Bumfuzzled Update from the Factory Floor!
over 2 years ago
– Wed, Oct 05, 2022 at 06:35:46 PM
Hey friends,
There's not much news to report at the moment, as the production process is humming along, but we thought you'd like to see some behind-the-scenes. Our manufacturer has been kind enough to take some photos and video for us as they produce the puzzles!
UV-Printing
Once they receive the wood stock cut to size, the puzzle color is UV-printed onto the wood. They first place the wood onto the machine, and give it a quick vacuum to remove any dust or debris, which would leave uncolored specks on the final puzzles.
Then, the UV-printing machine goes to town (not literally). For those that don't know, a UV-printer of this scale is one large, expensive machine! It can print 16 Bumfuzzleds at once. Our full order ended up being 5,000 units, meaning this process is repeated a little over 300 times to complete the order.
Laser Cutting
Of course, a mere printed hunk of wood doesn't make a great puzzle, so the soon-to-be-puzzles are then precisely aligned on the laser cutter. If you look closely, you can see here they've mounted some clear pieces of plastic with a "+" onto their cutter beds. The puzzles have the same "+" printed onto the wood. When they're precisely aligned, they know the cut alignment will match the print. At the end of the cutting process, the final pass of the laser then cuts around the edges, so the area with the alignment markings doesn't appear on the final puzzle.
After careful alignment, the laser cutters then do their thing! I thought it was interesting how our manufacturer has several cutting heads daisy chained together, so one machine is producing multiple puzzles at a time.
And that's it for now! While manufacturing is happening, we're also prototyping out next two projects, one fairly similar to the Bumfuzzled concept, but on steroids, and another all-new puzzle concept involving acrylic. Looking forward to showing those off as they develop!
We'll update again once we have a clearer timeline on production wrapping up, and getting these puzzle loaded onto a US-bound vessel.
Love and blessings,
The Krizans
Backerkit Surveys for Bumfuzzled are Out!
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Sep 15, 2022 at 04:32:10 AM
Hey friends,
Just a quick heads up that the Backerkit surveys have been sent! If you're not seeing them for some reason, make sure you're checking your email associated with your Kickstarter account, and also checking those promotions/spam folders.
It's fun watching the order confirmations roll in, and seeing what your favorite puzzle in the series is. For those curious, 34 Keys has a clear lead with 382 confirmed orders, with the other three having 316, 316, and 320. So, neck and neck for second place, but y'all definitely love that 34 Keys puzzle! :D
Returning Backers
We've gotten a few question about that free puzzle for returning backers. Assuming you're using the same Kickstarter account/email you used when you backed our first project, a free copy of Bumfuzzled #1 will show up in your cart as you check out.
What's Next?
In terms of production, I now have enough preliminary data to submit a final order number, which allows the manufacturer to start printing the designs onto the wood. I'll ask them for pictures along the way, but can't promise anything there, as they're obviously more focused on making puzzles that taking pictures of the process!
In terms of upcoming new products, this time of waiting is always an opportune time for us to start on the next thing. The best place to see sneak previews is our Instagram account. Recently, we posted a preview of an upcoming multi-layered puzzle. This first one is currently fully designed and in sample production, and I can say we're currently developing one more of this concept, dubbed the "Party in the Back" series. As usual, we won't start a project for these until this current project is fulfilled, though!
Love and blessings,
The Krizans aka Puzzle Bomb
Quick Backerkit Update for Bumfuzzled
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Sep 09, 2022 at 06:11:40 AM
Hey friends,
Just a really quick update since we've been getting some messages/emails about when the pledge manager will open!
This is our first time using Backerkit, and there were a few steps along the way taking longer than we anticipated. The main one is a payment that needs to be made to Backerkit before we can open the pledge manager. We made this payment at the end of last week once our Kickstarter funds arrived, and our bank account shows the money went out, but it's still pending on Backerkit's end. As soon as they clear the payment and they do a final review on our pledge manager set-up, we'll be opening the pledge manager.
In the mean time, we've already paid our manufacturer the deposit to begin production, so they've placed the order for the birch-veneered HDF, and will begin UV printing the wood once we have preliminary Backerkit results to base our final production numbers on.
We'll update again once the Backerkit pledge manager is live!
Love and blessings,
The Krizans aka Puzzle Bomb
The Bumfuzzled Kickstarter has closed. What comes next?
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Aug 18, 2022 at 10:55:58 PM
Hey friends,
Thanks to all of your wonderful support, we closed at over 1,000 backers, and nearly $100k in funding. Wow, what a ride it's been, and we're so grateful you enjoy our puzzles and are willing to trust us to get a great product into your hands!
So, now that we're funded, what comes next?
Next Steps for Backers
In the next 10-14 days, we'll open the Backerkit pledge manager, where you'll choose which puzzles you want, let us know your shipping addresses, and pay for shipping. You can also modify your order to add puzzles if you choose. This will allow us to have some early results to base our specific order on, as we don't know which puzzles will be more/less popular until some of your early pledge manager results come in.
Production Process
Also in the next 10-14 days, Kickstarter will deposit the funds into our account, which will allow us to initiate the order at our manufacturer, as some amount of up front money is involved there for them to order the raw materials (the birch-veneered HDF, and the plastic boxes, in this case).
Past that point, we'll keep you posted on the production process, letting you know factory timelines, when the puzzles get packed onto a boat for the US, and all the steps it takes to get from this point to the final puzzles in your hands.
Oh no, I missed the project! Now what!
We're already getting messages and emails from folks who meant to back and forgot. No worries! You can already late pledge here:
Thanks again, and we can't wait to have more news for you!
Love and blessings,
The Krizans
What a weekend for Bumfuzzled!
over 2 years ago
– Mon, Aug 15, 2022 at 09:28:06 PM
Happy Monday everyone!
What Happened this Weekend!?!
Those of you who are regular Kickstarter backers might have noticed an unusual surge in pledges over the weekend, which was wonderful to see! It's good to have great friends, and one of my long-time friends is the owner of BoardGameTables.com, who has a nice track record of success on Kickstarter. He was generously willing to email his hard-earned fans for us, which we're so grateful for!
Many of you are avid puzzlers, and if you've never checked out a gaming table, you really should! They allow you to pause mid-puzzle, eating dinner on the same table minutes later, without putting the puzzle away! I'd take pictures of mine, but it wouldn't do it justice as it's been well-worn by years of kiddos doing all sorts of things to a table. This video shows it off much better:
So much better than needing separate tables for both puzzling and eating, or trying to avoid getting spaghetti sauce on your puzzles!
They also produce some wonderful games you should check out! In particular, I love On Tour and Factory Funner!
The Final Days
With the final days approaching, we've been getting more questions about Backerkit:
1) Will I be able to change my pledge in Backerkit?
Yes! However, if you're planning to add puzzles, it's cheaper on KS than it will be on Backerkit. Not by a lot, but the best deal is going right now.
2) What about shipping?
Shipping will be charged when you check out in Backerkit. Especially for non-Canadian international buyers, please read the shipping tables near the bottom of the project description, as I'm trying my best to make sure you're not taken by surprise! This project will fulfill from the US, meaning you may have some steep VAT and fees to pay depending on your location. We looked at other options, but at our scale, just couldn't find good savings on shipping product straight to other regions, and fulfilling that region from there. The math just didn't work out vs. the extra logistics complications.
Back to School
On the personal front, we just dropped our kiddos off to start the school year. We home school, but they also have a wonderful homeschool program they attend twice per week with lots of other homeschoolers.
Back to School!
Blessings to all of the families backing who have kids heading back to school, or are serving kids as teachers yourselves!
Let's Go!
It would be so neat-o to see this project hit 6 figures, so let's see how these final days go. We're so overwhelmed by your support, and thankful you've decided to take this journey with us!
