The tabletop game that helps kids on the autism spectrum build confidence and social skills, one dragon at a time.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Critical Core kits are on their way to international hubs!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 12, 2022 at 11:36:11 AM
Hello backers!
Thanks for updating your address. We're eager to get packages to the right locations!
Some of you had questions around shipping logistics specifics, so we passed them along to our logistics partners.
Here were the answers we received:
What can we expect for transit time to the North America hub?
"Typically, it can take from 4-6 weeks transit time from the factory to the port in the US. Sometimes there is additional congestion at the port, and there's also sometimes the possibility of delays in customs. Those factors are unpredictable, so we usually communicate that the transit time is 6-8 weeks from China to a US port. This includes at least a 2 week buffer - 1 week for getting the goods from the port to the warehouse and 1 additional week for potential delays."
Are you aware of a backlog to/from any of the hubs?
"We are not currently aware of any "backlog", per se, but there is often some shuffling and shifting of fulfillment schedules at each of the hubs based on readiness. There can be some slight shifts in this queue to efficiently ship what is in the warehouse currently. This queue is used to manage hundreds of clients so positions may shift for any unplanned issues."
Do you know what our best/worst shipping times are for various regions?
"I can't think of any major holidays or things coming up that would affect this project, besides the possibility of unanticipated COVID closures or longer lead times for shipping from continued issues with truck/carrier capacity in the US."
The manufacturer also provided video of the assembly line, so you can see the whole process!
What an exciting thing to see the materials finally assembled!
As a reminder, if you backed the Kickstarter at any of the GOOD CAUSE levels (or even if you didn’t!), please make sure you share your suggested recipient for donated copies here: https://gametogrow.org/criticalcore/donate/
Our first priority is to get all of these kits out to backers and donation locations, and then we'll establish systems for selling and distributing to larger audiences. We're exploring partnerships with distributors and retailers, and will be establishing our own webstore. If you're a retailer interested in additional orders, please let us know!
If you have already been using Critical Core and care to share your experience, please let us know here:
https://gametogrow.org/criticalcore/shareatale/. Your stories of success help to bolster our team and remind us of the inspiration and good that is being done by all of you out in the world.
Thank you for your continued support of this long but worthwhile process, for standing by the vision of Critical Core and the mission of Game to Grow!
Best,
Adam Davis
Critical Core Lead Author
Game to Grow Executive Director
Critical Core boxes are on their way to international hubs!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 05, 2022 at 01:54:41 AM
Hello backers!
Thanks for your patience for more pics! We took some screenshots of the assembly that our manufacturer shared with us.
Assembly - Dice and Cards
Assembly - Character Sheets and Tokens
Assembly - Lids, and look at how much stuff is in that box!
Assembly - Weighing Station. After this it gets plastic wrapped and put in boxes together to be shipped
The past month and a half have been heavy with assembly and shipping logistics. As it turns out, shipping is complicated! We’re excited to share that for most of the games, freight shipping to the hubs is scheduled to depart this week. For EU/UK backers, we had to make some changes to our shipping method due to the Value Added Tax (VAT) required for the shipments. They are still headed your way, but freight will be leaving for the EU/UK hubs in early May. I believe we’ve said it before, but this product will be EU and UK shipping friendly. In other words, you will not be charged any additional fees to receive your copy of Critical Core due to VAT.
Even though we're approaching the fulfillment window, we can still manually change your shipping address. If you need to have your shipping address changed, please email [email protected]. Please include the name and email that you used in your backerkit, and your new address to be updated.
As a reminder, If you backed the Kickstarter at any of the GOOD CAUSE levels (or even if you didn’t!), please make sure you share your suggested recipient for donated copies here:
If you have been using Critical Core and care to share your story, please let us know here:
https://gametogrow.org/criticalcore/shareatale/. Your stories of success help to bolster our team and remind us of the inspirational and powerful work that is being done by all of you out in the world.
Your continued support of this project means a great deal for us. Thank you for all of your positive feedback and genuine excitement to receive Critical Core. We are beyond excited to finally have this delivered to your doorstep.
Warmly,
Adam Johns
Critical Core Lead Game Designer
Game to Grow Executive Director
Quick Update to Check your Email
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 01:15:40 AM
Hello Everyone,
This is just a very quick update to let you know to check your email for a message from Backerkit. We've just sent out a final notice for each of you to update your mailing address in Backerkit so that we can send accurate information to our manufacturer and shipper for final numbers. Please make sure that you go in and update your address before it locks in 2 days (48 hours).
If you're reading this message and Backerkit has already locked, DON'T PANIC! We have the ability to update your address several more times before the product actually ships to you. If you have tried to log into backerkit and it says that you cannot update your address, please send an email to [email protected] and we can add your address to a list to be updated before shipping is completed.
Warmly,
Adam Johns
Co-Executive Director, Game to Grow
Critical Core Box Assembling Starting this week!
over 2 years ago
– Sun, Feb 20, 2022 at 01:18:55 AM
Hello backers!
We mentioned in our last update that production has been underway, and now we're excited to share that box assembly is starting this week! We’re thrilled to receive (and to share) some manufacturing pictures. Now you can be aware of progress and see some of the pallets of Critical Core ready to assemble!
Tokens!
Box inserts!
GM Screens!
Character Sheets!
As we approach the shipping window, we’d love to make sure we have all of your addresses correct. Please log into BackerKit to make sure your game will be shipped to the right address: criticalcore.backerkit.com
We’ll let you know when the freight is on its way!
ALSO! If you backed the Kickstarter at any of the GOOD CAUSE levels (or even if you didn’t!), please make sure you share your suggested recipient for donated copies here: https://gametogrow.org/criticalcore/donate/
In other news, the digital-only module, “The Star of Elivagar” has been written and is being refined and fleshed out. As it gets further along we will be looking for playtesters to try it out! If you’re interested, keep an eye out for updates around that.
Finally, we’re moving forward with the Critical Core “how-to” videos. As you know, we want Critical Core players spending their playtime looking toward each other, not into rulebooks. We rely on Critical Core game masters to introduce and teach the game as they cultivate play. However, as we’ve implemented Critical Core games with hospitalized youth, we have seen firsthand how having a short intro video to teach the basic structure of the game will be a huge help to not only teach the basic structure of the game but help players who may be somewhat reluctant feel excited about collaborative storytelling. With the support of Robert Evans and Role Plays Media Network, we’ve secured recording equipment, written and edited shooting scripts, and plan to record the videos very soon!
Thank you all for your continued support. We can’t wait for you to have Critical Core at your doorstep!
Best,
Adam Davis
Critical Core Lead Author
Game to Grow Executive Director
Manufacturing is in full swing!
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, Dec 21, 2021 at 03:19:13 PM
Hello backers!
Things are staying busy over here at Game to Grow! We were pleased to see so many backers here in Seattle for Emerald City Comicon and in Philadelphia for PAX Unplugged. It was great to give enthusiastic supporters an opportunity to see the physical samples in person and to have both backers and new supporters play the game with our staff.
As per our last update (sorry for the long delay…we’ll be better about updates in the new year!), we’d sent all of the digital materials to the manufacturer, and we thought it was all ready for manufacturing! Turns out, the manufacturer needed us to reformat the card bleed lines again, so our team reformatted them and re-sent them.
We also had physical materials tested to make 100% sure they were safe for young players. That’s now completed and we updated the box art accordingly.
Everything is now in full swing. The final pieces are being manufactured and soon the boxes will be assembled to be shipped to backers and pre-order supporters.
In other Game to Grow news, we’re currently serving around 150 participants per week in our virtual RPG and Minecraft groups, and our training program is helping mental health professionals and educators use the Game to Grow Method and the concepts behind Critical Core in their own communities. We received a grant to train educators at no cost, so please reach out if you’re interested in training!
In more Game to Grow/Critical Core news, we’ve been using Critical Core in our recently expanded groups to serve youth in foster care, as well as our pilot programs for youth in hospitals. We have seen tremendous success in using Critical Core to bring a life-affirming RPG experience to participants who need that little bit of extra social support without having to learn an overly complicated game system.
Thank you all for your continued enthusiasm for this project! We’re all eagerly anticipating them arriving in person! If you have any comments for us, please share them with the team directly at [email protected], and if you have further stories from your game table, please let us know here:
