We hope you're doing well and enjoying your summer adventures. We have a few important updates to share regarding production progress, pledge management, and upcoming conventions!
🛠️ Production Update
We recently received the Eproofs from our manufacturer and discovered a few issues that needed to be corrected. While delays are never fun, quality is our top priority, and we’re committed to making sure Hercules and the 12 Labors looks and feels as epic as the story it's based on.
✅ The good news: We’ve corrected the problems and are now waiting on new physical proofs for one final round of approval before full production begins.
We know this pushes our timeline back a bit, and we really appreciate your patience. Rest assured, we want this game to be something truly special, and that means getting it right.
💳 Locking Orders & Credit Card Charge Dates
We’ve been getting a few questions about when credit cards will be charged, so here’s the full breakdown of our current plan:
🔒 Lock Orders: BackerKit orders will be locked on August 25th. You’ll receive a notice beforehand, giving you time to make any final changes or add-ons.
💳 Card Charges: Credit cards will be charged on August 29th.
🕒 Late Pledges: If you joined late, your order will also be locked on August 25th.
And yes, we’re still getting new pledges daily. Welcome to all our newest backers!
🎲 Gen Con: Come Say Hi!
We'll be at Gen Con this year, running demos and showcasing Hercules and the 12 Labors at Booth 2659! Even more exciting, our manufacturer will be hand delivering the latest physical proofs to us at the show. If you're attending, swing by and be among the first to see the newest version of the game up close!
Thank you again for your continued support and enthusiasm. We’re so excited to bring this mythological adventure to life, and we couldn’t do it without you.
We’re breaking our usual 30 day update cycle because… this one’s just too epic not to share!
🎥 Paul from The Dicey Review just posted a how to play video for Hercules and the 12 Labors. If you’ve been craving a deeper dive into the gameplay, mechanics, and why this solo adventure is epic, this is the video to watch. 👉 HOW TO PLAY VIDEO Backer Survey are 90% complete! You all are absolutely crushing it.
If you haven’t completed your pledge yet, or if you backed at the $1 level to keep an eye on things, this is your sign to jump in! The game is getting a ton of love, and we’d hate for you to miss out on the Exclusive Promo card. 👉 https://hat12l.backerkit.com/
Thank you all for the continued support! If you’ll be at Origins next week, swing by booth 1130 to check out a live demo of Hercules and the 12 Labors, we’d love to show you the game in action!
I hope you’ve all been well and preparing for the epic journey ahead, Hercules and the 12 Labors is moving full steam ahead, and we have some exciting updates to share!
🏛 Gen Con
Gen Con recently published its shared game list, and Hercules and the 12 Labors is on it!
With that said, can you do us a huge favor? Click the link below and give the game a quick thumbs up. It takes just a few seconds, costs nothing, and helps Hercules and the 12 Labors rank higher, getting it in front of more players! 👉 Hercules and the 12 Labors
🖨 Digital Print Copies Are In!
We’ve received the Digital Print Copies, which are near final versions of the game. Very close to what you’ll be getting, with only minor differences before full production. Several of us on the team are reviewing them thoroughly, checking for any last minute tweaks before we give the green light for mass production.
⚙️ Mass production is expected to begin later this month which is slightly behind our original schedule, but our top priority is getting everything perfect.
These preview copies will also be:
Used in upcoming convention demos (including at Origins and Gen Con)
Sent out to content creators, so expect new gameplay content soon!
We’ve snapped some photos and videos of the print copies so you can see just how stunning the game is shaping up to be. Scroll down for a peek!
📬 Pledge Manager & Late Pledges
Over 90% of backers have already completed their surveys, thank you! If you haven’t filled yours out yet, please do so here: 👉 https://hat12l.backerkit.com/ Just enter your email to get started. If you pledged at the $1 level, now’s a great time to upgrade and secure your copy of the game!
📦 Tariff Update We’re closely monitoring the current tariff situation. We’ll make any necessary adjustments once production is complete and we begin prepping for ocean freight, ensuring we base decisions on the most accurate, up to date info available.
That's all for now. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks again for being a part of this journey. -Mathue Ryann
I bring exciting updates on the progress of Hercules and the 12 Labors and a look at what’s ahead!
🛠️ Manufacturing Update
Game files have been submitted to our manufacturer, and we’re now moving forward with producing a small batch of advance copies. These pre-production units will help us ensure print accuracy and quality before we begin the full production run.
Our current goal is to begin full production by the end of May. That does mean our original July fulfillment estimate will be pushed back by a couple of months.
🌐 Tariffs & Delays
The primary reason for the delay in manufacturing has been due to unexpected tariff increases that escalated significantly during the campaign. After the campaign we decided to spend some time exploring alternative printing options to keep the project cost effective while doing our best to avoid passing large costs on to you.
As it stands now:
Only US backers will be affected by these tariffs.
As of now a small tariff fee of $2 per copy of Hercules and the 12 Labors will be added to US orders to account for additional costs incurred due to the tariffs.
We’re hopeful that the tariff situation will begin to deescalate over the coming months while the games are in production, we will be keeping a close eye on the situation and will adjust accordingly if things improve before fulfillment.
📝 Pledge Manager Surveys
BackerKit surveys will be going out very soon! We’ll begin with a small test batch to make sure everything works smoothly. If you receive one of these early surveys, please fill it out ASAP, it helps us move quickly to the next phase.
Once the full survey roll out begins, you’ll be able to:
Confirm your shipping details
Add additional add-ons to your order
💳 Charging Cards
We won’t be charging cards right away for shipping, VAT, taxes, tariffs, late pledges, or add-ons. Instead, we’ll wait until the production run is nearly complete. This gives us flexibility to monitor the tariff situation and make any necessary adjustments before charging cards.
We will post another update before any charges are made to give everyone a heads up. If a payment fails, BackerKit will automatically retry it every few days.
Side Quest Alert: Cats vs Cucumbers is Coming! 🐱🥒
While Hercules and the 12 Labors is in production, we’ve been cooking up something completely different and totally hilarious as part of a brand new publishing collaboration between Envy Born Games and Levity Game Studio!
Introducing Cats vs Cucumbers, a wildly fun, press your luck dice game for 2–6 players, where chaos, cats, and cucumbers collide.
Cats Vs Cucumbers is launching on Kickstarter soon as part of Micro May, a celebration of tiny, portable games, similar to Pocketopia! If you’re in the mood to support another one of our creations (or just love games that bring instant laughter to the table), we’d love to have you follow the project!
Click here! 👉 Cats Vs CucumbersGive it a follow and help us spread the word!
🙏 Thank You
I truly appreciate your understanding and support. While the timeline shift is never ideal, we felt it was crucial to explore every option to keep this project sustainable and fair, especially in light of the tariff spike. Many publishers are facing similar challenges, but we're committed to navigating this as best we can.
In the end, we’re confident you’ll receive something epic and worth the wait!
Thank you all so much for your continued support! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out or drop a comment!
What an epic journey this campaign has turned out to be! Thanks to you, we broke records together at Envy Born Games! Hercules and the 12 Labors is now our most backed and most funded campaign to date with 1,564 backers and over 900% funded! We are incredibly grateful to every single one of you. Thank you for making this a legendary milestone for us!!
What Happens Next?
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be:
Finalizing all game files, including the rulebook (which is the largest piece of work ahead).
Setting up the pledge manager through BackerKit.
Once the pledge manager is ready, we’ll send out a test to a small group of backers to ensure everything is working smoothly. If there are any issues, we’ll address them right away. After that, we’ll send surveys to everyone! I do not have a estimated timeline for this yet.
In the pledge manager, you’ll be able to:
Provide your shipping information
Upgrade your pledge (if you'd like!)
Add extra copies or other products
We’ll wait to charge credit cards for shipping until we’re very close to loading onto a ocean freighter. That way, we’ll have the most accurate estimate for fulfillment costs and any potential tariffs.
Tariffs
On a much less fun and exiting note, we want to take a moment to address the gigantic elephant in the room: Tariffs. As most of you are aware, the current global tariff situation is highly unpredictable. There are a lot of uncertainties, and conditions can shift within weeks. This volatility makes it difficult to plan too far ahead with confidence.
Because of this, we’ll be monitoring the situation closely in the coming weeks. Our goal is to handle any potential tariffs in the fairest way possible, and we’re also exploring ways to minimize their impact, including the option of manufacturing outside of China if needed.
There is a chance that these uncertainties may lead to delays in our timeline. If that happens, we’ll be fully transparent with you every step of the way. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this. Thank you again for your continued support, we’re committed to keeping you in the loop as things develop.
That’s it for now!
Once again, thank you all so much for supporting this historic campaign and helping make it truly epic, your support means the world to us. From here on out, you can expect monthly updates as we move through production and fulfillment. In the meantime, feel free to reach out anytime via email or in the campaign’s community comment section, we’ll do our best to respond as quickly as possible.
