Catching up, staying safe and a peek at something new

Before the update, a few links (and potentially helpful ones while you might be stuck at home):

Our dropbox with lots of free print and plays - plus 6 new ones today: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4i4xnkhw1kakdjj/AADgomR_xfZNYCPFjO7UxvBNa?dl=0
Our discord server where we all chat daily about Button Shy games and much more: https://discord.gg/n8xzRhY 

Hey everyone, first of all I hope all of you are safe and sound. 

I know things are a little different all over the country and the world right now due to the coronavirus, but in New Jersey it's starting to get pretty wild. Schools are closed, grocery stores are madness, and people are staring to lock down a bit. I've personally been on a lockdown of sorts as my son was home sick for 9 days straight with strep throat and asthma, so I'm adapting well enough. I bought each kid a 36" x 36" canvas and told them it's their project for the week. Hopefully this lasts more than a few hours. :)

But anyway, I figured I'd tell everyone what's going on with Button Shy at this time. 

It's just going to be me for the next few weeks as our local staff stays home and avoids unnecessary interaction. This means making games might be a little slower, but we're thankfully at a point where almost everything here is made.

Here's a look at each of our individual projects and what to expect:   

Reprint Kickstarter Fulfillment
This is ongoing, and we're a little past the halfway point. I expect to get a few hundred more out the door this week. One thing we are doing is reducing our number of trips to the post office and instead taking more packages each trip. So instead of going daily, it'll be every 2-3 days, just to stay as safe as possible. 

Patreon Packages
We have two packages going out soon. We are waiting on 6 items for those packages to arrive before they can go out. All are coming from US manufacturers, so I don't expect any delays. They'll get here, I'll assemble the family and we'll get them all out as quickly as possible. I expect them to be shipping in 2 weeks. The packages after that are in a similar position as the items from China are no longer delayed. We expect those to arrive shortly. We just have to catch up and order some of the US supplemental material (rules, etc) to get them out once they arrive. Everything is  delayed, but it's all moving forward here.

Website Orders
Website orders are moving forward as well. Just slightly delayed due to the staff not assembling them. Instead it's going to be me! They'll go out every few days with the mail, and shouldn't be too much different than normal. 

Upcoming Kickstarters
Tomorrow we launch Skulls of Sedlec (and it's looking awesome so far, with lots of great reviews - reviewers playing it 10 times in a row). I've heard Kickstarter numbers are down a little but we will keep moving forward as planned, with the biggest risk being a delay to our June fulfillment date. We're hoping for the best with everything and will keep things going as planned as long as everyone is safe. The biggest difference is that I'll have to be more hands on in making the games. I've done it before and can do it again. :)

Backup plan
And what's anything without a backup plan? I assume that most of our printers will be in a similar situation and working with a smaller staff. With that in mind, we'd expect delays. Too offset the delays we are seeking out some more digital content (print and play, play by email, or even fully digital games) to keep everyone busy. This will not replace any physical content, but it's a way to get things out to everyone if delays seem to become a norm. Meanwhile, I'm taking the time to get way ahead on some projects because art and graphic design is made for social distancing. 

New stuff?
I feel like this is a good time to take on something new. Something that's easily doable while being isolated at home. Maybe a big open design project with some live blogging? Maybe something like that but with the kids? Re-boot the Design Diary podcast? Get back to the 18 Card Challenge? Work on some alternate art PNPs for our games? Play some games with all of you on Tabletop Simulator? Start some detailed looks at future games? I'm always up for taking on more than I can handle, especially in already tough times. So feel free to chime in if you have any fun ideas.

And speaking of new stuff, we needed an image for this post and instead of an image of an empty office or something depressing, I decided to share the first prototype image of our Button Shy Game Haul bag that's in the works. It holds 18 games and will be AWESOME. This is still early, so we're making some changes to the strap and the little snap on the top. Working with Will at Top Shelf Fun has been great. I don't know when to expect this, but it's been in the works for a few months, so we're getting closer to reality. 

Here's another angle.

To wrap up, thanks to everyone for being here. I know there are ups and downs with timeframes and everything else, but this one is a little bit out of our control. We're making the most of it and using it as a big learning experience. We'll be back tomorrow with details on the new Kickstarter campaign, and hopefully turn this downtime into some digital uptime and be back again later this week. 

Stay safe!