Dracula's Curse™ - A Bloodthirsty Board Game

Caught in the Crossfire - An Update on the Journey
12 months ago – Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 08:58:57 AM

Hello wonderful Slayers and Vampires,

We wanted to share a quick but important update regarding our current status. As many of you know, we were scheduled to begin the ocean freight stage last week. Unfortunately, due to ongoing volatility and rapidly changing import conditions, we are currently in a holding pattern.

Most critically, the tariff rate to bring the games in has skyrocketed to an unexpected and staggering 145%. This dramatic spike happened without warning and has placed a significant strain on our ability to move forward immediately.

That said, there’s a small silver lining. Although the timing seems like the worst imaginable, it could’ve actually been worse. Had the games already been in transit when these unexpected and extraordinarily high tariffs went into effect, they could’ve arrived at the port and been held “hostage”, so to speak, incurring an impossible six figure tariff bill just to be released. Thankfully, we narrowly avoided that situation.

We're watching the situation closely, as changes are happening almost daily. We’re holding out hope that this is very short term and are actively exploring the limited options available to us with our fulfillment partners in the meantime.

We’ll keep you posted the moment we have more news. Thank you so much for your continued patience, support, and understanding! We’re doing everything we can behind the scenes to resolve this swiftly and responsibly during these largely unprecedented times.

We are incredibly grateful for each and every backer, and we are so thankful you're coming on this journey to Dracula's castle with us. After all, it's dangerous to go alone!

We'll see you in the castle!

The Retro Plus Games Team

A Major Update on Dracula’s Curse - Challenges & Triumphs
12 months ago – Thu, Apr 03, 2025 at 01:04:25 PM

Hello wonderful Slayers and Vampires,

We hope you're having an incredible week! After seven years of development, Dracula’s Curse is officially on its way. Manufacturing is complete and final assembly is being done. As of next week, the game will be loaded onto ocean freight, bound for our two warehouses. This should be a moment of pure celebration - but yesterday, an unexpected development cast a dark shadow over our excitement.

As some of you may have read, a new 54% tariff on imports from China was implemented without warning. This means that when the games arrive in the U.S., we've been told we could be facing a tariff charge upwards of $65,000 -a cost that does not include other import fees, freight surcharges, or warehousing expenses.

To be clear: this will not affect the delivery of your copies. Every backer will receive their game as planned. However, this sudden and severe tariff increase could have a profound impact on the industry as a whole and possibly even on our ability to continue making games at all. 

The emotional weight and toll caused by these tariffs within our lives and household cannot be understated. A struggle/stress and sadness, which as you can imagine, is still ongoing.

A Quick Recap of the Tariff Situation:

In February, a 10% tariff was implemented. We were worried, but prepared.

In March, it jumped to 20%. We were distressed.

Now, as of yesterday, an additional 34% has been added on top, bringing the total to 54% - a near unprecedented spike that has left us scrambling for solutions on what were already razor thin margins (par for the course in this industry). We are devastated.

Since the election in November, we’ve been keeping a close eye on this issue, preparing for potential increases. But the scale and speed of this latest jump have thrown even the most cautious planning into turmoil.

Why Not Manufacture in the U.S.?

Some of you might be wondering: why not produce the game domestically? The reality is:

Cost: Manufacturing in the U.S. is 5-9 times more expensive, even when factoring in freight costs.

Capability: Many U.S. factories lack the specialized equipment and skilled labor necessary to produce high-quality board games at this scale. With the many unique components in Dracula's Curse, it quite simply, would have been impossible to manufacture the game in the US with the current infrastructure.

We wanted to be transparent about the challenges ahead, but also about our commitment to making this work. This is not the end - far from it. With your continued support, we believe we can overcome this hurdle and ensure Dracula’s Curse has the future it deserves.

Despite these challenges, we remain committed to delivering the best damn vampire-slaying game to ever grace your table. Thank you for standing with us through every twist and turn. Your enthusiasm, support, and passion are what make all of this possible.

Our next update will come likely next week or the week after with information and instructions regarding EasyShip. In the meantime, keep your stakes sharp and your spirits high!

We are incredibly grateful for each and every backer, and we are so thankful you're coming on this journey to Dracula's castle with us. After all, it's dangerous to go alone!

We'll see you in the castle!

Oh you're still here? Perfect. Here's a message from The Game Manufacturers Association regarding the 54% tariff rate:

A Bite Sized Update: Dracula & Cthulhu Tokens Are Almost Ready!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Mar 07, 2025 at 08:12:58 AM

Hello wonderful Slayers and Vampires,

We had an absolute blast demoing the game at GAMA and were thrilled to meet some of our amazing backers in person! The response to the game was overwhelmingly positive, and it filled us with joy to see the smiles and excitement on everyone’s faces!

Now, back to business! We’ve got a quick but important update on manufacturing for you.

We’re excited to share that the Dracula and Cthulhu tokens will be completed on or before March 25th! The manufacturer is pleased with how they’re turning out (the tokens are looking amazing!), but the heightened quality control means production is slow and steady. They’re taking the time to ensure everything is perfect, and we’re all for it!

Once the those components are ready, the next step is final assembly. This process will take about one to two weeks, and then the games will be on their way to our two warehouse destinations: the Netherlands and the US. Panda GM has assured us that assembly will be wrapped up by April 9th at the latest.

Our next update will feature the much anticipated EasyShip instructions as we get ever closer to getting the game into your hands. Stay tuned!

Thank you so much for your continued support and patience. We can't wait for you to experience the game!

We are incredibly grateful for each and every backer, and we are so thankful you're coming on this journey to Dracula's castle with us. After all, it's dangerous to go alone!

We'll see you in the castle!

The Retro Plus Games Team

A Battle for Perfection: Dracula’s Tokens, Factory Tweaks, and the Final Stretch!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Feb 21, 2025 at 01:11:16 PM

Hello wonderful Slayers and Vampires,

Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Here's a look behind the manufacturing curtain and what’s been happening since receiving the final sample (MPC). After thoroughly reviewing each component, we had only one concern - the Dracula and Cthulhu stackable tokens. Here’s an image to illustrate the issue that wasn't present in our previous samples:

Panda, our wonderful manufacturer, explained that this was due to variance in the production of these wooden blocks. While it may seem simple, printing images on all six sides of a token in mass numbers is a complex challenge. The issue (highlighted by the blue squares above) was caused by "overspray."

Here’s the solution they proposed (image from the manufacturer/factory):

The token on the right shows the manufacturer’s proposed solution.

They suggested adding a small margin to the top and bottom of the Dracula image(s) to prevent overspray from bleeding onto the other sides of the token.

We were hesitant about this solution, but it seemed like our only option. We requested a sample to approve before moving forward, while manufacturing on the other components continued in the meantime.

Panda was able to get us a new sample (with the margins added) relatively quickly. Here’s what the updated stackable tokens looked like when they arrived at our doorstep:

If you’ve been following the campaign, it will come as no surprise that we were NOT happy with the result. Our mission has always been to deliver the best and most beautiful game possible, and this clearly felt like a step in the wrong direction - despite being a move toward quality control.

Determined to maintain our original vision, we equipped our battle gear, tightened our belts and worked closely with Panda to find a better solution.

After many sleepless nights waiting for a resolution, we were able to agree on the following:

• The factory will remove the margin, returning to the original approved design.
• Printing will be slowed down to increase accuracy and recalibrate as needed.
• Small overflows will be covered with black paint.
• For larger overflows, the factory will apply special quality control since black paint may leave visible marks.

After receiving this news, I took my first unencumbered breath in weeks. We are thrilled with the resolution and grateful to Panda for holding themselves to the same high standard that we do. Kudos to them and their incredible team!

Here’s one extra image to show the bottom of the tokens just for fun (and to illustrate that Dracula is always watching):

Manufacturing Timeline

While this won’t cause a significant delay, it does mean we’ll miss the factory’s estimated February 26th completion date. The rest of the components have been/are being produced and are still on track to finish next week, but these tokens are slightly behind and may push back the overall completion by a small margin.

Shelley and I will be attending GAMA next week, where we have a meeting with the manufacturer. We hope to receive an estimated final completion date for the remaining components at that time.

As soon as we have an update, we’ll share the good news along with details on the next step: EasyShip!

We are incredibly grateful for each and every backer, and we are so thankful you're coming on this journey to Dracula's castle with us. After all, it's dangerous to go alone!

We'll see you in the castle!

The Retro Plus Games Team

MPC Arrives - The Final COUNTdown begins 🩸
about 1 year ago – Wed, Jan 29, 2025 at 01:48:00 PM