BOARD GAME DELIVERIES HAVE STARTED!
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 19, 2022 at 03:51:04 PM

The time has come and the Disparity Trap board games have begun to be shipped out to your homes! 

This is the last step of what has been a very long but very rewarding process and I am so grateful that you have stuck it out with us through it all.

Below are some very important details so please read through this ENTIRE update, thoroughly, so that you have all of the necessary information for what to expect next.

DELIVERIES

We have begun shipping out hard copy game sets through the following process:

1) To those who completed the mailing address survey (See below for more details if you have questions about the survey)

2) Chronologically based on backer/pre-order dates (Kickstarter backers first, then pre-orders based on date of each order)

We will email you when your particular pre-order has begun the shipping process. We expect the delivery to be fairly quick (3-4 BUSINESS days) but please allow 5-7 BUSINESS days. We will be sending out a specific delivery email notification to you when your specific pre-order is in the shipping process and set to arrive at your mailing address. 

If you have completed your survey before the 15th of December and have not received your game set before the 23rd of December, feel free to send us an email and we will be able to assist the best we can.

GET 6 MONTH FREE ON THE VIRTUAL VERSION

Product Reviews are a vital part to the growth of any new startup but especially something as new as this board game. So in order to help grow awareness we would like your help!

If you email us a short review (50 words or more) or email us a video of you opening the game or playing the game we will send you a voucher code for 6 FREE months of the premium subscription for the virtual version of the board game. This is in addition to the 3 months free for any pre-orders prior to August 15th, 2022. This offer is for a limited time only and expires at the end of January 2023.  

You can send your review and/or videos to [email protected] and can use the subject: "Disparity Trap Review"

If you purchased your board game before August 15th and have questions about your 3 month voucher, feel free to email us at [email protected]. 

For more info about the virtual version check out the details below: 

Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/disparity-trap/id1629665659

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.disparity

Web Browser: Game.DisparityTrap.Com

The game is free to sign up & play but requires a subscription to create/host your own game rooms. Create an account, log in and then go to Settings for tips and details.

WORKBOOK

Those who ordered an Educator Set, Educator Bundle, or a Workbook separately, AND have completed their mailing address survey, will have access to the "Print & Play" Workbook PDF starting December 17th, 2022. 

This document will be protected through a link login using your most current email address on file. See below for the link to access your Workbook.

It also contains security provisions to ensure that the document stays within the confines of the intended parties. One of those provisions is a watermark that will appear on any download or printed copy of the Workbook. This watermark will contain the email address, date and time of download. This watermark will not inhibit the use of the workbook. The purpose of these security measures is to ensure that the document doesn't become shared, replicated, or altered illegally.

If you have purchased a Workbook, Educator Set or Educator Bundle you can go to this link below and begin to Print & Play: Workbook.DisparityTrap.com

For questions or concerns regarding your Workbook, please email us at [email protected].

If you would like to order a Workbook, you can do so by going to this link below and submitting an order (your access email will be the same email you used on your order): https://disparitytrap.net/products/workbook

MAILING ADDRESS SURVEY (Reminder)

The following is only for those who have NOT completed their survey. If you have already completed your survey please do not resubmit the survey again. It will only delay the time you get your delivery because we have to go and trace the past surveys submissions.

If you are unsure if you've completed your survey, please email us at [email protected] rather than re-submitting the survey because it is easy on our team to filter if we don't have duplicate submissions. 

If you happened to have moved since the last time you submitted the survey, please email us at [email protected], instead of submitting the survey, because we may have already shipped your pre-order and will need to be made aware more immediately of the address change. 

If you have not completed the survey confirming your mailing address, please check your inbox for the email. You can do a search in your inbox for the subject title "DISPARITY TRAP: We Have Started Delivering Board Games!". In that email will be the mailing address we have for you on file as of the date of the email. If that address is correct, click the survey link and enter your email address and check "Yes". 

If the address in the email is incorrect, click the survey link and enter your email address and check "No", then enter your updated address.

We cannot provide the survey link in this message because you need to see the mailing address we have on file for you in the email before completing the survey.

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]

PRICES IN 2023 (Reminder)

We launched the board game a little over a year ago (Summer 2021) just on the hope that others would see the potential of this idea and join us on the journey. And from the very beginning we made it a point to price the game sets as low as possible so as many people as possible could access and play them. 

Additionally, paying for professional designers, social media advertising (which is the main way most of you found us, and is roughly 60% of our expenses), state and federal sales taxes (typically added to online checkouts but we decided waive for pre-orders), Shopify fees, bank processing fees, manufacturing costs, ocean freight shipping fees, brokerage fees, Customs importer fees, taxes and tariffs.

Any remaining funds have been invested to build a virtual application of the board game for Android, iPhone, and web browser. Which is now in beta testing (see previous emails and Kickstarter updates for details on how to find and play). And we anticipate spending much more to get the virtual application suitable for classrooms and organizational learning.

For this reason, we've come to the conclusion that we have to increase the prices in order to continue supplying this game long term.

So if you would like to secure another hard copy game set for your friends/family/organization at the current pricing, we highly encourage you to ORDER NOW before we raise the prices this month. Feel free to spread the word as well! By the end of November the new prices will be as follows...

Game Set (1 unit):

Currently $35 + $9 flat shipping + no sales tax, will increase to $49 (location based shipping + CA sales tax)

Order Page: https://disparitytrap.net/products/game-set

Educator Set (1 unit + workbook):

Currently $50  + $9 flat shipping + no sales tax, will increase to $79 (location based shipping + CA sales tax)

Order Page: https://disparitytrap.net/products/educator-set

Educator Bundle (4 units + workbooks):

Currently $159  + $36 flat shipping + no sales tax, will increase to $249 (FREE SHIPPING + CA sales tax)

Order Page: https://disparitytrap.net/products/educator-bundle

Workbook (print & play PDF):

Currently $15 + no sales tax, and will increase to $30 (CA sales tax and emailed file access)

Order Page: https://disparitytrap.net/products/workbook

SUMMARY

We will be mailing out thousands of game sets this week, which will be no small feat. So if, for any reason, you have a question or concern regarding your pre-order we ask that you be patient with us as the response times may take a bit longer than usual for the upcoming days. 

Our hope is to have all the orders for all the completed surveys out by the end of the week.

For the latest updates on the game, you can follow along on our Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/disparitytrap/disparity-trap-board-game/posts

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].

Happy Holidays!

We have cleared U.S. Customs!
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Nov 19, 2022 at 06:43:28 AM

Thank you for your patience!

The shipment clearance through U.S. Customs took 14 days, which was much longer than anticipated. We are told this is because our company is a "first time importer" into the U.S. and with importing a board game (which is under the Toy classification), and all toys coming into the United States are examined more extensively upon entry to protect the citizens at large.

We appreciate the hard work of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and thank them for their thorough efforts to keep our country safe, especially during this holiday season. 

Because of this extended hold at U.S.  Customs, we will not be able to make delivery before Thanksgiving as we originally hoped. 

 We want to be as transparent as possible with you on when you will be receiving your board game. So here's what we do know:

•  The cargo has cleared U.S. Customs.
• The cargo is now in transit to the fulfillment center as we speak.
• The fulfillment center will take the multiple pallets of boxes containing the thousands of board games and separate them, organize them and label them for shipment.
• We are told because of the quantity and nature of the product, the sorting process will take at least 2 weeks. 

This timeline means we should be able to begin delivering the games the first or second week of December. 

Once the sorting has been completed and we are clear to begin shipping, we will send out an update so you all can keep an eye out for your delivery.

To effectively deliver these 13,000 game sets across the country, we will continue to prioritize deliveries in the same manner mentioned in the previous update. And that order is as follows: 

 1) Completion of the Survey Confirmation (sent to your email inbox - if you can't locate it, email us at [email protected])

 2) Date of Original Pre-Order Purchased (delivering chronologically)

If you haven't completed the Mailing Address Confirmation Survey please do so as soon as possible. Again, that should be in your email inbox under the subject "[ACTION REQUIRED] DISPARITY TRAP: Mailing Address Confirmation Survey". 

If you wish to receive a refund for your pre-order, please let us know ASAP - before we begin deliveries - by emailing us at [email protected]. For more info on our refund policy, please visit the bottom of our website at www.DisparityTrap.com. 

We know the wait has been long for this indie Kickstarter project but we assure you no one is more excited to have you play this game than us! 

If you haven't yet, be sure to look at our past updates (the most important being the one right before this update - from November 1, 2021).

We are nearly there and we look forward to you playing this game for the holidays!

Best

ACTION REQUIRED: Mailing Address Survey + Shipment Update (photos) + Price Increase Coming
about 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 01, 2022 at 07:55:29 AM

The cargo shipment has arrived to the U.S. Port Authority, but the cargo has to go through a U.S. Customs hold and examination before we can pick it up and beginning fulfilment of deliveries. 

WE ARE SO CLOSE:

Below are photos of some of the hundreds of boxes we have waiting to clear customs. We are told this process just takes a couple days so while we wait for that clearance, please read this entire email to make sure your order is ready to go once we have the game sets on the delivery line.

COMPLETE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS SURVEY:

Many of you have reached out to us over the past year to update your mailing address. We have replied, and updated your address in our system.

On November 1st, you should find an email that has the latest mailing address we have on file, along with a ONE QUESTION survey link that asks you to confirm whether the mailing address is current and accurate.  If the address is incorrect, no problem! The survey in the email has a place where you can enter the updated mailing address. 

We cannot mail you your board game until you submit this survey. 

So please check the email address you used to on your pre-order and search your inbox for the email with the subject title "DISPARITY TRAP: Mailing Address Confirmation Survey..."

To effectively deliver more than 13,000 game sets across the country, we will prioritize deliveries in the following order:

1) Completion of the Survey Confirmation (in email inbox)

2) Date of Original Pre-Order Purchased (delivering chronologically)

If we don’t have the completed survey we cannot deliver your game set(s) because we do not want to send your precious cargo to the wrong address and delay your delivery any further.

Please complete and submit the emailed survey AS SOON AS POSSIBLE so that we can prioritize your pre-order for delivery once the cargo arrives at our fulfilment center. Expected delivery date depends on the listed criteria above but we anticipate you should have the game within 3 weeks once the shipment has cleared customs. Keep an eye on your emails for updates on that cargo release announcement!

PRE-ORDER PRICES ARE ENDING SOON:

We launched the board game 18 months ago (Spring 2021) just on a hope that others would see the potential of this idea and join us on the journey. And from the very beginning we made it a point to price the game sets as low as possible so as many people as possible could access and play them. 

Additionally, paying for professional designers, social media advertising (which is the main way most of you found us, and is roughly 60% of our expenses), state and federal sales taxes (typically added to online checkouts but we decided waive for pre-orders), Shopify fees, bank processing fees, manufacturing costs, ocean fright shipping fees, brokerage fees, Customs importer fees, taxes and tariffs.

Any remaining funds have been invested to build a virtual application of the board game for Android, iPhone, and web browser. Which is now in beta testing (see previous emails and Kickstarter updates for details on how to find and play). And we anticipate spending much more to get the virtual application suitable for classrooms and organizational learning.

For this reason, we've come to the conclusion that we have to increase the prices in order to continue supplying this game long term.

So if you would like to secure another hard copy game set for your friends/family/organization at the current pricing, we highly encourage you to ORDER NOW before we raise the prices this month. Feel free to spread the word as well! By the end of November the new prices will be as follows...

Game Set (1 unit):

Currently $35 + $9 flat shipping + no sales tax, will increase to $49 (location based shipping + CA sales tax)

Educator Set (1 unit + workbook):

Currently $50  + $9 flat shipping + no sales tax, will increase to $79 (location based shipping + CA sales tax)

Educator Bundle (4 units + workbooks):

Currently $159  + $36 flat shipping + no sales tax, will increase to $249 (FREE SHIPPING + CA sales tax)

Workbook (print & play PDF):

Currently $15 + no sales tax, and will no longer will be sold separately

For the latest updates on the game, you can follow along here on our Kickstarter page.

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].

Here are some photos of the cartons of games at the shipping port waiting to be delivered to our fulfillment facility!

We're Almost There!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 07:22:30 AM

We have completed the printing and manufacturing of all 13,535 units of the board game and are now completing the final stage of assembly, where we place all the pieces into individual boxes as we speak.

The game is still expected to reach the US by the end of October and our goal is to begin delivering the games immediately; starting with those who've backed the project first and moving chronologically to the most recent pre-orders. 

Our hope is to have all the games delivered by the second week of November, just in time for you to play it with some friends and then take it back home to play with your family for the holidays!

For now, please locate your pre-order confirmation email and make sure:

1) the SHIPPING address is up-to-date

2) the EMAIL address is correct

We will send you notices to the emails we have on file around the end of October/beginning of November to inform you when you should be expecting to receive your board game(s) in the mail.

More updates to come in the next couple weeks!

In the meantime, here are some photos and video from the printing and manufacturing phase we just completed. 

VIRTUAL BOARD GAME IS HERE (and update on physical board game)
about 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 18, 2022 at 03:27:33 PM

The time has come!

The virtual version of the Disparity Trap board game is now available see below as instructions.

In case you are wondering, the physical board game is still happening and is on its way to final assembly before being shipped to the U.S. Updates on the hard copy board game will be coming in the next month.

But I wanted to get something in your hands in the meantime, so over the past 5 months we've been developing a virtual version of the hard copy board game for you all to play while you wait.

This new release is the Beta Version of the virtual board game.

What does 'Beta Version" mean?

Well, that means the virtual game has gone through multiple stages of development and is now ready for an exclusive group of individuals to begin playing the game and providing feedback to the us.

This also means the game is not 'perfect' or in 'optimum' condition just yet. We are testing and seeing what is working and what isn't working. You can imagine it's on training wheels at the moment and hopefully in the next month or so it will be a full blown motorcycle, revving away. 

This is why your participation in the Beta Version is so vital, it helps us find the bugs and kinks that still need some work.

We want to play the game, to share the game with friends & family, and enjoy the game!

Sounds good?

Okay, so let's play the Disparity Trap board game!

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Download the mobile game on your smart phone app store (Apple App Store - iPhones - or Google Play Store - Androids). OR play on your computer/laptop without having to download by going to Game.DisparityTrap.com

2) Register for a FREE account. This account allows you to join an already existing game room but you cannot create a room of your own.

3) To create/host your own game room you would typically have to purchase a yearly subscription for $14.99. But, as promised, if you pre-ordered the physical board game on or before August 15th, 2022, then you should have received an email with a voucher code for FREE limited-time access to a paid subscription. The full access voucher expires 3 months AFTER activation. If you do not see it in your inbox, please be sure to check your SPAM folder (or your UPDATES, or PROMOTIONS folder - if you have GMail).

4) Spread the word to friends, family, colleagues and co-workers! Registration is FREE to all, so as long as you have a paid subscription then you can create/host a game room and decide whether to make it PUBLIC (for anyone to join) or PRIVATE (only for those who have your private room code - given when the game room is created). 

5) Enjoy and share your questions and feedback with us at [email protected] and we will do our best to get back to you in the following days.

We've come a long way to get to this point and THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!

Please keep an eye out for updates on the physical board game as it begins final assembly and it gets shipped out to homes sometime near the beginning of October.

Until the next update!