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Escape the Dark Castle

Created by Themeborne

A simple, co-operative tabletop game for 1-4 players, with a stylish design inspired by 80s fantasy nostalgia. Funded on Kickstarter in June 2017, now available for pre-order!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Cursed Again!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 08:59:59 PM


Just when we thought we were home and dry, today we receive news that our container has been randomly selected for a customs inspection. They want to x-ray it. That means it gets set aside and put in a special queue with the other lucky winners, until such time as customs see fit to let it go on it's way.  


We have to admit this feels like another deeply unfair twist of fate, but it's for security and we mustn't complain - it's part of the process that keeps us all safe at the end of the day. 

We don't know how long this process will take, it varies depending on how busy the docks are and how deep they choose to probe our cargo. It can be quick, a few days, but we are told a week or two is also very possible. As soon as we get any news we'll post an update. 

Hopefully this will be the last curse to befall us, but something tells me the Death Knight has not finished toying with us yet...

Land Ho!
over 6 years ago – Sun, Dec 17, 2017 at 12:30:02 AM

It's 2.28am and, like the salty sea-dog she is, the Magellan will be docking in the next couple of hours, slipping into harbour under the cover of darkness to deliver her atmospheric cargo.

Land ho!


With that, we can all breathe a sigh of relief as another vital step towards a safe, sound delivery is taken without incident. Barring any nightmares with the remaining processes of unloading, customs clearance (nothing to declare!) and the overland haulage which will follow in the coming week, we're still on course to ship out in the first week of Jan. 

Not long now!

Delivery Address - Final Call
over 6 years ago – Thu, Nov 30, 2017 at 10:32:51 PM

Dear Backers, 

To make sure we are ready to ship out your games the moment they arrive, we're doing some work behind the scenes with our fulfilment team to prep your orders. 

Please take a moment to log into your Backerkit survey and check you are happy with your delivery address. Have you moved since you filled out the survey? Are you going to be away in the first week or two of Jan? If you're not happy with your address for any reason please drop us a line here, on Facebook, or by email to [email protected]

Lots of backers have contacted us with address changes over the last few months, so we wanted to give everyone a chance to do a final check. 

Thanks for helping us ensure your parcels arrive safe and sound!

The Final Product
over 6 years ago – Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 11:19:05 PM

Exciting news!

The first copies from the mass production run have arrived at the studio and everything looks absolutely gorgeous. This is the game we set out to make, with exactly the look, feel and quality standard we first envisioned several years ago. Remarkable. 


Our inspection of these sets is now complete and we are authorising onward shipping from China. That means our print run will be packed and loaded onto a container ship within a week, and from there we'll get an exact date of its arrival into our UK warehouse. 

For now, we have to take a moment and acknowledge that this is a huge landmark. We want to thank all our backers for making it possible. We are extremely proud of the community that has built up around this game, and well, just look at this beautiful thing we've achieved as a group. 

As the game heads out to sea, it seems fitting to say 'Bon Voyage', and we'll keep you posted as things progress towards final delivery plans. 

Shipping Update
over 6 years ago – Thu, Oct 26, 2017 at 01:32:29 AM

Dear backers,  

As our estimated ship date of November approaches, we wanted to give you the very latest news on the production and shipping of Escape the Dark Castle.  

As you know, we’ve experienced a few unfortunate delays throughout the production process – first a typhoon which knocked out power to our factory, and then our delayed production slot spilling over into the Chinese ‘Golden Week’ national holidays.  

More recently, some of the samples the factory showed us just weren’t up to scratch, and to make sure we deliver a high-quality game we’ve asked for some changes. We have been working furiously behind the scenes, but shipping in November will not be possible. We are aware this will be frustrating news for many of you, and we too are very disappointed, however we are also keen to deliver the best game we can. We’re adopting the philosophy of legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who once said, ‘A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is bad forever.’  

If no other external forces impact on our production and delivery process, we are now aiming to ship out during December, and specifically before Christmas. However, due to transit times and the typically high volume of seasonal postal traffic, we are informed that for some backers the game may not arrive before Christmas. There is every chance it will, but we don’t want to promise something we can’t guarantee to deliver.  

We have also decided to delay the retail release of the game until January 2018 to ensure that you, our wonderful backers, will have your Kickstarter editions before the standard edition hits the shops.  

We’ll post more updates as we get closer to the actual ship date, but for now we just want to say thank you again for keeping the faith. We’re lucky to have you, and despite this delay we’re still sure you’re going to love what we’ve made. 

We can’t wait to share it with you.  

Tom
Owner
Themeborne