Hello, this is Cow Customer Service...
about 5 years ago – Mon, Feb 25, 2019 at 12:57:13 AM

Wow! It is so crazy seeing our little baby take it's first steps out in the wild. Thank you for all the pictures and posts about your adventures! It's incredibly rewarding to see so many of you having such a blast with the game. 

Questions, Questions, Questions!

We've been trying our best to comment as often as we can, but at the same time the three of us have been trying to answer all of your questions coming in via email, messages, facebook posts, and the 3 dozen or so threads on BGG.

We're starting to put together a document of the most Frequently Asked Questions, as well as clarifications on a few things that you've brought to our attention. We're going to hopefully get this first draft out next week. If there are things you think should be included in this, please sound off below.

We've got you covered!

Our biggest concern, and number one priority, has been to take care of the few people who received damaged or missing components. It breaks our hearts a little bit every time we get one of these emails, as we really wanted everyone to get a perfect product. The reality of the situation is that there will always be misprints and mispacks on a small percentage of any production run. We apologize to those backers who received an inferior product and are in the process of getting you replacement/new parts. We really appreciate that everyone has been extremely understanding with these things. 

At this point, 90-95% of orders have gone out to everyone. There are still a few stragglers in Canada and Europe, who should be getting your orders very shortly. If you have any concerns or questions, you can always sound off here, or send us an email to [email protected] and we'll get you taken care of. Remember, who loves you? The Cow loves you!

A workaround for the objective tokens

One of the most common comments we've heard from you concerns some of the objective tokens. While misprinted/misaligned punchboards are probably the most common production problem in board games, we went the extra mile to try and make sure this wasn't an issue. We went back and forth multiple times with the factory over this and when the samples we got weren't up to snuff, we had them go back to the drawing board. The last samples we received looked good. 

From the feedback we've gotten from you, it looks like a misalignment on one of the punchboards containing objective tokens was more common than we anticipated. Due to the ? sides being offfcut this has led to some people being able to figure out which tokens are which before flipping them over. 

While there are extra tokens for everything except the portals, we've had a few kind folks offer solutions for the offcut ones.

Russonc suggested taking a black sharpie to the edges, and we feel this will work for some people.

Radioland offered another work around in the comments section, involving cutting apart and reassembling tokens. This involves some skills with a hobby knife, but we've got a simpler solution.

First, click on the image below to download a jpg of a whole bunch of token backs, then print it out at 100%. You can cut these out (please be careful) and glue them on to the backs of the existing tokens. There's also a PDF of the rulebook at this link too, if anybody wants to download that.

Another, easier, solution we found is to take the new token backs and use them on the board instead of the objective tokens. Let's use level 6 of the campaign as an example. Take the new paper token backs and place 5 of them out in the appropriate rooms at setup. Then take the objective tokens that are supposed to go on this level (a level 6 portal token, a computer terminal, a cryo pod, and 2 supply cache tokens) and put them in a small bowl or a dice bag. Every time you enter a room with an objective token, randomly draw one from the bowl or bag and place it face up in the appropriate room after you remove the paper token. This should solve the problem for those who have figured out which tokens are which.

We're working on a more long term solution for this problem, so that we can fix things down the line for everyone. 

Adjusting the Difficulty

While this hasn't really been a question, we've seen a lot of you commenting that it's taken a few attempts to escape the base and some of you are still working toward that. This is normal. The game still kicks our butts sometimes, too! While we meant the game to be difficult and unpredictable, we also left enough give and take in our systems so that you can make the game easier if you're really having trouble. Check out page 35 of the rulebook for some ideas about how to make the game easier.

Another thing to keep in mind, is the characters you are using. While Snippy Von Bell and The Smith Family have become fan favorites due to their weirdness, they are definitely more difficult for new players. Think of them like magic users in D&D. They are a little weaker than other party members early on, but once they level up a few times and get the right equipment, they become total powerhouses! Build your party wisely. Try to cover all of your bases. Make sure you have at least one "smart" character in your party, so you can find better loot. Don't underestimate characters' non-combat skills. 

On to the next thing or things!

Now that we've gotten through the bulk of fulfillment, we're getting back into development for the next expansions. Things are coming together and the stories we are creating are going to blow you away. Part 2 of the Secret Unknown Stuff trilogy, The Hollow Moon, is still being developed at the same time and we hope to drop this at the end of the year, or early next year. While we're keeping a lot of info for this under wraps for now, we do think you'll all love to play as the intelligent cat ninja, Mister Murder Mittens! 

Alright Cows, that's all we have for now. Thank you all for your support and we wish you luck on your escape attempts! We're going to keep the comments going on this page until the next campaign. We'll also be sending out occasional updates related to future expansions/games. Now go blast some aliens!

Weller, Craig, and Donna

Sentient Cow Games

Thank You!
about 5 years ago – Wed, Feb 13, 2019 at 07:26:12 PM

Hello Cow Army! We're super excited to hear that some of you have started to receive your games!

To our European backers, it seems there was a bit of a mix up and thank you postcards that were to be sent out to everyone with their orders did not make it to Gamesquest. We didn't want to hold the games up waiting for these, so we figured we'd just put the postcard up here. 

You might want to print out the one side of this for reference when it comes to fitting the legs back into the box. 

Like the front of the postcard said, we can't thank you enough for being a part of making this game a reality!

If you post pics online, please send links to us so we can see your smiling faces!

Excelsior!

Weller, Craig, and Donna

Shipping! We've Got Shipping News!!
about 5 years ago – Sun, Jan 27, 2019 at 01:03:33 AM

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, cows and cowettes, gather round, for we have some news you'll all be interested in! We got some answers late last night in regards to the status of all of the shipments. 

All three shipments, US, UK, and AU, have cleared customs in their respective countries and are enroute to the various fulfillment centers. We were told the US shipment is due to reach Quartermaster Logistics sometime between Jan 28 and Jan 31. We're still trying to get answers as to what exactly happened, and which port the games were unloaded in, but we were assured that they are making their way to Quartermaster. 

Once the games reach the fulfillment centers it should take them 7-10 days to unpack the pallets, start repacking individual orders, and start sending them out to you. 

Thank you for your patience as we've worked through these rough spots. We now understand that trying to get accurate shipping dates is sometimes like trying to hit a moving target while blindfolded. 

The good news is that we are over the latest hurdle, and that much closer to everyone getting their orders.

As things continue to progress, we'll be sure to fill you in!

PAX South was a Blast!

We spent last weekend in San Antonio, Texas and had a brilliant time at PAX South! This was our second year attending, and it was so awesome to have so many of you remember us from last year and stop by to see the final version of the game. 

We were able to run demos for over 100 people and chatted with so many more. Got to see some familiar faces and made a lot more friends, both fans and fellow game designers. We really can't say enough good things about everyone involved with and attending this con!

Ray and Professor Scientist walked the floor of PAX South on Friday morning before the doors opened to the general public. They asked some members of the Army if Reb Buford was there, visited the Raccoon City Police Station from Resident Evil 2, and chatted with some fellow game creators who came all the way from New Zealand to show off their game, Crimopolis!

Live Stream Tomorrow Night!

Our friends John Beckler and Jeremy Samson from Tabletop Takeovers are stopping by Cow Headquarters tomorrow night to hang out and do a little chatting about Escape from Dulce. I had the privilege of speaking with these guys on a panel at LA ComicCon and they've been doing some great things to promote the board game community in Southern California. They'll be live streaming our discussion on their Tabletop Takeovers Facebook page at around 9PM PST, so tune in for a little more of a preview of EFD. 

Until next time, keep it weird out there folks!

Everything is Moooo-ving Along!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 01:44:23 AM

Hello Cow Army! We’ve been covering a lot of little bits in the general comments section lately, and are excited to see many of the chomping at the bit to get your copy of EFD! We’re going to cover a lot of ground on various topics in this update, but let’s start with the big question on everyone’s minds.

Where is my game?

Our current understanding is that the ship carrying the US/Canada orders, the GUNDE MAERSK, is off the coast of Virginia enroute to Jacksonville, FL. Here the games will be unloaded and then need to pass through customs and be taken to the Quartermaster Logistics warehouse for repacking and shipping to backers. We do not know if the ship needs to make additional stops before Jacksonville. 

The ship carrying the UK/EU orders, the CMA CGM ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT, made port in the UK a few days ago. We believe the games are currently waiting to pass through customs for delivery to our UK/EU fulfillment center via Games Quest, where everything will be repacked and sent to backers.  

Our Australian backers have their games on the ship OOCL SEOUL and the ship was estimated to reach port on Jan 8th. From what we can tell, the ship is leaving Sydney, so we assume the games have arrived and are waiting to go through customs.

We reached out to OTX trying to confirm status of the various shipping routes and get an update, but have not heard back at this time. As soon as we hear something we will be sure to let you all know!

Card sizes for sleeves

Quite a few of you have been asking questions about the cards, so you can get the appropriate size and quantities of card sleeves. While we covered this in the general comments section, we wanted to add it here for everyone to see.

Here's my count on cards for the base game.

33 - 110x70mm cards - 24 Commander Cards, 4 Allies, 5 Quick Ref.

144 - 89x63mm cards - 109 Encounter Cards, 35 Enemy Cards

243 - 64x42mm cards - Loot Cards

Here's the card count for the 2 in 1 expansion.

8 - 110x70mm cards - Commander Cards

56 - 89x63mm cards - 48 Encounter Cards, 8 End cards

40 - 64x42mm cards - Loot Cards

If you got the game and the expansion, here are how many sleeves you'll need to get.

41 - 110x70mm cards

200 - 89x63mm cards

283 - 64x42mm cards

Plastic Stands for the Enemy Standees

Another thing we wanted to fill you in on is a very last minute problem we found that needed to be addressed. The plastic stands for the enemy standees that shipped with the game were the wrong size. The slot in the top of the stands is too large, therefore the cardboard standee easily comes off the stand.

When we received the initial samples of these stands back in October, we were sent a total of 4 stands and they fit fine with standees we had. We received the final sample of the game at the end of November. We did a quick unboxing video and dropped Update #32 with photos of all the games packed up at the factory and ready to go, and then headed out to the PAX Unplugged convention in Philadelphia. 

I didn’t think to double check all the stands at that time. It was something that was a standard at the factory and we didn’t expect a problem from the initial samples we’d seen. 

Upon setting up that game at PAX, we realized we had a serious problem. You couldn’t move the enemy standees around the board without most of the stands falling off. The three of us pretty much freaked out for a bit, but understood that we had to fix this. At this point all of the games were already on ships heading to their destinations. We contacted Ninbgo Eastar immediately about the problem, and started production on a whole new batch of stands that would fit better.

New samples of these stands were approved by us last week and production of these will be complete in the next few days. These new stands will then be air shipped to our fulfillment partners. We’ve discussed the situation with them and they will be packing an extra set of stands in with every game you’ve ordered. There are extras in each bag of stands, so if you got the expansion, you’ll be covered for that as well.

We figured this was the best solution to the problem without creating a delay in shipping. 

We won an Award!

As an update to the last update, we’re very proud to announce that we won the Golden Meeple Award for "Best First-time Kickstarter Creator" on the Board Game Revolution Facebook Group! Thank you so much to everyone that voted for us! We are humbled and honored!

It's Playthrough time!

Lastly, to hold you over a little more while waiting for your copy of EFD, here’s a bit of play through / explanation video with Craig and I. We walk you through some basic mechanics, and take you from the beginning of the game through the caverns, culminating in your first boss battle with the dreaded Lizard Man Commander! Enjoy!

We will be traveling to San Antonio, Texas this week to attend PAX South, so if you’re going to be there, come find us and we’ll play. We’ll be in booth #TT1506.

As soon as we get more info from OTX on the current shipping status of everything we will post another update. Until then, keep your eyes to the skies and your hooves on the ground!

Weller, Donna, and Craig

Happy Moo Year!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Jan 01, 2019 at 06:01:19 PM

A huge thank you to all of you, who made 2018 a great year for us! We plan on making 2019 even better and have plans to bring you a lot more fun over the coming months.

We recently found out that we're in the running for a Golden Meeple award for "Best First-time Kickstarter Creator" on the Board Game Revolution Facebook Group. We're currently in second place, a handful of votes behind Western Legends by Kolsssal Games!

We understand not everyone is on Facebook, but if you are, please check out the Board Game Revolution community. They're a great bunch of positive, like-minded people and we'd recommend joining! Thomas Covert runs the group and has been super supportive and a huge help in getting our campaign off the ground.

If you'd like to help support us, please join the group and vote for Escape from Dulce in the "Best First-time Kickstarter Creator" category. We're also in the running for "Best Kickstarter Campaign from 2018", but we've got some serious competition from much bigger companies. If you want to check out the polls, just click on the cow below!

We hope everyone had a great holiday season, and we wish you all a happy and healthy 2019!

We'll be back with another update this weekend, with a bit of a play through video and an update on shipping. Everything is still on schedule and everyone should be able to play some Dulce soon!

Thank you for a great 2018!

Weller, Donna and Craig