We wanted to share a quick snapshot of where things stand on fulfillment and what the next few weeks are likely to look like.
Poland → UK Shipment
The remaining palletized shipment in Poland is scheduled to be picked up today. Transit time is typically around 4–5 days once it’s moving, followed by customs clearance on the UK side. As always, customs timing is the least predictable part of the process, but this shipment represents the final major hurdle for completing outstanding UK/EU orders.
Based on current estimates, we’re anticipating that we’ll be able to finish up the remainder of outstanding orders in early February. As soon as we have confirmation on delivery and customs clearance, we’ll post a more precise update.
Asia/PAC Fulfillment (Aetherworks)
We’ve signed a deal with Aetherworks for distribution and fulfillment in Asia/PAC, and are expecting to receive an initial order estimate from Aetherworks toward the end of the month. Once that’s in hand, we’ll pack and ship product to them for regional fulfillment.
That shipment will include:
Hardwood dice trays (for backers)
Replacement parts for Asia/PAC backers
Additional product to support retail availability in those regions
This will allow us to resolve outstanding replacement needs while also establishing local inventory for ongoing fulfillment.
Vault Online Tool
Work continues on the Vault online tool. The goal remains to have something ready for a limited beta preview in February. This initial version will focus on core functionality, with more polish and features to follow once it’s in real-world use.
As always, thank you for your continued patience. International fulfillment is a game of dependencies and sequencing, but we’re closing in on the final stretch and will keep you posted as each piece locks into place.
Before the holidays, we had all remaining product in Poland packed up. That shipment is now staged and preparing for pickup, with its destination being Spiral Galaxy in the UK. At this point, we do not yet have a confirmed pickup or delivery timeline. As soon as we receive firm information, we will post it here immediately. Holiday schedules and year-end shutdowns made communication slower than any of us would like, but those channels are reopening now and conversations are actively moving again. That product will complete the remaining orders for fulfillment in the UK/EU. So if you haven't received your backer rewards this is the reason it is delayed.
We are also planning two outbound shipments from the US. One shipment will head to Spiral Galaxy to support ongoing UK and EU fulfillment, and the other will go to Aetherworks to support ongoing Asia/Pacific fulfillment. Once these hubs are stocked, we will be able to cover new purchases through our online store in those regions as well as address any additional missing items or replacement needs.
I want to clearly set expectations on replacements: damage replacements outside the US are not possible until additional product is physically delivered to these two fulfillment hubs. As frustrating as that is, it is the only responsible way for us to handle international logistics without creating excessive delays or costs.
I also want to acknowledge the backlog of emails many of you are waiting on. The combination of the holidays and year-end house keeping slowed response times more than I’m comfortable with. I’m working through messages as quickly and carefully as I can, and I appreciate your patience while things get fully back up to speed.
Thank you, as always, for sticking with us. We are focused on execution, regional coverage, and getting everything back on track as quickly as possible.
This is a post dedicated to the organization and use of the Vault. I would love to get your feedback in the replys below on how we can make this more informative. Let me know if I've missed anything. I'm embedded in this, and therefore my perspective from the inside is skewed. I tend to miss the obvious things like an Organization & Use Guide. Your feedback and assistance is greatly appreciated for that very reason.
Vault of Mini Things Organization & Use Guide
The Vault of Mini Things is designed as a complete, modular system. Proper setup ensures fast encounter prep, smooth play, and easy end-of-session cleanup. This guide walks you through initial organization and best practices for use at the table.
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PART 1: INITIAL SETUP & ORGANIZATION
1. Punching Out Components Standees, props, base inserts, and map tiles are made from thick cardstock. Terrain pieces such as walls, rocks, and tree groupings are made from sturdy chipboard. Some standee sheets share the same cut tooling. These can be punched out together to save time. Map tiles are all pre-punched.
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2. Standee Categories & Tabs Each standee includes a color-coded tab that indicates its category. These tabs are essential to the Vault’s organization system.
Standees should be sorted:
By category (tab color)
By identification code
Each standee is labeled using the format:
[ CAT L ### ]
CAT: Category abbreviation
L: First letter of the standee name
###: Sequential number
Some numbers are intentionally skipped. These gaps are reserved for future expansion packs and are expected.
Sleeve standees together with matching identification codes.
With similar characters feel free to mix different codes in the same sleeve.
Some larger standees will not fit into sleeves.
Sorting with Card Catalog Tabs Use the included card catalog dividers to organize sleeved standees in order by identification code.
Sort sleeved standees into the four large card boxes as follows:
Box 1: Heroes
Box 2: Foes
Box 3: Monsters / Undead / Planar
Box 4: Animals / NPCs / Other
Oversized Standees Huge and oversized standees that do not fit into sleeves should be stored in one of the large trays instead of the card boxes.
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4. Props, Sessions & Locations
Props are made from cardstock and fit into standee bases.
Props, along with the Sessions and Locations tabs, should be sorted into the two smaller card boxes.
These boxes are intended for quick table access during play.
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5. Bases, Base Inserts & Dice Tray Bases do not require assembly. Base inserts (terrain pogs) can be sorted by terrain type. Under the dice roller tray is a dedicated tray for:
Standee bases
Wall connection pillars
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6. Terrain Pieces & Wall Storage
Terrain Materials
Terrain pieces such as rocks and tree groupings are made from chipboard.
Village and Dungeon walls are also chipboard and use plastic connection pillars.
Trays
Map tiles can all be stored together in one large tray.
There are custom trays designed specifically for Village and Dungeon walls.
Half-width trays should be crisscrossed in the box to prevent them from nesting into each other.
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7. Door Walls & Door Cards
Walls with door openings ship with a temporary cardstock insert in the door opening.
Door cards are meant to slide into this opening.
A small packet includes a clear plastic tool intended to push out the cardstock insert.
This tool is finicky.
Recommended method:
Use a pair of tweezers.
Gently pull the insert upward from the top of the wall.
Do not force the insert out from the front or bottom.
This is a delicate process and will be improved in future printings.
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PART 2: USING THE VAULT DURING PLAY
1. Deploying Standees When removing standees during play:
Pull the sleeved standees you need.
Reinsert the empty sleeve vertically into the card box.
This acts as a placeholder so you can quickly return the standee to the correct location at the end of the session.
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2. Using Walls & Connection Pillars Always insert walls into the connection pillars from the top.
The compression fit is located near the base of the pillar.
To remove a wall, pull it straight up out of the pillar.
Do not twist or pry walls sideways, as this can damage the edges.
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3. Bases & Terrain Inserts Insert terrain base inserts into the bases using the flat edge as a guide.
Slide standees into bases.
Bases are designed for repeated use with minimal wear when handled correctly.
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PART 3: EXPANSIONS & CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS
Expansion Compatibility All expansions use the same tray and organization system as the Vault. Expansion standees integrate naturally into existing categories and numbering.
Additional Trays Up to three additional full-height trays can be added to the Vault. When additional trays are added, the box lid will sit higher. This allows you to customize the Vault for:
Different campaigns
Session types
Terrain-heavy or creature-heavy play
You can swap tray configurations depending on what your next session requires.
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Design Intent The Vault is not meant to be perfectly rigid. It is meant to be:
Fast
Forgiving
Expandable
Easy to maintain even at the end of a long session
If you follow the category, tab, and tray system, everything has a home—and finding it again should never be a chore.
And that's all the bacon for now. Let us know what you think?
I had my first post-operation and post-BCG cystoscopy yesterday, and I’m incredibly relieved to say: there was no sign of cancer. My bladder looked healthy and completely different from what we saw back in August. It really feels like I beat this.
What Happens Next?
Bladder cancer is known for having a high recurrence rate, so the next phase is ongoing monitoring:
Cystoscopies every 3 months for the next year
If all is clear, every 6 months after that
Eventually we move to annual scopes
The scopes are not fun but they are not super painful to deal with. I only have some minor discomfort when I pee for about the first 24 hours after, but then it's almost like they didn't shove a camera up my penis!
Thank you to everyone who supported me through some very hard months. Your kindness helped keep us afloat, and I’m so grateful. This will be the last update from me regarding my health.
Hello Vaulters! Time for a substantial update as we cross some major thresholds, work through some hard-won lessons, and open new doors—quite literally—around the world.
Fulfillment Update
United States & Canada — Completed
US and Canadian fulfillment is fully wrapped up. Many of you will already have your rewards in hand. A quick note: due to a mistake on the BackerKit export I sent to our partner, the Crowdfunding Promo Extras did not ship with the main orders. Because the Promo Extras weren’t listed as a BackerKit item (note to future self: even freebies must be listed!), they were missed on the fulfillment pull. We’ve corrected the issue, and those extras have now gone out separately.
European Union — Fulfillment Has Begun (with a detour) EU fulfillment has kicked off—but not without another big mistake on my part. I accidentally sent Packman an outdated Backer list that still contained orders from Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden, all of which were also included in the UK list. That duplication caused Packman to fulfill EU shipments that were actually meant for Spiral Galaxy, and as a result, Packman ran out of inventory with about 30 orders left unfulfilled.
Fortunately, Spiral Galaxy had not yet begun fulfillment. After a lot of back-and-forth, I was able to:
Get a full list of what Packman had already shipped
Merge the corrected UK/EU data
Rebuild and resend the proper Backer list for Spiral Galaxy
This means we now need to ship the remaining inventory from Packman (Poland) to Spiral Galaxy (UK) so they can finish those remaining orders. Spiral Galaxy will start shipping right away with the product they already have, and the transferred inventory will follow as quickly as freight allows.
Despite the hiccup, the goal remains the same: everyone should receive their rewards before Christmas.
New Markets
We’ve been working behind the scenes to make the Vault more accessible globally. Here’s where things stand:
United Kingdom & European Union We are formalizing an ongoing partnership with Spiral Galaxy to handle: • Direct-to-customer fulfillment in the UK and EU • Wholesale distribution to FLGS in both regions
This will allow us to sell directly from our webstore without cross-border complications. If all goes as planned, the Vault and its expansions will soon be available far more easily to customers across Europe.
Australia, New Zealand & Asia Just yesterday we finalized paperwork with Atherworks in Australia. They will manage: • Regional fulfillment • Ongoing distribution throughout AU/NZ/Asia
They are preparing preorder information for their newsletter audience now. Once we see what the market wants, we’ll schedule an outbound shipment from our shop with the appropriate product quantities.
This is a huge moment for us—it means the Vault and all expansions will have dedicated support across multiple global regions. If you have a favorite FLGS abroad, now is a great time to tell them how excited you are about the Vault.
Marshall’s New Art Marshall has been hard at work producing even more incredible art to support the Vault ecosystem. Here is a quick preview of what he’s been cooking up:
Expect more reveals as we prepare the next waves of content.
Tariffs in the U.S.
In surprising but welcome news, Costco has officially filed suit against the U.S. government to recover tariffs it has paid—an important signal in the broader industry fight over the Section 301 tariffs. This is yet another encouraging sign as we await the Supreme Court’s ruling. We’ll keep you posted as this develops.
Chris’ Health Update
On the personal front: I’ve completed my six-week immunotherapy onboarding, and next week I go in for a scope to determine next steps. If the news is good, I’ll move to a regular maintenance schedule. If it’s not, I’ll share that as well.
I’m feeling strong, optimistic, and grateful—and I could use a bit of downtime. I plan to step back from email during the second half of December to rest and reset.
A Final Note
This has been a chaotic month, but we are making real progress on all fronts. Thank you for your patience, your support, and your enthusiasm for the Vault. We’re getting close.
If you’re looking for Expansions, Pouches, or a great holiday party game, consider visiting our online store at: https://shop.tinkerhousegames.com
It’s also the perfect time to pick up Slap Happy as a stocking stuffer or white-elephant gift.
