Doublesix Dice: Roll Better

Nearing completion of production
over 9 years ago – Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 12:02:19 PM

Dear Team Doublesix,

Summary:

A) Backerkit: please complete it ASAP, as I will soon be locking the add-ons portion (shipping address will be locked when the dice arrive in the US and are ready to mail out).  Message me if you still haven't gotten the invite/link to your Backerkit account.

B) Freelancer: I am in the process of hiring a freelancer to visit the factory to get and send me random final dice samples, and test mailing orders directly from China to Asia-based backers.  

C) Customs: for those interested international backers, I plan to declare the dice at manufacturing cost (about $0.15/die).

D) Timeline: After several vague emails from Will, the big boss (Ben Wu) wrote me and said 10 more days to finish production, before packaging.

...

Details:

A) Backerkit: Please complete you order ASAP.   I will also attempt contact directly via KS email prior to order lock-down since it seems that many aren't getting the updates (perhaps filtered or blocked).

Mailing addresses will remain open for editting/updating until the dice are in the US and ready to mail out.  

...

B) Freelancer: I should have found a representative in China way sooner (like over a year ago), but the idea was inspired by Daming Fu's recent comment.  My mistake, and a good lesson learned. 

I tried finding help via Freelancer, but didn't hear back from anyone.  Upwork.com (formerly Odesk) seemed to have more options, and I already have a couple of good leads.  

This was my request: 

1) Make phone contact with local plastic manufacturer (Longbright) to arrange time to visit the factory.  

2) Visit the factory to get sample product (dice) and get photos of the product.  

3) Email me the photos.  

4) Pack and ship the dice to various customers in Asia. Each order will be about 100 dice. We will start with 3 orders total.

I am currently considering Emma, who replied: 

"Yes, I have interest in this job. I supposed I'll spend about 2-3 hours to arrive at the factory. And I can contact with the factory and confirm the meeting time. If it's possible, I'll visit the factory at weekends. Regarding the shipment, I think I could arrange it by email or phone call with the factory."

Matt here: If part 4 goes well, I will try to set up direct shipping to Asia-based backers to save on cost and time (for them). 

...

C) Customs declaration: I plan to declare the dice at cost ($0.15/die), once I confirm this helpful comment from helpful Backer Doug Houseman:

There are 4 legal choices for customs values:  

1) Retail (what you paid Matt)
2) Wholesale (what Matt intends to see to stores for)
3) Manufacturing cost (what it cost Matt to get them produced and shipped)
4) Gift/Prototype 

All of these are legal, and Matt can show the paperwork to support it. Any other value could get both Matt and the folks getting the dice in trouble with Customs of their respective countries. Matt has to have a provable basis for the price he lists on the package. Because the Kickstarter money is not explicitly a sales transaction, Matt can legally use any of these, but he needs to have paperwork to back it up and be consistent in the way he applies it.

...

D) Email from Ben Wu: After over a week of trying to get an updated timeline from Will at Longbright (who was vague and delayed in replying, I was able to hear directly from Ben, who is in charge.  Here is his email from yesterday (I have highlighted the main points).:

"Nice to meet you. I am Ben. I am a shareholder of the dice factory, is mainly responsible for the business of the dice.I think I need to send e-mail directly, in order to establish mutual trust.

Since we started business dealings with you, every one of your e-mail, I have seen it. Every step, I will instruct my staff Ms. will should be what to do.

From the beginning, I was pushed and monitor the entire order process and quality. Contact you from kickstater, to begin proofing, production…. every step.

The whole process is controlled, but the rhythm is very slow, I'm not satisfied with that. Maybe our problem, maybe you do not hurry to ship. We have a lot of dice sales to the United States, they are assembled into the whole game, and then sold out. Including coolmini or not, including F2Z game... we will indirectly provide the dice.  

Quality is our most attention, second is delivery time. Usually an order, our delivery time in 45-60 days or so, but this order is long time for us. I attach great importance to cooperation with you, although I have no direct contact you. Because my English is not good, I write English Mail need to spend some time. Like this mail, I need over twenty minutes. So usually e-mail, I let my staff reply directly to you.  

We look forward to you or your representative to my factory, know more about our products, facilitate future cooperation.  

On the other hand, this order can be completed within ten days. We need to confirm the details of the package, and then began oiling and packaging. You can always send people to our factory to understand the situation. Thank you very much "

Matt here: I am pleased with the contact (gesture), and admission that they have been very slow.  Next steps will be our own QC via our rep on the ground.

Finally, I hope some of you got in on the ModCube Kickstarter by one of our backers. If you missed it, I will be sending out a link to pre-orders in several weeks. 

And here is another current kickstarter by another Backer: The Legacy of Jiraiya.

Expect more frequent updates as we enter the stretch leading up to shipment from China, then more less while the boat is on the water (est: 6-8 weeks).  

Rolling on,

Matt

Production update, and the end of Playing for Dice (in Kickstarter)
over 9 years ago – Sun, May 31, 2015 at 04:20:39 PM

Dear Team Doublesix,

SUMMARY of this update:

1) Backerkit: will remain open through May.  

2) Production will take about 45 more days, and... 

3) ETA: I am hoping to get these into your hands around the end of the summer/start of fall.  

4) Flat Black dice will be shipped looking like flat black, not frosted as originally thought.

5) Playing for Dice is not allowed by Kickstarter, so it will be taken to another channel.

....

1) Backerkit: since production will still take a while, the Backerkit will remain open for May. Please message me if you still haven't gotten the invite.  Remember that you can continue to update your order and address while the Backerkit remains open.

2) Production Update:

On May 4th, Longbright gave their latest timeline: "we need 45 days to finish the dice production.Then to the packing"

They are packing the add-on dice into the 6-pack plastic bags, as well as all the pledge orders (eg. for the bulk orders, 50 ivory standards will be packed in an Ivory dice bag, and the 50 stretch goal dice in the Black dice bag), except the Random Rolls Standards, which will be packed in the US.

You can see the updated inventory order list (ie. how many units ordered per design/color) HERE.  We are about halfway through the 475,000 units. 

3) ETA: 

Here is a rough outline of the remaining steps (thanks to the estimate of knowledgeable Backer Doug Houseman):

1) Finish production

2) Pack and ship to the port - 3-5 days 

3) Find a less than load container - 2-5 days 

4) Place on ship - 1 to 5 days [depends on when the ship is in port] 

5) Transit to the US - 12 to 25 days 

6) Clear customs - 3 to 30 days 

7) Forward from port to Matt - 3 to 10 days 

8) Arrange for Matt to receive - 1 day

9) Unpack and arrange for packing - 1 to 3 days 

10) Pack orders - figure Matt can do 500 orders a day with help - 14 days 

11) Shipment to customers - 2 - 30 days

This could put delivery to your door into about September. 

Since I have most of the control over steps 9-11, I will do my best to expedite those steps, as well as to ensure correct order fulfillment. This means either hiring a trusted and fast fulfillment partner, or renting out space, hiring many workers, and overseeing packing and shipping myself.

And yes, I know that you will all get the dice over a year late.  It is almost ludicrous. Thanks for hanging in there. 

4) Flat Blacks: 

For those of you that ordered these, remember that they were supposed to arrive looking frosted like this (A):

But if you choose to oil it yourself (with any kind of oil...canola, olive, mineral, from your face or hands), it will look like this (B):  

Longbright now tells me that they can produce the dice so the will look like B (and thus require no oiling). 

Because I am assuming that most of you who ordered these Flat Blacks as add-ons prefer them to look like B (and would rather not have to oil them), I am telling Longbright to produce them so they will look like B (note: even if you preferred that they look like A, they will eventually look like B if you use them a lot, due to the natural oils in your hands).

My apologies to those of you that were hoping that they would stay looking like A.  If you no longer want them, please remove/replace them in Backerkit. 

.

5) Play for Dice: I recently got this email from Kickstarter:

"We noticed you are running a raffle/contest in conjunction with your project on Kickstarter. As explained in our rules, contests and raffles are prohibited: https://www.kickstarter.com/rules

Please post a follow-up update explaining that contests/raffles will no longer be offered as part of your project."

I guess I am flattered that they noticed the campaign (but I wonder if one of the disgruntled backers reported me).

Anyway, this will be the last Kickstarter update mentioning the contests and raffles of Play for Dice. 

If you want to still Play for Dice outside of Kickstarter, please sign up HERE.  We will take our shenanigans elsewhere.  I hope to make it so that with every game, every player will have a chance to win, even if you have a low score.

Meanwhile, here are the recent winners (their choice of die will be announced later):

1) Markus H guessed The Avengers: Age of Ultron would gross $192.58 million in the US for its opening weekend.  The official total:  $191.27 (source).  Amazingly close!

2) Jarrod O owned Pinball Sniper, getting an official score of 239.  He said that once you get two balls in, things really pick up.  

3) For EnDice: here are the genius and persistent backers that are eligible to win (Thomas F, Nicholas B, Dvalin M, Roberto SF, and Robert H). The winner will soon be determined by weighted raffle (done NOT in Kickstarter, and it will NOT be announced in Kickstarter).

4) Tune Ups: some speed demons include Jarrod O (38.56 secs), Ben Ledbury (36.98), and Araziel (36.50).  But the unofficial fastest time is Brian Quick (36.03...yes, that is his real Kickstarter name). 

For kicks, here is a video of Araziel getting a time of 37.31 secs (FYI: Tune ups configuration was max on speed and acceleration, with 2 on everything else).

.

Rolling and playing on,

Matt

Backerkit Update; Video of Settlers and Otakus
over 9 years ago – Fri, May 22, 2015 at 04:47:08 AM

Dear Team Doublesix,

Here is a quick video update about how the Backerkit is doing, with some details (e.g. which items are popular), as well as video of the new (and final) dice bags, the Settlers samples, and the Otaku samples (with a different red).

Final Bags, Settlers and Otaku samples:

.

Backerkit Update:

 .

Bulk Backer answers HERE (feel free to comment there or here).

Also, our very own Jazzy Bear has launched his own Kickstarter with his friend.  It is a card game called Paws, and you can check it out HERE.

Matt

Play for Dice: Round 2
over 9 years ago – Wed, May 06, 2015 at 02:46:01 PM

Dear Team Doublesix,

It looked like many of you enjoyed playing the Round 1 games (Tune Ups and Farkle).  Below are the results, as well as the challenges for Round 2.  

ROUND 1: Wrap up

1) Tune Ups:  so far, a Track 1 time of 36.61 seconds seems to be the fastest (wow....flawless!). 

Has anyone beaten that? Comment below in the next couple of days, or forever hold your peace.  Final Top score gets Die of Choice.

2) Farkle: about 34 folks got 9,000 or higher in a single round (well done!).  Brian R. wins a Flat Yellow with Black for being the first to do it.  And determined by random dice rolls, Jacob M. wins a 4ier (Marble Yellow with Blue).  Congrats!  

...

ROUND 2:

All winners get to pick their Die of Choice from the Bag. 

You will be asked to provide a screenshot IF you are deemed the winner.

1) Prognostication game: How much will the movie, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, make on its opening weekend (in the US), in number of millions ($ XXX.XX)?

Winner is the number closest to the final gross (over or under).

To enter your guess (only one allowed), please click HERE.  

Deadline for submissions is Friday, May 1st, 10 PM EST.  

2) Skill Game (mobile): Pinball Sniper.

One winner: the person with the highest score.  

Get the game for free at the Apple App Store, or at the Google Play Store.

So we can track the contenders, please add (and continue to update) your high score on the Pinball Sniper Leaderboard.  Deadline for final score submission: Wed the 6th, at Noon EST.

3) Puzzle Game (online): EnDice Complete.

You need to get to Expert to be eligible to win.  The more Expert levels you complete, the better chance you have of winning (chosen by raffle).  Please, no cheating (ie. looking online for solutions).  Play it online HERE. 

So we can track the contenders, please add and update your highest expert level completed on the EnDice Leaderboard.  Deadline for final score submission: Wed the 6th, at Noon EST.

..

Play on,

Matt

Game On: Compete to win Ultra Rare Dice from the Mystery Bag
over 9 years ago – Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 06:39:16 PM

Dear Team Doublesix,

Production update:  About 58,000 Glossy black dice were finished being produced last week, and are now being painted.  We have moved on to the Glossy Reds, along with the Triplefours. 

I have asked several times to get a daily production rate so I can better gauge the completion date, but Longbright indicates that they can't say as they also produce dice for other companies. I am sorry I don't have better and clearer news.

Backerkit update:  We just recently broke $20K today.  The Backerkit will remain open for May.

..

The Play Initiative

Production is moving along, but slowly.  So let's play while we wait.

I realize that I have a bunch of ultra rare (def: only about 5 of each type in existence) Doublesix dice, and I want to give some away to you guys. 

Since my primary mission in life is to encourage more playing (you can see The Play Society video I put together below), I thought it would be cool to see if you all wanted to compete in games and contests to try to win some of these dice. 

Here is the Mystery Bag of Ultra Rare Dice:

Here is a video of the specific contents:

.

What is in the bag is not a mystery.  The mystery is what die will come out each time for each contest. 

Play to win some of these dice!

First: Why we should play more (here is a video I edited):

.

Every week, I plan to introduce several games/contests for you guys to play.  I figured that the first game should be a dice game (naturally), so I chose Farkle.  And for some more skill-based fun, I have chosen a flash-based racing game, Tune Ups.  

For Mystery Die #1: it will be raffle-based (each players who does very well will have a chance to win).  You will have to qualify via Farkle to be eligible for the raffle.  You can play for free on your computer, IOS, or Android device.  Read about the official contest rules and plan HERE.

For Mystery Die #2: the person to race the fastest time in Tune Ups, a free computer-based flash (online) game, will win it.  Check out the game and the contest rules HERE.  

A mystery die may be revealed during the contest, and some may be revealed after the contest ends.  

The more frequent and specific game updates will be posted on the Facebook page and the blog.

As always, I encourage and welcome ideas and feedback about this initiative.  How do you feel about it?  How can we change the format to make it mare engaging?  What should the next games and contests be?

Play on, and play well,

Matt 

PS.  Another one of our Doublesix teammates has launched his own Kickstarter.  Please check out Mighty Heroes and the Monster Zone HERE.