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Canopy

Created by Tim Eisner

Pre-order the Canopy deluxe or retail game and the Canopy puzzle. We are now only accepting order that ship to addresses in the USA.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Games on Boats (Mostly)
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 02, 2021 at 01:54:33 AM

Hello Canopians!

I am very excited to report that 3 of our 4 freight shipments of games are on their way. Games headed to our EU, UK, and China fulfillment partners are en route and I have updated timelines and shipment info below. Unfortunately, the shipping situation to North America is a bit more complicated (and it is the largest shipment) and we are waiting to secure a container and space on a boat. But the plan and logistics are all in place so with luck those games should soon be on their way. Below is the current info I have for each.

Asia and all Worldwide Destinations (outside of Europe, USA and Canada)

The games arrived at our fulfillment partner VFI late last week and will begin shipping out by the end of this week. I sent out a final address update notification last week through Backerkit and the addresses are now locked. However, if you still need to update your address please email me at [email protected] by  no later than Wednesday, August 4th. 

Shipments from VFI can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks as they ship to most locations through regional hubs and wait to consolidate shipments until they have enough games going to the hub. Most games shipping through VFI should arrive to backers somewhere between the end of August and the end of September. I'll have more firm details on individual countries, once I submit the final order of games to them, but be on the lookout for delivery notification emails in the next two weeks. 

European Union

The Canopy ocean freight shipment headed to the EU is bound for Fulfillment Europe in Germany. Here is the vessel and departure and arrival dates if you want to track the shipment online: Vessel Number : SIMULATION / 0001W, Estimated Departure:  Sun 01/Aug .Estimated Arrival: Mon 30/Aug. (There are several different sites which track ocean freight that can be found with a simple online search)

We are currently scheduled to arrive on August 30th. I am hoping the games will clear port and customs in 2-3 weeks, so with luck we will be shipping out to backers in the EU in the last part of September. Many ports have been backed up this year so it could take a little longer. I'll keep you updated along the way. We'll be locking addresses for these games around the first of September. 

Retail Versions in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and France

As I wrote about in the previous update the localized retail version of Canopy in these European countries will be happening in early October. As this is in the same time frame as the Kickstarter delivery I will gladly refund any European backers who would prefer to get the game in their own language. Please email me as soon as possible if you would like to get a refund. 

United Kingdom 

The games headed to the UK can be tracked with this information: Vessel Identification : APL FULLERTON 0FM7RW1MA, Est. Departure: July 29, Est. arrival: August 25

With an estimated 2-3 weeks to get from port, through customs and to our fulfillment partner Spiral Galaxy, the games will be be hopefully headed to backers in the UK by mid to late September. We'll be locking addresses around September 1st. 

USA and Canada

Unfortunately, as I mentioned above we are still waiting for a container and space on a boat. These are both difficult to come by and quite spendy, but we have trusted freight partners who are doing their best to get the games moving as quickly as possible. I am hoping with luck that we will have the games on the water by the middle of August at the latest and to our fulfillment partner D6 by the end of September. If no other unforeseen hurdles show up, we will hopefully be shipping out games by early October. As we don't have the container yet, this is the least firm timeline and I will update in the next week or two once we get the shipment moving. 

I am extremely excited that games will soon be heading out to you all and only wish I could get them all to arrive right now. Thank you so much for your patience, support, understanding and enthusiasm during this entire process. You all are awesome and I can't wait for Canopy to arrive on your table. 

Tim

Shipping Update and Retail Partnerships
over 2 years ago – Fri, Jul 16, 2021 at 03:25:30 AM

Hello Canopy Backers!

I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful month of July. Today I want to share the current progress of the games through shipping, and give you an update on the retail release of Canopy that is scheduled for this fall. This will be a bit of a longer update as I wanted to do my best to convey the entire situation. 

Shipping

This has been a wild year for shipping and I sometimes feel like I am in the movie "Groundhog's Day". repeating the same actions every week. I was pretty confident that shipping was fully locked and in place 3 weeks ago and then on Monday of this week I was notified by the manufacturer that the shipping partner wanted to split the shipment into smaller shipments to get them loaded faster and keep costs down. This was after reconfiguring the shipment several times in June to keep up with the changing shipping environment. 

It is quite frustrating, as I had been told by the manufacturer that the games would be all packed and ready for pick up on the 7th of July, and apparently they are yet to be packed. However, it is a tough year so I am doing my best to have patience with all parties, and if the new configuration of cargo will help get the games out quicker, I am all for it. 

We will hopefully have finalized the new shipping plan by tomorrow and then I will send the final payment for the games to the manufacturer so they can be released to the shipping company next week. I am very excited for the games to finally be on their way to you all and I want to thank you for your patience throughout this process!

European Retail Release

I am very excited to be partnering with several publishers in Europe for localization of Canopy into different languages. I partnered with Lucky Duck Games to organize the localization agreements and we currently have partners in Germany, France, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.  The European retail release is scheduled for early October and the game they will be releasing is the retail version of Canopy that was available in the Kickstarter and will not include any deluxe components. It is fantastic to have the game be able to reach a wider audience and to be printed in languages outside of English. 

However, the execution and timing of the retail releases in Europe is potentially problematic as there is a chance that the games will be available in retail before it arrives to some backers. If that happens, it will break one of my key goals and promises: to get the game to backers before it is available in retail. As backers of the project you are integral to making the printing of the game possible and have put down your hard earned money very far in advance to support a game that didn't even exist at the time. To have the game become available to non-backers first can be very frustrating. Additionally, to have the game be available in a backer's native language, when they have supported an English language version of the game can be very disappointing.

I totally understand any frustration and disappointment and want to offer my sincere apologies for this situation. I am not happy about it and I own the fact that if this happens, one of my campaign promises will be broken.  I sincerely apologize, and if I could correct it or change it I would. First, I would like to explain how this regrettable circumstance arose, and then I will offer what remedy I can. 

European Retail Release History

When I first talked with Lucky Duck Games the plan was to do a combined print run of Canopy with Panda Games Manufacturing in China. I informed them that I wanted to deliver the games to backers a month before any retail release and at the time it seemed likely that the games would arrive to backers in June of this year, so a retail release of July was scheduled.

In late March, with shipping prices from China to Europe skyrocketing, Lucky Duck decided it would be cheaper to print the games in Europe. I was busy finalizing the manufacturing at the time and it wasn't until late April that I realized that splitting up the manufacturing might be problematic. This was when Lucky Duck got ahold of me and informed me that they would be ready for a retail release in July. 

I quickly got ahold of Lucky Duck and informed them that my manufacturing of the games was taking a bit longer, and that we had to contend with the additional time of ocean freight, and I requested that they delay the release until September.  They spoke with their partners and everyone agreed that this was feasible. 

Almost as soon as they had agreed to wait, the shipping world descended into further tumult and delays to loading and unloading at port were going to add an additional month onto our delivery timeline. I reached out to Lucky Duck again, asking that we delay the games release until November or December. This was a big ask, as the games would have already been printed and would be sitting in a warehouse since late June. 

Lucky Duck was understanding of the concern and issue for backers, but they informed me that early October was the latest they could push back the retail release, while still giving time for the games to get into stores for the holiday season. This was in mid-May, and at that point, it seemed likely that, even with the shipping delays, we could get the games to all backers by the end of September, so I agreed. 

We were pretty confident we would be delivering by September, until I received the MPC and the Deluxe bag was made of the wrong material. This added another several weeks to our timeline and the shipping situation has only worsened. So while I still hold out some hope that we will be able to get all the games to backers before the retail release, it is increasingly likely that some games may be available in Europe before all of the Kickstarter pledges ship out. 

Solutions?

Unfortunately, at this time, while I have learned a lot of valuable lessons, I don't see any easy solutions. I do not feel it is fair to my retail partners to ask them to delay the release any further.  Our publishing partners will be releasing the retail version of the game, which will include all of the game content, but none of the deluxe materials which are only available to Kickstarter backers.

For backers in a country/language where a localized version of the game will be available, I can offer you a full refund of your pledge if you would like to purchase the retail version in your own language. Please email me at info (at) weirdcitygames.com and I will get that set up for you. For backers everywhere I offer my sincere apologies that the game may be available in some regions before your pledges arrive. 

Thank you for your understanding and support and please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or other issues you would like addressed. 

Sincerely, 

Tim Eisner

Production Update and Shipping News
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jun 17, 2021 at 11:29:26 PM

Hello Canopy Backer!

In today's update I will cover the current timeline for production and final assembly of the games. I will also touch on the current state of shipping and how that is affecting out campaign. I'll do my best to keep it short and sweet, while giving you all the information we currently have available. 

Production

The team at Panda Manufacturing was quickly able to source the correct fabric for the deluxe bag and began production on that last week.  Production should wrap up soon on the bag and they will start packing the games. They will then assemble all the games and get them loaded into cartons and ready for shipping.  Our current ready for ship date is July 7th which means the games will hopefully ship out about 2 weeks after that. Speaking of shipping...

Shipping

As many of you have likely heard, international shipping is in a world of hurt right now, with long delays and spiking prices for shipping containers.  As such I have been working closely with our freight shipping and fulfillment partners to find the best plan for getting the games from the factory in China to fulfillment centers in the US and Europe. This has involved a good amount of back and forth and gathering info from multiple parties but we have arrived at a solution that should get the games moving as quickly as possible, while also keeping costs as low as possible. I have submitted the final shipping plan to Panda and they are now working with our freight partners to set up the handoff of the games. 

Timeline for USA, Canada, and Europe

With luck we should get the games onto boats around July 20th. Accounting for about 1 month of ocean transit the games should arrive at port around August 20th. There have been delays at ports worldwide ranging from a few days to a few weeks but hopefully we can get the games into port and headed to our fulfillment centers in the US and UK by early September. It will take about two weeks to have the games arrive and be processed so they can be shipped out. So with luck we will starting shipping games in US, Canada, UK and the EU in late September. 

Timeline for the Rest of the World

For games headed outside of the regions listed above, they will be trucked to our fulfillment center in China and sent out as soon as possible. Many of the shipments from VFI, our fulfillment partner in China, are bundled together with other shipments to lower costs. This sometimes means they will wait to ship out games until they have enough games from multiple publishers. But I expect all games to be en route from China by the end of July and they usually take between a few weeks and a month to arrive. 

Thank you as always for your enthusiasm and patience. The shipping landscape is uncertain and further delays may occur, but I promise to keep you all informed at every step along the way and I feel confident that we will get the games to you before too long. 

Tim 

Manufacturing Production Copy of Canopy
almost 3 years ago – Mon, Jun 07, 2021 at 08:45:55 AM

Hi Canopy Backer!

It is a very exciting week here in Portland, Oregon as we received the final MPC (Manufacturing Production Copy) of Canopy on Tuesday. There is nothing quite like holding the final print version of a game that you have been working on for years. It is a culmination so much work and support all of which was only an idea 2 1/2 years ago. Thank you all for being part of this and carrying the game to this point. 

I love that Panda Manufacturing gift wrapped the MPC.

How Does it Look?

The good news is the production copy looks fantastic! All of the art is bright and vibrant, the punchboard cuts are clean, and the components are all accounted for. The game components feel very nice and sturdy and we are happy with almost everything. 

Bright colors and clean cuts on the punchboard
The cards are looking great!

Paper Wrapping and Box Stickers

This was our first time seeing the paper wrapping for the deluxe boxes and the box stickers on the printed retail and puzzle boxes. The deluxe paper wrap looks clean and nice and it should protect the boxes from any scratches or dings during shipping. The box stickers are sturdy and hold the games securely and I was able to peel them off without leaving any residue on the boxes. Overall, we are very happy with how these turned out. 

Deluxe box in paper wrapping and open with cloth bag and cards.

Back to the Bag

Unfortunately, there seems to have been a mix up with the bag material and the factory ended up printing on the thinner polyester fabric. This is a huge bummer as this caused significant delays earlier in the process and now it will cause another delay as they reprint the bags. The project manager for the manufacturer tells me that the reprinting and packing of the bags will take about 20 days. I am not sure if this means our entire timeline is pushed back 20 days or if this will overlap a bit with other aspects of the final assembly of the games. I hope to have more info on this soon and will share it when I do.

The bag on the left is what was included in the MPC, while the bag on the right is a sturdier linen fabric that we asked for.

Unique Box Markings

The only other issue we found was that the Deluxe boxes did not have unique numbering. We were expecting and planning on this from the get go and somehow it got left out in the final printing. Fortunately, the factory says they will still be able to apply these without impacting our timeline. 

Unique numbering is missing from the deluxe box

Next Steps

The major question right now is how the reprinting of the bags will affect our timeline. I should hear back from the manufacturer next week sometime with an update on when the games will be ready to ship out. I  am hoping we can still have the games ready to go by the end of June, or early July at the latest. 

In the meantime, I have sent in approval for all components except the Deluxe bag and box so the manufacturer can start assembling all of the retail games and puzzles. Over the next few weeks they will be printing cartons and packing the games, and then building out the pallets and prepping everything for the ocean freight journey. I'll be back in two weeks with another update and more info on our timeline. 

Thank you for bringing this game to life and for your patience with this process. I am very excited that we are closing in on the home stretch and that the games will be delivered to your tables before too long. 

Tim 

Updated Timelines for Manufacturing and Shipping
almost 3 years ago – Thu, May 13, 2021 at 10:02:59 PM

Hello Canopy Crew,

While production of the game is moving along nicely, the state of worldwide shipping is quite fraught with many delays and unexpected hurdles. In this update I'll cover the current state of production, our estimated timeline to delivery, and what fun is happening in the world of ocean freight.

The Good

Canopy is moving through the production process and we are expecting the MPC (manufacturing production copy) to be sent to us at the start of June. Once that is received, and everything looks good, Panda will assemble all of the copies of Canopy and have them ready to load onto ships by the end of June. 

The Bad

Our ocean freight partner has informed us that ocean shipping is possibly in the worst state he has ever seen it. This unfortunately means long delays. He told me that the current delay to get product onto boats is worse than it is during the normal holiday rush. The normal wait time to get product onto a boat is usually around a week and now it is taking 2 or 3 times as long depending on the destination. These shipping backups are also creating knock-on effects extending the time it takes to get goods unloaded once they arrive at their destination port. 

The Current Estimate

One thing that has become increasingly clear this year is that it is really hard to predict what is going to happen even in the next month or two. With that said my current hope is that that we will get the games loaded on boats and en route to the fulfillment centers by mid to late July. With about one month spent crossing the oceans the games should arrive at destination ports by mid to late August. 

Once the games arrive they have to get unloaded, pass through customs and get trucked to the fulfillment centers which hopefully will not take longer than two weeks.  With luck the games will be ready to send out to you all by early September.  My apologies for the delay and please know I am doing everything I can to get the games to you all as quickly as possible. 

A few folks have asked about the deadline for updating addresses. We will lock addresses about 3 weeks before fulfillment, so if the current timeline holds the deadline to change addresses will be early August. I will send out an update beforehand to give you plenty of notice. 

As always, thank you for your patience and understanding and I will keep you updated as the timeline progresses and should hopefully have lots of photos of the final production copy to share in early June. Until then, take care, play games, and get out in nature!

Tim