Puzzle Production Update - November/December
over 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 30, 2021 at 09:46:39 PM

Hi Puzzle Backers!

We hope y'all are doing well heading into the holiday season. I've got some updates on how Anatomy Puzzle production is going. First, a quick reminder that the Pledge Manager has been sent out, and is required to receive your puzzles.  If you haven't given us your shipping information and confirmed your order, please take a minute to do so: you can search for BackerKit in your email or recover your login here using your Kickstarter email.

Production Update

Since our last update, our manufacturing partners created the metal die molds used to cut the puzzles, created the first samples for 4 of the 5 puzzles, and shipped them to us. We're very happy with how they've turned out! 

Part of the challenge of featuring organs is ensuring there is enough texture and color variety throughout the art so the puzzle is challenging but not frustrating or boring, and we think the artist, Mesa, did an excellent job creating these. 

That said, after assembling the puzzles, there are a couple quality-of-life changes we want to make to the puzzles before final printing. This will require a few art enhancements and replacing one of the die molds we had already had made. This may add a bit of time to production, though not necessarily, as we have already been waiting for the final puzzle die mold. If it does take a bit longer, we think it will be worth it to have an extra round of care put into making these really great. 

So where does that put us? Delivering this Kickstarter is one of our top priorities as a company, though moving forward often requires waiting on proofs or samples from the manufacturer. We have decided *not* to try to rush into production before Chinese New Year (the month-long break in manufacturing around February). We want to make sure we can review and assemble all of the updated puzzles before production. This means we likely won't begin production until February-March, and we don't expect to begin fulfillment until May-June. We'll continue to make every effort to move things quickly, but want to make sure y'all can enjoy these puzzles for years to come, and are willing to fall a few months behind to do the best job we can. We hope you'll agree once you receive the final products!

Let us know if you have any questions, or any issues with the pledge manager. Thanks!

Steve & The Genius Games Team

Production Update & Pledge Manager
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 21, 2021 at 02:33:48 PM

Hello Puzzle Backers!

Today I have a quick production update and information about the Pledge Manager, which is going out today. Filling out the pledge manager is required to receive your puzzles, so please make sure you get a chance to do this.

Production Update

Our production partner is currently producing our first samples. They use a specialty die manufacturer who will bend a bunch of metal die blades that are used to cut the puzzle from the completed works into individual puzzles. 4 of the 5 dies are currently being finalized and produced, and the final one (which needed another round of adjustments) will follow shortly. We expect to get the first sample puzzles in the next couple of weeks. We are running a bit behind our intended schedule, but things are coming along well.

Pledge Manager

The "Pledge Manager" emails for most backers will go out today (some test emails were sent over the weekend). These emails come from BackerKit and are used let you to complete your order and enter your shipping information. Once again, filling out the pledge manager is required to receive your puzzles. For most backers, it's very quick to fill out, so please do this soon (and don't forget). You will be able to change your order for the next couple months, and can change your shipping address up until we're ready to begin fulfillment.

If you chose a reward for 1 or 3 puzzles, you will pick which puzzles you want in the survey questions on BackerKit. You also have the option to change your reward level or add a selection of our other games and puzzles, if you'd like (availability will vary by region). Note that BackerKit will automatically calculate your shipping costs (including any relevant taxes), but it needs your address, so the numbers may look off until you get everything entered. 

If you have any issues or questions related to the pledge manager, email us at [email protected] and we'll get it taken care of. 

That's it for now! Look for those emails and let us know if you have any questions!

Steve & The Genius Games Team

Thanks for your support! What's next?
over 2 years ago – Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 07:58:16 AM

Hello Puzzle Backers!

Thanks, all of you, for joining us for this next round of Human Anatomy Puzzles. We're thrilled to get to make these, and we think you'll love them. The illustator Mesa has done something very special with the vivid and detailed art, and we think they will make for some really fun puzzles.

Here's what comes next:

Pledge Manager

We will be sending out the Pledge Manager within the next month or so. You'll get an emailed link to confirm your shipping information and make any decisions about your rewards, including which puzzles you want (if you didn't get the full set). We'll probably also have some of our other games and puzzles available, if you're interested in adding them to your order.

Production Timeline and Updates

We're still at work getting these ready to print. We are hoping to have the die lines (patterns for how the pieces are cut) finalized and produce samples soon, then we'll head into production. We'll send updates every month or so during this process.

That's it for now! Let us know if you have any questions in the comments, KS Message, or email ([email protected]). We'll be in touch soon!

Steve & The Genius Games Team

Funded & Off to a Great First Week!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 08:49:37 PM

Hello Puzzlers!

Welcome to our latest Anatomy Puzzle Kickstarter. We've had a great first week of the campaign and have been hard at work in the office. We hit our funding goal in under an hour and are on track to pass our first Puzzle Kickstarter today - amazing! Thank you all.

Preproduction Process and Timeline

We started working on these puzzles about a year and a half ago, with our artist and Medical Illustrator Mesa Schumacher brainstorming which organs or other body parts would make for beautiful, interesting, and fun puzzles. After some intense office debates about whether the intestines or brain have more charisma, Mesa she started making sketches and eventually complete illustrations. Next, we created puzzle die lines that would trace and highlight key anatomical features.

At this point, we're mostly done with this process. If you were on our last Puzzle Kickstarter for the full 10' human, you know that creating the final lines took quite a while. This time we did it before launching the campaign, to keep to a quicker turnaround.

We're currently finishing plans with the manufacturer, and then they'll create the actual metal dies that cut the puzzle sheets into pieces. They should create our first samples in the next month or so, then we'll assemble and review them. Assuming everything looks great, we begin production around November, leaving some extra time for ocean freight for fulfillment in February. The pandemic and subsequent shipping issues have added some unpredictability to this timeline, but we think we're well prepared to follow this schedule. 

Other Puzzles - Available Now & in the Pledge Manager

There have been a few questions about the international availability of our other Puzzles and Games right now, and as a part of this campaign.  We currently have stock available in the U.S. and Europe, and we plan to offer some options as add-ons in the Pledge Manager. (The Pledge Manager is the service we'll use to have you select which puzzles you want and to manage your shipping information.)

In the U.S. we currently have all of our games and puzzles available, including our new Anatomy Floor Puzzle for Kids. We'll probably offer a selection of this stuff in the pledge manager as well, but you can get it now if you prefer.

If you're in Europe, our Genius Games website has an EU page (which should redirect automatically) where you can see what games and puzzles we currently have in stock. There are a few sets of the full body puzzles left, and the Kids' Puzzles haven't arrived yet. Europe will be restocked later this year, and we'll make that extra stock available in the Pledge Manager as well. 

That's it for now! We'll keep you updated on our progress. Let us know if you have any questions!

Steve & The Genius Games Team