High Noon Hackery (I Need A Favor)
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 09:53:09 AM

Howdy y’all!

I’ve been sitting on this update for a while, wondering how to write it. As I stated earlier in an update (or was it a comment somewhere? I forget) – and as someone recently mentioned to me, which means it resonated, I hold off on updates until I know for sure nothing will go against the update. I learned that lesson from the outset and I don’t aim to repeat it any time soon.

So here’s the update: 

The games have arrived in our storage facility on the West Coast. 1,000 copies have been checked into D6’s USA fulfilment center and 30 games have been checked into their Asia Pacific fulfilment center.

I’ve also arranged for 1,000 copies to be transported to my office here on the East Coast. We have a port here in Jacksonville and I am checking freight costs to arrange for 200 copies to be ferried over to D6’ European center. These games are scheduled to arrive on the 30th of this month.

I am still exploring other options to get the European backers fulfilled, rest assured whichever option we go with will be the most expedient one. Costs be damned, I’m going to have you your games before Christmas.

This whole process has been a monumental affair. Remember how I said anything could go wrong? Well, almost everything did and that’s just the way things go. Above all, however, I am grateful we are where we are. I’m grateful the games are checked in. I’m grateful the truck is on its way. I’m grateful for all of the progress, but there is still much to do and still much of that is out of my direct control. I’ve basically become the pest that keeps nagging until things get done. And while I will tell you all about it including what I’ve discovered and what I’ve learned one day, right now that’s all I can say – if purely to avoid any unnecessary interruptions in the process of getting these games to you guys.

They’re coming. And we’re this much closer. That’s what matters.

Now for the favor…

But first, STORY TIME!

I’m not sure if you’ve picked this up, but not a day goes by where I don’t doubt myself and this game. True, I often look at the packaging, the painted minis, the tiles, the cards, the artwork, the people playing the game and having a great time doing so, and I think to myself “hot damn, I can’t believe I did this,” but pretty much every morning I wake up to the same thought behind the whole “can’t believe” part and focus on everything wrong about the game.

Because, let’s face it, the game isn’t perfect. It never will be and nothing ever is. There will always be something wrong with it, somebody will find those things and – even if they didn’t in fact exist – there will always be someone who doesn’t like the game for literally any reason whatsoever. Heck, High Noon had a healthy swarm of haters long before even the virtual version of the game was made available to the public. Folks were nit-picking the game apart before they’d even played the darned thing.

Fortunately, I love the criticism. It helps me improve the game and will serve to make better games in the future (hopefully).

It was with that in mind that, not long before I launched the Kickstarter, I sought out someone who would truly analyze High Noon the way Dexter analyzes serial killers. [And If you didn’t get that reference, I pity you about as much as I pity someone who sat through the last season of that show.]

Somebody shared this video from Board Game Hackers in one of the board game groups I was a part of. The video rips apart the insanely popular Pandemic and – despite the comments of people disapproving it – I absolutely loved everything about it. Regardless of how you may feel about the board game, you can tell a lot of thought and passion went into their review. 

It was at that moment that I knew I needed this couple to Hack High Noon.

For those of you who don’t have 5 minutes to dedicate to figuring out who the Board Game Hackers are, I present to you this 1 minute video. (And if you don’t have 1 minute, what are you even doing playing board games?)

After watching their vids, I did a little cyber-stalking, found them through social media and reached out about reviewing – and more specifically trashing – High Noon. Pwns asked a little about me, so I shared with him my story about how I came to create High Noon. After hearing my story, he asked why I would even want him to tear apart something so special and I told him it was the only way I’d get any better. I also wagered he’d actually like it too much to truly destroy it. 😉

To my surprise and elation, he agreed! So I sent him a copy and that was that. We kept in contact a bit here and there but I mostly left him to his craft as he was buried in other scheduled reviews.

About 2 months ago, they released this quick review of High Noon and it was the highest production quality video I’d seen done for High Noon, second to our own Kickstarter video. I’m going to spoil it for you now, their reviews were mixed to the point of diametrically opposed, but I’ll let you watch the video to see who stood where.

Internally from the High Noon fanbase, the reception was not all that positive. People didn’t like that the Board Game Hackers weren’t All In, and I sincerely appreciated that level of loyalty from my posse. But I saw something completely different. I saw a video that was unlike ANY of their other videos. Where every other video they’d made was 100% one way or another, both of them on the same page, in total agreement on a conclusion, it was MY game that left them with something to talk about! Or…in High Noon’s case…take to the streets. There was real controversy among them, conflict. Furthermore, they really put in the production value! There were animations, muzzle flashes, explosions! Heck, even a sound track! The whole video is cut together really well. It just screams next level production value beyond someone sitting in front of a Kallax full of board games. And that’s not an attack. Those are great. But this felt like a friggin’ TV show!

To be honest, for me, even if half their team didn’t like my game, this was the greatest thing anyone had ever independently done for High Noon and I couldn’t help but feel the love.

I thought it was over after that. I thought that was all she wrote and I’d proudly moved on. But then something funny happened: Pwns started asking me for some clarification on rules. Why? Was he looking to play another round? Had some friends come over for a duel and their firefight was caught in a gridlock waiting for a referee?

The truth was far more awesome.

They were doing a bonafide hack of High Noon! A whole ‘nother video! I was getting a two-fer!

I answered their questions and let them be for another month and, to make a long story longer, a couple of weeks ago, I got a message in my inbox.

“I have finally found my method of video creation. I have turned hacking your board game in to a saga.”

A saga.

A mother-flippin’ saga. 

My game, High Noon, which I sent to be destroyed to oblivion, was instead the physical muse for the Board Game Hacker’s “method of video creation.”

Here’s the thing, Board Game Hackers isn’t a huge channel. Not yet, anyway. Sure, the videos they make about common parlance board games get thousands of views – their thumbnails alone should garner that many – but an indie game under their title would be lucky to break a hundred or so. To even see a comment on those videos would be a dream.

But that goes with the territory of any up-and-coming channel and they are way far ahead of most in that regard. What matters is the holds they refuse to bar to create top-shelf content, the extra hundred miles they’ll go to tell their story in a unique way unlike any other. Love them or Hate them, my bet is hedged on the Board Game Hackers becoming one of the largest board game review channels in the industry one day, if they keep at it.

But even if they didn’t become that, even if everything I just said wasn’t true, even if they were just an odd couple with a iPhone and 5 minutes of free time to sit on their patio and say something to the reverse camera, all sloppy-like, for them, for anyone to say to me that my game was the impetus for the final form of their “method” to communicate their thoughts to the world…

That’s a diamond-crested, platinum-framed golden hat hook if I’ve ever seen one.

Pwns laid out his plan to me: This video marks the first in a series. The series will tell the story of the Sweetwater bank heist from the High Noon starter set from his perspective. The story will be broken down into several short videos that will include his critiques and hacks, ultimately leading to a total of about 1.5 hours of video for the game. As far as I’m aware, this will be the longest coverage they will have ever done for any game they’ve reviewed, and it’ll be the longest anyone has ever dedicated to a review of High Noon.

This is an absolute record-shattering undertaking on all counts.

That’s not something that just happens. That’s not something that you shrug off and take for granted. That’s something special.

This video made by Board Game Hackers is a Gift above all gifts and it is my absolute honor to share with you episode 1 of Board Game Hackers’ High Noon Review:

After I typed all that, I watched it again. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I love it more than I did when I watched it last. See, I’ve watched it about a dozen times. And each time, my love for it grows exponentially. I pick up on things I hadn’t noticed before. Things that bothered me once, start to grow on me. Trust me when I say the things you might have a problem with now, I’ve already picked up on, thought about, and grown to love. And so will you, over time.

Sure, there are things I don’t agree with. Absolutely, there are moments I chuckle to myself, “oh my son, just you wait, how little you know now…” But for the undeniably most part, this video is checking all the right boxes for me. The chills are - as they say - multiplying.

And herein lies the favor. 

No, I don’t need a heater. What I need you all to do is go to the video’s page, give it a Like and leave a comment. And when you’re done, share it on your Facebook page or some other social media platform, or just with your friends. And don’t just copy/paste the link. Really share it. Include a blurb all your own, something from you that tells your friends, family and/or following why they should also check it out and like it and leave a comment on the video.

Because the thing is, this isn’t just about me. This is about them. These guys put a TON of work into this and it deserves attention. They deserve the reward of engagement. And that engagement helps us, too! It’s all one-big momentum factory. There are nearly a thousand backers for High Noon. There's no reason we can't get the video to 500 likes. 

Board Game Hackers didn’t charge me a dime for their video. They didn’t put me up to writing this post. I’ve been wanting to write this and share the video with you since the day I saw it, which was a day before it was published, which was – as of this writing, 9 days ago.

I didn’t share it because I knew you guys would want more than a post about this video; you’d want an update on the actual game. So I bit my fingers for 9 days until I had something concrete to share with you. And now you have both.

So now I’ve given you what you want, I’m gonna need you to give me what I want and what this game – and, by proxy but also more directly, the Board Game Hackers – need: head on over to the video’s YouTube page and do the following:

1) Click the Thumbs-Up button on the video

2) Leave a comment on the video

3) Share the video with your friends and ask them to do the same thing (Like, Comment, Share)

We’ve got a bit more to accomplish with the game than just fulfillment, folks. In order to achieve long term status in the industry, we need the game reaching public awareness, and supporting creators like the Board Game Hackers is one of the best and cheapest ways to get there.

Thank you in advance, for supporting Board Game Hackers and High Noon by Like/Comment/Sharing the video and I look forward to my next update when I tell you all that the games are officially shipping to you!

The Seagull Has Landed! (A Long-Awaited Shipping Update!)
almost 3 years ago – Sat, Sep 11, 2021 at 08:29:06 PM

Ahoy there pardners!

I’ve been holding off on this update until there was no shadow of any doubt that it would be true. I know a lot of you have been asking what the update on the boat was and it took everything in me not to disclose what I had been told because so far everything that has transpired has gone against literally everything that everyone has been saying about the current logistics situation.

Yes, the supply crisis is real. Yes, it is delaying things a bit and increasing costs, some. No, it is not remotely as bad as everyone has been saying it is. I believe the real issue is a completely different crisis within this industry altogether, but that is another update for another time.

The bottom line is, I had budgeted 5 weeks of dead time for the congestion at the port of Long Beach and the potential for the container to be selected for deep clearance by Customs, a very unlucky process that some unfortunate sap is chosen almost entirely at random to suffer, which can take up to a month and rack up insane demurrage fees alone.

Fortunately not only did a grand total of none of that happen, but we actually unloaded an entire day ahead of the projected schedule my logistics partners had given me of 10 days! We got through everything from congestion to clearance to total unload into our holding warehouse in just 9 days!

Every bit of this journey has been one miracle after another. Yes, we did have to cough up quite a bit more of our money to achieve it, but we got it done and I can say with confidence that you guys WILL be getting your copies of High Noon WELL BEFORE Christmas of this year. For our domestic and some international backers, I expect you’ll be getting your games in just a few weeks!

There are still a few things we have to do first.

Mainly, we have to get our games into the fulfilment warehouses. I know the 30 some-odd games going to Australia and Asia Pacific are already in the hands of our fulfillment partner there. I’m just waiting on some final paperwork for our domestic partner to schedule their delivery. Hopefully that will be done by early next week.

We’re in the home stretch now, though. All of the hard stuff is over. Fingers crossed!

For our European backers, we have not forgotten about you! I am waiting for confirmation on something and should have it very soon. Once I know, I’ll be able to speak on it and give you all your very own update so just sit tight!

As always, thank you for your continued patience and support. Now go out and get your paint brushes and pallets ready to paint your posses!

See you all in the next update!

Special Delivery! (A Long Overdue Shipping Update)
almost 3 years ago – Mon, Aug 09, 2021 at 11:56:16 AM

Alright everyone, it's finally here: the update you've all been waiting for (as have I.)

I've been getting a bunch of messages and a few posts in the Facebook Group and Discord Server about how other campaigns have been handling the shipping container crisis, suggesting we might consider following suit. I want to first say thank you to everyone who shared a news link or an update from another campaign or a YouTube video voicing the struggles we - like many - have faced and offering possible solutions along the lines of what others have taken. I sincerely appreciate you all wanting to help in any way possible. 

We didn't go those routes because, frankly, we didn't agree with them. Everyone is free to conduct their business as they see fit and let the pieces fall where they may. The way I see it, everybody should have factored in a budget for all possible unforeseen complications, shipping above all. So, while other campaigns (especially the mega-million-dollar ones) sought to appeal for additional funds from their backers, we didn't feel right asking you guys to pony up any more cash than you already have. You all have been incredible supporters of our campaign and you paid enough as it is.

We've had multiple lines in the water, waiting for a catch. Several freight agents competed for our business and that competition finally paid off late last week when a container with space on a vessel popped up on our radar. Despite being several times more expensive than what we had budgeted, I wasted no time jumping on it, personally funding the gap with my own savings.

Everything happened incredibly fast. I wasn't even in the office on a road trip across the country at the time, nowhere near the office. Forms had to be signed, scanned and emailed to me on a minute's notice. The window to lock the container down, have our ISF paperwork submitted and confirmed with CBP before loading, etc.

But by the grace of God, we did it.

On Wednesday, the factory workers braved the heat and loaded everything - and I mean everything - onto a marvelous 40 foot container bound for the good ol' U.S. of A.

As high as my emotions were, I didn't want to say anything until I was absolutely certain the container had boarded the vessel. All too often, we have heard the horror stories of containers getting leased, cargo loaded and then out of nowhere and for whatever reason, the vessel cancels the container's reservation and the cargo sits boiling on the dock for months, waiting for another ship.

Fortunately for us, that was not the case and, late in the evening of Friday, August 7th, the container officially snuggled its way onto the deck of the HYUNDAI JUPITER! It is officially en route to the West Coast docks with an ETA of 15 days. You can track its progress across the ocean by clicking here.

Of course, this doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet. Reports are still coming in that the US docks are backed up for weeks. It's possible that the vessel will rest outside for a while before making it in. We're hoping and praying that isn't the case, but just be prepared for that. But we're on the ocean, guys! It's officially happening!

Yay!!!! ...but wait. Did you say "everything" is on that container?

Yeeeeeeeeah, about that. 

So, in everyone's eagerness to get the goods out to sea, it was kind of lost on everyone that some of those goods still needed to go to Europe. So all of it was loaded. It's all coming here first. Sorry about that, guys.

But that said, consider this: There's no shortage of containers in the US right now. If we had waited for another container to show up for the European cargo, it might have been another several weeks to a few months before we got one. In this case, there's only a slight detour. We're already working on securing a container and voyage path for the European goods so everything will be ready to immediately ship out when it all arrives here. In all honesty, I'm not even sure this will amount to a delay, given the circumstances and I'm just glad we're moving forward.

There are still a myriad of things that could go wrong at this juncture, everyone, so please pray to your deities, clutch your lucky pendants, dance in your yards, do whatever you can to send good juju vibes towards this shipment so we continue to find good fortune.

But it's happening, guys. It's officially happening. These games are getting shipped!

One other thing...

I wanted to show my gratitude for all of your patience through this whole endeavor, so I went ahead and unlocked the High Noon Expansion Loot Vol. 1. That was my way of saying thank you for all of your continued support. Of course, if you'd still like to help out with the social following goals, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel, giving us a Like on Facebook and joining our Facebook community if you haven't already.

And of course I'm always down to play a game of High Noon on Tabletopia with you all, so hop on our Discord server and throw your hat in the ring with us.

That's all for today, guys! This has been an update I have longed to release and it's a huge weight off my shoulders to finally be able to release it to you now. I hope you're as excited as I am. We still have a ways to go with this shipment, and High Noon still has a long way to go with so much to share with you all, I can't wait to get there. But for now, I hope this update finds you well and leaves you in good spirits.

Until the next one!

Stand on Its Own
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Aug 01, 2021 at 05:38:12 PM

THIS IS NOT A SHIPMENT UPDATE.

That update is coming up next and soon. If you are not interested in anything else, you may skip this update, but that's probably not a good idea because this one's pretty awesome. Anyway, on to the update!

Howdy pilgrims!

Wow! Two updates in one month! You guys are getting spoiled! ;)

With just one day left before we close our pledge manager and release the Print-and-Play version of High Noon to you all, I couldn't be more excited and anxious at the same time. For a lot of you, this will be the first time you get to experience High Noon. It will be a moment of truth for you as backers as to whether or not this was a good investment and that's a lot of pressure for me, because I took your money and I really want everyone to be happy with this game. 

Though, if the audience reaction from a recent demo at  a game store is any indication of the experience you can expect, I believe you're all going to love it. 

Nearly everyone at the store had shown up to play Age of Sigmar and they would all stop to double-take on my set-up. Many would break away from their own game tables during their opponent's turn to come over and watch games of High Noon happening behind them.

Think about that. High Noon legit broke people's attention from a massively popular title and drew them over to it, away from their own epic battles. I don't know about you, but to me that says something. And that's not a dig at AoS. I am loving everything I see from that game. But I'm proud to be able to say High Noon - in its prototype phase - can stand confidently on its own beside the giants. That's huge. And I'm proud of that.

Speaking of stand...

Throughout this whole ordeal, you guys have been overwhelmingly patient and supportive and I can't tell you how grateful I am for you all. But I can try.

So, last year, back before the first Kickstarter, in one of my rare moments of free time, I sat at my computer, fiddled around with a little 3D program called Blender and created a silly little stand for my minis. I wanted something to showcase them in their theme that would be a fun conversation starter at the house. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious and I just made it for myself. 

But the leadership of the team at the time fell in love with it and insisted it be made available as a First Day Kickstarter Exclusive. It was a ridiculous notion. There was absolutely no way we'd be able to cover the cost of producing them at a minimum scale, especially when we'd be giving a large portion of them away for free! But the call was made and so was the announcement. On day 1 of the Kickstarter, we had a live stream where it was featured and everyone couldn't stop talking about it. Yay!

But we all know how that ended.

Recently, I was sitting in my office thinking about the upcoming closure of the campaign and how beside myself in gratitude for all of you and what I could do to show it. And that's when it occurred to me.

But first...story time!

You know, back before Star Wars hit theaters, nobody thought it was going to ever amount to anything. The studios didn't believe in George Lucas' idea so much that when he asked for the exclusive ownership of the merchandise rights, they just gave it to him outright. I don't know how many of those morons are still alive today, but I'm sure their tears are just as delicious now as they were 49+ years ago. Probably even better now, aging like fine wine.

But even Lucas had his doubts and struggles. So, when the movie was a huge hit and every kid wanted a Luke Skywalker action figure but none were available, ol' George had another insane-o idea: A stand without figures, promising figures for the stand! All you had to do was mail in a certificate you got from an empty box and voila! You know...whenever or if-ever "voila" was ever gonna happen.

I actually have one of these. In truth, it was what I was looking at when the thought hit me. You all know where this is going...

Rather than have my High Noon stand be an exclusive for first-day backers, why not make it available to everyone who backed and pre-ordered? I mean, I can't produce them myself, but I have the .stl files and have you seen how affordable 3D printers are today?

So that's what I did. 

When the pledge manager closes and the print-and-play files get released, you'll all also be receiving the High Noon "mail away" display stand .stl files absolutely free.

As a test, I printed off my own stand again using a PLA printer for the terrain and building facade, and a resin printer for the wagon, tree and cactus. I then tried my hand at terrain painting and decorating (first time doing that!) and I was pretty pleased with the results but judge for yourself. ;)

I can't say it enough, I can't wait for all of you to get your hands on High Noon and all of the minis you've backed and pre-ordered, and see what you all do with them. I want to see thousands of posts of custom painted High Noon minis with the hashtag #PaintYourPosse flood the interwebs. But nothing's going to satisfy me more than knowing you'll all be able to display them proudly anywhere you want with your very own, High Noon stand.

I know it's not much, but consider it a small token of my appreciation to you all. You've ridden with me this far on this wild journey and that means the world to me. We're nearing the finish line for this campaign and I am so proud of how far we've come and so honored to have you all here along the way. 

Thank you so much!

This Ain't Just a Pledge Manager Update (We Did Something Crazy)
about 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 30, 2021 at 01:27:30 AM

Howdy Pardners!

It’s been more than a few High Noons since our last soiree and, while the worldwide shipping crisis crawls along, we haven’t been sitting on our collective keisters, whittling wood. As frustrating as it has been to not be able to get our copies to everyone, this whole series of delays has provided a golden opportunity to refine the game, level up our prototypes to truly playtest not just the mechanics but the whole experience on the table and even bring some of our “down the road” concepts closer to life than previously anticipated.

But before I get to that, I want to address the elephant in the room: The Pledge Manager. Anyone paying attention already knows tomorrow is the official cut-off date for the Pledge Manager to unlock any outstanding stretch goals. Initially after the Kickstarter, there was tremendous momentum toward unlocking some of the most anticipated expansions but after a few weeks, this momentum petered out. Today, we’re sitting at a little less than 90 pre-orders of the 200 necessary to unlock the Bandero Blondes and Grizzly Greenwood and we’re less than 40 pre-orders away from unlocking the first volume of expansion loot.

I’ve done a lot of thinking on this issue over the past couple of weeks. It pains me to think we were almost to unlocking two posses that everybody keeps talking about and begging for, only to fall so short in the final hours. I know what some are thinking, “well if they want it so bad, why don’t they pre-order it?” And the immediate answers that come to mind are:

• The people who want them the most are already All-In, meaning they’ll get them eventually even if we don’t unlock them now and...
• There is a lot of uncertainty still in the Kickstarter arena. People give money to projects that ultimately never get produced all the time. If an expansion isn’t unlocked, who’s to say it ever will be?

We saw this in the final minutes of the Kickstarter. It was all silent at just $2,500 from unlocking Father Franklin and the moment one of our retailers filled the gap, we saw nearly $4,000 additional backers come in behind them. These very same $4,000 backers could have unlocked Father Franklin had they just pledged up front, so why didn’t they? Because they didn’t know there was $4,000 of them and they didn’t think he would get unlocked. Some backers even withdrew their pledges initially believing we wouldn’t achieve the pinebox priest, only to come back in the 11th hour after we did unlock him to re-pledge.

The same is true here. There’s probably 120 backers sitting out there holding out from pre-ordering because they don’t realize there’s 145 of them and if all 267 of them would just pre-order already, they’d see that there was 722 of them here to unlock the Banderos and Grizzly and all 867 of them had nothing to worry about. That’s just the way it goes.

But you know what? From a 10,000 foot perspective, we almost did it. We almost got to the half-way mark and that’s nothing to spit at. That’s a huge accomplishment in my book. In an uncertain industry buried by uncertain times, through an uncertain economy, almost 100 people stepped up to put their hard-earned money toward a concept with no guarantee it would ever be realized and that’s something we should all hang our hats on.

So that’s precisely what we’re going to do.

You guys funded half of the Bandero Blondes and Grizzly Greenwood, so I’m going to gap-finance the rest. As of today, the Bandero Blondes and Grizzly Greenwood bundle is officially unlocked and going into production along with the other expansions we’ve already unlocked. Congratulations posse, together, we did it. That also means you’ll be getting 18 additional Kickstarter Exclusive loot cards including the Break Action Shotgun, Elephant Gun, Shotgun Slugs, Black Knife, Huntsman Boots and Sultry Perfume!

Furthermore, I’m setting up a Social Media Stretch Goal for the Volume 1 Expansion Loot. If we can reach 500 followers on our official Twitter Page and our official YouTube channel, I’ll cover the gap and unlock the expansion loot as well. This is a fun and free way to get more High Noon on your table, so pony on up and click those buttons! Subscribe HERE and HERE and let’s get those loot cards unlocked!

But Dwight! The pledge manager ends tonight! How can we possibly achieve this social media goal?

Great question. So, along with thinking about all of this, I got to thinking about how much our retailers could help us drive pre-orders if we were able to find a way to get them what they need to do it. All of our advanced copies were already dished out to reviewers and media, so we haven’t had any copies here. We recently reached out to our factory who has been very supportive through this entire journey and they have stepped up to help ship out a handful of games to our retailers. It’s not a lot, not even close to what any of them ordered, but at least one game for each store to demo in-house to their customers. It’s going to cost a pretty penny, but given that it’s not a lot of games, it’s something we can afford to take the hit on.

So I’m going to extend the pledge manager out one more month.

Not only does this give those retailers a brief reprieve from being charged during one of their toughest months in operation, it also gives them a chance to receive their copies, run live demos and generate some pre-sales. This should hopefully help them recoup on their retail investment while also generating more sales that go toward unlocking our expansions, which is good for everybody including you!

I’m not just sitting on this, either. There’s a reason I had the expansion posse cards prototyped and expansion posses painted up. Next month, I’ll be starting a tour of the country, hitting up each of the participating retailers who backed us, and hosting day-long events to showcase the game and all of the prepared expansions for people to get the value and the bigger picture of High Noon and everything it has to offer. It’s my hope that this will further drive traffic and presales toward pushing out these expansions now rather than later so we all benefit. I’ll be making announcements of event locations so stay tuned and feel free to pop in an event in your area to get your hands on physical components and playtest the various posses of High Noon before we go into production!

That’s all well and good, but when am I going to get to play High Noon?!

I’ve spoken to the team at BackerKit and I’m pleased to be able to officially announce we will be releasing the print-and-play version of High Noon on July 31st. Regardless of any future unforeseen delays, come Hell or Highwater, everyone who backed our Kickstarter will be receiving links to access the digital download version of the starter set.

Those of you who backed at the Everything and the Stove level will also be getting 3D printable STL files of the expansion posses unlocked during the Kickstarter campaign. I’m also working on a surprise announcement for everyone coming soon, so get your model paints out and sharpen your brushes and get ready to #PaintYourPosse!

And finally, as promised earlier in this post, I wanted to share something I’ve been working on this past month with the brilliant team over at The Game Crafter. I showed you guys the digital mock-ups of this before, but nothing beats the real thing and I just can’t hold this back any longer.

Ladies and Gents, may I present to you the physical prototypes for the High Noon Starter Set 3D Building upgrades.

These were sent to me by TGC team member Alisha who has been front and center on this whole thing, holding my hand through the entire process. Actually, scratch that. Alisha straight did everything. I just watched!

I’ve got my own copies ordered and they should be delivered in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned for that update as well.

The bottom line is, while we wanted nothing more than to get you these games and go into production on everything full steam ahead, this lemon of a crisis has presented us a golden opportunity to create the highest quality lemonade for everyone and deliver the most robust version of High Noon we can all be proud of.

As always, thank you for your continued patience and support and we look forward to playing with you soon!

What do you think about this update? Are you ready to bring on the Blondes and the Wolves? What will you do with all of the extra loot cards? Be sure and subscribe to our Twitter and YouTube pages so we can unlock Volume 1 Expansion Loot! And share this update with your friends to bring attention to this great game and help unlock more expansions!