FAZA Progress Report: October 2020

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all staying healthy and are able to cope with these difficult and challenging times. This is going to be a longer update than usual and will cover a few different topics. If you have any questions about the items below, please post a comment.

Fulfillment:

  •  Fulfillment: As of today, most games have been delivered. Some international packages are still in transit. I’m also tracking down a few people that haven’t submitted their addresses. If this is you, please fill out the Kickstarter survey I sent a few months ago. If you can’t find it, contact me directly.
  •  International Delays due to COVID: I’ve been watching the postal tracking codes for several countries and I noticed some packages are taking significantly longer than expected (i.e. Sweden, Italy, Australia specifically). I learned from the postal sites for these different countries that there is a significant amount of congestion for international mail because they’re directing mail through a single facility. Please visit your country’s postal website to read more about postal changes due to COVID. 
  •  Have you not yet received your game? Please contact me!

Rules:

  •  Questions & Clarifications: I’ve received several questions about certain rules. I’m actively checking and answering questions on FAZA’s BoardGameGeek Forum. If you have a question or if something is unclear, please do check the forum or ask a new question so others can learn from your post.

Feedback:

  •  FAZA Card Feedback: I’ve received feedback about the swingy nature of the FAZA Cards and have come up with a few solutions you can implement as house rules to mitigate the randomness. I describe the modifications in this BGG post.
  •  Rulebook Feedback: I’ve received some feedback about the rulebook having a few unclear spots. I’ll be working to fix this in a digital copy that you can download via FAZA’s website. I’ll make another post about it once it’s available to download.
  •  Do you have feedback or suggestions to improve the game? This can be anything, small or large, please share it with me. I would encourage you to post it to the forum so others can chime in with ideas and can build on top of it. If it’s something that can be addressed with a house rule, we can introduce a new variant of the game to make FAZA a better experience for everyone. If addressing the feedback requires a more substantial change, I’ll work to fix it in a second print run.

Marketing – Your Ideas Wanted:

  •  Do you have marketing ideas or advice? If there’s something you think I should do to help build awareness for FAZA, please do share it.
  •  Current Challenges: My plan pre-COVID was to attend conventions, but they’re canceled until further notice. Therefore I’m not able to put FAZA in front of hundreds of people that are usually in the headspace to try a new game…
  •  Current Marketing Strategy: I’m working on reaching out to reviewers that are interested in covering FAZA. I’m then planning to share their reviews on social media. 

FAZA’s Website:

  •  PayPal Integration: I’ve created a simple PayPal button for FAZA’s website to start accepting payments so people can buy the game. Once an order is received, my parents will then package the game and put it in the mail.

Thank you,

Ben

The above progress report was cross-posted from FAZA’s Kickstarter campaign.

FAZA Progress Report: September 2020

Hi Everyone,

We’re in the home stretch! The shipment of games arrived yesterday afternoon from Longpack Games. Over the next two weeks we’re going to mail you your reward. 

My parents have volunteered their garage and house to be taken over to store and distribute the games. 

They’ve transformed their dining room table into a mini-distribution center.

Longpack covered each game with shrink wrap and we’re also wrapping them with paper to provide additional protection.

We’re then stuffing the priority mail boxes with more paper. This will prevent the game from bouncing around within the priority mail box.

As the games are sent out, you’ll be receiving an email with a tracking number. Please keep an eye out for that email.

Do let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you,

Ben

P.S. It’s been a long road and I’m infinitely thankful that each and every one of you have been supportive throughout this entire process. I’m feeling exhilarated to have made it this far and I’m looking forward to seeing FAZA out in the world.

The above progress report was cross-posted from FAZA’s Kickstarter campaign.

FAZA Progress Report: August 2020

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all are doing well. We have good news, Longpack Games has completed manufacturing FAZA faster than their estimated time.

Currently, we’re awaiting confirmation from the logistics company for news about the games being loaded on to the boat and the boat leaving the port of Shanghai.

I’m also planning to send out a survey this week to collect addresses, so please keep an eye out for that. 

Thank you,

Ben

The above progress report was cross-posted on FAZA’s Kickstarter campaign.

FAZA Progress Report: July 2020

Hi Everyone!

We received the mass production sample from LongPack Games. Everything is looking great! We’ve given LongPack the okay to begin mass production. They said on average it can take between 2 to 3 months to complete mass production.

I put together an unboxing video so you all can share in the joy and excitement of opening up the game for the first time. I also go through and quickly set up the game so you can see all the game pieces in their proper place.

Do let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you,

Ben

The above progress report was cross-posted on FAZA’s Kickstarter Campaign.

FAZA Progress Report: June 2020

Hi Everyone,

Over the past month we worked with Longpack Games to fix a few issues we noticed with the sample copy. We found and fixed the following issues: a few typos in the rulebook, one of the dice colors was too dark, the size for the tray inside the box was slightly off, and the slits cut into the mothership punchboards had to be tightened. We’re excited to have fixed these issues, and Longpack will provide a mass production sample once it’s ready. 

I’m personally glad to see this project take another step to come to fruition. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you,

Ben

The above progress report was cross-posted on FAZA’s Kickstarter campaign.

FAZA Progress Report: May 2020

Hi Everyone,

Longpack Games sent us a sample copy to review. I’m currently going through it in detail to ensure everything looks good before we give the okay to move forward with producing all the games. Enjoy the pictures below showing the package, the game and all its pieces.

It arrived in an abundance of bubble wrap…

Opening the box, we’re greeted by a menacing FAZA alien…

The chipboard pieces are looking good!

Read through all the FAZA event cards, they also look good…

I’m so glad we unlocked the meeple stretch goal. They’re awesome!

I set up the game for good measure.

A couple more shots of those meeples, motherships, and board tiles…

And finally, here’s everything packed up and put back in the box.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you,

Ben

Edit: Updated to include an image of the front and back of the box side by side below.

The above progress report was cross-posted on FAZA’s Kickstarter campaign.