ROBA fulfillment update and other exciting news
over 4 years ago – Wed, Oct 02, 2019 at 11:58:39 PM

The time is now!

ROBA is in our hands. As of this morning both of our fulfillment centers have received their shipments and fulfillment is, at last, underway! 

Truth be told, our US fulfillment partners Studio2 Publishing actually received their shipment about a week ago. They've been hard at work getting the game out into the world and some of you may have already received notice that your game is in the post. 

The EU shipment took a little longer to get here but it arrived this morning in good condition and our preparations are on track. Backers in Ireland, the UK, other EU countries and Israel will be receiving their copies from the EU center. All other copies will be shipped from Studio2 in the US. Tracking numbers will be provided so you can follow your order's progress as it makes its way to you.

We're so excited to finally be sharing ROBA with you!

Join the Conversation

ROBA community groups have already started to spring up which is really exciting to see. People are getting to know each other on the ROBA Heroes Facebook page while they wait for their games to arrive and someone nabbed the r/RadtiantOBA subreddit back during our Kickstarter campaign. We have also created a Discord server which can be found here. The discord server is the only community page which is directly managed by the ROBA team, but we will keep an eye on the other groups and whatever others may pop up. 

If you're posting about ROBA on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #ROBA.

Launch Events

ROBA is all about community and competitive play! In that spirit there will be launch events taking place throughout the month of October. A full list of these will be posted soon on our social media channels and via a Kickstarter update. There will be exclusive full-bleed artwork promotional cards and a rare Itotia playmat (only 50 will ever be printed) manufactured by UltraPro for participating retailers and playgroups. If you're interested in hosting a launch event please contact us at [email protected]

Closing Thoughts

ROBA is a dream. It started on a rainy day in Ireland on a train from Dublin to Cork and a question: "I wonder if this would work...?"

Every time we hit a major milestone with this project I tell myself it isn't real yet. Game ready for Kickstarter? Not real yet. Successful Kickstarter campaign? Not real yet. Final proofing copy in hand? Not real yet. Games are on the boat? Not real yet. Games are ready for fulfillment? Not real yet.

ROBA will be real to me, at last, when I see a stranger playing it and having fun. It's been a long road to bring it this far and we're so close now, it's just a little bit further to the finish line. I hope you enjoy playing ROBA as much as I enjoyed making it and I can't wait to hear your stories with the game and to see where we can take it together.

With the most sincerity I can possibly summon: thank you for all your support so far. I'll see you in the arena.

- Jack

ACTION REQUIRED - Lock your address for ROBA Delivery
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 12:44:59 AM

Dear Backers,

Just a quick update today to inform you that we will be locking the final addresses to which we will be delivering your copies of ROBA this week. The last chance you will have to change your address before delivery will be Saturday August 31st at 23:59 UTC. 

If you have changed address since initially filling out your backer survey you can edit your address in backerkit by visiting https://roba.backerkit.com/. If your address is the same, and will remain the same within our estimated delivery window (please see our previous update for more information) then no action is required.

You will receive a final email notice from Backerkit 48 hours before we lock addresses. 

Best wishes ,

- The ROBA team

ROBA is on the road!
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 26, 2019 at 05:44:23 PM

Dear Backers, 

At last, ROBA has left the factory and has hit the road. Last we heard from the factory the game was on a truck heading for Shanghai, from where it will ship to our distribution centers in the USA and Europe. From there we will ship your games to you, wherever in the world you may be.

Things get a little fuzzy from here - We've divided our stock between the two centers according to the number of orders from each region and those two consignments will ship separately. We're gonna start sending your copies out as soon as they are in our warehouses, and this means that depending on which boat arrives at its destination first, it is likely to be the case that backers in different regions will receive their copies at different times.

I know the question on everyone's mind now: How long? The standard estimate for slow-boat shipping from China is between six and eight weeks. Fulfillment from our warehouses will likely take between one and two weeks due to the number of orders we will have to fill. Obviously, this means that we have exceeded our initial estimated date for delivery by several weeks. For this we offer our sincere apologies. 

How did this happen? Ultimately it was down to two key issues: finding the right manufacturer and delivering the best possible product. We spoke to a wide range of manufacturers following the conclusion of the Kickstarter campaign - looking for the right partner to help bring ROBA to market in a way that matched our vision. This process of vetting manufacturers took longer than anticipated and the manufacturer we eventually did partner with was one we discovered late in the process. 

Working with that manufacturer to ensure the highest level of quality also took time. We went through several rounds of proofing to ensure that ROBA met our standards, and we're proud of the product that we will be delivering to you - but that quality was achieved through a painstaking and time consuming process of involving team members in Europe, China and the USA. Our proofing copies are certainly well traveled.

So ROBA is later than we'd hoped - that's disappointing, but I like the think that the delay has been for the right reasons. I'm immensely proud of the game we are delivering and I'm so excited to get it into your hands and share it with you.

Next time you hear from us we will be preparing to deliver your games from our fulfillment centers. As ever, if you have any questions between now and then, please don't hesitate to get in touch!

Best regards,

- Jack

Update regarding ROBA and US Trade Tariffs
almost 5 years ago – Tue, May 21, 2019 at 02:05:21 PM

Hi all!

This update is primarily of interest to our American backers. If your copy of the game is not being delivered to an address in the United States, then you can stop reading this email right now!

To all of our US backers: It is likely that by now you have heard the news that board and card games manufactured in China (as ROBA is) could soon become subject to a 25% import tariff. Regardless of whether or not this tariff comes into effect before ROBA arrives at our US distribution center, it will not effect the cost to you, the consumer. 

While it is likely that these tariffs would drive up prices for future Heel Turn Games releases or subsequent print runs of ROBA, you guys and girls have already paid your money and will not be asked to pay anything more by us.

If you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to let us know!

First Proof
about 5 years ago – Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 01:21:58 AM

Dear backers,

Today I want to share something pretty cool with you: the first ROBA proofing has arrived. We started work on this game on August of 2014 – almost five years ago! Holding this box in our hands today is just the most exciting feeling. Of all the big milestones in ROBA’s development, this is one of the most emotional for me. Seeing all our hard work take form into something you can hold in your hands… I think there’s something in my eye.

As you can see from the photographs, things are looking pretty good. The packaging and print quality are excellent and there are only a couple of small issues for correction. We’re committed to delivering you a top-quality product – so we want to make sure everything is absolutely perfect before we move to mass production.

The three small corrections we’re making are as follows:

The back-of-box text needed a bit more margin space (as you can see in the photo, it’s hugging the edge of the box a bit too closely). This was a super easy five-minute fix.

There was a slight issue with the colour balance of our navy card backs (the one we use for skill cards) – too much black ink. This was another easy fix. We’ve added more blue to the balance and lightened it up a bit, which should solve the problem.

We are printing ROBA on 305g Arjo Black Core card stock. This a high-quality card stock used by industry leading games like Magic: The Gathering. The proof copy we received used a linen finish – the kind you might find on casino-grade poker cards. They’re nice – but they feel a little floppy. We’re ordering a second proof today with a gloss finish: applying a few layers of varnish to the cards which will both stiffen up the cardstock and make you cards a bit more hard wearing (assuming you’re the kind of heartless monster who doesn’t sleeve their cards… but surely none of our wonderful backers could ever be so callous. Right?).

The turnaround time on these sample copies is pretty fast – the factory is able to run them out in a matter of days and then they’re fed-exed out of China, directly to a member of ROBA HQ – so we expect to have more news soon.

So keep your eyes peeled and your blade sharp. It won’t be long now.