Hello everyone!
Here is the long-awaited Holiday 2024 Update!
I apologize for the delay. Please know first and foremost I am a time optimist and that sometimes things take a little longer to get out. Especially as there are some items in motion in the background that I am trying to finalize so I can announce in confidence and share with everyone. Especially, when it comes to things like timelines, deals, shipping, and prices 😊
Kickstarter Campaign End
With the campaign over on Kickstarter the funds are held 14 days plus bank processing time (+3-4 days). Because of the processing delay I just received the campaign funds 2 days ago…
I am now happy to announce that the game is officially entering production this week!
I am working diligently with the manufacturer and am paying expedited costs to get this game shipped to the warehouse in Los Angeles by Jan. 25th to avoid having to pay any potential tariffs. These are terrible and only raise the cost of the goods. Please know I tried to find a domestic manufacturer however, the cost was 4 times as much to be made in the U.S. and I don’t think any of you would want to buy a $500 board game which is crazy as that’s basically the cost of a basic dell laptop or Xbox!
While I had hoped to start production earlier this month, I was unable to secure enough private funding via loans to pay the manufacturing cost for the boardgames in advance (P.S. its $70K bill before shipping which is another $15K). I did, however, start on some of the add-ons. I have the first batch of 200 challenge coins in hand, and hope to have t-shirts in the next 2 weeks. Note, the coins and T-shirts will be mailed separately.
New Online Store: EM Disaster Gaming Store
With the Kickstarter campaign over and successfully funded I have created a new online store EM Disaster Gaming where you will be able to purchase the game and future games, goodies, expansions, and merchandise here: https://emdisastergaming.com/
For professionals you can also order custom games tailored and mapped to your own community and even inquire about holding or sponsoring a local game night, and scheduling me to come out and facilitate a wargame for your organization.
Please know that Kickstarter was a learning experience for us all! I know it caused some headaches and had some issues. Going forward, my own store should remedy this.
Shipping
Agreements are signed with EasyShip! I have weekly calls to coordinate shipping with them and am working to make shipping a smooth process. The games will go from the manufacturer overseas to a warehouse in Los Angeles. From there they ship to their final destination. The good news is that domestic U.S. shipping should be pretty affordable since they ship from a warehouse in Los Angeles. 😊
Important Shipping Information!
You will get an email from EasyShip Collect between Jan. 6th – 9th. This will go out in waves to backers in case there are any technical issues with the system. You will need to enter your shipping information into EasyShip and will pay for shipping directly. Shipping was not collected during the Kickstarter Campaign. Through EasyShip you will have a few options to choose from depending on your location for shipping (cheapest, fastest, economy).
Updated Shipping Timeline
The new updated Shipping Timeline is for games to get shipped from the warehouse in Los Angeles to you late January and arrive early Feb. For those overseas: Europe, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, etc. Shipping will take an additional 1-2 weeks and arrive hopefully mid-February.
Upcoming Events
On the EM Disaster Gaming Website, I will be posting future events, conferences, and competitions I will be attending this year where you can play the game in person for prizes, awards, and other goodies. I will also be unveiling exclusives throughout the year. I hope to make it to Pax (East or West TBD) and am in the process of lining up deals to hold game nights at several conferences and expos. More to come! I have a lot of travel planned for 2025.
Future News:
Please know that this is the start of a whole disaster gaming series. I have 5 other games in the works and 2 spin-offs. In 2025 I am shotting to release the next game mid-year. 😊It will be bigger and more challenging! Hint: Large scale disaster – multi-state maps!
After the Kickstarter orders are fulfilled please sign up for the newsletter and join the public Facebook page, and YouTube for the latest news! I am working on releasing a video series on Disaster Wargaming and more on the game and future developments so you can see the awesome work underway.
Happy Holidays Announcement!
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for your support and continued patience. It’s a lot of work! I hope to transition to working on Disaster Wargaming fulltime later in fall 2025 and also hope to hire 1-2 staff members to help bring you the best of Disaster Wargaming and other fun experiences.
I am dedicated to making amazing, affordable experiences for everyone! As the new slogan goes, this game series is made by a professional, for professional first responders and emergency managers, and the families and public!
As a thank you and consolation for the delay in shipping,
I am upgrading current orders of thestandard editions of the game to Deluxe for free!
Current orders of the Preorder/Deluxe Editions, and all Ultimate Editions of the game will receive the National Guard Player Pack for FREE! These are super units and make a big impact late game when you need the most support.
More news to come, stay tuned! I’ll send out another email once the EasyShip emails start going out to collect your shipping information.
Happy Holidays,
Arthur J. Simental
