Designer Daryl Andrews Visits the Office!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Dec 03, 2021 at 03:23:15 PM
Hi all,
We are in the process of getting updated arrival dates for the games at ports, which will let us give you a more accurate sense of when fulfillment will begin. Expect an update next week with all the details hopefully!
In the meantime, we had a friendly face visit the Cryptozoic offices: Daryl Andrews, co-designer (with the equally talented Morgan Dontanville) of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — The Game. Daryl was in town for San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition and stopped by to check out a final production copy of the game! He LOVED it! We were beyond pumped (and relieved) to hear how happy he was with the final product after all the work everyone has put into it. Here are some photos (we’ll have a full unboxing video in a few weeks)!
While we have your attention: If you’re a fan of lighter games that you can learn in 5 minutes, but have tons of depth and hidden complexity, we have another Kickstarter going on now for Steven Rhodes Games Vol. 2. Check it out. You guys have been awesome backers, so we’d love to have your support again!
Thanks so much,
The Cryptozoic Team
Images of Final Batarangs and Other Dice!
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Nov 04, 2021 at 11:13:41 PM
DKR fans,
Despite the power shortages in China, our factory is hard at work finishing Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — The Game. The Batarang dice are the only component still actively being manufactured and should be ready to go November 8. Then, they will begin the final packout of English-language Kickstarter games, which should be ready to be loaded onto ships by November 15. If everything goes to plan (and with worldwide supply chain issues, we can’t be sure), the ships should arrive in mid-January at various ports for fulfillment of English-language games in late January. The French and Spanish versions of the game are running a bit behind due to the amount of translation needed, but hopefully just a short while later.
So, let’s get to the big headline: We have images from the factory of the final engraved Batarangs and the 35 other engraved dice. Check them out!
Pretty nice, eh? We should have an actual sample of the final game in our office in a couple weeks, so we’ll be able to share more soon!
Thanks for your support,
The Cryptozoic Team
Checking in and Images of Final Cards
over 2 years ago
– Sun, Oct 24, 2021 at 12:23:47 AM
DKR fans,
First of all, a big THANK YOU to all of you for being so understanding about the delay due to power shortages in China. Since we last updated you, nothing has changed: Production of the game is close to being finished despite the factory only having power two days a week, games should arrive at the US port in late December, and fulfillment should begin in January. Given the supply chain issues around the world, dates could still shift a bit, so we’ll let you know as soon as we know more.
So, while we wait for more news, we thought we’d share some of the final cards for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — The Game. Below you can see some of the action cards for the game, specifically the standard, Book 1, and Book 2 cards. Hope you like them! We’ll show more cards soon, plus other previews.
Thanks for your support,
The Cryptozoic Team
Delay Due to Factory Power Shortage
over 2 years ago
– Sat, Oct 02, 2021 at 09:15:12 PM
DKR fans,
Until now, game production has been running ahead of schedule for our estimated December fulfillment. However, we have hit a truly unexpected snag: Manufacturing hubs in China have been beset by shortages in power supply. As a result, since the last week of September the government has only permitted our factory to have power two days a week for the time being (some other factories have been totally shut down). The reasoning for this situation is complex, but the main causes are the huge demand for Chinese factories as lockdowns end, major increases in the cost of coal to generate electricity, and desire to curb coal usage to fight climate change. You can read about the situation in this article or this one.
What does this mean for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — The Game? Manufacturing for some parts of the game has been completed. But the delays mean production likely won’t be totally done until the end of October. Tentatively, this means games would arrive in the US port in late December, meaning fulfillment would begin in January (a month later than planned). The situation is constantly changing, so we’ll have more information soon, but we wanted you to know as soon as we knew.
The delay is out of our control, but we are seriously bummed about it. Still, if we’ve learned anything from Frank Miller’s classic comic book series, you can’t keep The Dark Knight down! Even if it’s a bit later than expected, you’ll be getting an awesome game in just a few months. We will do our best to keep you updated and offer some more previews in the coming weeks.
Thanks for your support,
The Cryptozoic Team
Game Samples! (And Final Call for Surveys)
over 2 years ago
– Mon, Sep 13, 2021 at 10:08:43 PM
DKR fans,
First of all, a reminder: TODAY is the final day to complete your surveys on BackerKit. If we don’t have completed surveys and payments for shipping/add-ons by today, we cannot include your game in the shipment for fulfillment in your region. If you never received a survey or just want to double check your survey (making sure you've selected the correct rewards and paid for shipping), please go here: https://darkknightreturns.backerkit.com/faq#backerkit-faq Beyond that, feel free to send a direct message on Kickstarter OR message our customer service portal: http://cryptozoic.kayako.com/
Now for the exciting news: We received samples of the boxes and game components from the factory. These are digitally printed samples, so these aren’t the final manufactured games. But the quality should be pretty much identical; these samples are to give us an opportunity to take one last look at everything before production starts. Check out the photos!
One note: We realized that once you punch out the standees, tokens, and assorted markers, there needed to be a better place to put them all in the tray. So we have decided to include a custom Batman: The Dark Knight Returns envelope for easy storage of these components (you just slip the envelope back into the box).
Thanks for your support,
The Cryptozoic Team
