Critical Kit

Hello!

I spend much of my day walking the fine line between capitalism (running a small publishing business) and creativity (trying to write great games, storylines, screenplays and so forth). But in between that, I travel a lot as part of what I do. That's mainly to conventions or industry events.

I'm privileged in the the sense that I can do this as part of earning my living, but it's also pretty tough going. This year alone, I've flown on 18 economy flights, been to five countries and three continents, taken countless planes, trains and ubers to and from my destinations, stayed in AirBnBs and hotels that range from comfortable to murder rooms, attended dozens of meetings, met thousands of gamers, lost my voice, got flu and/or exhaustion and so much more. In between all of that, I have to find time to daydream so I can create things, as well as be a dad and husband.

I love it, but I don't want it to pass me by in a blur.

That's why I'm starting a new series of posts called Dispatches, over on my Patreon,  in which I will give you a glimpse behind the scenes at the places we go in the name of getting games out into the world. Not only that, I want to talk more about the multitude of ways games can get from a spark of an idea to a table somewhere on the other side of the world.

So, starting this week, I shall begin my report from the front line of game publishing. It will all begin with a trip to Philadelphia on Wednesday for Pax Unplugged. Then, two days after we return from the USA, we'll be heading to London for Dragonmeet.

These posts will be free to everyone, but I will continue creating exclusive content for my paying Patreons.

Please do sign up for the free tier on my Patreon if any of this interests you.

Right, that's all for now, gotta go pack!

Tim x

Hey all,

Firstly, thank you for all of your feedback yesterday. The overwhelming majority of you have expressed that you are happy to wait for edge printing. Heard!

However, that leaves me with a number of backers who also appreciate the second bookmark because of its utility - I imagine you have played solo games before. 

Now, if we are adding edge printing, it's not financially viable for us to have second bookmark printed. But, I have an idea.

What we can do financially, is to  print actual recycled card bookmarks using the same design as the edge printing. This way, we can create something as beautiful as the book that everyone can use in the game (or with any other book).

How does that sound?

Tim (& Simon)

Hey all,

So, much has been happening over the past few weeks and we've a fair bit of news to give you about the project. Please read this as, despite the delays, we have some good news.

The Book.

We're almost ready to send out in PDF format. Simon is tweaking layouts and I am doing a few last minute edits. I'm still aiming to get this to you this month and give you all two to three weeks to have a read and report back. At the same time as you get the book we will be sending it for a final proofread, so we can get it straight out to the printers.

Naturally, I have seen Simon's layouts and art and he has gone above and beyond. This book is going to be as gorgeous to look at as it is to play.


Production time.

So, I have had the news that in order to do edge-printing on the pages, the books will need to be shipped from the printers to Germany and then to us, which is going to add weeks onto the process. I have an alternative that might work for everyone which will slim down the production time. Instead of edge printing, we can add a second ribbon bookmark in a different style. IMO, this would offer more utility as during the game you will need to flip between a couple of sections in the book. Before I commit to that, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Tariffs.

Lots of great news on this front. Not only will we be shipping from within the states, which will allow us to ensure tariffs don't affect our US backers. We also believe that as most of the assembly and production of major parts of the box sets are carried out in the UK, we can assign this product as manufactured in the UK. That will keep nasty charges down. I'll confirm this in a couple of weeks.

Add-on games.

I've decided that as fulfilment is not coming until after Christmas, I intend to work out a means of sending you any other games you have ordered as PDFs before we hit the festive season. This way you can enjoy the extra games you have ordered rather than waiting for your physical rewards to arrive. I'll need to do a bit of programming magic to make this happen, but I'll action this before Christmas, so be on the lookout in your inboxes.

Final production.

Once all the final production is underway, I'll return with updates on progress. We are expecting everything to take 5-6 weeks once we give it the all clear, so if we can do this in December, my hope is that everything begins to go out in January 2026.

Shipping Addresses.

Once we have everything out for print, I will give you the option to change your addresses as I know some of you may have moved. Lesson learned: next time I do a campaign I won't lock things down as hastily!

That's all for now, but I'll keep you updated as things progress. Please let me know if you have any 

All the best,

Tim (& Simon)

Hey,

Firstly, sorry it's been a while. I've had a hectic few weeks getting things together at CKHQ and attending shows.

The good news is that we're on track to get the PDFs out in November. I have a few proofreading bits to do and Simon is doing whatever magic he does with his pen and inks to make the book a thing of beauty. As you may appreciate, as with any major project, the last bits of polishing always seem to take the longest.

Anyway, you don't to have to take my word for how good the book looks! Below are some spreads from Simon's layouts.







Let me elaborate on that last spread a little because it's one of the things we added to the game to add more depth to the narrative elements. Simon and myself discussed at length what the motavations of our foragers were as well as how they understand their place in the world. This shifted the gameplay a little.

It's still a game about foraging and upcycling, but now there is an added investigative element. As you explore the world, you will also be building your own theories about what happened here. Where are all the former inhabitants and why have they all gone?

There is no right answer to these questions, but there are plenty of well thought out clues that will give you inspiration to make your own theories.

There are plenty more nuances that have been introduced into the game as it has been developed and I am really proud of what we have achieved here, especially from a narrative sense.

Anyway, this attention to detail is why we have run about 10 months over our original deliverly date, but we feel like this is exactly the thing we wanted to see in your hands.

As soon as we are done with proofreading in November, I will put all the time I have into packaging the PDFs up and getting them to you. I really can't wait for you to see the book and I know you've all been patient. For that we thank you.

Okay, won't be around next week, so you will likely hear from me again around the 10th of November.

Take care and thank you for your support.

Tim & Simon

Hello!

I haven't forgotten about you. It's just been a ridiculously busy time at CKHQ. This is a biiiig update, so feel free to skip to the section you want.

1. Delays & issues

Anyway, as things are progressing dissapointingly slow at the moment, I've decided that I am going to drop you an update every Tuesday so we can keep up to date and to give you the assurance that Wires in The Woods is still very much moving on. Each update will have a little preamble like this which includes production updates, followed by something new about the game that I can reveal and closing off with the same list of important things (I know not everyone reads every email) such as changing your address, updated timelines, tariff info etc.

First up, crowdfunding is notorious for not meeting deadlines. We've succumbed to that here at 6 months over our initial date for release. We're not proud of that, but also I want to produce something that is above and beyond. With that in mind, once we've finished our fulfilment on Wires we'll do a debrief update for what went well, what went no so well and how we will use that in future projects. We are talking 2-3 months more delay here and nothing beyond that. The main issues we've faced with Wires are as follows:

- It was more successful that we anticipated. Which is fine, but it meant a little more writing on my part and more art on Simon's part. That in turn means more playtesting.

- Production has been tricky. Not long after we began sourcing production for Wires those pesky tariffs came into being. 70% of our rewards are heading out to the States, so we have had to negotiate where it's best to produce things and where it is best to distribute things. Rest-assured, we have sourced a lot of production in the UK which is a big plus, but we also won't make any final decision on fulfilment methods until we find out what happens on October 14th when the case against them is appealed. That said, we won't wait on this forever and will make a definitive decision by the start of November.

Okay, enough waffle on that. I'm sorry we're running late and we will keep pushing to get everything out to you ASAP. If you have specific questions I can answer them in the comments.

2. Production update

Well, some things are moving. We have now received the Buds comics, the bookplates and the patches are done and on the way to us. We've also ringfenced all of the other titles that were selected in add-ons, so when we are ready to go, we are ready! Check out the photos below:





Everything is looking gorgeous! Next up will be the neoprene mats.


3. Zeal (at last!)

One of the challenges in designing Wires in the Woods was finding a way to capture the ups and downs of a forager’s journey without falling back on the usual “health and hit points” system. We wanted this to be a cosy game where your story doesn’t end in death, but in pauses, discoveries, and new beginnings.

That’s where Zeal comes in.

Zeal is your forager’s enthusiasm for exploration; the spark that keeps their weird little brain pushing deeper into the woods. You’ll gain Zeal when you find curious items or invent solutions to the problems you encounter. But Zeal also slips away with every step you take: moving between locations costs 1 Zeal.

Certain forager traits or crafted items might reduce that cost, letting you wander further with less effort. But when your Zeal finally runs out? You don’t perish. You simply need a rest. The game encourages you to step away - take a nap, go for a walk, listen to music - and return refreshed, just like your forager.

Every forager begins with 8 Zeal, making it easy to track with a d8. Just place the die with your current Zeal facing up and turn it as you go.

It’s a gentle rhythm: gain Zeal by creating and discovering, spend it by exploring, and know that running out is only ever an invitation to pause.

Next update, I’ll be talking about Heft, or how much your forager can carry before it starts to weigh them down.

4. Useful info, FAQs? I don't know what they are!

- When will we see the game?
My hope is to get the PDFs out in November. We have a few final tweaks, bits of art and proofreading to do, but getting the PDF out is quick and painless. Shortly after this we will send it to the printers. The bad news is that, this close to the chaotic postal season, we are very unlikely to send physical items out. January will be a much safer time to fulfil.

- I've moved. How do I change my address.
Hang tight, we will contact everyone to ensure their address is correct before we go live.

- Tariffs. Wahhhhh!
We are doing everything we can to negotiate the ridiculous tariff situation. For the USA, we intend to ship everything out and cover the costs so you don't have any financial surprises. This means a bit more cost on our side, but we've got this.

- This section doesn't answer my concerns.
Drop a comment below. This section is a work in progress and we will keep updating it.

That's all for now. Thank you for your patience and we promise to continue being transparent about our progress.

Tim (& Simon).