A new maths-puzzle card game, featuring cards by renowned mathematicians and communicators. A numbered edition, produced only once.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
(Belated) May update: Manufacturing delays + UK Games Expo
6 months ago
– Thu, Jun 06, 2024 at 09:24:33 AM
Hi everyone!
First up, before anything else: an apology from us.
We promise to update every month and we flat-out failed here. We suddenly had a huge amount of prep to do for the UK Games Expo for one of our new products (codename: NG6). Hitting the end of May planned deadline slipped through our fingers as a result. The June update should be back on schedule and will be with you in a few weeks, wherever we are by then!
Manufacturing and shipping update
I am very glad to report that all files are now with the factory. But we're still at the sampling stage of the process with them so full mass production has not yet started.
We love our incredibly richly detailed box and card back design but... it presents some challenges. Part of the final optimisation process has involved re-scaling the box slightly. You can imagine that in all its geometric perfection (or as close as we can), resizing it is a bit of a nightmare – something that doesn't present with more traditional logo + scene designs we're used to working with in boardgame land! Likewise those lines are very fine (especially on the cards) and we want to be 100% confident everything will print exactly as we planned.
Based on some advice/feedback from a new designer we've started working with and our factory, we've decided to slightly retool our approach.
The box lid will now be completely foiled including the logo, but it looks like we won't apply this process to the card backs because the effect will not quite work aesthetically. A new interior, matching the dark navy of the cards, will offset the cards in the box allowing the golden lines to shine. Your unique limited number will now blend more seamlessly into the box back.
Foiling locations – the black lines indicate where the gold foil will be added. Kickstarter compresses the resolution of this image massively!
Based on all of this and our conversations with the factory (which is doing a great job), we think that this combination of elements is going to look magnificent.
But... these delays mean that delivery at the end of June/early July is now out of the question. While a few backers in Asia might get their games not so much later, this means we are now looking at 2–3 months delay for delivery for most. If this means the game misses a personal deadline for you (like a birthday gift) then please accept our sincere apologies – I hope that if it's a gift it will still be very much enjoyed later. Sadly this is par for the course with completely new products. This messiness, without the transparency of crowdfunding (when people are transparent...), is veiled to the customer for things that hit retail directly.
But our mantra is always that while game is only late once... mistakes are forever. So we don't think it's right to just accelerate this in the name of hitting a delivery date. But there have been some valuable lessons for us to learn for our next project. We nail down our manufacturing specs in advance (as we did here) but if we had started the design process with the final box die-lines correct to the millimetre we would have had less revision to do here. Our new designer has a lot more direct experience in game packaging, which will also allow us to move more accurately far in advance.
UK Games Expo
We had a wonderful time at the UK Games Expo and our stand was buzzing with energy pretty much constantly.
We had lots of people drop by to see 21X and many new pre-orders: in general, awareness of the game was much higher than last year, which was great to see.
But most of all it was a delight to meet several of you! To everyone who said hello, many thanks indeed. It's wonderful to meet 21X backers and I am so glad so many of you are as excited to have this in your hands as we are.
Thank you very much!
All the best,
James
April update: community card results + final rulebook and box designs
7 months ago
– Tue, Apr 30, 2024 at 08:26:47 AM
Hi everyone,
It's been a busy time for 21X. Our rulebook is now ready for manufacturing! We're really proud of how it's looking. And that's not all:
Community card results
Thank you so much for the 300+ of you that voted in our poll for the design of 7V+7X. The results are in and we have a winner:
Look forward to seeing this design in the limited edition set!
Final rulebook design
We've finished designing the rulebook and it's ready for production! Thank you again to everyone that offered their feedback. It was really useful for making improvements. So we can catch any final errors, we would like your help once again!
Note: we are not asking for any more feedback on structure or phrasing at this stage in the process as blind testing is now complete.
Please complete your pledge manager
Some backers have still not yet filled in their pledge manager. We cannot send you your game until you do this, so please get to it ASAP so you don't miss out!
Thank you very much and all the best,
Jaya
March update: community card process + charging cards + retail pledges
8 months ago
– Fri, Mar 22, 2024 at 08:58:05 AM
Hi everyone,
It's been a busy month for us at Naylor Games. 21X draws closer... but we'd like just a little more help from you!
Community card vote
We've finished all of our expansion card designs and they're looking great. But there's one card from the limited edition set we can't quite make our mind up on. We've made 3 different versions of "7V+7X" and love all of them equally (including our new suit icon for V!). So we thought you should decide which one gets to be in the final game:
We'll be taking payment in the near future. This is a good opportunity to fill in the pledge manager if you haven't already – there's still a few backers left who haven't!
If your card didn't work on the Kickstarter, BackerKit will now try again. If the card payment fails again at this point, we will get in touch with you to find an alternative payment method and make sure that you get your game.
Retail and education pledges
For those of you with retail/education pledges, keep an eye on your inboxes. We'll send an email very soon with next steps for finalising your order. If you don't hear from us in the next two weeks, drop us an email at [email protected].
February update – project progress
9 months ago
– Thu, Feb 29, 2024 at 09:01:06 AM
Hi everyone!
A short but sweet update from us this month. We hope you’re keeping those mathematics skills sharp because things are moving along quickly here.
21X rulebook
Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who read, tested and provided feedback on the rulebook. It was immensely valuable and has led to many improvements that every 21X player will benefit from!
Though it is a time consuming process, the extra care and attention always pays off.
Graphic design
We now have versions of the rulebook, main deck and expansion deck in their final graphical style. We can’t share them with you just yet – there’s a few last tweaks still to be made – but trust us when we say they’re looking great!
Stay tuned for more soon,
Jaya
January Update: Print and play testing + single player mode
10 months ago
– Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 10:39:00 AM
Hi everyone!
We hope you've enjoyed your Christmas and new year period. We've been keeping busy and have some exciting news to share.
21X progress
Pre-production is moving rapidly here. The rulebook and card deck are moving quickly and now we'd like your input!
Print and play - rulebook blind testing
Blind testing is a critical stage of any rulebook writing process. This is when players are asked to learn a game from scratch, using only the rulebook. It's very important to test this way so that clarity can be maximised for a quick, smooth learning process. Everyone absorbs information differently and my first instincts as a rulebook author won't always align with the majority... So this testing is essential!
1. Download and print the files above. 2. Play the game using only the provided rulebook. 3. Give us your feedback on the rulebook (highlighting any errors or issues you spotted.)
Both multiplayer and single player testers are welcome!
We are only looking for feedback on rulebook content here. The visuals and graphic design are all explicitly prototypes and do not represent the final product.
Note: You will not find any cards from the "Exclusive Limited Edition Cards" set described in the rulebook as having black corners. That set (featuring the additional variables V and Y) will come later. Stay tuned for those.
All too often in kickstarter campaigns, expensive and disappointing mistakes get made due to insufficient proofing or testing. We have a strong team internally for this but the more eyes the better. We want to do everything we can to minimise our chances for error.
Thank you for your help, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
