survey questions. We believe the problem is now fixed, but if you think you have things listed on your order that you did not pledge for here on Kickstarter, please email us at [email protected]

Retail Backers & BackerKit

As retail pledges are handled differently than the rest, we are also spending time reviewing how they are set up inside BackerKit. Please watch your In Box for an email from us some time today. If you do not get an email from us today, please contact [email protected]

BackerKit Timeline

Some have also asked how long BackerKit will be open. We won't have an exact date until we know when the games will arrive from China. That said, we are almost certain it will be open through the end of March 2017. This means you have seven months to claim more Add-Ons!

When will I get charged for Add-Ons pledged via BackerKit?

You will not be charged until we lock down BackerKit.

When will I get charged for Shipping?

You will not be charged until we lock down BackerKit.

When will we be Locking Down Pledges?

Current estimate: April 2017

Do I save money on shipping by ordering multiple items / copies of House War?

Absolutely. The exact amount of savings will vary based on your location, but any time we can ship more things in the same box, the 'per-thing' shipping will go down.

For instance, right now we're estimating one copy of House War will cost $12 to ship in the USA, while two copies will cost $19 - meaning the average shipping price drops from $12 to $9.50.

ALL SHIPPING QUOTES ON BACKERKIT ARE TEMPORARY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES

Again, remember that no shpping will be charged until we're ready to ship - and we'll give you at LEAST two weeks to check your order / mailing address. That said, all shipping charges on BackerKit are the worst-case-scenarios from our shipping estimates during the Kickstarter. We have a shipping partner for Canada and the EU that we'll keep asking for updated shipping rates - and change the numbers in BackerKit as we get more information. And, of course, when anything does change we will update you so you know.

Also note that any shipping estimates you saw during 'the glitch' may have included multiple copies of the games (that you didn't order). Please take the time to check your shipping estimate again and let us know at [email protected] if you think it looks wrong.

Consolidated Shipping (Siege of Luthadel)

As we said during the campaign, if you want to save on shipping, we will be offering you the option to delay receipt of House War until Siege of Luthadel is also released. Right now, we're not 100% sure how to manage that process within the BackerKit system. Once we're certain the current glitches are behind us, we'll start working on the Consolidated Shipping solution with BackerKit.

Remember... No shipping on any items will happen until next year.

Sleeves for Siege of Luthadel

The Mistborn Card Sleeves packs come with enough sleeves for Mistborn: House War only. If you are also receiving a copy of Siege of Luthadel, and you want to have sleeves for it, you will want to order another set of Mistborn Card Sleeves via BackerKit.

What if I decide I want one or two more things in a couple months? Can I choose Add-Ons multiple times?

Absolutely. Since you are not charged for any BackerKit Add-Ons until we lock down pledges, you can add more things to your order at any time.

House Bylerum

The House Bylerum pack will be included with EVERY COPY (retail and prestige editions) of Mistborn: House War ordered via Kickstarter OR BackerKit. It will *not* be included in the retail edition of the game after BackerKit closes down.

House War Miniatures Add-On

This Add-On ONLY includes the miniatures for Mistborn: House War. The miniatures ALSO come in the game box. The Add-On is for those of you that want an extra set. At this time, we're not sure if we can offer a Siege of Luthadel Miniatures Add-On as well. If that is something you want, please email [email protected] so we can determine if there are enough of you to make it a viable possibility.

Free Allomancy Dice

In the "BackerKit Surveys Incoming!" Update, we wrote that newsletter subscribers get a Free Aluminum Allomancy die. That was wrong. Newsletter subscribers get a Free Malatium Allomancy die.

Post-Kickstarter Stretch Goals

A few of you have asked about the possibility of additional Stretch Goals tied to the funding we receive via BackerKit. Right now, we're trying to fix the problems with the Pledge Manager. Once we're certain everything at BackerKit is kosher, we may have brain cells left to contemplate doing more. We're not there, yet.

Future Updates Schedule

We have a team meeting every Friday. The first thing on our agenda from now until we ship you your games will be to note when our last update to you has been so we can make sure we keep you informed. We will not go more than a month without updating you with art or shipping info.

Pledge Manager Update
over 7 years ago – Wed, Aug 24, 2016 at 12:15:43 AM

We have spent the last couple weeks setting up Mistborn: House War within the BackerKit system, but there is one more hurdle to overcome.

As part of the transition from Kickstarter, BackerKit reviews our work to make sure things have been set up correctly.

This is our first rodeo with BackerKit, so we've made a few set-up errors that need to be fixed before we can send out surveys and get you all into their system.

We hope to have this done by Friday.

As soon as we get all our ducks in a row, we'll let you know in another update.

Until then, stay Crafty...

Mistborn: House War at Gen Con 2016!
over 7 years ago – Tue, Aug 02, 2016 at 12:44:55 AM

Hello backers and Mistborn maniacs!

The Crafty team is preparing for Gen Con Indianapolis 2016 but work continues on Mistborn: House War. Here's the latest...

• We're putting the finishing touches on the first stage of the BackerKit pledge manager, which will allow us to take new late pledges. This will go up in the next day or so, and it will allow new backers to get on board while we wait for the Kickstarter campaign funding to clear and transfer over to us. Existing backers will be added to the pledge manager in the next few weeks, once we're back from the show and have all the data in hand. 
• New art descriptions - for the remaining Problem and Personality cards - are heading out to illustrators. We should start seeing these come back to us into the early fall. We can't wait to see what they come up with!
• Alex has just put the final touches on a brand new set of Mistborn: House War prototypes - dare we say, the last? - and these latest revisions to the game will be seen throughout this weekend at Gen Con. Speaking of which...

Going to Gen Con Indy? Come Try Out House War!

We have a special treat for those attending the show: we'll have dedicated tables of Mistborn: House War running in Booth 2129 (in the Studio 2 block) every day of Gen Con! These demos will feature the first prototypes to include the full size board layout, the new Problem and Personality cards, and early samples of the Mistborn PennyGems!

We'll also have first looks at the sculpted Kelsier and Inquisitor pawns. Stop by and check those out, and ask our friendly staff for a demo of the game. 

Even if you can't attend, keep an eye on our Facebook page for images of the new shiny throughout the weekend. 

There's also a (currently full) Mistborn: House War tournament on Saturday August 6 at 3 PM in Hall C, Blue 31-35. If you're nearby just then, come visit and see dozens of Houses battle to be the best of the Final Empire!

We're going to have our hands plenty full for the next week with travel, the show, and the inevitable sleep deprivation and recovery to follow, so please expect things to be quiet around these parts for a little bit. 

We'll leave you with one of our favorite Gen Con memories, from 2012's release of the Mistborn Adventure Game... featuring Brandon Sanderson signing at our booth! Have a great week! We look forward to seeing some of you in Indianapolis!

Thank You Everyone! What’s Next?
almost 8 years ago – Mon, Jul 25, 2016 at 08:35:48 AM

Well friends, we did it, and we did it in style!

Thanks to each and every one of you — more than 3,500 of you — this campaign funded over 1,100% of our original goal.

We had the utmost confidence in our plan, Kevin Wilson’s great design, and Brandon Sanderson’s amazing world, but the outpouring of support and faith in this project has been inspiring and humbling and utterly amazing.

We’ve been running Crafty Games for over 10 years now, but this is probably the most exciting day in our decade-long history. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for this amazing achievement!

We also want to offer a very special thanks to several folks who were essential in the last two years of planning, development, and design...

• Kevin Wilson, for putting together such a great design
• Our wonderful team of artists and graphic designers, including Tommy Arnold, Michal E. Cross, Emanuele Desiati, Michele Giorgi, Anna Kay, Thomas Lishman, Ben McSweeney, Abigail Platter, Oliver Specht, Peter Wocken, and Waclaw Wysocki, for bringing the Final Empire to vibrant, beautiful life
• All our playtesters, whose earnest feedback were key in refining and improving the game
• Ed Healy and Gamerati, for their great work planning, promoting, and managing the Kickstarter campaign
• Peter Ahlstrom, Joshua Bilmes, Isaac Stewart, and the rest of the Dragonsteel team for their invaluable guidance, feedback, promotion, and support throughout the entire process
• and of course, Brandon Sanderson, who gave us the chance to bring the Mistborn world to the tabletop eight years ago (and also for naming the game!)

What’s Next for Mistborn: House War?

The first order of business is sleep... lots and lots of sleep... but the second order of business is putting together the pledge manager so folks who missed the campaign can jump on board, and so all of you can start locking down your add-ons.

This will take a bit. Transferring 3,500 backers to the system and getting all your information in order will be an ongoing process, and it will almost certain extend past the launch of the basic pledge manager. Please bear with us as we work through the process.

In the meantime, we’ll be taking Mistborn: House War on its first post-campaign tour at Gen Con Indy from August 4-7.

We’ll be running demos all weekend long at our booth at the back end of 2129 (in the Studio 2 block). If you’re at the show, please stop by. We’d love to see you, and maybe you could squeeze in a game!

We’ll continue to post updates here on Kickstarter through the game’s release. Check back or subscribe to stay informed as we make our way to the finish line.

Again, thank you so much for your boundless support. None of this would be possible without your help. Onward!