Build robots! Upgrade them! Then send them off to attack your friends in an easy to learn card game of skill and luck!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Production on schedule! (Video)
over 3 years ago
– Sun, Oct 11, 2020 at 09:44:52 PM
Hello everybody!
I know you have all been very curious about the progress as we close in on the end of the year. Hopefully this video, from Golden Bell, will go some way to addressing that:
In short: Manufacturing is complete, and the game will be available "definitely before the end of the year". In this video you can also scope out a few of the cosmetic changes that have been made to the packaging to make the game more cost efficient, as well as some of the completed components that weren't shown in the last sample box (Those dice!)
More good news soon.
Manufacturing Begins
almost 4 years ago
– Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 08:47:18 AM
Hello!
I want to start off by saying that today marks three years since Killbots, Inc. was successfully funded, and I want to extend yet another warm "thank you" to all of you who have offered compassion and patience as the game makes it's long journey to the world at large. Things have certainly not gone as expected, but they are going. Speaking of which:
I have received word from my publisher that we have worked out factory details following the somewhat recent change in production prices and we are beginning the process of manufacturing the game. Production should take roughly 90 days, 30-45 days for ocean freight, and 15-20 days for shipping. If all goes according to plan, Killbots, Inc. will make it's way to your respective homes before the end of the year.
In between now and then, make sure you've updated your address and any other personal info on Backerkit HERE
I'll let you know when we've reached the next milestone in production - see you then!
-Doug
An Update and a message from Golden Bell
over 4 years ago
– Tue, Jan 21, 2020 at 10:55:08 PM
Hello everyone. There is movement once more on the production front! Here is a message from my publisher, Golden Bell, with the fine details:
Hey all you patient backers!
There is some good news to share and some not so great news to digest. Starting with the good...We have finally wrapped up the sample on Killbots, Inc! We have also heard fan feedback and have decided to first produce the game prior to the plushies since there are more gamers here that want the game rather than the plush.
A lot of people have asked for a status update on the project and we're here to share with you where everything is. The game is in fact ready for manufacturing but we are operating on very thin margins on top of a very small project budget as the factory we've been using has increased their Minimum Order Quantities. On top of risings costs in China continuing to escalate rather than stabilize we can't wait anymore hoping the prices will go down. For instance, the metal dice went up to $3.50 per dice which is financially unfeasible. However, if we can wind up raising additional funds on top of what we need we will still have this stretch goal. While Doug would have loved this stretch goal to be included I think we can all agree that the game is more paramount to crossing the finish line and into your homes then just a silly metal dice; while yes, it's very thematic we shouldn't sacrifice the entire game for a bonus stretch goal. Agreed?
Several people have asked for a financial breakdown of the project, we've shared on many previous projects how things roughly have worked and are happy to tell you where everything stands. Simply put, production is going to wind up running around $8,000 with having no additional units manufactured for retail. Then there will be roughly a $15,000 cost for shipping to backers, this isn't including the roughly $2,500 for importing the goods to America, Dutys, FOB Charges, receiving the inventory at our Warehouse, and the $3/package handling charge that our warehouse charges us. There was roughly a $10,000 advertising spend that was used to spread awareness of Killbots to many of you backers so the yield on the average cost of sale wasn't as high as we would have hoped. On top of that, since the project wasn't able to be fulfilled in the calendar year we had to pay a sizable portion of the funds on taxes.
Thus, it should be clear by now that the project is already in a short fall so we have a few options to present to everyone. The first is that because shipping should have never been "free", we have decided to open up an OPTIONAL shipping portal:
The second option is that we could put the game files on Game Crafter if someone doesn't feel that they'd like to take any unnecessary perceived risk. We understand the concerns that you may have but can assure you we've now delivered over 40 projects (both big and small) over the past six years. So regardless of what some naysayers may shout to the skies, it is mostly untrue, thus, we made this little graphic for you all to see how many projects and units we've fulfilled worldwide!
By now everyone should have the Print and Play files. To address a question I know many will ask, no refunds are not an option. There are no available funds in Killbots, LLC. to provide refunds as much of the money has already been spent, not to mention the countless hours that everyone has spent. We wish that Killbots would have hit a bit bigger then it did, but the project is not dead and we're not going to abandon everyone who has been so patient all this time. All we can say is that we are so sorry that it didn't turn out better and quicker might I add, but we wanted to inform everyone where the project stands and we can only ask not just for your understanding but your forgiveness in the miscalculation of not having a higher goal of when we had first started publishing games.
In hindsight, there certainly should have been a higher project goal as smaller projects like this are leaning more towards a hobby rather than a sustainable business model.
Please NOTE if anyone would like to trade in their pledge of Killbots for another game of equal or lesser value from www.GoldenBellDirect.com please let us know. The same offer will apply if you'd like another plushie that is currently available on our website if you don't want to wait for one of the awesome Killbots plushies. The only edit we have with the killbots plushies is making them a bit larger. We felt that 7-10inches was WAY too small for something so epic, and I'm sure you'll mostly agree. Please contact [email protected] for any of these requests and he'll help you right away!
Thanks for all your patience,
The Golden Bell Studios Team!
Take a look at these adorable lil' death machines
over 4 years ago
– Thu, Sep 05, 2019 at 12:15:37 AM
Hi Everyone. I know the updates have been sparse, but news is slowly but surely rolling in. First and foremost the plush toys are finally in a place where they're looking great and I can't wait to show you, so I won't:
The Basic Killbot. The game's original poster child and the first robot designed for the game.
The Clockwork Unicorn - Powered by dreams and controlled via an interior regulator mechanism.
These plushies are going to look a lot better than I had expected, and while it sounds like there were some recent setbacks with my publisher, I have not yet received word on whether that will effect our overall schedule.
The miniatures have been handed off to somebody who's a bit more experienced with mold-making than I, and I'll have some pictures to update you with on those soon.
I'll keep you in the loop with any new developments, but we're close guys. Real close.
Reviewing the new sample
almost 5 years ago
– Sun, May 26, 2019 at 08:50:14 PM
Hi everyone,
I've received the sample in the mail from my publisher and everything is looking great. There are a couple concerns with sizing that shouldn't add any delay to our timeline to address, but overall I'm pleased with the product. New images below.
