If you’re following the Fearsome Wilderness Kickstarter, I’ll be repeating a lot of what I stated there in our most recent update, while adding a few tidbits.

If this is the first you’re hearing of it then hopefully it doesn’t really impact you:  There’s a shipping crisis of global proportions, and although it’s everywhere, it’s especially affecting China, where our manufacturer, Whatz Games (of both Fearsome Wilderness and previously Cage Match) is located.  We are either literally on the same boat, or in the same line of boats, as all the other games that are finishing around this time, and that line is backed up like a logjam.

There are only so many things you can control.  Matt in particular spent many late nights working his tail off to get back to our manufacturer quickly every time there was feedback.  We met as soon as possible anytime there were materials sent to us, all to keep us on the schedule that we pledged.  We wrapped up everything with Whatz by mid-April, but by then, the shipping delays were already causing backups with Whatz’s other customers, pushing our shipping date further back in the queue.  Now we’re looking at end of June to start the shipping process, which typically takes 6-8 weeks but my guess is will take longer this time around.

I’m also backing Kabuto Sumo by Tony Miller, the board game that mimics those arcade games where you try to push the quarters off the thing to win prizes, and which I raved about in my post from Gen Con 2019.  It’s going to be delayed.

Matt is backing Townsfolk Tussle by Panic Roll, another one that’s being delayed.  That update was nice enough to include these links about the global shipping crisis.

• Quackalope video about it
• Here’s one by Boardgameco

Here’s yet another update, this one from Tainted Grail with more links about the power grid uncertainties that just add to the COVID problems:

• https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/China-GDP-engine-Guangdong-hit-with-perfect-storm-of-power-grid-uncertainty
• https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/chinas-largest-manufacturing-hub-guangdong-province-faces-electricity-shortage-101624319709779.html

As the character Willie Brown stated in the 1980s blues music movie, The Crossroads, “the blues ain’t nothin’ but a good man feelin’ bad.”  Well I feel bad about this, so I took to Twitter for help:

And got some responses:

Maybe we have something?  I’ve played a lot of blues in my life and can even carry a tune.