Updated April 25, 2024

Since writing the risk assessment section in January, a lot has happened and most of the pre-launch risks have been eliminated or overcome by events. Here's where the project stands on launch day:

In March, all artwork was completed, submitted to the manufacturer and approved.
In early April, five sample copies were received and reviewed. Minor issues were observed, such as the box size being a little bit too small, the insert design needing improvement, formatting issues on a couple of cards, and the storage bag for the cardboard tokens is a little too small.
During the next three weeks of the campaign, these issues will be discussed with the manufacturer and a V2 prototype will be created. Production is expected to start on schedule upon completion of the GameFound campaign.

Pre-Launch Discussion

As a backer of a few crowdfunding campaigns, I have been disappointed by creators who did not do their due diligence, resulting in some very long delays in fulfilling their rewards to backers. I have one game that’s over a year late, and another for which I paid, but never got my copy because the company closed their pledge manager and refused to let me back in. I’ve also spoken with a lot of people who’ve been burned by projects that went over budget and asked backers for more money after the fact, which is why I joined Stable Pledge.

Risk Mitigation

I am doing everything I can to minimize financial risk and schedule risk to you. And unlike many games, which often aren’t even fully playtested when their campaign goes live, I am planning the following steps, to eliminate as much risk as possible:

In mid January, the manufacturer and logistics partners will be officially announced. We are selecting some of the most reputable partners in the industry.
Artwork is already 95% complete and is scheduled to be 100% complete by the end of January. We are waiting on the final map, final bios and photos for Penguin Heroes, and the new cover art by Wingspan artist Natalia Rojas.
Waddle Waddle has been played at least 120 times, including blind playtests. The game mechanics are 100% solid. No major changes are expected. We will, however, be testing a handful of new Threat Cards, so minor rule change are possible in the coming two months.
The third revision of the rulebook, which will be completed a couple of weeks after artwork is finished, will be subjected to additional blind testing.
In March, we plan to begin pre-production. Which means signing a contract with the manufacturer, submitting all of the art assets and getting a hard schedule in place. Which also means we should have our first digital proofs before the campaign even launches on April 25.
I’ve been learning as much as possible about the process. For the past year I have been active in Facebook and Reddit groups dedicated to self publishing games. I’ve also been involved in a local Orlando group of game publishers. I’m also fortunate to have numerous friends who’ve been down this road before—people who’ve published games on Kickstarter.

Risks as I See Them

The biggest risks as I see them for this project are the activities to be carried out by the partner companies, which is why it’s of paramount importance to choose the most trusted partners. As those partners are announced, I will update this section.

Final Artwork Revisions

Though we have every intention of being in production before campaign start, by pledging to this project, you acknowledge that the final look, materials, and content of the rewards (and the project) are subject to change and may differ slightly from what is presented while the crowdfunding campaign was active.

Once ready to ship, Gamefound will send you a Pledge Manager email to confirm your shipping address and pay any shipping and other items that may be due. We ask that you confirm your pledge and cover all required costs within three months after the first Pledge Manager email was sent to all backers. If you do not do so, you agree that we have fulfilled our obligations to you in full for payment or donations received and no shipment will be made.

Shipping costs are as up to date as possible, and though we have based our Information on the latest rates, they may vary from those indicated in the 'Shipping' section, as they will be applied upon order confirmation in the Pledge Manager. Shipping weights and/or unforeseen shipping cost increases may occur once the pledges have been produced and are ready to ship.