Critical Kit

Hey there,

Firstly, Simon and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to see us at UKGE this weekend. What a great show it was and it was wonderful to speak to so many of you who are understanding about the delays we have had, but also very... very excited to get the book!

Simon and I were on separate booths, but we also managed to grab a few minutes to speak to each other and discuss potential new things to follow on from Wires. We also were gifted some wonderful WiTW-related things from fellow creators:



Okay, now let's get to the nitty gritty of this update. The books are still being bound and edge-printed. At this stage, they will also have ribbons attached. We expect this whole process to take around two weeks. That said, I will have photos of the first books that were created as samples this week (I was promised today, but nothing has emerged as of yet).

The bookmarks are completely custom made, down to the colour of the ribbon. Simon and I have had a lot of tos-and-fros about sizes and specs for these, but we eventually nailed it and the result is perfect.

Now, whilst I don't have the actual bookmark photos to share (though I should do imminently), I can show you Simon's design and a real size print I did on paper to test them.

First, the design:



Simon has used the same orange as appears throughout the book and has used icons that denote each major section of the book. The book mark is 6mm wide and extends approximately 5cm from the bottom of the book. It's bound 2.5cm into the inner-spine to ensure it stays in place.

Here is a printed mock-up I did using Cezar Capacle's Weird Whimsy & Wonder book (this is a book I had manufactured by the same printer so you can get an idea of quality of print and colour reproduction):



If you are interested, here is a summary of some of the WhatsApp photos Simon and I share during the process (10 points if you can guess the games):



Okay, that's all for this one, but very near future updates will likely include:

- The sample book.
- The fully completed book.
- The punch-out cards.

And other things that will likely surprise me when a manufacturer says "we're done".

Have a lovely rest of the week!

Tim (& Simon, who is bookmarked-out)

Hello,

So, we're still progressing slowly, but it brings me some joy to show you the playing cards have arrived. I know not all of you have ordered these, but I just wanted to show you that things are happening, and how hard we have worked to make Wires in The Woods something else.

I think now, I should just let them speak for themselves (and Simon's art, of course).








Now the cards are done, there's a rumour floating around that the journals may be with us very soon. As soon as I have the pics of those, or the books, I will make an update.

On another note, if you are coming to UKGE next weekend, please do pop by and see Simon and all of his amazing art (3-B48) and I'll be on the other side with a ton of games (3-102). We'll both have physical copies of All Night Breakfast at The Midnight Owl for sale.

That's all for now. Thank you for your support!

Tim (& Simon who is probably printing a ton of art for UKGE).

 

Hey there,

As promised, I will keep you updated at every point we have some good production news.

So, the neoprene mats are made and on their way to us. They will be coming by sea freight which takes around four to five weeks, but I do have an actual image of one from the manufacturer.



As you can see, the design has changed a little (not much) to accommodate ideas we had during playtests.

The bulk of the mat serves as a placeholder for your grid. Then we have a Zeal tracker to the right, placeholders for cut out / punch out artefact tokens and a space to hold your objective cards.

The mat is designed by Simon and is printed on durable, but flexible 2mm neoprene with a sewn edge.

That's all for this update, but I should be back soon with news on the books and playing cards which are now well underway!

Tim

Hey all,

First up, apologies for the tardy update. There's not been much to say as production is underway. That said, I know it's important to give you news even when it's not much news.

Well, there is a little bit of news, but more on that in a moment.

Anyway, here is where we are. We are in production. We are late on this project, but it is all being made into physical things now by the people who do that.

I think that's important to say as crowdfunding is based on trust and there are creators out there who have failed to deliver. That has never been us, nor will it ever be. In the past, we've had projects delivered on time, and some delivered late, but we've always delivered and we've always tried to go that bit extra to ensure our backers know they are valued.

Wires in The Woods is, quite honestly, the most amazing project I have worked on. I've written the hell out of it and Simon has gone above and beyond on the artwork (as I'm sure you've seen from the PDF version). We've gone high quality on all of the production and once you have it in your hands, I'm sure you'll appreciate it. If I'm be honest, coordinating the project has been overwhelming at times - it's the biggest thing we've ever worked on here at Critical Kit - but we've finally got there.

Right, now for that tiny bit of news.

Over the next 7-10 days we are expecting to get images / actual samples of the first items to roll off the production lines. We are producing things with several different manufacturers, so these will come at various times. The good news is that it will allow me to show and prove what we are making and will allow me to give you some more frequent updates.

We don't anticipate any issues with fulfilment (we'd like this well underway in May), other than our own shipping costs may increase due to the current global situation and how it will effect fuel surcharges. I want to assure you that those costs will be covered by us and you will not be affected in any way.

When I have a firm date that we can start fulfilment, I will put a call out (via update) to ask if any addresses have changed. We will also do a direct email blast (one-off) just to check in on you all.

Once again, thank you for your patience. I am honestly as excited as you to see Wires in The Woods; to hold the actual thing in my hands.

As always, if you have any questions, please do drop them in the comments below and I will respond to them within 24 hours.

Tim (& Simon)

P.S. Here are things that are already finished and in our possession:

- Prints
- Hessian Bags
- Miniatures
- Postcards
- Book plates