March of the Ants: The Ultimate Ant Civilization Game

Tariffs, Timing, and Transparent Communication
12 months ago – Thu, Apr 17, 2025 at 10:59:48 AM

Hello Wonderful Ant Backers,

We know that you’ve seen a lot of updates and talk flying around lately about tariffs, shipping delays and what it all means for the board game world. It’s been a lot to say the least. So today, we want to share where things stand for March of the Ants, and how we’re navigating it all as a small team doing our best to stay on track.

Like most publishers, we make our games in China because the U.S just doesn’t have the manufacturing infrastructure to support board game production. In our previous update, tariffs were at 20% which was tough but manageable, since then the U.S administration has increased the tariff rates to 145% on Chinese board game imports.

For a small independent publisher like us, this has a very real impact. A tariff at that rate would mean paying more than the entire cost of the game just to bring the games into the U.S. On top of the cost, what makes this even more difficult is the unpredictability. It’s nearly impossible to build a sustainable fulfillment plan when the cost to deliver the game could change dramatically overnight.

Production Status

Despite the uncertainty, we’re doing everything we can to keep this project moving forward. This week, we received the color paper proof from our manufacturer—all the printed components on flat sheets, but nothing mounted to punchboard or assembled into boxes. 

We were expecting to receive the full pre-production copy (PPC) which is a high level prototype of the game, but there was some miscommunication with the factory. The paper color proof is useful for checking layout and color alignment, but it’s not enough for us to approve full production.

We’ve requested the full pre-production copy (PPC) and expect to receive it within the next three weeks. That does mean a slight delay to our original production schedule, but it will give us a little more time to try to navigate this tariff nightmare. Hopefully by then, tariff rates will have dropped—or at least stabilized—so we’re not making decisions in the dark.

Here’s what we’re doing to keep things moving and minimize disruption:

• We are moving forward with all of the pre-production steps so that we will be ready to print as soon as possible.
• As mentioned in the previous update, we’re delaying the close of the pledge manager until the games are close to arriving in the U.S.—likely in August, but we’ll keep you updated if this changes. 
• For U.S. backers, we’re still weighing options. If tariffs remain high, we may need to ask for a small contribution to help offset the cost, or delay U.S. fulfillment slightly until rates stabilize.
• For Canada and Mexico, we are actively researching alternative shipping methods. Our goal is to deliver your games with no additional cost.
• For backers outside of North America, you should not be affected by U.S. tariffs, and we’ll continue routing through our regional fulfillment hubs.

We know this uncertainty isn’t easy for anyone. It’s a challenge for small businesses like ours and frustrating for customers who just want to know when their games are arriving. But we’re 100% committed to getting your games to you and to keeping you informed every step of the way. Our goal as always is to deliver the games to you with as little stress or added costs as possible. We’re actively exploring every option to make this happen and we’ll continue to keep you updated as we learn more.

Thank you again for your patience and trust. It means everything right now.

Tim
 

Marching Towards Production
about 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 04:44:20 PM

Greetings Marcher!

I hope this update finds you well. Here at Weird City Games we’ve been busily working to finalize all the files for March of the Ants: Evolved Edition and we are excited to say that the task is now complete. When we first set out to create an updated version of this game we thought it would be a quick and easy project. But the deeper we dove in, the more we wanted to put the time in to make sure the updated version was as awesome and polished as possible. We're thrilled with how it turned out and can't wait to share it with you all! 

Production Update
This week we put the final touches on ALL of the files and we just sent them off to the manufacturer. We're now waiting to receive the Digital proofs, which we expect sometime next week. Once those are approved, the manufacturer will start working on the PPC (pre-production copy) which should take about 2 weeks to create and ship to us. We’re hopeful that by mid-April we will have received and approved the PPC and then mass production will commence. We'll share many pictures once we receive the PPC to show off the first look at the final components. 

While this process did take a bit longer than expected, the good news is that if we can keep to this timeline, we will still be in good shape to fulfill games to backers by our goal of September!

Tariffs
Many backers have been asking how tariffs will affect Kickstarter deliveries. Unfortunately for consumers, small businesses and pretty much everyone, the current administration in the USA is pursuing a policy of tariffs. There is currently a 20% tariff on all goods imported from China. This will definitely impact our bottom line and will most likely lead to an increase in the MSRP of our games. 

The news on tariffs is shifting every day, creating an extremely unpredictable business landscape. It is hard to anticipate what the costs will be next week, let alone in 5 months when we expect March of the Ants to land. For this reason, we will be delaying the close of the March of the Ants pledge manager until the games are very close to making port in the USA (likely in August). 

Our goal is to get the game to backers without any extra cost, but, depending on the amount of tariffs, we may need to ask backers in the US to contribute to cover some of that cost. For backers in other countries that might be affected due to their games importing from the US (Canada and Mexico), we are researching alternative methods to deliver your games that do not have them pass through the US, and we hope to deliver your games to you with no additional cost.

In this time of instability we promise to be as transparent and upfront with you all as possible. We’ll keep you updated and informed throughout the process. We hope you are finding time to game and do other activities that bring you joy.

Thank you as always for supporting our dream of making boardgames!

Tim, Ryan and the Weird City Games Team!

From White Box to Production: March of the Ants Progress Report
about 1 year ago – Tue, Feb 04, 2025 at 10:52:43 AM

Hello March of the Ants Backer!

We hope the start of 2025 has been good, and you're staying warm during this coldest part of the year (in the northern hemisphere). We’ve been busy prepping March of the Ants files for print, and putting the final touches on the development of the Predators and Prey expansion. Our manufacturer, like everyone in China, is currently celebrating the Lunar New Year, and will be closed until February 10th. Fortunately, they were able to ship out the white box sample, before the holiday began.

White Box
The White box sample includes all the paper components of the game, in their final form, but without any printing. This allows us to make sure everything is the correct size and fits together how we envisioned. We spent some time yesterday reviewing all the components and making sure the count was correct. 

Fortunately, almost everything in the White Box looks just as we envisioned it. There are a few small tweaks and adjustments needed, but at this stage they are easy to make. By completing a quality inspection at this stage, we’ll be able to make the needed changes, and hopefully avoid any delays or revisions in the PPC stage (pre-production copy).

Thank You Proofreaders!
Many thanks to everyone who helped proofread the base game cards and rulebook. You all caught many grammatical errors and had excellent suggestions to increase clarity and consistency. Thanks to your dedicated efforts, the rulebook and cards are much better!

Dragonfly Art
Our fantastic artist Alder has completed the artwork for the expansion box cover showing a dragonfly pursuing ants during a mating flight. We’re very excited to feature this art on the Dragonfly predator card, the back of the Deluxe box, and the expansion box.

Next Steps
As soon as the manufacturer opens back up in mid-February, we’ll start sending them our final files. We’re planning to turn in all base game files by the end of February, and all expansion and deluxe files by the first week of March. The manufacturer will need 1-2 weeks to prepare the files and finalize digital proofs. They will then print and ship the PPC (pre-production copy), which we hope to receive by April 1st. If everything looks good in the PPC, we'll be ready to press go on and start making some games! 

The final touches have taken us slightly longer than anticipated, but we want to make sure the game is as polished as possible and luckily we built in some buffer in our timeline. If we keep the project moving as planned, we'll be on track to deliver games to folks in September. We’re really excited with how the final product is shaping up and can’t wait to get this game to you!

Thank you!
Tim, Ryan and the Weird City Team!
 

Proofing, Production, and PAXU!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Dec 30, 2024 at 01:58:16 PM

Hello Fantastic March of the Ants Backers!

It’s been a busy month for us as we’ve been finalizing development of the game, prepping files for print, and we also attended PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia. It has taken a bit longer than planned to finalize the base game, but we now have the rules, cards and components in final form and will be preparing to hand them off to the manufacturer over the next 2 weeks.

Proofing Help
Many of you expressed interest in helping us proofread the rulebook and cards. We would greatly appreciate extra sets of eyes on those components. We’ve diligently reviewed them many times, but after you read something 100 times, seeing it with fresh eyes becomes increasingly difficult.

You can find links to both the rulebook and card file for the base game below. You can comment directly on the file from your web browser. We’ll be accepting comments and feedback until January 7th. If you proofread and would like to be credited in the rulebook, please leave the name you would like to be credited under in a comment (or send in a message through Kickstarter).

Online Proofing Notes: In the top left corner of the page you should see the comment icon. Click on this and then highlight the area you would like to comment on. In the bottom left corner (above the + and - size icons) there is a page icon that will allow you to adjust the view. Select "2 Page View" and "Show Cover Page" for optimal viewing. 

Proofing Notes: We are mostly looking for proofing help to identify spelling and grammar errors, and to identify any areas that feel overly dense or difficult to parse. The layout and graphic design are still in draft form, but feel free to share any ideas or suggestions to help us improve them. 

Base Game Rulebook Link
Base Game Cards Link

Pledge Manager
Thank you to everyone who has completed their pledge in Backerkit! So far 83% of you have completed the survey and we appreciate you getting that finalized so quickly. If you haven't completed your survey yet, you can find your survey by going to Backerkit’s survey recovery page. Enter March of the Ants: Evolved Edition for the project and then the email address you used to pledge on Kickstarter. 

Production Timeline Update
We are a little behind schedule on handing files off to the printer due to time off for PAX Unplugged and holiday vacations. Our current goal is to get all of the base game files ready to hand off to the manufacture by the middle of January, and have all expansion files and the Deluxe version complete and ready by mid-February. If we meet those handoff dates we will still be in good shape to deliver your games by September 2025. 
 

PAX Unplugged
We had a great time at PAX Unplugged. A big highlight was showing off March of the Ants to new folks and to people who backed the campaign, but hadn’t seen the game in person. Thanks so much to everyone who came by the Weird City Games booth to check it out!

We hope you all enjoy a safe and fun New Year's Eve!

Thank you!
Tim, Ryan and the Weird City Crew
 

Pledge Manager is Open!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Nov 21, 2024 at 04:20:56 PM

Hello Fantastic Fans of March of the Ants!

It took us slightly longer than anticipated, but we have now opened the Backerkit pledge manager. For those new to crowdfunding, you will use the pledge manager to finalize your order,select any extra add-ons, and pay shipping fees and taxes. Backerkit has sent a survey to the email you used on the Kickstarter. Please complete that to finalize your pledge. We've compiled a short FAQ on Backerkit below:

Q: How do I find my BackerKit survey?

A: If you don't see it in your main email, search for Backerkit in your spam and junkmail folders. If you accidentally deleted the email containing your BackerKit survey, you can recover your survey by going to Backerkit’s survey recovery page. Enter March of the Ants: Evolved Edition for the project and then the email address you used to pledge on Kickstarter.

Q: When are my rewards shipping?

A: We plan to begin shipping all rewards by September 2025. We’ll send out monthly updates to keep everyone informed on our progress!

Q: When will my card be charged?

On the final page of the survey you will submit payment information and see the final total owed. However, the pledge manager will not charge you until the we close it in May of 2025. This can be confusing, but allows you to change or update your pledge at a later date, and let's us run all the cards at one time. We will send an update before the pledge manager closes to let you know that your card will be charged. 

Q: How do I choose the local pickup option if I'm in Portland, OR?

A: This one's a bit tricky! On the first page of the survey, you'll need to choose the local pickup option from the country list dropdown. When you reach the address section, you can then put 'N/A' in all other fields. We’ll reach out closer to fulfillment to let you know about the time and place!

Q: I have a question not listed here.

A: Email us at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

Final Development and Pre-Press

We're wearing many hats over hear at Weird City Games HQ as we prepare to hand off files to the manufacturer. We're doing final testing of the base game variants and expansions, revising the rulebook, planning box layout and storage, commissioning final artwork, designing box backs, preparing die layout for the punchboard components and many other small but important tasks. We're making good headway and feel confident we'll be able to meet our goal of handing off the final files in January 2025. 

Online Playtesting has been going great! Many thanks to all the folks who've joined us for games or played independently. Getting outside eyes on the game is super helpful before we go to print. If you haven't jumped in a game yet, but would like to you can find all the info here: PLAYTESTING LINK

We're putting final touches on the base game cards and rulebook and will have those components ready to share soon with all the wonderful backers who signed up to help proof those files. 

We'll be back in early December with another update. 

Thank you!

Tim, Ryan and the Weird City Team