Innovation Ultimate

Here's the VOD of today's stream, where we take a peek into the box!



Overall, we're super excited about everything in there! It all looks great. We still need the box cover completed from the factory, which we'll share as soon as we have it, and with that hopefully final timelines from them. It's been real slow going getting info / etc.

Here's some photos!

First, the rulebook atop the box (I've put it through a lot of beating-up testing!) 


Next, we have the insert with cards, and the reference cards on top in their special slot:


I sleeved 60 cards each in some normal sleeves, and then some thick dragon shield sleeves. (you can see the box of them above!)  The bottom well here is the normal sleeves, and you can see there's plenty of space. The Dragon Shield cards do fit, but it's tighter. I wouldn't recommend thicker sleeves than that, but I'm also not sure what sleeves *would* be thicker than that.



Here's lots of cards laid out on the table! They're really pretty and we're excited about how they came out :)

Hey all, we will be doing a stream on Monday to take a peek at the factory sample we've received - it'll be live on the BackerKit page here or directly at twitch.tv/asmadigames. The VOD will be available afterwards, as well. 

We'll post a full update with photos/etc after the stream, but wanted to give everyone a heads up in advance! 

Greetings, Innovators and Future Innovators!

Quick Links!

If you would like to pre-order or have your survey re-sent, go here: https://innovation-ultimate.backerkit.com/

If that doesn't work and you have questions, email us: [email protected].

Production and Insert News

I have good news, and that good news is that the insert mold has been completed and we have approved it. Pictures? Yes.

First, an overhead shot of how the insert will look when you first open the box. The game will be split out into six decks of 120 cards each, one deck with all the special achievements/support cards, and the 0 deck, stashed away until you unlock it via play. These are placed into 6 of the 12 slots for increased security during shipping (the two small decks will be in one of the center wells).



Here's a lower angle shot - you can see the finger wells that'll allow you to get cards out easily:



Finally, here's a picture that shows two important things. One, sleeved cards in the wells, they fit comfortably (about 75-80 could fit, 60 is what will be in them). Also, the recessed area in the center which is where the Reference Cards sit (the rulebook will be on top of this). 



With this complete, production can now begin on the rest of the components. Everything else is pretty simple - it's cards and paper. We'll get an estimated schedule out to you once we have info from the factory!

And, once we have a sample in hand, we'll take one billion* photos.

Gen Con

We were thrilled to see so many folks at Gen Con! It was a blast demoing with real cards. We had hoped to take lots of photos and videos, but things were super hectic and there just weren't opportunities to do it. Here are a couple that we did take:

The cards look fantastic in person, this was our first time printing out the new Special Achievements layouts, and I was thrilled with the look. We got dozens of demos in, and dozens more people who just came up to look at the cards (hello to any backers that did!) and everyone was praising how cool it looked. Very excited to get these onto your tables!

Pre-Orders / Locking + Charging Cards

With production beginning, we will soon be closing pre-orders and charging the cards that haven't been charged yet for shipping + other add-ons.  My current estimate for pre-order end date is September 15, and we'll be charging all remaining cards the following week. 

If you've got friends who want to pre-order, or if you want to adjust your order, now's the time! If your order is locked and you need to make any changes, please contact me directly at [email protected] and I'll take care of it for you.

Addresses aren't locked in yet, those will lock at the end of September. There's a bit of wiggle room if you have an address change after that, but not a ton! 

Because Innovation Ultimate is so large, and also because our office doesn't have game storage space anymore, I can't ship out any orders directly myself. Everything will come from warehouses. If you don't make it in time for the fulfillment, options will be limited (and more expensive) on how to get you your game. So please fill out the things! 

We are at Gen Con this week, Booth #2555 - we're demoing Innovation Ultimate (Base + Unseen mostly) if you want to stop by and see the shiny new cards in action. We're also showing off the new One Deck Dungeon expansion, and selling many shiny pins. 

We're waiting on more proofs from the factory, the insert situation has been solved and when the updated molding is completed, printing will be underway! We'll update when that happens and we're close to locking in shipping addresses.

Since this is entirely cards, we're not anticipating any big production hurdles once the insert mold is complete. Fingers crossed for smooth sailing! 

We're overdue for an update on an important part of the game: the box!

Unfortunately, our first concept for the insert with crossing card wells for sleeved/unsleeved did not quite pan out. The math was not there, and trying to force it was leaving open too many problems. Fortunately, we've come up with a more simple solution that should accomplish everything we wanted to - with some bonus unexpected functionality!

The box will be 9"x11.5"x3.5" - a good chunk smaller than our earlier estimates. It will contain 12 primary insert wells, each of which is capable of holding 120 unsleeved cards or 60 sleeved cards. They will hold the 720 main cards for the game. 

Not pictured below, there are two small card wells in the center, that will hold any additional cards (Age 0 deck, Special Achievements if you want them split out).

Using my immense rendering skills (spoiler: i do not have immense rendering skills), I've build an approximate rendition of the insert - note, this very rough render is missing all the little features, finger holes for getting cards out easier, etc. 



The rulebook (8.5x11") and reference cards will sit on top.

One feature we didn't think was feasible was a box insert that's useful during play. But, with our transition to 12 wells from 6, we stumbled into some luck. 12 is one more than 11, and 11 is the number of ages in Innovation Ultimate! So, if table space is at a premium, you can arrange your cards in a way that let you use the insert as your card dispenser:


Personally, I prefer to play with cards on the table, in the clock form. But if this is something that's useful for you, go for it! It comes for free with the box :D

If you're playing with expansions, it may be even more useful:


If you store your cards sorted by age instead of expansion, you can simply rotate the expansions you're playing with in a given session 90 degrees.

Warning: Storing your Innovation cards like this in the box within reach of a Cat will result in an immediate incursion. You are taking away its natural sitting habitat. We are not responsible for any consequences of such an action. 

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With this squared away, our last hurdle before factory processing + production has been cleared, and we can proceed!