Great News!

I had enough responses from the smoke test to show that everything looks good. 

The surveys are going out now. Some of you have already picked up your rewards directly from me. Or you are planning on getting them from me at Summercon. For those few, I would ask that you hold off on filling out the surveys. It's easier for me to locate you in the system and mark you as fulfilled. Everybody else, please fill out the surveys ASAP.

After being stalled for so long it feels good to be making progress.

My thanks,
Mark

Hello Everyone,

I'm doing a smoke test for the survey. This means that 5% of you have received an email requesting you complete the survey form. The survey will confirm or allow you to update your address, confirm your award item, and confirm any add-ons you might have. If you got the email, please follow through on it ASAP. If there are any further quirks in the system, the smoke test will bring them to light, and they can be resolved before the rest of you get the survey.

One of the issues I faced was figuring out how to explain to the software that my collaborator dropped out. I had a collaboration award lined up. The system was lined up to plug in that award. But, with my collaborator's project cancelled, there were a lot of "T"s that could not be crossed, or "I"s dotted. I finally threw my hands up in despair and appealed to the staff at Backerkit to help me unscramble two weeks of desperately trying anything with the software. Kudos to them for their fine support.

Other delays included being sick as a dog for two weeks. It wasn't Covid; it was just a head cold. I thought it was hay fever, and then it grew into eyes so watery I couldn't see. All the fluids were flowing out of my head. Then the wife caught it and I was nursing her. The convention season started, which made weekends very busy. Taxes needed to be done. And deadlines became pressing. 

And then there were the tariffs. Not only were the vendors and suppliers affected by those, but also other services. Workarounds on shipping meant that third-party shipping contracts were negotiated as some were overworked, embargoed, replaced, or eliminated. The good news is that the print order arrived. The bad news is that a portion of it was printed poorly. But there's more than enough of the good stuff to proceed with fulfillment! Woo Hoo!

I want to thank you all for your ongoing patience. Hopefully, the smoke test will go smoothly, and the final survey can be sent.

Yours,
Mark

It’s been crazy since the campaign ended. I wanted to take a breather, but that just hasn’t been an option. I’ve been hit with deadlines and numerous revisions.

On a personal note, my family gathered to celebrate my father and his identical twin’s 95th birthday. Seeing them both dig into their Prime Rib filled me with a warm glow. Our corner of the restaurant kept the noise down to a mild roar. 

Each day I thought I finished to Anime Bingo cards only to realize a universal spelling error. There are other challenges to these cards. Of course, the tropes were randomized, with no repeats on each card. However, you also need to ensure that the two categories align, resulting in an even distribution of difficulty levels. Some of the tropes will be easy to spot as they occur frequently, like Katanas. Other tropes are pretty specific, such as Bad Guy Squat. So, care must be taken in the distribution of those, too. Finally, after numerous reviews, the cards were ready to be sent to the printer. I wanted to use the same printer as the Horror Movie Bingo cards, as those have a fantastic satin finish. I also wanted the two products to match each other in quality. To lower the price point, I increased the order to cover not only the campaign's fulfillment but also sales on the convention circuit and in stores. I triple checked the cards before finally sending them off to the printer this morning. WooHoo!

I still need to get my survey reviewed by BackerKit and send it out. However, I thought it was more important to finalize the cards and send them to the printer. 

It’s a big step. I’m so glad you were able to help me make it.

Anime Bingo has been funded! It was with only a few hours to spare. I created a tier level that allowed friends and fans to contribute $10 without a reward, but my gratitude. Thank you so much! All of you made this happen.

The next step in the process is to send out surveys to confirm your award tiers. Sending the surveys is more complicated than pressing a button. It's a bunch of buttons and doing research to fill in shipping databases. I need to create SKU numbers and descriptions, then connect those to tariff codes for international sales, and input the weights of various items, the size of packages, and even the weight of the packing material. Once that's been completed and proofed by BackerKit staff, I will send out the survey.

While I'm doing my homework building the survey, there will be a window of opportunity for your friend to get in on the Anime Bingo card action with the pre-order store. [Click here for pre-order store] Early Birds on the campaign got a supper deal at $22 per game pack; the campaign was great at $25 per game pack, and the pre-order store is still a good deal at $27 per game pack. After all supporters have completed their surveys, this deal will end when the pre-order store closes. After this, the set will be available at my convention appearances and regular online stores via Square and Etsy, but at $30 a pack.

You must confirm your address and tier level when the survey is sent. Add-ons will be available. Backerkit runs credit cards twice. The first time is to process your initial tier selection. The second time is to process the shipping cost and any add-ons you might have selected.

The other add-ons, like the Horror Movie Bingo pack and enamel pin sets, are also slightly lower priced than at conventions and my online stores.

Again, thank you all for making this project a reality. Your support here allows me to cover most of the game's production costs. Most of this is because printing costs have increased during the last year, and now international tariffs have significantly jumped. I don't know how much that will affect what I do. Still, considering that most of my production relies on affordable services only available outside the US, I think there will be some impact. But I don't want you to worry about that. Just know that you have done me a great service in getting this project one step closer to market.

Mark