Critical Kit

Created by Critical Kit Ltd

Creators of indie TTRPGs, solo and multiplier games.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

All Night Breakfast - first peek.
about 1 year ago – Fri, Jun 06, 2025 at 07:25:49 AM

Hey all!

I'm finalising the layouts for your free game, All Night Breakfast at The Midnight Owl, but that doesn't mean I have no time to share the wonderful cover that Simon has created. I am so excited about this little bonus game we added to the mix for all backers and I hope it will make up for the delays I announced earlier in the week.

Right, the waffle stops right now. Take a look at this:



If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.

Everyone will get a PDF of the game for free sometime later this month. There will be physical copies available in July and if there is enough interest, I will figure out a way that you can add them to your pledges. The MSRP is £15 but I'm thinking we can do a special of £10 for backers to have sent with your Wires rewards in September. 

Anyway, hope you like the art! Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Tim (and Simon who had a sneaky coffee with me at last week's UKGE)

Production Update with photos!
about 1 year ago – Tue, Jun 03, 2025 at 08:36:25 AM

Hey there!

First up, I want to apologise for the big gap in updates. I am usually prolific, with my updates, so radio silence can be a bit of a shock. We're all here and well, working hard on the project and moving forwards to finalising production.


Fulfilment is now expected in September. We know that’s around 6 months later than originally planned, but we have had a few things to contend with. 

  • We’ve been deep in the art and layout phase. My regular backers will know that I often tweak things in the final stages which inevitably creates delays, but also delivers a much better game. I'm including a few teaser images below to show you how it’s shaping up.
  • With recent changes to international tariffs, we’ve been securing new production partners in the UK and EU to keep things smooth and sutainable. 
  • May was a whirlwind - we moved into a new studio and attended four conventions, which briefly slowed things down.


The good news is that we’re now back in full swing for the next ten weeks, and we’ll do everything we can to bring the delivery date forward if possible. Production is complete for the art prints, the resin minis and the jute bags. 

In the meantime, as a thank you for your patience, we’ll be sending every backer a free digital game by the end of June: All Night Breakfast at The Midnight Owl, featuring more brilliant artwork from Simon.


Thanks again for sticking with us. I can't wait to deliver everything we have been working on to you.

Take care,

Tim (Simon is busy making beautiful art)

Want to help us out at Pax East in Boston?
about 1 year ago – Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 10:14:00 AM

Heyo!

So, whilst we wait for our production to start coming in, we have another bit of news for the community.

Some of you may know that Sarah and I work hard bringing our games to conventions in the UK, Europe and the USA. Over the next year we will begin exhibiting at more conventions, especially in the USA.

This means we will be looking for people to work our booths.

The first opportunity is Pax East -- Boston, May 8th to 11th.

We would prefarably be looking for the following:

  • Someone local to the Boston area.
  • Someone with sales experience.

You would be required to take payments on our stand by cash or using our Point of Sale system. We will give full training.

In return, we offer the following:

  • $125 dollars a day.
  • Lunch each day.
  • Parking costs (if required).
  • Full training.

You will not be required to help with any lifting, set up or tear down of the stand and hours will be 10am to 6pm each day (you may be able to leave early on Sunday evening if the hall is quiet).

You will be paid via our LLC company.

Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this gig.

Tim

Do the tariffs affect Wires in the Woods?
about 1 year ago – Wed, Apr 09, 2025 at 01:38:40 AM

Hey there,

Sorry to barge in with the T word, but I know that the majority of our backers are in the USA and they will be concerned about how the tariffs might effect our project.

Firstly, from all of our research, we firmly believe the books will be tariff free. I am happy to go into the boring details if enough people ask.

Secondly, we are looking to bring as much production into the UK as possible -- we already did this with the resin minis, playing cards and any prints that come with your rewards.

Why? Because the tariffs currently stand at 10% for non-book items which will be much easier to swallow than the current 104% tariff on China (the country where most of the world's tabletop accessories are created). If we can bring production out of China, we can vastly mitigate the effects of the tarrifs. That said, we cannot predict what the state of tariffs will be come summer, but I wanted you to be assured that we will always be working to ensure we get the best solution for all of our physical backers.

There will be some items we simply cannot avoid having made in China -- namely the d6 -- because there are no realistic alternatives for production anywhere else. There are also some items we already have in production in China that we can't halt: neoprene mats and bags.

Will this affect anything else with the project?

It might put our prices of production up (this will not affect you as we will soak up the extra costs). However, there is a nice sense of wellbeing that we would get being able to move production to local businesses where we can -- knowing the working standards for the people who create them will be better. 

There will be some challenges, but we are up for it.

Will it slow things down? Maybe, but we can't be sure. Working with local companies might actually speed things up on the communication and delivery side of things, but it may also slow things down as production facilities are not to the scale that they are in China.

Regardless, I will keep you updated over the coming days, weeks and months on these matters, and share images of where we are and the things we have in hand (finished production items).

To make it clear, we don't support the tariffs, we think they are dangerous to both the stability of the world economy and to the average consumer. We have no power to change what is happening here, but we do have the power to react in a way that puts our backers first.

If you have any questions about the tariffs or anything else related to Wires, please do ask in the comments. I will answer everyone. Just give me some time as things are a bit hectic at the moment as you can imagine.

Tim

(and Simon, busy wearing out his pencils)




Wires in The Woods / Unleashed Hidden Exclusive and first product update!
about 1 year ago – Sun, Mar 30, 2025 at 12:09:55 PM

Hey there,

First up, we should have a couple of production items landing with us in early April, so as soon as I have them in the studio, I will post some photos! We have also printed and ringfenced all of the extra games purchased as add-ons so we are ready to begin fulfilment as soon as we have all of the Wires rewards in hand.

In other news, we have a small game available for BackerKit's Pocketopia. Unleashed is a solo/multiplayer TTRPG about Doggos doing heists.

As a previous supporter of our Wires in The Woods campaign, we wanted to give you the opportunity to access a hidden pledge level that will allow you to add Unleashed to your WiTW rewards without incurring any extra postage.

IF YOU DO READ THROUGH THE UNLEASHED PAGE, PLEASE ENSURE YOU USE ONE OF THE LINKS ON THIS PAGE TO THE HIDDEN PLEDGE LEVEL IF YOU WISH TO BACK IT.



You can access the hidden pledge level here (please don't share this link as it's only for you).

How does it work?

  • Back Unleashed at this pledge level and select any other add-ons you might like.
  • When the campaign has finished, we will add all your Unleashed rewards to your Wires rewards and let you know by email. You won't receive a survey or any shipping charges for Unleashed.
  • In April, you will receive the PDF of Unleashed along with all the regular backers.
  • In early Summer, we will send your Wires and Unleashed rewards out together with no additional shipping to pay for!

What if I have already backed Unleashed?
Please head over your BackerKit account and change your base pledge level. We will do the rest.

As an additional bonus, you will receive the signed postcard for backers in the first 48 hours, regardless of when you pledge!

Don't forget, you can access the hidden pledge level here.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop a message to [email protected]

As for Wires in The Woods, we are working through the layouts and all physical items other than the book are in production. I will be back in coming weeks with photos of the physical rewards when they arrive in our studio!

Have a lovely rest of the weekend,

Tim