Both of these games come from the same team that brought you Trailblazers... Spectral features a puzzly treasure hunt in a haunted manor, and Trailblazers: Sasquatch introduces a cooperative mode with a possible hidden traitor! Thanks to recent partnerships, we’ve even been able to implement cheaper shipping rates! Be sure to peruse the campaign page and check out the gameplay videos.
We hope to have your support once again :)
All the best,
Bitewing Games
Fulfillment Wrap-Up | Introducing Trailblazers: Sasquatch Expansion!
9 months ago
– Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 11:24:58 PM
Summary
Got Your Game? Rate It on BGG! Still Waiting For Your Game? Shoot Us An Email!
Brace Yourselves for Trailblazers: Sasquatch Expansion
Got Your Game? Rate It on BGG! Still Waiting For Your Game? Shoot Us An Email!
Hello dear blazers of all things trails!
I hope at this point that all of you have received your copy of Trailblazers and have been able to dive in to its puzzly route-building adventures. If so, then we would love to have your support by adding your rating to the Trailblazers page on Board Game Geek! Your experiences and enthusiasm will go a long ways to help our humble indie publishing company grow as more people find this killer game.
Some of you may have received a package with only part of your order. If you already emailed [email protected] about the issue, then we expect that your second package should arrive soon.
It’s possible that some of you have not received any package at all yet. If that is the case, then please email [email protected] to inquire about the status of your game.
Brace Yourselves for Trailblazers: Sasquatch Expansion
I know most of you are just barely getting started on blazing those trails. But Sasquatch waits for no-one. In fact, he’s sick and tired of all you humans disturbing the peace of his wooded abode. That’s why he’s putting on a disguise and aiming to sabotage your Trailblazing efforts!
We’re thrilled to reveal that the next expansion for Trailblazers will launch on Kickstarter in only a few short weeks and deliver in 2024. 🥳
Cooperate together to build hiking, biking, and kayaking loops in a shared area. But be careful, one player might secretly be a traitorous Sasquatch seeking to sabotage your trailblazing efforts! Sasquatch wants to be left alone and will thus do anything he can to keep pesky humans out of his woods — including undermining trail construction. If there is a Sasquatch in the game, then the other players (humans) want to find him!
Fulfillment Update | What Fits in the Clamshell Case | Regarding Your Experience | Follow Our Next Kickstarter Project!
10 months ago
– Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 12:53:24 PM
Summary
Fulfillment Progress Update
WhatFits in the Clamshell Case?
Regarding your Fulfillment Experience — Trailblazers and Beyond
For any shipping inquiries, parts replacements, address changes, fulfillment issues, or component defects, please email [email protected]
USA - Considered complete. Please email [email protected] if you haven’t received your complete order.
Australia - Considered complete. Please email [email protected] if you haven’t received your complete order.
Canada - Considered complete. Please email [email protected] if you haven’t received your complete order.
Asia - Nearly all orders have been shipped out. Last we checked, there were less than 10 that were still being processed for shipping out.
Europe - Currently in progress. The warehouse thinks they can have everything shipped out by the end of next week.
What Fits in the Clamshell Case?
Some of you Deluxe Backers have been asking us how to pack the game into the clamshell case. So here is Kyle with a helpful video of what you can fit in the case and how :)
Regarding your Fulfillment Experience — Trailblazers and Beyond
We know that most of you are happy with your experience in receiving your full order in a timely manner. We’re thrilled to have provided a positive experience for you. We also know that some of you have experienced delays, defects, or missing items as we worked to fulfill your pledge. On this regard, I like to provide you with an explanation and hopefully some transparency as to what is going on and where our process is headed.
When we launched this Trailblazers campaign (nearly a year ago), we were (and still are) a very young company. Thanks to your direct support, we’ve seen a lot of success and growth since then. In 2023, we’ve been making a ton of changes to improve our process and systems. As most of you know, we recently partnered with Allplay, a fellow publisher and thriving e-commerce company in this industry. In essence, they have adopted Bitewing Games into their organization for all post-production tasks including pledge manager, freight, fulfillment, warehousing, e-commerce sales, customer service, wholesale, and more.
This change has been a huge blessing for us, because Bitewing Games is still run by two working dentists (myself and Kyle) who also have our own families to take care of. This partnership with Allplay will allow Bitewing Games to focus on what we do best — create and share classy board games with a bite.
With any business transition, there will always be bumps in the road and kinks in the processes to iron out. Unfortunately, this transition has necessarily taken place during the fulfillment of Trailblazers, which means you backers have experienced the worst of it. This has resulted in issues such as us using a pledge manager system that Allplay isn’t accustomed to, resulting in some technical errors along the way (backers only receiving one game when they ordered multiple, shipments being delayed longer than usual, etc.). We’ve been working hard to resolve each individual case as quickly as possible, and we appreciate your patience during this process.
Moving forward, we’ll be using Allplay’s in-house pledge manager system to avoid these same software/fulfillment issues in future projects. Now that we have a more clear picture of our e-commerce structure (for selling Trailblazers and other games after the Kickstarter), we also have a plan to better reward backers who pledge for our projects.
Anyone who continues to support Bitewing Games in our future Kickstarter projects can look forward to these benefits:
Limited availability editions, add-ons, and deluxe upgrades (not available in the retail market)
Free and discounted rewards with bundle pledges (all of our upcoming Kickstarters will feature multiple new titles where you can get the most bang for your buck)
Subsidized shipping rates (matching the shipping rates on our new webstore)
A plethora of add-on options including products from both Bitewing Games and Allplay (games, bags, playmats, and more)
Retailer backers can pledge for limited availability items (not normally sold through wholesale)
Again, we can’t thank you enough for supporting Bitewing Games. None of these above plans and improvements would exist if not for your help. Trailblazers could not have been made without your support. You backers are the lifeblood of our games. We can’t wait to show you all of our upcoming games, plans, and improvements that have come about thanks to your pledge.
Follow Our Next Kickstarter Project
Speaking of upcoming games, this August we plan to launch our next Kickstarter project featuring two more games from the designer of Trailblazers, Ryan Courtney. One is a brand new title (mentioned last update), Spectral. The other is a secret expansion we’ve been working on for Trailblazers! If you’d like to follow along, then be sure to subscribe to the prelaunch page! Kickstarter will notify you the moment it launches.
Fulfillment Update | Introducing our next game from Trailblazers designer, Ryan Courtney — Spectral
11 months ago
– Wed, May 31, 2023 at 10:41:21 AM
Summary
Shipping Update
Introducing our next game from Trailblazers designer, Ryan Courtney — Spectral
Shipping Update
For any shipping inquiries, parts replacements, address changes, fulfillment questions, or component defects, please email [email protected]
I will be traveling during the beginning of June and unable to respond to your emails, so the email address above is your best bet.
USA - fulfillment is complete, you can email [email protected] for missing product or replacements, etc.
Europe - the container was offloaded on the 24th and is in route to our fulfillment center. Fulfillment will begin in June!
Canada - The games arrived at the Amazon Fulfillment center on the 24th. Last I heard, they were being checked in with fulfillment starting thereafter.
AU/NZ - Aetherworks has just barely shipped out nearly all orders (a few remaining stragglers are going out this week). Your package should arrive soon!
Asia - VFI Asia is starting fulfillment this week. Please note that it can take several weeks, sometimes even a few months, for your package to arrive after it is shipped out, depending on your country and its shipping infrastructure.
Introducing our next game from Trailblazers designer Ryan Courtney — Spectral
2-5 Players | 30 Minutes | Ages 14+
Legend tells of the abandoned Spectral Manor coming to life at the stroke of midnight on a Crimson Moon — an event that rarely takes place more than once per century. On that night and that night alone, vast treasures appear in certain rooms granting unspeakable wealth to those brave enough to find and claim them. But those who enter this mansion do so at their peril, as some rooms awaken ghosts and curses which claim any who are foolish enough to enter. Rumors speak of glyphs and sigils found within the manor only on Crimson Moon night; these markings offer hints and clues — indicating both where treasures can be found and where paranormal traps lie in wait.
In Spectral, players control competing bands of treasure hunters. These bands enter the Spectral Manor on the night of the Crimson Moon and race to uncover and stake out the locations of the treasures before midnight. As they discover and decipher the glyphs, they’ll carefully avoid rooms where demons secretly slumber and selfishly keep such information from their rivals. Meanwhile, locations of the manor that promise to conjure the most treasure will see multiple clans clashing over the territory. Through deduction, bidding, betting, and bluffing, players will uncover and harness the secrets within. The game ends after any player has placed out all of their treasure hunters or if all players consecutively pass. The band who claims the most treasure while avoiding cursed rooms will come away victorious.
Featuring:
Strong player interaction on a shared board with push-your-luck risk taking in this haunted manor treasure hunt
A refreshing combination of mechanisms including inter-card worker placement, auction-style betting, and clever deduction
Non-fragile logic deduction (nobody can accidentally give out bad info and break the game)
A satisfyingly tailored experience with multiple challenge levels (beginner mode, standard mode, and advanced modules)
Immersive artwork and graphics by Kwanchai Moriya and Brigette Indelicato (the art team behind Zoo Vadis)
US Shipping Update | Message for Retailers | Share Your Photos and Reviews!
12 months ago
– Wed, May 10, 2023 at 11:20:59 AM
Summary
US Shipping Update and Message for Retailers
International Fulfilllment
Help us by sharing your photos and reviews!
US Shipping Update & Message for Retailers
Quick update on US fulfillment: all packages have now been shipped out! Some folks have not received a shipping notification email, but they have received their package. So if you have not received an email or package yet, please give it several more days for one or the other (or both) to arrive. We expect that all US backers will receive their packages within the next week or so.
That said, we encountered a spreadsheet error that mostly affects US retailer backers. For any backer that ordered multiple copies of the same edition, the fulfillment spreadsheet error resulted in us only shipping you one copy of that edition (instead of multiple). We have now identified this issue and are working to ship your remaining copies this week. Our apologies for the mixup!
If you are a retailer, then we also have a direct contact for you! Mark at Allplay is their sales rep and your best source for direct retail orders moving forward. If you want to order more copies of Trailblazers for your retail store, or any other titles from Bitewing Games or Allplay, then please reach out to him at [email protected] . Allplay is now offering great incentives and customer service for retailers who order directly from them, so feel free to reach out and ask!
International Fulfillment
International fulfilllment is still in progress, and there isn't much to add from last week's update. But Allplay has now shipped out the orders to the Amazon Canada warehouse, so those are in motion to begin fulfillment later this month.
Help us by sharing your photos and reviews!
Despite the great recent success we've had including your Kickstarter support and critical acclaim for Trailblazers, we are still a very small and relatively unknown publisher! Now that you backers are starting to receive Trailblazers, we hope to have your continued support so we can grow and bring you even more great games. Here are two massive ways you can help us:
Share your ratings and comments on BoardGameGeek.com! Your infectious enthusiasm and experiences will help many more board gamers to find and enjoy Trailblazers. You can do this on the Trailblazers page here.
Share photos of your trails and tag @BitewingGames and @RCCGames (Ryan Courtney) on social media! We love to see all the winding trails you have blazed.
Some of you are already sharing your photos, here is one from last night!
Loving that Kayaking life
Your photos and comments even reeled me back in to another solo challenge late last night (when I should have gone to bed):
I don't recommend the Blazer challenges until you've had some good practice in the Tenderfoot and Voyager achievements. These are tough, and this one took me three attempts!
One thing we love about Trailblazers is that it is very photogenic, and so we look forward to seeing your photos!
