WN in progress: safety testing and standards
about 4 years ago – Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 09:06:30 PM

Hi folks. We've been jumping over a new set of hurdles before we get Wrestlenomicon in hand: the need for the right kind of safety testing and correct labeling. That may not sound like much of a big deal, and it didn't to me before I started dealing with it myself, but it's been far thornier than I anticipated. Books are so easy by comparison. This is a boxed game, and it may wind up on shelves where kids can get at it. And it has dice, gods help us. So it has to hew to very particular rules regarding box labels, materials, and safety testing before we can release it into the wilds of Europe or North America. Again, kind of a no-brainer if you're used to it. A morass of confusion if you're not.

So we've gotten requirements from our fulfillment partners in the UK that will keep them from getting in trouble for distributing something that's not up to code.

And we've sent a list of the US, UK, and EU regs to the manufacturer in Hong Kong. 

And we've gotten into contact with a Chicago safety testing firm that was recommended by our friends at Atlas Games. We're sending them prototypes. They'll tell us in a week or two whether we need any additional steps in the process. And we'll consult about what else we need to do to make sure Canada is happy, too. 

Then we'll confirm everything with the UK fulfillment house and the manufacturer. If everybody is in agreement, away we go at last.

Whose bright idea was it to put DICE in this thing? Oh yeah.

Wrestlenomicon production status
over 4 years ago – Fri, Dec 27, 2019 at 06:21:05 PM

Hi gang, Shane Ivey here from Arc Dream. Sorry for the long silence. No news in this case is no news. I was waaaaay overoptimistic in my last update saying "sending Wrestlenomicon to press now!" We wound up having multiple large projects in the queue at that exact time. And since our production staff is basically three of us plus the occasional freelance copyeditor, things slow down early and often. 

Right now we are finally finalizing press files, with internal approvals going back and forth daily. I expect to upload everything to the printer next week and start their  rounds of prep and approvals. 

Once the printer confirms receipt of the files, I will have a firm delivery date.

Thanks in advance for your patience as we complete Arc Dream's first card game under our own banner.

In the meantime, happy holidays, everyone!

Stomp the glomping and start the presses
over 4 years ago – Mon, Oct 28, 2019 at 11:01:05 PM

Hi folks, Shane Ivey here from Arc Dream Publishing. You may have *no interest whatsoever* in the details of printing and print budgeting and how that can trip things up, so TL;DR: Wrestlenomicon is going to press and will ship to you in March. We're sorry for the long delay.

Like a lot of small-press publishers, I am very careful in choosing Arc Dream's manufacturing partners. We've been burned before, just like everyone. When we have good results from a manufacturer, we stick with them. That means we have solid relationships with a very small number of printers. For Wrestlenomicon, our most trusted printers are in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

I have spent the last few months watching the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, particularly the threatened hike in the U.S. tariff on Chinese printed matter from 10% to 25%. Right now that threat seems to be on hold. That's no guarantee that it won't come to pass, but we can't postpone things forever. So we're sending Wrestlenomicon to press now, with a printer we trust, with plans to eat the 10% tariff when the shipment arrives. 

Of course we have looked into signing on with manufacturers in other countries who were recommended by other publishers. In a couple of cases going with one of them would have brought the manufacturing estimates down enough to look right on paper. But I've learned the hard way to assign value to the ability to trust a partner's quality. So we're sticking with one we know, despite having to pay an extra 10% tax to the U.S. If that tariff rises to 25% before the freight arrives, we'll examine our options at that time. That may involve Hastur coming to Earth and giving his opinion on the whole affair. But no promises.

Thank you for your patience. We look forward to sharing this crazy game with everyone.

Meanwhile

•  DELTA GREEN BUNDLES, LAST DAY: Help us spread the word about the two Bundles of Holding for Delta Green. Get months of RPG terror for your tabletop AND boost our donation to Human Rights Watch. The offer ends in 7 hours, so seize the death. I mean day.
•  THE KING IN YELLOW: Order the deluxe, annotated edition of The King in Yellow. It features deep annotations and research by Kenneth Hite and beautifully spooky paintings by Samuel Araya.
• PATREON: Dennis Detwiller's Patreon offers Delta Green art, manuscripts, drafts, ideas, and more. My Patreon offers adventures, variants, and game ideas for Delta Green, Godlike, D&D, and games we haven't finished yet, plus early access to Arc Dream videos and podcasts.
•  NEWSLETTER: Subscribe to the Arc Dream newsletter for news and previews from all our game lines every other week.

The Old Ones rise sluggishly to battle
over 4 years ago – Mon, Sep 02, 2019 at 10:41:36 PM

Shane Ivey here from Arc Dream Publishing. Sorry it’s been so long since the last Wrestlenomicon update. We post so frequently on social media that updating on KS itself, which is way more important, slips our minds.

Right now we are going over final layout and design specifications, making sure all elements are exactly right and that the costs are under control. We’ll finalize our manufacturing quotes this week. Wrestlenomicon has not yet gone to press because we have been waiting on some final pieces of art, some of which got revised along the way and some of which were delayed due to scheduling conflicts. We’ll send everything to press as soon as the numbers are final. At that time, we'll have reliable delivery dates.

For now, BEHOLD! the ascendancy of Hastur’s willing sacrifices to a staging of The King in Yellow!

Meanwhile

• Tell your friends to pre-order "Wrestlenomicon."
• Check out our Swords & Sorceries line for 5E: "The Sea Demon's Gold" and "The Song of the Sun Queens." "The Tomb of Fire" is coming soon.
• Order the deluxe, annotated edition of "The King in Yellow," shipping NOW.
• Get your tickets for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, next month in Portland, Oregon. Find Kurt Komoda there and tell him what you think of Wrestlenomicon's art!
• Subscribe to the Arc Dream newsletter for news and previews from all our game lines every other week.

A glimpse at Willing Sacrifices to Cthulhu and Hastur
almost 5 years ago – Sun, Jul 14, 2019 at 02:05:02 AM

Thank you for your patience as our performers—I mean, our earth-devouring champions of entropy and conquest!—have been training and gathering their strength. 

The battle is nearly ready to begin. Only a few pieces are still coming into place: the bonus tome cards by John Kovalic and the customized “Willing Sacrifice” cultist cards by Kurt Komoda. 

We expect to have all bonus cards in hand and to send the production files to press by the end of July, another two weeks or so. Then we’ll have Wrestlenomicon in our warehouses in November and ship it to you, our fellows in insanity and unnatural dedication.

Meanwhile

• Tell your friends to pre-order Wrestlenomicon.
• Check out the first D&D adventure in our dark-fantasy Swords & Sorceries line, The Sea Demon's Gold.
• Order the deluxe, annotated edition of The King in Yellow, shipping next week.
• Order or download the updated edition of the classic Delta Green scenario A Victim of the Art.

And prepare yourselves, because Cthulhu and Hastur are comin', and they're bringing the apocalypse with 'em.