Fly-A-Way: A Squawking Fun Game about Migratory Birds

Production status + pre-production sample
almost 3 years ago – Mon, May 03, 2021 at 03:53:30 AM

Hi friends,

We have received the pre-production sample for Fly-A-Way and our whole team is spending the next few days to thoroughly review it.

This part of the production process is for us to check if the printed copy tallies with the artwork we sent to our manufacturer and if all the components are in order. Once this is done, we’ll give the go-ahead for the full-fledged production of Fly-A-Way.

We had hoped to have done this by the end of April, but are working on this in the first week of May because of some unforeseen delays. Our production team overseas had informed us of some technical issues with printing, but have since reported that these issues have been rectified.

We would need to adjust the production timeline for Fly-A-Way and backers might receive their copies of the game later than expected. We apologise for this.

We would like to assure you that we are working hard to ensure that you get your copies of Fly-A-Way as promptly as possible.

In the meantime, we’d like to show you a video of the pre-production sample:

Reminder to fill backer surveys

Once the production of Fly-A-Way is complete, we’ll quickly move towards fulfilling orders. And, on this front, we’d like to remind backers who have not filled their BackerKit surveys to do so quickly.

We can only send copies of Fly-A-Way to the addresses provided through the surveys. Backers who provide their addresses after the fulfilment stage might, unfortunately, incur additional shipping costs.

Most of you have filled your surveys and we would like to thank you for this.

We will continue to provide you with updates on the production and fulfilment of Fly-A-Way, as we get them.

–The Fly-A-Way team

Production update: blank sample
about 3 years ago – Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 03:42:21 AM

Hi friends,

We hope all of you are well as we check in to share a few updates on the production of Fly-A-Way.

Since receiving the blank sample from our manufacturer, we have been corresponding with them to see how best we can fit all of the different components of Fly-A-Way in one box.

Working with cardboard material, instead of plastic, means that we cannot use moulds to shape our tray. It also means more handiwork by the manufacturing team. So, we have had to play more with designs to ensure that the tray holds and that there is minimal movement of the parts inside the box when it is carried around. It has been worth it, though, as we look to reduce our carbon footprint. 

Here are the different tray designs we considered:

Option 1, while having a lot of space to fit the bird, Wing It and Fowl Play cards, could not secure them as well as we would have liked. Options 2 and 3 were good in segmenting the different cards, but we felt that they still could not keep everything as compact as we wanted. 

We also had to think about how the map board, bird board and event board would sit once all of the cards had been placed. So, we went with Option 4, which ticked all of the right boxes, as you can see from the video below.

You might have noticed those colourful pieces occupying the long slot in the box. Those are the game components that we have been able to produce in their upgraded variants, thanks to all of your support in unlocking our stretch goals.

We shall end this update then with pictures of the bird-shaped pawns, feather-shaped links and house-shaped location markers.

Cheers,

The Fly-A-Way Team

Production updates: a change of birds + surveys
about 3 years ago – Mon, Feb 15, 2021 at 05:54:35 PM

Hi friends,

We’re moving to the production stage of Fly-A-Way and have some announcements to make regarding the final artwork and our backer surveys.

Artwork change: Snowy owl to replace the Ala Shan Redstart

In choosing the birds for Fly-A-Way, we had to consider the replicability of their journeys on our game map, while also picking suitable powers for them.

After refining our game during the final playtesting sessions in the last two months, we found that the Ala Shan Redstart card caused certain imbalances and didn’t work as well as we wanted. As a result, we have decided to replace this bird with the Snowy Owl.

We would like to apologise to all of our backers for this oversight. It’s with a heavy heart that we make this decision because we had liked the Ala Shan Redstart enough to include it as one of our six Kickstarter-exclusive cards.

We have since consulted with our knowledge partner BirdLife International (Asia) and decided that in the majestic Snowy Owl we have a fitting bird to take over the mantle of the Ala Shan Redstart.

The Snowy Owl was recently added to the Red List of threatened species due to its population declines and we think it is now timely to feature this highly charismatic species in Asia, which migrates from the Arctic to the open country of northern Asia.

We have ensured that the power we have assigned to this bird works well and is suited to its grandeur. We hope all of you will enjoy playing this bird when you receive Fly-A-Way.

Incomplete backer surveys

We have received several queries from backers who have missed the deadline to submit their surveys for shipping.

We would like you to know that your orders for Fly-A-Way have been made and your copies of the game are still available for you. However, we are limited by the time of final production to send all of our backers the game. We will be providing updates on this time in the future.

We urge you, though, to not wait and to submit your surveys immediately. This will help us avoid any last-minute complications that might arise from shipping disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact us at [email protected], if you are facing any issue with completing your surveys.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

–The Fly-A-Way team

Backer surveys closing in 5 days
over 3 years ago – Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 01:08:46 AM

Hi friends,

We have been busy working on the final artwork for Fly-A-Way and we can’t wait to start sending the games to all of you. To do this, we’ll need you to complete your surveys on BackerKit.

Most of you have done so and we thank you for this. There are still 181 people who have yet to complete the surveys, though, and we urge you to do so before 24 January, 11:59pm (GMT +0800).

Do note that we will not be able to process your order, unless you have completed the survey.

Below are some commonly asked questions.

1. What is the currency of the amounts indicated on BackerKit?

• All amounts indicated on BackerKit are in SGD and not USD.

2. What is behind the cost of shipping?

• Managing shipping rates has been quite a challenge, even more so with the COVID-19 pandemic. We've done our best to provide the best rates we can and to keep to the estimates we provided during our Kickstarter campaign.

3. I am a backer from Singapore. Can I opt for a self-pickup option instead of paying for shipping?

• As we're outsourcing the fulfillment of our orders, we regret that we’re unable to offer a self-pickup option. Our game is produced overseas and we have to factor in shipping costs for local orders too. However, we have kept the shipping rate for local orders the lowest.

4. I have checked my inbox and spam folders and can’t find the email for my BackerKit survey. What should I do?

• Please email us at [email protected], if you have not received your survey. We would like to note that some backers may experience issues because they are using private relay emails (e.g. [email protected]) .

5. Why do I have credits on BackerKit?

• The credits reflect the amount that backers pledged during the Kickstarter campaign. Backers who pledged above the amount indicated for a reward tier during the campaign will receive the excess in the form of credits, which they may choose to use for additional rewards or to offset shipping costs.

6. What should I do if I just want my pledged reward and do not wish to make add-on purchases?

• On the Add-on page of the survey, simply click on “NEXT”, without adding extra copies of Fly-A-Way. Check that you are only receiving the reward you pledged for and have not purchased any additional copies by accident. The amount at the end should reflect the cost of the reward in addition to the shipping fee corresponding to your address.

If you can’t see the BackerKit link in your inbox, do check your spam folder. If you are facing any other issue or require any clarification, you can reach us at [email protected].

Squawking thanks,

The Fly-A-Way team

Backer surveys out now
over 3 years ago – Thu, Jan 07, 2021 at 06:17:23 PM

Hello boardgamers and bird lovers!

We hope you are having a good start to the new year.

You would have received an email by now with a link to our backer surveys on BackerKit, the pledge manager platform we are using to fulfilll orders.

Do fill in your address and answer the necessary questions before 24 January, 11:59 pm, so that we can complete your order.

If you would like to get additional copies of Fly-A-Way, on top of your initial pledge, you can also do this through BackerKit.

We apologise for the delay in sending our backer surveys to you. We ran into some unforeseen obstacles when managing our pledge tiers on BackerKit.

Thank you for your patience!

—the Fly-A-Way team