Honey Hex: A Game Of Exploration For 1+ Players

Honey Hex Surveys Are Sent! And Pre-Order Store Is Now Open!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 08, 2022 at 06:24:16 PM

Hello, backers! I'm going to try to keep the updates to once a week as things get rolling over here at Honey Hex HQ. By now you should all have received your BackerKit surveys to confirm addresses and shipping. Please do your best to fill that in by the end of the month, as I am aiming to lock addresses and start shipping before Thanksgiving on the 24th. If you haven't received your BackerKit survey email, let me know at dvaleris at gmail etc and I'll look into it for you.

This also means that the pre-order store is open, featuring digital, softcover and hardcover copies of both Honey Hex and my previously Kickstarted game, Equinox. All books are discounted, tho not as steeply as they were during their respective campaigns, so they're a great deal right now, especially since adding only one or two doesn't increase your shipping rate. Supplies are limited, so grab 'em while you can!

Honey Hex proofs are finally at the printers, and for over 36 hours I thought I'd done the unimaginable and set them up so perfectly that my printer had no notes! That dream was deflated just a few hours ago, but I have since approved their corrections. Fingers crossed, softcovers will arrive next week and hardcovers the week after, to be popped into thick mailers and out to you post-haste!

Thanks once more for your patience and support, dear backers. As always, please feel free to contact me at dvaleris at gmail etc with any inquiries.

Honey Hex BackerKit Smoke Test has been sent!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 01, 2022 at 06:12:21 PM

Hello, backers! I've finished setting up the BackerKit site and store to collect shipping and allow you to purchase more copies of both Honey Hex and my previously Kickstarted game, Equinox, to go with your shipment. BackerKit recommends sending out a smoke test first, where 5% of you receive emails explaining how to complete your orders. That went out early this morning. Barring any glitches that need to be addressed during the smoke test period, the rest of you should receive your BackerKit emails within the next few days! The store will close in late November so please finalize your orders and payments as soon as possible so I can start shipping before the holiday rush. You can also share the link to the store with your friends who may have missed out on the Kickstarter, as digital and physical copies are available there at a discount, tho not as steeply as they were during the original campaign period.

As for the Honey Hex books, I believe I've finalized the softcover proofs and am now working on the hardcover. For those of you unfamiliar with the printing process, each format has a different set up and pagination, so I have to go through all the pages with a fine tooth comb to make sure I haven't missed any changes to page number references in the text, which are different in each book. This takes a genuinely astonishing amount of time, even when in the best of health. October was a pretty iffy month for me health-wise, and November is not starting out much better. Hopefully, that won't interfere with our projected timeline, which is on track for fulfillment as we speak!

I will update again next week with both BackerKit and printing progress. Thanks so much for your support, dear backers!

Honey Hex Digital Files Are Out!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 04, 2022 at 10:09:18 PM

Hey, backers, thanks so much for your patience while I struggled with both money transfer shenanigans and a really bad case of the flu! Anyone who's pledged for a digital or physical copy should have received a download key emailed to you via itch.io. Please let me know if you are having trouble with it, and I'll do my best to help sort out the problem as quickly as possible.

I'm excited to announce that I've donated 10% of Honey Hex Kickstarter sales to the National Wildlife Federation! Here's the email receipt:

(The amount isn't rounded to the dollar, like I said I'd do, as I decided to pay for the processing fee on top of the funds we raised.)

Next up, I get to have conversations of varying complexity with my printers and various retailers, all while building out the BackerKit store for physical pre-orders. We're looking at a late November/early December ship date, and are currently ahead of schedule, whee!

If you have friends who'd like to grab a digital copy of Honey Hex, please direct them to the itch page, which is now live! 10% of all my sales of this game there will continue to be donated quarterly to the NWF.  Your generosity has also ensured that there are 256 Community Copies available at launch for those who can't afford the purchase price. Please pat yourselves on the back for all this, which wouldn't have been possible without your efforts and consideration.

Alright, I'll have updates again when I finalize files with my printer. Thanks so much for everything you've done to help make this project a reality! Y'all are truly the bees' knees!

New Digital Release Date: September 30th!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 29, 2022 at 10:51:42 AM

Dear backers, between Kickstarter releasing the funds later than expected, and me and my family being poleaxed by flu, I'm planning to release the complete pdf+txt files on Friday, when the funds should have cleared and I'm hopefully back at full health. Thanks so much for your patience!

Also, if you're a Royal Jelly backer, this gives you a few more days to finalize how you'd like to see your name in the credits! Please check your email for more info or message me directly. You will be credited as your Kickstarter pledge name otherwise.

Thanks so much, everyone, and hope you're all in the best of health and happiness!

Thank You, Backers! And What Comes Next.
over 1 year ago – Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 04:02:54 PM

With your help, dear backers, we've finished the Honey Hex campaign at over 500% of my original goal! This means we'll be able to donate almost $400 to the National Wildlife Federation off of this initial run alone, an amount which far exceeds my admittedly modest ambitions. Thank you so much for making this happen!

So what comes next now that the campaign is over? Kickstarter will only be able to release the funds to me (minus their fees) after two weeks, which I'll spend tidying up the pdf before releasing it to all backers whose pledge includes a digital copy via itch.io. I will also email you via Kickstarter when that happens, which should be on September 26th. 

Once I have that finished copy of the pdf, I'll send it to Mixam for printing. While waiting for those physical copies to arrive from Mixam, I'll set up the pre-order store on BackerKit to collect your shipping information and fees. You'll be able to order extra copies through that store as well. I will likely close orders in early November so I can start mailing books out before the holiday rush (tho USPS' holiday season fees start October 2nd, yikes!)

I'll post regular updates along the way, but wanted to make sure you know what to expect going forward. For now, enjoy this photo of a pollinator friend who came to share my drink at lunch yesterday!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and I'll chat with you again on the 26th!