Component list and further shipping update
over 5 years ago – Sat, Oct 06, 2018 at 01:34:20 AM

Fellow Mercenaries,

we have had some requests for a full component list by some of you backers, and you are right! The component list in the rulebook only covers the retail edition, and with all those components thrown in during the KS campaign and add-ons on top, it is difficult to keep track.

So find below (click to enlarge) a component list which shows what you should be getting depending on your pledge.

A few remarks:

- remember that the expansion box comes WITHIN the core box. When you receive the package, you will not see the expansion box until you open the core box. There is a sticker on each box, though, which says "with expansion" in case it is included.

- the add-ons only apply to those of you who have ordered them (quite obviously). There is one set of add-on components, however, which applies to all Monster backers: the 4 wooden assignment tokens of Krysta, Mithu, Brawel, and Saneela have been added to Monster boxes independently of whether you ordered the promo or not. Discard them, if you don't have the promo. 

- If there is anything missing or faulty, please write to [email protected], which is the account we use to keep track of incidences. 

Further news on shipping

US 

QML is making progress and hopefully we will see them moving the start of shipping up to next week. No confirmation yet, but at least the indications are good.

CANADA

We are awaiting confirmation that everything has left Snakes & Latte. A lot of backers have already received their package this week, fulfilment is in full swing.

ASIA

Backers in China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan have reported back, having received their games. Backers in the countries with hub should be getting a call or email message soon.

AUSTRALIA/NZ

The vessel with your product is on the way to Sydney, last seen September 30th leaving the coastal waters of China. While on high seas, the standard free marine traffic sites don't report locations, but you can be sure that the boat is ploughing through the sea for you. ETA Sydney October 12.

EUROPE & ROW

The vessel carrying our product seems to be a local bus, stopping at every harbour along the way, it is nerve-racking ;) It has been waiting and moored at Marseille over the last days, and is now expected to arrive in Barcelona on Monday, October 8th. It WILL get there ;)  We hope we can receive it from customs on October 9th and will forward as fast as possible to Happy Shops and Cantarero for further distribution to you. We will let you know next week how it works out.

So much for now, have a great weekend (and for some of you, maybe play a game of Monster Lands)

Second Gate Games

Shipping update for French and English Monster+Expansion backers in Europe & ROW
over 5 years ago – Wed, Oct 03, 2018 at 01:22:29 AM

Fellow Mercenaries,

in our update from today we forgot to mention news for the 84 English and 200+ French Monster+Expansion backers that were going to be affected by a delay. Some updates ago, we had announced that there would be a 2-week delay because LongPack had run out of material and couldn't assemble them with the rest of the production.

Well, the great news here is that LongPack is shipping them by air and they will arrive in Barcelona the same day as the container vessel, so that we can combine the shipments and thereby eliminate the delay. That problem is solved, all European and ROW backers are on the same time schedule again.

It is noteworthy that LongPack did that on their own cost, it was their mistake and they stood up to and corrected it, like any highly professional company would do. "Thank you" from our side.

Sorry for forgetting this in the previous update (pardon!), with special greetings to our backers in France and Belgium, who would have been the most affected!

More news as they unfold.

All the best,

Second Gate Games

PS: please use [email protected] for any incidence reports

Manufacturing mistakes - what to do if there is something wrong with your package
over 5 years ago – Wed, Oct 03, 2018 at 12:28:50 AM

Fellow Mercenaries,

as more and more games are reaching backers in Asia and now starting also in Canada, we have had a few reports on manufacturing mistakes. Needless to say that we don't like that fact, and we want to address this fast and very openly.

While a few mistakes are normal in such a big and complex project as ours, we are also worried, because production is something we cannot control directly. At this point in time we don't really know whether we should be alarmed (by nature, we are!), or whether the incidences are "normal" level. Difficult to say, before the bigger volumes of the US and Europe are delivered. Each single incidence is one too many for our taste! 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH YOUR GAME?

Please use a single channel and send us an email to [email protected], this is the address under which we collect all incidences. Please include photos of all items that you think are faulty and need replacements. If you encounter any problem with the front and backside printing of wooden tokens (there have been 3 instances of this so far, so that's why we are worried), please take the photo in front of a mirror, so that the photo shows front and backside of the tokens in the same photo (see below).

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WHAT WILL WE DO WITH YOUR INCIDENCE REPORTS? (hopefully small in number)

First of all, if there are components with obvious manufacturing mistakes, we will of course replace them, we will not let you down. In the case of the wooden tokens with misprint of front and back, for example, we will send you new tokens. This is a costly exercise for us and LongPack, but we will have to face it, no question. 

It will take us some time, though, because we will want to wait until all backers have received their product and have had a chance to review their boxes. After that, LongPack will have to produce a batch of replacements, according to the numbers needed. This is likely going to be in December. We ask the hopefully few affected backers for your patience and apologize in advance.

For most of the incidences (like the token example) there are easy work-arounds, so that you can play the game without problem until the replacements arrive, but if there are any incidences that impact gameplay in a way so that you cannot play it without the replacement, we will prioritize your case and send you replacements from the very limited stock of over-production we receive from LongPack.

ERRATA 

Some of our backers have found an errata, a labeling mistake on a Monster card: The green Monster Sporus should have been labeled A and not B. Luckily, this errata has no influence on gameplay, but if you play the Tutorial mode, you may add this Monster card in the starting Monster draw deck, as if it were an A. Thanks for pointing this out, please continue to report erratas when and if you find them.

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NEWS FROM THE SHIPPING FRONT

We have news from QML, which is that our timing forecast for US deliveries looks solid and rather than further delays, we may even see shipments move up a bit closer. October 15-19 is still the official forecast, but they are preparing to move that forward. They have already sent us packing examples:

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Asian delivery is in full swing, Canada has just started, Australia/NZ's pallets are finally on a boat on their way to Sydney (ETA Oct. 10), and the containers for Europe and the Rest of World countries are about to arrive in Barcelona, where we will repack them and forward them to Happy Shops and Cantarero.

So much for now, let's hope that you don't have to start filling that inbox of [email protected] ;) Thank you for your understanding and patience, we will continue to report events as they happen.

All the best from Barcelona!

Gorka, Victor, Sergi and Daniel

Progress update #11
over 5 years ago – Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 01:24:48 AM

Fellow mercenaries,

time for another update on our shipping progress, as we are all itching to see the product hit your gaming tables.  

US

The product arrived as scheduled in Florida and has been forwarded to QML's warehouse today, so far so good. Unfortunately, though, QML has informed us that they have an "unusually heavy project load with a couple of larger more complex campaigns queued to start ahead of Monster Lands". In real terms, this means that we have to expect delivery in the second half of October. 

This unexpected situation (QML never hinted at this before) is of course a shame, thinking that your product is just sitting there. A consequence of the immense success of Kickstarter projects lately. QML assures us that they will do everything in their power to move the shipment forward as much as possible and we will inform you when the product finally starts shipping.  By the way, thanks to @Travis Herrington for bringing up the issue in the comments section, your observation of QML having a project backlog was spot on. 

We have also changed our official retail launch date for the US, which was meant to be October 22nd and is now October 29th. We want to make sure that the vast majority of backers receive their product before retail release.

CANADA

Your product has arrived at Snakes & Latte and we are currently sorting out address data base compatibilities with them, after that we should be able to confirm ship dates. 

AUS/NZ

We finally got Aetherworks' confirmation of the boat that transports the goods to Australia, it is the COSCO THAILAND, expected to arrive in Sydney on October 10th. See the boat on our interactive backer map, it is making its way up to Shanghai to pick up the product. Aetherworks apologises for the late pick-up, and so do we, looks like you will receive your games late October beginning November, just like the majority of the rest of the world.

ASIA

Your product has been despatched by VFI, it is now on the way to the various hubs for the countries with VAT free delivery (Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia), or going directly to you in case you live in China or one of the countries not covered by hubs. Backers in China and non VAT free countries should have received a tracking number, please contact [email protected] in case you haven't. Backers in VAT free delivery countries will be contacted by the respective hub partners: Korea: BoardM, Philippines: Gaming Library, Singapore: Games 4 Good, Thailand: Battlefield Bangkok and Indonesia: Monopolis Board Game Store.

EUROPE & REST OF WORLD

The vessel MSC Paloma is steadily getting closer, making stops at various ports before mooring in Barcelona. 

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Your expected delivery window continues to be second half of October, no changes here.

ESSEN PICK-UP and BARCELONA OFFICE PICK-UP

We have sent an email to all of you explaining how the pick-up works. In the case of Essen backers, we have also asked you to reconfirm your pick-up, as your plans may have changed during the last months. If you have chosen any of these pick-up options and have not received a mail from us, please check your spam folder and contact us, in case you cannot find the mail.

So much for now, we will keep you posted as more information comes in. 

Not much longer to wait now :)

Have a great week!!

Second Gate Games

Shipping update
over 5 years ago – Sat, Sep 15, 2018 at 01:33:01 AM

Fellow Mercenaries,

here goes another update on the shipping progress for the various regions.

US

The vessel YM Utility passed the Panama canal yesterday and should arrive in Jacksonville September 19th, as planned, to be processed by QML.

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Canada

Your product is on the way by train from Prince Rupert to Toronto right now. Again, no change of estimated timing, it should arrive September 19th in Toronto and will then be processed by Snakes & Latte.

Aus/NZ

We have been assured by Aetherworks that the product will be on boat latest September 17th, but we couldn't get a vessel name out of them yet (it is them who organize the transport). We will update the map as soon as we have that info.

Asia

Our distribution partner VFI is currently doing the picking and packing and will have that finished on Monday. Shipping will start next week! 

Now the GREAT NEWS for many of you: VFI is establishing an improved distribution system and now works with hubs in Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. If your package goes to these countries, it will now come HASSLE FREE, you won't have to pay VAT and VFI and their local partners will do the customs clearance for you. We believe this is a HUGE step forward for Asian backers! Other countries (e.g. Malaysia, Japan) are unfortunately not yet set up that way, sorry.

VFI will provide backers with tracking numbers as products are shipped. The local hubs will also call or email backers to give them the option for in-store pick-up, thereby you can cut out a postal carrier and the dangers of lost goods, if you want.

EUROPE & REST OF WORLD

The vessel MSC Paloma is in the Indian Ocean, heading for the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal. The estimated time of arrival has been adjusted from October 4th to October 7th (darn), apparently the boat has been accumulating delays at various ports.

Once in Barcelona, the product will be forwarded by truck to Merseburg, Germany (Happy Shops) and Sevilla, Spain (Cantarero) for picking and packing and shipment to you. We will keep you updated on progress.

So much for now, more news will be passed along as they come in!

Thanks also for pushing the game on the BGG preview list (you can still do so, if you haven't already), we are in the Top 5 hotness at the moment.

Cheers, 

Second Gate Games