Surveys, Progress and Solo Mode
about 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 03:21:25 PM

75% of Surveys Complete

Thank you to everyone who has completed your BackerKit survey. I really appreciate your diligence in responding so quickly. I plan to place an order to manufacture the games as soon as the surveys are complete, so please complete your surveys as soon as possible. To reassure hesitant backers, I think it is important to confirm responses to questions I have received from backers over the last week.

When will my credit card be charged?  Your card will not be charged until the game is ready to ship, which will be (maybe) October or November 2021. At this point I need the surveys to be completed so I know how many games to manufacture and then I can place an order for manufacture.

I missed the Kickstarter. Can I still buy Zodiac War? I recognize only backers will be receiving this update, but nonetheless this is a question I am asked, and you may have friends who would like a copy of the game. A preorder store is open and Zodiac War can be purchased through that store. The store will only be open until the BackerKit survey is complete and before I formally lock down the orders. I will be pushing for the survey to be completed within a week, so the preorder store will only be open for that long.

The link for the preorder store is  https://zodiac-war.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders 

Will Zodiac War be available on retail? Zodiac War is a Kickstarter exclusive limited edition and will only be available during this campaign. The only other places you can buy Zodiac War is from the preorder store for a very limited time or from retailers who have backed the Kickstarter campaign. I confirm it is not my intention to continue making Zodiac War for retail or to promote the game to publishers. I am very, very happy that this campaign has funded and I am excited to deliver a high quality product to my backers.

I paid for access to the pledge manager, but have decided not to back the game. Do I need to complete the survey? Please complete the survey, which is very easy. You don't need to enter your address or credit card if you aren't buying anything, but simply answer any questions and press the green button to close the survey. I would appreciate it if you can close your survey so I don't need to follow up with you, because I don't want to close surveys without confirming with you first.

Progress

While I wait for the BackerKit surveys to come in I am working diligently on performing an audit on the game, improving the graphics, expanding the rule book to 12 pages and fulfilling my obligations to  include the stretch goals in Zodiac War. Everything is on schedule and assuming I receive the surveys soon, I will be placing an order with the manufacturer within the next couple of weeks.

Solo Mode

Several of you are very interested in the solo mode that I promised as a stretch goal. I have developed the rules for solo mode based on the concepts of the multiplayer game using the components of the game. Play testing has gone well, and I am ready to unveil how solo mode will work.

Generally the rules are the same as normal game, with a player's turn being played over 5 phases. The solo player competes against what I call AI opponent.  The differences with solo play are as follows.

Set up

1. Choose separate zodiac signs to play for you and AI opponent. This gives many different scenarios to play.
2. Split the zodiac deck into two decks of 12 cards, with cards marked solo being the solo player’s deck and the rest being AI opponent deck.
3. Solo player and AI opponent start with zero faith
4. Solo player starts with 5 tarot cards per normal rules. AI opponent does not play with cards at all.

Play

1. Solo player goes first and you complete the 5 phases of your turn: Reveal, Play, Collect, Buy and End.
2. In the End phase of your turn you draw a zodiac card from top of AI opponent’s zodiac deck and complete the zodiac card actions for the AI opponent, including turning the board and collecting faith from the zodiac card and any board alignments.     
   1. If AI opponent has 10 faith after all actions on zodiac card are complete, immediately buy a star crystal.
   2. AI Opponent does not use the special power of its sign.

How to win

• Solo player must gain 3 star crystals before AI player does.
• Solo player loses if all 12 zodiac cards have been played in your deck, or if AI opponent gains 3 star crystals before the solo player.

Variants

• There will be variants and challenges in the solo rules to make play more challenging if needed.

That's everything I have for you today. Please do what you can to complete the survey. Thank you!

Paul Starr

BackerKit Survey Launched Today
about 3 years ago – Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 09:53:20 PM

The Backerkit survey was rolled out today, and I want to address some important questions already received.

Local Pick Up

Local pick up is available from Tampa, Florida.  I have not included the pickup address details in BackerKit, but I will make arrangements nearer the time. If you are selecting local pick up please make sure you choose if from the drop down menu under 'country' when confirming your shipping address.

Extra Devotees

I have some extra Devotee packages available. These are not available in BackerKit as add ons or in the Preorder Store and must be ordered directly from me. The Devotee package is $100 and includes a Zodiac War game, an extra player board personalized with your zodiac sign and name (or a nominee) and postage of the individual board. If you have already ordered the game the difference to be paid is $55. Below is an example of what the board will look like with your name at the bottom. This is a very limited offer strictly on a first come first served basis. If you are interested please contact me at [email protected].

Once again thank you for supporting Zodiac War. We are making progress!

Paul Starr

Backerkit Surveys Are Coming!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Mar 20, 2021 at 12:10:45 AM

What is BackerKit?

I know some of you are new to Kickstarter and you are wondering what happens next. You have successfully backed Zodiac War (thank you!) and I am finalizing the details for manufacture. However, I also need information from you all, such as how many games you want and where do I ship the game(s) to. That's where BackerKit comes in.  Backerkit will send a survey to collect your information and any additional costs such as add-ons and shipping.

Expect an Email from BackerKit Soon

Soon, I expect next week, you’ll receive an email from me with a special link to your BackerKit survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since I need this information to finalize quantities for manufacture and to fulfill your rewards.

You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email click the survey link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you would like any. You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available soon via email!

The survey will remain open for about 4 weeks, so after you respond you can go back later and change your responses at any time before I close the surveys and confirm the final counts.

Preorder Store

BackerKit includes a preorder store, so if you have friends or colleagues who missed the Kickstarter it is not too late to order a copy of Zodiac War. The store will open when the BackerKit survey is sent out, and will be available at https://zodiac-war.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders.

That's it for now. Thank you for your support.

Paul Starr

Wow! Thank you and next steps
about 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 21, 2021 at 02:33:37 PM

Zodiac War has Funded

Thank you for making Zodiac War a reality! Today was wild and we nudged over $50k in the last few seconds of the campaign with 1,115 backers. That is immense for a first time Kickstarter and I am excited to make this game. It's a dream come true. The final game will now include 8 stretch goals, which is awesome. 

What Happens Next?

I know this campaign has a lot of backers who are new to Kickstarter, and you are wondering what happens next.  Even the veterans want to know what happens next. A few things need to happen before I can kick off production and fulfillment. The following may take time to read, but it will all make sense when you receive a survey/ questionnaire in a few weeks.

Here's a quick rundown:

1. Now the project has funded and the campaign has ended, Kickstarter will take your pledge from your credit card. This happens now the campaign has ended.

2. Next, Kickstarter will transfer the funds to me so I have the money to manufacture Zodiac War (I understand this will happen within 14 days, but typically it is literally 14 days).

3. Then, I need to confirm exactly how many games you want and where they need to be shipped. You will receive a survey from BackerKit which will collect this information. If you decide to buy more than you originally pledged for (for example the $1 pledge) then BackerKit will collect any excess money. BackerKit will also collect the shipping fees (and VAT) which were not originally included in the campaign.

4. I’ll give you a heads-up before I send the survey so that you can watch for it. You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to answer your survey. The invitation email contains a link to your personal survey. It is important to submit your responses as quickly as you can since we need this information to process your rewards.

5. It is recommended that you save your survey email, because later on if you need to change your survey responses, purchase add-on items, or update your shipping information, you can click the link in your survey email again or request your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on the BackerKit project page. (This page will only start working after I send the surveys out.)

6. BackerKit is pretty intuitive, but you can contact me directly for assistance, and BackerKit has a help desk. Answering your survey will help me get your rewards out to you faster. BackerKit helps save time by streamlining the survey process, automating data organization, and makes it easy to process your pledge reward shipments.

7. If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey link is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you don't want to use your Facebook address and have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact me.

Again, thanks for all your support. I can’t wait to send you your copy of Zodiac War.

Paul Starr

Creator of Zodiac War

We are so close to black core cards...
about 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 21, 2021 at 01:34:05 AM

Just 12 more backers need

Just 12 more backers needed to unlock the black core stretch goal with just over an hour to go. #justsaying.

Also, if you are a member of the Facebook Group I will be interviewed live at 7am EST/ Noon GMT to close out the campaign.

 Zodiac War Facebook Group 

Thank you all, it has been a blast.

Paul Starr