Euro-inspired dungeon crawling sequel to the 2017 smash-hit Gloomhaven
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Bon Voyage! & "Name That Mercenary" Poll
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Sep 24, 2022 at 06:17:10 AM
Hey everyone, andwelcome back to another Friday update!
My name is Chris, and I'm the Sales & Community Manager for Cephalofair. Most of you may not know me, but chances are, if you've contacted us via email or visited our booth at conventions, our paths have crossed!
I'll turn it over to Price in a minute for that shipping update you're really here for...but I have a small request first. One of my responsibilities is handling customer service and community support, so with Frosthaven quickly approaching, Price and I are in the midst of securing merch and setting up our product support pages for it. Part of that involves listing the character classes, which I would hate to spoil for you with the actual names...so that's where you come in!
We'd like to have the community settle on the names used for each of the locked class icons. A big thanks to the Gloomhaven subreddit community for providing suggestions so far, which has allowed us to compile the most popular 2-3 names for each of the 11 icons in question for a final vote to decide what will be used both on our replacement form and future products on our webstore to keep them spoiler-free. Follow the link HERE to "NAME THAT MERCENARY!"
Oh, and one other thing! Backerkit is now totally locked down so you won't be able to update your address there on your end anymore, this is to make sure that we're updating your address with each individual fulfillment partner. We're still able to update your address though. Please contact me at [email protected] directly, and I can assist you.
Stay tuned below for Price's update in "The Shipping Shuffle" or "How many containers do I need??"
Today I bring good news and confirmation that.... OUR FIRST VESSEL HAS BEEN LOADED!
That's right...it is my pleasure to introduce to you what we're officially calling Boat #1! Officially named the HYUNDAI PLUTO 0025. This first container vessel is heading to the US west coast (est. Oct 10th) for port in Long Beach with final delivery to Hebron, KY, for east coast fulfillment. (Reminder: this is only a handful of many, many, more containers to ship to this location.)
Containers for Boat #2 destined for Sparks, NV have been picked up and are heading towards their respective vessel. That's happening any day now, so I'll have more info next update!
All-in-all, we have our first 22 containerssuccessfully booked and either on, or to be loaded on, vessels in the coming weeks, which is really exciting and surreal. Ideally, in our second and third waves of shipments, we'll begin to see some allocations for our international warehousing partners. Coordination with those arms of UPS has just been a bit longer, given international teams we have to get involved and onboarded with.
Generally, things are moving along as planned, aside from normal small logistical delays here and there that we anticipate seeing throughout freight shipping (port congestions, railyard delays, etc.). A few accessories are taking a little longer to get out of China than we'd anticipated, but given the scope of the total fulfillment project ahead of us, this should not create any additional delays or undermining of fulfillment being able to start - but we wanted to let you know.
For those keeping tabs, the U.S. seems to have JUST narrowly avoided a US rail workers strike that could have disrupted up to 75% of US rail transit. We're talking full project halt in a situation like that. While it seems like we might have dodged a bullet this time, these are the world event type situations we will have zero ability to change, but will be sure to keep you fully informed as they surface and become issues. On that note, I'll plug that there are talks of similar strikes going off in the UK. We'll be keeping ourselves informed as talks continue, so we can anticipate how our fulfillment might be impacted. Fingers crossed and knock on wood!
On another positive note, Chris, I, and our team of incredible booth staff will be heading out to Germany next week to setup for ESSEN SPIEL Oct. 6th-9th and are excited to be demoing Frosthaven in Europe for the first time! While we won't have Frosthaven for sale yet, we will have multiple tables, promos, and sales going on so please make sure to stop by and give us a hello if you are planning to attend - our booth number is 4D118 (in hall 4).
That's about it for this week's update! I'll be back in two weeks with more vessel names, container updates, and general fulfillment tidings.
Be well.
-Price
Production completed and first freight shipment imminent
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Sep 10, 2022 at 03:48:18 AM
Hey Everyone!
Price here with another production & fulfillment updates.
First of all...production has been completed! Like, for real. There's still a lot of assembly ahead, but it's happening everyone! Hold on to your butts.
This week we approved a final assembly line copy and received the first two physical copies off the assembly line. This is a very surreal and exciting feeling and the next step is getting things out the doors and on boats, roads, and rail.
On that side, things have been busily boring getting the administrative things out the way so that ocean freight may begin.
That being said, we're also excited to share we have our FIRST of many sail dates to come... September 19th!
On Sept. 19th our first 11 containers will be leaving the port of Shanghai for the U.S. West Coast, with final destinations in Hebron, KY and Sparks, NV for North American fulfillment.
We'll have more details to share about these containers once they ship - but they are projected to hit our warehouses shortly after Chris and I will be returning from Essen Spiel in Germany (Mid/Late) October, and we're excited to go out and see the first units unloaded from the trucks and sent out the door to you.
From there we'll continue shipping weekly waves of containers and branching out to our international fulfilment partners as well.
That's it from me this week! A big thank you to our sales manager Chris, UPS, and Backerkit for their help prepping all of our final backer data and running through our preflight checklists.
Have a great weekend and catch you on the next update!
Info on organizers as production continues
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Aug 29, 2022 at 02:00:38 AM
Hello! I just want to start by giving a big thanks to Price for the last update. He has been working tirelessly on getting all the production and fulfillment lined up for you, and things are very much coming together and in motion! We're still on schedule in regard to what was outlined in the previous update, and we don't have any further updates on that front. Instead, I wanted to give you an update on the organizers.
Things are moving along smoothly with both of our incredible game organizer partners. Production has been underway and product has already begun shipping to regional warehouses for fulfillment alongside Frosthaven later this year. If anything, they're ahead of our own timeline, so we won't see any delays there. We can't thank FoldedSpace and Laserox enough for being such fantastic partners and stepping in to pick up and run with so much quality work on such short notice. We're really proud of what we've created together and can't wait for these storage systems to hit your tables.
Here are a couple images of the FoldedSpace organizer, which is the default option for those who pledged for an organizer:
The archive to store all map tiles, which comes with the foam organizer in your pledge.
Trays to store character materials.
LOTS of other trays to store all the other cards, tokens, and miniatures.
As you can see, the insert has been detailed with a full color design that looks great and features icons and graphics to show which game components go where. As with all Folded Space products, the insert is easy to build and lightweight, adding less than 2 lbs or 900 gr to the box's overall weight. And there is also space for sleeved cards.
Once the Kickstarter campaign fulfillment is under way, FS-FROST and FS-FHMAP (the map tile storage) will be available from retail outlets worldwide and from Folded Space's own web store.
From Laserox, I have a very nice video on how their wooden organizer is made and packaged:
And here are some images of the assembled pieces:
Character trays
And some nice, detailed etching
Laserox is also cooking up some cool accessories that you might be interested in for their upcoming crowdfunding campaign, so be sure to keep an eye out for that as well. You can join their Discord for all the updates on that and their organizer on their webstore once fulfillment is underway.
Note: It is too late to change which organizer you want or add it to your order at this point.
A couple other things. First, you can still pre-order a Frosthaven carrying bag from Boardgametables.com to make transporting the behemoth easier.
And second, we're still looking for a few more booth staff volunteers for Essen, so if you are interested, you can apply through this link.
That's all we have for you today, so stay safe and I'll catch you next time!
A BIG Production, Freight, & Fulfillment Update
over 1 year ago
– Sun, Aug 14, 2022 at 06:35:24 AM
Hello Everyone & Happy Friday!
For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Price, COO of Cephalofair Games, and I run the day-to-day here at Cephalofair.
I’ve been working with Isaac since my own personal copy of Gloomhaven 1st Printing arrived in 2017, and it’s been an exhilarating ride watching—and consequently dealing with (#ThanksChildres)—every project as they’ve grown exponentially in size, breaking our established infrastructure, operations, and workflows. It’s been the best problem to have, and I’m honored to be overseeing these final steps getting Frosthaven to your door.
Below I have outlined a summary of where the project is at, and what our plan of attack looks like as we navigate our way towards (as each of our publishing peers/vendors/partners has oh, so graciously made clear) the largest fulfillment project this industry has ever seen. So, you know, no pressure.
You’ll be getting more regular updates from me on this project as I do my best to play mother hen to the 100+ containers we’re splitting up and shipping all over the world to get your games to you. So let’s dive in:
The PRODUCTION!
Production has been underway for some time now, and all components are scheduled to be completed August 31st!
Production Steps:
1) Material Handling & Prep—In this stage materials are ordered, organized, and prepped for printing of artwork. (DONE!)
2) Art Printing & Drying—Flat paper artwork is printed for punchboards, card decks, rulebooks, etc. (DONE!)
3) Component collation—Printed artwork is cut and adhered to paper and cardboard core materials. Card decks are shrink wrapped, character envelopes are packed, miniatures tuckboxed, etc. (WE ARE HERE!)
4) Assembly—All the final components hit the assembly line and are put in their respective inserts, trays, and (finally) THE BOX! This is the last stretch before containers are loaded for freight shipment. (Begins Aug 31st!)
I've put together a quick HOW IT'S MADE compilation of various production steps I filmed both while visiting our manufacturers, and some actual Frosthaven production shots sent to me in the last few weeks from our printer—take a peak!
I hope that gives some insights to how the game comes to life! I had so much fun visiting our manufacturing partners and learning more about each of these steps. It's by far my favorite part of the process and there is still so much to learn!
So now let's dive into post-production logistics:
The PLAN!
FROSTHAVEN BY CHRISTMAS!*** This is the goal! ***That being said, a number of things could still interfere with this, and we remain resolutely transparent and realistic. Knowing the scope of this project, we would rather not set premature guarantees, but please know this is what we’re aiming for and how we’re stacking the deck. (Boat pun intended)
We’re shipping 100+ containers folks!
And yeah, that’s just the game alone. Not counting add-on products.
Understandably, that will not be all at once, but staggered on a weekly output basis.
7 International Fulfillment Centers
We ship from within the US, CAN, EU, UK, and AU/NZ- so you should not see unexpected duties, charges, etc.
If you fall outside these regions, you should expect to pay duties. International backers are typically aware of this fact already, but if this is your first large international order, please be aware we cannot control this, as it’s a legal requirement that varies by country, and is not assumed or collected by Cephalofair on your behalf.
Regional Breakdown:
68% North America
17% Europe
8% United Kingdom
4% Oceania
2% Asia
1% Other
Addon Products
Addons have and will be delivered to each fulfillment warehouse first to ensure once games arrive, orders are immediately being picked, packed, and shipped promptly.
We separated addon production specifically to not delay production of the core game, which requires significant attention.
This means extra freight costs/logistics for us—but the expedited timeline is worth it!
Retail BACKERS are BACKERS
We’d kindly like to emphasize this as this was our first campaign to contain a retailer pledge level, and this has been something true since we launched the campaign. What does this mean? It means fulfillment to retail backers and individual backers will happen simultaneously, shipping products as equitably and strategically as we need to from an operational standpoint. This may mean you may see Frosthaven for sale at your favorite local game store (FLGS) before your copy has arrived—but it’s because that retailer ALSO put their money down years in advance, during a pandemic, and helped make this project a reality. We primarily focused on working with independently owned, brick & mortar stores. We thank these small business owners for taking a chance on us and our largest project yet, and it’s important to us that they get their orders in by the holidays just as much as we hope to get yours.
Frosthaven will NOT be available via traditional retail distribution until 2023 from our 2nd printing, which won’t happen until well after this project fulfillment has concluded.
United States Fulfillment: US fulfillment easily represents the majority of this campaign and as such required us to get creative, and proactive, to avoid project bottlenecking. We have, for the first time, partnered directly with UPS for US fulfillment. UPS is set up, and accustomed, to receiving large daily quantities of containers and getting those orders turned around to customers within days. We’re really excited to be partnering with them on this project.
U.S. Shipments will be delivered and sent from two main warehouses:
Western States: Reno, NV (30% of orders)
Eastern States: Hebron, KY (70% of orders)
This will allow for even more consistent warehouse output and put 98% of our US customers “in region”, meaning the shortest possible delivery windows. Exciting!
Chris (Cephalofair’s Sales Manager) and myself will be making site visits to share further insights, oversee fulfillment launch, and supervise quality control measures. We’re excited to jump in and get our hands dirty!
The KNOWN!
This will be one of the longer fulfillment projects our industry has seen. No question about it. So we intend to provide regular updates with some of the most transparent information and logistical insights we’ve given to date to make your wait as exciting and non-stressful as possible.
Factory output is the largest fulfillment “bottleneck” to this project. We ask for your patience and understanding as our factory and fulfillment partners take on this massive endeavor. We will be pushing for results, but also asking for responsible and sustainable workloads for everyone involved at every step of the process.
We will be conservative in our first few weeks of output to ensure quality control and train and supervise staff on assembly and container loading.
We intend to scale up, potentially doubling our output after the first 3-4 weeks of shipments.
There is no rhyme or reason to fulfillment order—unless we state so. Backer number, geographical location, etc, are not indicators of when you’ll get your game.
Rest assured, you WILL be notified when your shipment goes out, and we’ll be doing our best that’s not until your package is ACTUALLY shipping because no-one likes a stagnant tracking number! (That’s the worst…right?)
The UNKNOWN!
Assembly/Freight Hiccups?
Both the assembly line, and load out of containers, require the most manual work, supervision, and coordination. If we hit a snag here, we will be responsible in assessing and pivoting strategy to ensure successful and quality output.
World Events?
I feel like this can go without saying at this point, but there are a myriad of world events from war, factory lockdowns, ongoing pandemic, etc. that can and may put unexpected hurdles in the way. We have been doing our best to plan around known hurdles, but will be transparent and keep our backers updated on new hurdles as they come up and how they affect the overall timeline.
Completion Date?
As stated before, our main goal is to be transparent and realistic. Knowing the scope of this project, we would rather not set premature expectations, but please know getting this project completed by the end of 2022 would leave us feeling the most proud based on where production is at, and the amount of planning we and our fulfillment partners are putting into this BEFORE the games start flowing. But things will be subject to change—we'll keep you posted!
I’m sure there are some things certainly not yet touched on, but we will have many more updates as things heat up, and I look forward to sharing more details as we’re able to. Please feel free to let us know below what questions you may have or would like discussed in future updates, and we’ll be sure to review and address as many as we can!
FROSTHAVEN. IS. COMING.
P.S. Don’t forgot - you can still update your address at any time by emailing [email protected]up until your order ships!
Ruminations on shipping
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 01:39:18 AM
Hello! No news to report quite yet on the Frosthaven front. Production is still going strong! We're also still working on smoothing things out for Frosthaven's long logistical journey, and we're anticipating having more production insights and fulfillment plans in the next update. What follows in this update has no new info on the Frosthaven project.
Speaking of logistical journeys, though, I know there have been a lot of waves recently in the crowdfunding community regarding the fulfillment of various projects, and first and foremost, I want to reiterate to you that you will NOT be asked for additional funds to complete the shipping of Frosthaven.
I will also say, however, that I understand why some companies feel the need to take such drastic measures. While I can't directly speak to what is going on in projects other than our own, the simple fact of the matter is that the last year has been incredibly rough on all game publishers when it comes to the logistics of moving physical products across the globe.
The global freight crisis that began last year and still persists to this day saw the cost of ocean freight rise by 300%-400%. And the recent invasion of Ukraine has caused a sharp rise in gas prices, which has caused a commensurate surge in ground shipping costs. Add to the that the countless ripple effects of a global pandemic that is still raging, and it has just been one punch after the other for anyone trying to fulfill a product right now.
Some companies, like Cephalofair Games, have the financial flexibility to weather the storm and accept the losses, but others understandably do not. All I would advocate for is a little patience for those who are now encountering so many unforeseeable extra costs. Because I think we are, as a community, rounding the corner on this. Crowdfunding, in particular, has continued to persist through the pandemic and we're starting to see more positive shifts toward a new normal, but that varies significantly based on the publisher, geographic locations, existing infrastructures, and ability to pivot while combating other ongoing logistical hurdles.
And I certainly appreciate your patience on this project as we've dealt with our own issues and delays caused by the various ripple effects of the pandemic (and a desire to make everything in the game as great as possible). And Cephalofair Games is very fortunate to be in a position to not have to ask for more funding or shipping subsidies, but we are still not immune to the lost margins we know our other peers are experiencing, whether they are asking for subsidies or not.
It costs money to manufacture and ship games, and that cost, quite simply, is increasing, whether we like it or not.
If you already have the game, there's the new Covenant expansion, and if you don't, then there's plenty of options to help you out with that as well.
It is interesting to me that once a game I designed has been published, I don't really play the final form much because I've already spent so much time with it, but Return to Dark Tower just keeps me coming back for more. It might be because the final form of the game is so much greater than the prototypes with very incomplete technology I had to play with. The tower is such a monumental presence on the board, and the variability of the app always keeps me on my toes. It is a lighter game than Gloomhaven for sure, but it is just good, clean fun.
So that's it. Sorry for another update without much news on the project, but this should be the last "slow news day" for a while. I'll catch you next time with more logistics info!
