The Deck of Useful Things!

Addresses locking! Check backerkit email for any changes!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 10:24:17 AM

Hello everyone!!

You should be getting an email from backerkit shortly letting you know to make any final changes to your address before your address is locked in!

Now, since we are shipping in waves, and will likely take a few weeks to get through everyone's orders, you can still change your address if necessary! Just let me know directly, as you won't be able to change it yourself once addresses are locked.

We will be going in order based on the tiers, but like I said previously I'm not 100% sure how long each tier will take. This is the largest fulfillment we've had to do so we will be figuring out the timing as we go!

I am super excited to get these decks out to you, and i think you will get a kick out of the extra cards from the Kickstarter only pack.

As always, let me know if you have any questions!


I also wanted to let you know that our annual Make 100 pin project is finishing up soon, so if you want some baby dnd monster pins, you can check it out here:
http://kck.st/3WJieXC

All the designs are unlocked for those, so you can get the whole set!

Thanks everyone, we so appreciate you and your patience during the shipping process!

Lisa - Level 1 Gamers

Happy Holidays! (And an exciting update!)
over 1 year ago – Sun, Dec 25, 2022 at 04:42:55 AM

Well we got a fantastic Christmas present this week: the cards have arrived!!

We just got the shipment Thursday morning, and I'm just stoked to start getting these cards out to you all! The poor FedEx guy had to bring each box to the door individually, since oddly enough FedEx decided not to keep them all together on the pallet, but rather put them all individually on the normal delivery truck. But hey, it worked out!

We will not begin shipping until sometime during January, that way we have time to get them all inspected and get all the packaging ready. (And get all the boosters put together!) We will be getting them done as quickly as we can while also maintaining our online store, so it will likely take a few weeks to get every order out. I will be locking addresses in backerkit when we begin fulfillment, so if you need to update your address please do so before January by using the original survey link :)

The metal cards are not ready, so I'll be sending out a free copy of the normal deck to all the metal deck backers to use until we get the metal sorted. I do apologize for the delay with those, to be completely honest with you guys, I found a good, reliable manufacturer who will be providing the blanks, (at the correct size), but the current barrier is just that the cost is considerably higher than I originally planned for. However, I've taken on several additional freelance projects in order to cover the cost difference from what I had originally budgeted for.  I definitely want to make sure you guys get your cards in a timely manner, and your patience is SO appreciated! This was the biggest project we've had to date, so while there have been some missteps, I will do my absolute best to get everything done. At this point, it will just take a bit longer than anticipated. The wait will be worth it, since the metal prints are just so cool to hold and look at.

Since a couple folks have asked, we will be using USPS for the majority of the shipments. For international, depending on the destination we will either be using USPS international, or UPS. This is the first time for me shipping through backerkit, but I believe that all the tracking and shipping info will be sent through their email system.

Now a holiday message:
I know the holidays are a time of joy for many, and can be super rough for others. Please know that no matter which category you may fall into this year, you matter, and even though I may not know you personally, I care and love each and every one of you! I hope you have a wonderful finish to 2022, and I'm looking forward to an exciting 2023! We've got several new projects in the pipeline, including the relaunch of our NPC deck, and an expansion to this deck here! I'm super happy to have you all along for the ride. The whole reason we got into running a small business was to be able to make people smile with our products, and I am so glad to have this deck and your support to continue doing so.

So to everyone, I wish you a VERY happy holidays, and a wonderful new year!
The next time we post an update, it'll be 2023! (And that update will likely have several images with the add-ons!)

Thank you so much, as always!  
Lisa - Level 1 Gamers
 

Printing complete!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 10:23:08 PM

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since the last update, because it's been fairly quiet on our end as we wait for manufacturing.  With that said, we do have an update: the printed decks are complete!

A couple days ago our manufacturer sent over the images of the big ol' pallet that's ready to head our way. I'm currently just waiting on the shipping information, which will likely be next week sometime once they've got it delivered to the carrier. (I was going to post this update once I got that but I figure I might as well let you guys know now!) They let me know that shipping overseas is currently about 45 days, so if there's no major delays we should still be good to start shipping early next year! With it being the holidays, it is possible that it may be longer, but I'll keep you guys posted if that occurs.

We are hitting our busy period on the side of our small business, so I likely will not be posting many updates during the month of December. Since the cards should just be en route during that time, I'll only update if there are any big changes. The booster pack cards are coming from a US based printer, since they are a much lower quantity. Because of that I don't think there will be any issues with those arriving soon.

For those with metal decks!
I'm still having a bit of an issue getting the metal cards, but we are talking with a manufacturer who may also be able to do the printing for us as well at a decent price to save time. Prices have changed a lot since our original bid, and trying to get the right size seems to require a custom order rather than what's available on-hand. Apparently poker sized cards are not nearly as common as credit and business card size. I'll admit, this was my first time attempting something like this, so I definitely did not foresee the challenges with this particular product. I really appreciate your patience while we navigate this, and learn better for the next time.

We want you guys to all have the decks in hand around the same time though, so if those metal cards still aren't ready when we begin shipping, we will send a copy of the standard to use in the meantime at no extra cost. Hopefully that won't be an issue, but just know that we will absolutely do our best to take care of you guys.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week as we get into the holidays! While the cards are out at sea, i most likely won't have too many updates, but please feel free to reach out if there are any questions!

Thanks,
Lisa - Level 1 Gamers

Manufacturer images!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 12:49:50 PM

Hello everyone!

I just got the email from the manufacturer minutes ago, and had to jump over here to share it with you all! 

I'm super pleased to show you the images for the deck! Now, this sample is still with the printer overseas, so I'm not sure exactly when I will have a physical copy in my hands, but it looks like they got some pretty good shots. 

Since I only just got the images, I haven't had a chance to inquire about the timeline to shipping just yet, but based on our initial conversations it sounds like from here it'll be a few weeks before they get it on the boat and on it's way here. 

Hope you guys enjoy the preview! It's super exciting to see the actual, physical product after working solely on the digital file for so long. 

Thanks, and have a great week everyone! 

Lisa - Level 1 Gamers

Worldspinner Partnership: Portrait Contest!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 20, 2022 at 01:08:59 PM

Good morning everyone, I've got some fun news for you all today!

This is in regards to our new deck, the Deck of Useful Things: NPC edition, but I thought you all might be interested in participating as well! 

I'm excited to announce that we are partnering with Worldspinner and their new app, PortraitWorks, to host a contest for you all to design a character that will be included in the Deck of Useful NPC's!

PortraitWorks is a mobile app that makes it easy to make fantasy character portraits, created from art elements hand-drawn by artists including myself. The basic app is free, with expansions you can purchase for even more options.

For this contest, we’ll take a portrait you create in PortraitWorks, and turn it into an original new work of art NPC for our deck!

Here's how it works:

1. Download the Portrait Works app and start building your NPC! – get it from https://portrait.works

2. Join Worldspinner's Discord at https://discord.com/invite/PAgNXzT

3. Head on over to the #DeckOfUsefulNPCs channel in that Discord (it’s in the PortraitWorks section) to upload your finished portrait, and include a brief description of the character including their name!

4. Everyone will have until October 31st to vote on their favorite character portrait. To vote, simply leave a red heart emoji on the portrait you're voting for in the discord channel. You can vote for as many as you'd like, but we will only be tallying the red hearts for the final vote. We will redraw the portrait with the most votes into the style of the deck, and your NPC will be included in the published deck!

You can upload your character to the Discord anytime from now until October 31st! (Please make sure that you are only uploading your submissions to the discord channel, we want to limit conversation in the channel so that all the entries are easy to find!)

The winner will not only have their character included in the deck, they will receive a free copy of the deck and a free upgrade for Portrait Works!

I'm super excited for this partnership, and I'm especially excited to see your creativity come to life!

Feel free to leave any questions you may have in the comments!

The Deck of Useful Things: NPC edition kickstarter can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level1gamers/the-deck-of-useful-npcs-goodies-vs-baddies

As for progress on the Deck of Useful Things, no major updates just yet. I'm still trying to get the metal cards sorted, but printed decks are currently in the printing process! The manufacturer will be mailing a copy of the sample via air mail so we should have it soon. I'll be posting plenty of pictures when it arrives!

Thanks everyone, the next update should be images of the printed deck! 

Lisa - Level 1 Gamers