Well I don't seem to remember any Blog entries talking about WHERE and now WHAT "Monster Keep" (MK) is going to become. MK is now a "Gaming Accessory" that will be used in conjunction with "Poker Cards". But I realized that this specific accessory doesn't NEED to have "Clips" and could be managed via a "Dry Erase" Pen/Marker.
But it's not that EASY TBH. The "design" is tricky and we need to EVALUATE how to transform the existing "prototype" into a "clip-free" variant.
This is a BIG DEAL for sure. Why? Because it means that it will be LESS expensive to manufacture even with a Custom Die (Cutting not dice). And it will mean LESS moving parts which is also GOOD because you don't want things to fall off while playing (or even moving which could occur).
More thought needs to be invested in this "concept". MK was starting to feel like something EXCITING and I've determined that indeed it is.
But I'm seeing how "Clips" are COST prohibited and then there is the collation and set creation which makes them EVEN MORE complicated. Which Dry Erase Pen/Marker is best... That remains to be seen. But I do have some ideas ... And will continue to wonder what is best and HOW(?) can I improve the existing design to NOT use "Clips"...
TBD.
Comments
I made the FIRST new template...
And it looks pretty good. I'm seriously not thinking about the USA since I found on Alibaba some real KEWL pens... They have Black AND Red and are about 2mm in thickness. Not super thin but not like Expo Markers. In-between and exactly what I was looking for.
Next I found some interesting shammies as another accessory to the kit. And I plan on create 9 shammies which have different backs and white on the inside. They will be use to wipe away marker residue and I've checked, MicroFiber is highly recommended.
I haven't finished the template for the prototypes... But I have verified and "The Game Crafter" (TGC) is shipping via UPS Mail Innovations and Canada Post for the Canadian part of the shipping.
There will be changes to the template FOR SURE, as I go in this NEW direction. I will report back when I have more news concerning the NEW prototype template and how everything else is progressing.
Cheers!
So I got the dry-erase pens and...
They are TOO THICK. I had to search around for a better alternative and found one. I placed the order for some of these new pens and we'll see how they turn out. Still figuring things out.
My shammies look cool... But require a MOQ of 500 units for customization. So I am a bit hesitant TBH.
We shall see. I am planning to offer the Pens and shammies as "Stretch Goals" which should in turn encourage more people to pledge.
TBD!
Update: Not going smooth...
Well I received the Dry Erase Markers and had to order more which are different since the ones I got were too HARD to write with.
Secondly, yesterday I received the prototype SAMPLES for "Monster Keep" (MK) and it turns out that the cut quality was very poor. About 50% of the MK cards are damaged due to the poor cut. I have reached out the TGC Support and they have asked to provide more pictures and explanations as to what was DAMAGED.
I'm sure we'll resolve this... But I'm worried if it happens AGAIN, that will become an issue with regards to having the best possible quality of product.
My argument is simple: if people pay good money for MK... They're not going to want cards that are chaffing or have jaggies or damage around the cards themselves. I know you see this even with Pokémon cards which get graded and get low scores.
Again ... IF we can resolve the issue ... The better it is. I don't want to get poorly cut MK cards ... We'll see what TGC has to say. So far support just wanted more pictures and details as to what was damaged.
But it's pretty BAD if the sheets the cards come on are also suffering from poor cutting... Imagine that!? I mean not only are the MK cards impossible to remove from the sheet without damage, the sheet itself is poorly cut too!
I'm sure TGC will have a good solution and we'll see what Support has to say. No doubt the issue can be resolved.
Best.
TGC works miracles!
They got my FIXED order re-done in 3-Hours and then ready to be picked-up for shipping in 30-Minutes later! OMG are they efficient... I just had to provide a couple of pictures and out of nine (9) "Types", eight (8) had damage. So with a total count of around ~50% defective or damaged, TGC offered me the chance to get a REFUND (Store Credit) or the REPRINT the order.
I chose to re-print it... Because it's prototype content and I want enough material to be able to do in-store demos and speak with people that I know and that may want to help me out (and as well themselves too...)!
So KUDOS to TGC Support and staff... They're amazing and on-the-ball.
Hopefully the price increases in January 2026 are not too dramatic ... And that the relative pricing is pretty much similar to what we're expected to pay nowadays. Of course everything is going UP. So no surprise that TGC are going to increase pricing as of the New Year.
TBD... We'll see what kind of hit we take.
Sincerely.
I got version 3.0 of the MK prototype
I'm not 100% sure about it just YET! I feel like it is GOOD... But is it GREAT, I am not sure. So there is some DOUBT. Doubt is good, especially when you WANT to put out the "best possible product" for its purpose. Status look GREAT. Damage works and plus you have the "extra" Tracker which also allows INFINITE possibility (that's also GREAT). Meaning that the product can HANDLE anything you throw at it...
Primary Energy works OK too... Secondary Energy (or Generic Energy) works OK too, it's not the greatest of things ... But you can TRACK both the Color and Amount of that Energy too.
Overall there should be no complaints. It is GOOD. Could it be BETTER... That IDK. I guess I NEED to build some DECKS and TRY it out! I will work on the CUSTOM Decks that are required. Something to give a bit of playtesting as I THINK(?!) I have reached an impasse on the design.
Now for me to work on DECKS and focus on PLAYTESTING!
Cheers.
It's all in the DECK Selection ... Is WHERE(?) IT matters most!
So I have been trying to collect cards to have super unique decks to demonstrate the possibilities and uniqueness of the "Monster Keep" (MK) Brand of premium accessories. I am working on it. IDK yet when(?) I will Kickstart this product. Right now it seems like I am more focused on "Dual Dice" (DD) Specialized Dice that any other product ATM. Things are in the works for DD and I also want to work on MK in parallel.
But I'm also moving forwards "Quest Adventure Cards(tm)" (Quest_AC) the reboot and currently have that product up for sale on "The Game Crafter" (TGC). The goal would be to showcase the product around and see what kids think of this 2-Player game which is simple enough but has an under 30 minute (<30) play time and can be taught to most children on how to play the game.
So that's THREE (3) products that I am working on... And my "Mystery Card Game" is a 4th product. I'm just working with the "core" and seeing HOW I can make it work... There is still more thought on the "process" of handling the cards and how they operate IN-HAND. That's a major debatable point because there is only so much you can do with a HAND. Learning more about your DECK is imperative but I don't want it to be pure "memorization" ... More like a better understanding of a player's deck and how a set of Resources can be used to recruit another set of Units and how that process can be repeated three (3)_times to win the game.
Still very much a WIP (Work-In-Progress).
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Where I took a step back was from the Spanish Version of Quest_AC. At this present time since there is not a large volume of sales of Quest_AC on TGC... I don't think it's worthwhile to focus on adding Spanish to the mix of languages because there is additional costs and maybe some confusion with so many languages on each of the cards.
In any event. I will pay my Spanish Reviewer ... But that's where it will STOP for now. Maybe in the future ... Who knows. But for LOCAL sales English and French is enough. And that's the deal I am focusing on Canada since the US Tariffs are just plain problematic as even 10% is a lot. If I only make 20%, that means I land up with only 10% left-over as profit. That's TERRIBLE!
I know Trump thinks he's doing it to protect America... But it just means I am not interested in selling in the USA due to the LOW profit margins. It's plain dumb to only make 10% of a product in the end. And who knows, he's been threatening to go up t 15% ... And that means I would only make 5% ... Sheer STUPIDITY. But hey... Make America Great Again! That didn't mean help to keep people afloat ... Just steal their hard earned money and give them nothing in return for it.
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Don't worry I won't bitch any more. Just saying. The US market is totally UNATTRACTIVE at this point in time. Imagine I Lost 30% on a Direct-To-Consumer campaign (Kickstarter) and there I lost 50% covering Production and Tariffs. I also made out with 50% returns which allowed me to recoup my costs of production and leave some stock for other markets too...
But had I been selling to STORES in the USA, I would be totally F-ed... The margins for retail are so small... That ANY tariffs hurts the imported a lot. Sure we could up the PRICE... But it's a PERCENTAGE one way of the other. So in the end it's a variable PRICE to be absorbed by ME as the imported to the stores in the USA.
Won't be doing any of that anytime soon... Sorry.
Those few Backers who supported my first DD Kickstarter got the product EARLY and in some case... Who knows with Trump... Maybe no more sales to the states unless things start to be more reasonable. And believe me I've looked into making DD in the USA... Just too costly. At OVER $2.00 USD per dice is CRAZY and that doesn't include SHIPPING to Canada...
Just not feasible. Would rather save my self the headaches and sell LOCAL or in Canada.
Again sorry. Those who got the Dice on the Kickstarter are lucky... You've got something unique and specialized that has not hit any other major markets.
We'll see in the coming months how that EVOLVES or not... Cheers!