Observing the seasons changing in a Zen-like euro game of breathtaking views. The last expansion for Tang Garden.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Bazaar closing date update and more
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Sep 17, 2022 at 12:03:52 AM
Dear Architects,
How are you all doing?
In this update, we will be discussing a few topics that are pending and that we are working on, but first of all, if you missed our last live stream, we had so much fun with the garden promenade scenario, one of the last surprise goals we had during the campaign and the last bit of development we had to do for the game itself.
Box Size, plastic insert, components.
The box size will be 30x30 cm. The thickness depends mainly on how many insert layers we will have. We are trying to achieve 3 layers (3 total inserts of around 4cm thickness each), but it might become 4 depending on the final design. The thickness will be around 12-16 cm in total. Recently on Darwin’s Journey, we managed to decrease the box thickness thanks to the new insert design. We will do our best to keep things as thin as possible for this too.
The final cover of the box will be the Tang Garden: Seasons cover as originally announced. If you are interested in the other covers to display, please keep reading.
We have revised all the components that will be inside the insert, but the pagodas are going through their final revision to understand better how we will place them inside the box.
While the original Pagodas in our Tang Garden campaign took us 13 different revisions, these Pagoda floors only needed 3. The first model we received was structurally solid but too big for the tile. The second model has the proper size and fits the game well. We are doing very small changes to finish that component. Please notice that the samples are hand-cut.
For all the rest, we are good. We have finished working on the PPC files for production, the hardest part was the punchboards themselves.
To finish the insert we need the complete PPC to be produced, and this is the next urgent stage of the project. We are confident that Game Trayz will do a great job on this.
Illustrated sleeves and Tang Garden prints
We know you really wanted to see these two important add-ons before we closed the pledge manager. The prints just arrived and you can see a sneak peek down below, while the sleeves will be shipped next week. Hopefully, within the next week, we will be able to make another update to show the final look of these and decide by yourself. This is one of the reasons we are postponing the closing time of the Bazaar to October 3rd. These prints are not in the Bazaar yet.
Your FAQs
If I buy the big box, will I receive only one box in total?
If you got or will get the Tang Garden Seasons Big Box, you will receive everything inside a single box. This is helping us avoid any damage to empty boxes, maintain a low number of containers required for freight, and have a more sustainable manufacturing process.
Panorama symbols size? Sticker sheet?
All the Panorama symbols in Seasons will match the size of the previous Panoramas. If you would like to apply stickers to increase them, in the sticker sheet provided in your kit you will find enough panorama symbols and a few extra ones to apply to old and new panoramas.
Metal coins design and production quality?
The metal coins will have the same quality and structure as the ones offered in our past campaign. The metal coins come inside a special cotton bag as offered in the past.
Bazaar closing. Do I add what I need?
Eventually, yes! We are extending the date to October 3rd to give you time to add anything you need. If you are not sure about an add-on, you don’t have to get it, but please consider that it will be time-consuming for us to add it manually for you afterward.
Are all components coming in the language I chose?
If you are getting the rulebook compendium and other add-ons, you will be receiving all of these in the same language as your game. As an example: that means that if you selected Tang Garden: Seasons in Spanish, the rulebook compendium will be in Spanish.
Do you have any additional questions?
Please write them down in the comments below. Our team will be answering them! For questions related to your pledge, you can reach us here.
We will be talking very soon and we wish you all the best!
Sincerely yours,
Everyone here at Thundergryph Games
Development and pre-production update and more info on the Bazaar
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Aug 11, 2022 at 04:09:18 AM
Dear Architects,
We hope this message finds you well and that you were able to take a bit of time off this summer to play a few games and get your deserved relaxation.
The team members are taking a week off here and there throughout July/August, but we haven’t stopped working on everything, and we are taking turns to make sure we take care of everything that needs to be accomplished this year.
Gon and Luis recently played the cooperative scenario live on Twitch. It was really a great match with many tense moments. Here is a highlight of a decoration draw that Luis did where it was crucial to get either a fish or a lotus flower to keep going after a few bold moves.
If you are interested in watching the game, please visit our Twitch page. The button will take you to the timestamp where Gon starts talking about what we have been doing for Tang Garden: Seasons.
Balancing, testing, rules writing
We dedicated part of our time to applying a few changes to selected scenarios to make them even more streamlined and more exciting.
We have been meeting with Jonathan Cox to explain the game content added by unlocking Stretch Goals, and to write the final part of the rules structure.
Two more meetings are required to finish explaining all content. As soon as the rules are written, we will start with the layout, which will follow the layout structure that we have been using for the base game and other expansions. Once that is done, we will create the rules compendium.
Pre-production and Tray
We have created an exhaustive list of all components, but a pre-production copy is required to finish the design.
We went ahead and immediately sent a few delicate components like Pagodas floors, Viewpoints, Bushes, and the tree. We will send the rest of the complete files once they are ready.
We are aiming at showing all these final components before the Bazaar closes
Tang Garden Illustrated sleeves.
The intricate pieces that we mentioned in the pre-production and tray points (like Pagodas).
The layout of the Plastic insert (hopefully pre-produced).
The Big Box final size.
Thank you so much for your kind support. More than 4’200 Golden Cats have been purchased.
These contributions will allow us to adopt 3 cats from the cat shelter, for their entire lives. We are extremely happy about this! More information on the Golden Cat is in our previous update.
77% of the Backers have completed the survey. Hopefully, we can get past 80% in the following days. We will be sending a reminder today.
If you are a 1€ backer, be sure to upgrade and complete your pledge before September 15th.
📝 You can update your pledge and items purchased anytime until September 15th, 2022. Even if you have completed the pledge already.
💸Credit cards will be charged on September 16th, 2022, but if you decide to use Paypal, the transaction will be charged immediately.
🛒You can freely add anything you would like to your cart, but the stock won’t be deducted until you confirm your pledge. Be sure to do that, to make sure the game you want will stay with you!
Do you have any questions?
Please write them down in the comments below. Our team will be answering them! For questions related to your pledge, you can reach us here.
Sincerely yours,
Everyone here at Thundergryph Games
Our Bazaar is now live! Confirm your pledge
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jul 01, 2022 at 01:31:46 AM
Dear Architects,
Did you wake up with that hint of excitement like something good is happening today? Well, you are absolutely right. Today it’s a beautiful day!
Welcome to the Thundergryph Bazaar
(our pledge manager, powered by Backerkit)
It’s time to join a place of mystery and wonder.
Our pop-up shop is opening its doors today, just for you and for two months!
Here is everything you can do in the Thundergryph Bazaar
📌Important things to know. Please read!
💸Credit cards will be charged on September 16th, 2022, but if you decide to use Paypal, the transaction will be charged immediately.
🛒You can freely add anything you would like to your cart, but the stock won’t be deducted until you confirm your pledge. Be sure to do that to make sure the game you want will stay with you!
📝 You can update your pledge and items purchased anytime in these two months.
✉️ We have started sending invites and we expect it to take around 2-3 hours.
You can request an additional email just later today if you have not received it or it is not in your spam folder: https://tangseasons.backerkit.com/Please do not send requests immediately as the system is already sending out the emails in bulk.
😱Don’t panic if something is not working for you. Please reach out to support directly from the Backerkit page and we will be able to help you promptly.
📦Considering the added weight and volumetric space needed to ship add-ons, we are charging a very small shipping fee on a few items (Small games 2€ - Medium games 3€ - Large games 4€) regardless of your Zone. The new releases (like Tuned and The Peach Festival) and several small add-ons and mini-expansions are free from extra shipping.
🛍️ If you need general help or recommendations on what to get, you can join our discord and ask in the chat. Both the team and our community experts will be there waiting for you!
Bazaar Spotlight
We are excited to pre-release our next game to you: The Peach Festival! A Roll&Write game inspired by the "Journey to the West". You can get the game at a 25% off and receive a special gift: A Tang Garden Roll&Write scenario for free (by using the same dice and a new scorepad included for free in your order).
Multilanguage: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
The Peach Festival is a roll&write game where flamboyant merchants will be buying and selling precious commodities to mystical characters inspired by the Journey to the West. Everyone plays with the same dice roll.
You can find more information about the gameplay and see a full playthrough of the game here:
This is for returning backers that will get the upgrade kit
All the Panoramas are being printed in the same way as the rest of the collection and we are providing stickers that you will be able to place on the Panorama tiles if you wish.
Regarding the cardboard tokens, we are still considering adding a possibility to get them, but please let us know if that is something you would be interested in.
We will have two months to talk more about this game while we follow the pre-production process.
That’s it for now! We hope you will enjoy the experience we have built over the Bazaar and we will be talking again soon!
Sincerely yours,
Everyone here at Thundergryph Games
🛒 Bazaar Special Update: Instructions, duration and date change
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jun 24, 2022 at 12:10:42 AM
Dear Architects,
We hope this update finds you well!
We had a great time yesterday announcing the Bazaar and giving more details live about what you will find. If you want to watch the stream at any time, watch it here!
The Thundergryph Bazaar is our way to call our pledge manager.
On June 30th, you will receive an invitation by email to access Backerkit (our pledge manager platform). In our Bazaar, you will be able to do all the following.
Thundergryph Bazaar Dates change and extension
If you are used to our Bazaar, we normally leave it open for 2-3 weeks as closing it early gives us more time to understand the manufacturing quantities.
Since our last update, we have seen many of you asking for an extension and we totally understand. We have decided to extend our Bazaar time for 2 full months, which means you can add and select anything you wish to keep, and on September 16th we will be charging the credit cards.
Since we need more time to understand how to get ahold of your items added to your carts beforehand for us to prepare for production and we need Backerkit to go over all our modifications to see if we have made any mistakes, we are postponing the launch of the Bazaar too.
What can we find in the Bazaar?
New game announcement!
Yesterday we announced our next Roll&Write game: The Peach Festival, inspired by the Journey to the West. We will be showing off more about the game before we launch our Bazaar, but we are so excited to pre-release this game exclusively for you.
You will be able to get the game for a special price and an interesting gift! With the same dice of The Peach Festival and an additional scoring pad that we will provide for free to everyone that purchases the game, you will be able to play a Roll&Write scenario for Tang Garden!
Since the Bazaar lasts for 2 months, we will have the time to highlight this new game and many other items coming to the Bazaar (like the Tang Garden big box) before we close it.
The Golden Cat
During our campaign, we hid a cipher in the Kickstarter page separators, and we hid small clues in some of our Kickstarter updates.
By solving the riddle you could read: Visit our website and slash the golden cat.
By accessing www.thundergryph.com/thegoldencat you would have gained access to the secret club. Congratulations to 70 of you that managed to solve the riddle in time!
If you didn’t solve it, don’t be discouraged as there was a bigger plan for the golden cat.
In our pledge manager, you will be able to purchase the golden cat decoration at a symbolic price.
Parts of the procedures will be used to adopt our official Thundergryph pets! We will be starting with cats, by donating to an animal shelter that Gon will be visiting and showing a video in a future update.
Every couple of months we will be receiving pictures and news about our cats that we will be able to share with you in our updates.
Which ability would you like to see for the Golden Cat? Make a suggestion in the comment section of this update!
This is it for now! You have reached the end of this update, we love you (and we do regardless), but let us know by leaving a like to this update!
Do you have any questions?
Please write them down in the comments below. Our team will be answering them! For questions related to your pledge, you can reach us here.
Sincerely yours,
Everyone here at Thundergryph Games
Bazaar opening on June 24th. Special live-stream on June 22nd.
almost 2 years ago
– Sat, Jun 18, 2022 at 04:09:32 AM
Dear Architects,
We hope this update finds you well!
Thank you so much for your patience while you were waiting on the Bazaar and for more news about the game. The files have been prepared for the manufacturer and we are still working on the rules for the game.
In this update, we want to answer many of the questions you had during the campaign. We had the time to analyze your responses and talk with a few of you for more clarifications.
Thundergryph Bazaar Launch (our pledge manager)
Special Bazaar Livestream on June 22nd at 08:00 PM CET 2:00 PM EDT. We will be talking about which games we will have in stock, answer your questions live and give away a few add-ons for Tang Garden.
The Bazaar stress test launches on June 23rd. For the test, 5% of the backers will receive access to the Bazaar to make sure everything is working correctly. These backers are randomly selected and will receive an email on June 23rd after 16:00 CET.
The Bazaar's official launch for everyone is on June 24th at 20:00 CET.
All the invitations will be sent to your Kickstarter email address.
Frequently asked questions
We sent a survey during our campaign with several topics we wanted to discuss with you. We got almost 2’000 responses and more than 75% of you have played the game at least three times.
You can see the chart here:
With this information, it is clear that you know the game well and you were sufficiently informed about your answer.
We understand that this information might not be for everyone, but we want to thank you for being part of this and we felt it was interesting to share your answers.
Big Box, which shape will it have?
After seeing the box for Darwin’s Journey Collector’s Edition, we are confident that the Tang Garden’s big box can be cubical as per your preference. We don’t expect it to be super-wide as communicated (30x30x30cm) but instead (30x30x15cm). We will be communicating the official sizes as soon as GameTrayz finalizes our tray.
Can we buy separate boxes?
If you got or will get the Tang Garden Seasons Big Box, you will receive everything inside a single box. This is helping us avoid any damage to empty boxes, maintain low the number of containers required for freight, and have a more sustainable manufacturing process.
Thanks for voting the way you did.
We will still offer the expansions separately if you just need those and don’t have them included in your pledge. In that case, you will be receiving separate boxes.
Panorama Symbols
This was definitely the most interesting to analyze. The first thing we asked was if any of you had trouble understanding the Panorama symbols and this was your answer:
Then, excluding the 38.6% that have no problems with them, we asked how many plays were required to get comfortable with, and more than 70% answered three or fewer plays, which is considered the number of plays to learn any medium-weight game better.
The final question was if you preferred stickers on the Panorama tiles or tokens (like small coasters) to place outside the board to remind everyone which panoramas are there. For this answer, you were split into two groups.
We are leaning towards printing the cardboard tokens instead of the stickers, as the size increase with the stickers is around 20-25% for the big panoramas, but around 12% increase in the small panoramas (because of the limited space).
We will be undergoing a bit more testing and will give a final answer on this in the next update.
Do you have any questions?
Please write them down in the comments below. Our team will be answering them! For questions related to your pledge, you can reach us here.
We will be publishing a new update on June 23rd with more instructions on the Bazaar.
