Hello everyone!

Good news! 

Mass production is starting!  We’ve given final approval for the dice, first player tokens, game box, and chipboard tokens, and the production process is starting for some of those pieces:

Dice

The pre-production copy we showed you last update was missing dice, but we received the dice samples this past week. And they're terrific! The colors are bright, the translucence looks great, and they are the correct size and quantity. We've approved the dice for production.

Click on the photos to see them in higher quality. Please note that the colors may vary slightly in the production version, but we've tried our best to accurately represent the pre-production sample colors in these photos.

First Player Token

Last update we mentioned a minor problem with the first player token (it was made to an older design and dimensions). We pointed out the error, and the manufacturer quickly sent us an updated sample. They corrected the shape and thickness, and it looks great! We've approved the token for production. Look for photos of the corrected token in the next update.

Production is starting!

The dice and first player tokens have officially been ordered! This means that production of those components is starting or has already started. We'll keep you informed as we get updates on these pieces.

(For the curious: every game manufacturer is different, but generally a manufacturer does not have in-house capability to make every possible component. They outsource other components to companies who specialize in those materials, e.g. plastics, paper, metal, etc. For Fantastic Factories, our manufacturer will produce all the paper components in-house. The dice and the wooden tokens will be manufactured to spec elsewhere. Then, they will bring everything together and do final assembly of the game in-house.)

Player Boards

We are currently waiting to receive the updated player boards, hopefully in the next week. As mentioned in the last update, the boards in the pre-production copy were 2mm, but the final production version will have 4mm player boards. We'll double check the new boards when they arrive and approve them for production if they look good.

Cards

We're also waiting to receive the cards in ivory card stock. The previous cards all looked great in terms of color, design, quantity, front-back matching, and size, so once we verify the new card stock, we can approve them for production.

Box and Chipboard Tokens

We've already approved the box and chipboard. Our account manager is pushing to get mass production on those components started while we wait for the player boards and cards to arrive. We will hopefully get news on that this week.

Box Insert

The insert specialist has received a blank copy of the game and they’re now working on the design of the plastic box insert. (Don’t worry, we are keeping card sleeves in mind.) We’ll post a graphic of the final designs when we get them.

Next Steps

Over the next couple of weeks we should be able to approve the last components and get production started on some or all of the paper components. Next update we should have photos of the updated players boards, first player token, and ivory core cards. We’re currently laying out the French rulebook, so look for it in an update soon!

Thank you again for your support!

Joseph & Justin