Social Goal Unlocks #2 & Social Challenge #3 Revealed
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Mar 02, 2023 at 02:46:34 PM

Hello Friends,

I take it you all like doing these social challenges? In 2 days you've already completed two challenge blocks! That's insane and incredible, and we all love seeing your passion and creativity as you rock through these challenges.

If you're new, we're hosting Social Goal Unlocks (or challenges), announced on here and completed over on Twitter, Instagram, and/or TikTok. When submitting on one of those platforms you just need to tag @TheMaestroTeam and @PortableMoose (@portablemoose1 on TikTok) and use the hashtag #StrangeNightmares. 

Congrats to all of you who participated, together you've all unlocked these new cards for The Nightmares Deck, which is a deck of cards from the game with alternate art drawn by some amazing artists in their own signature style!

To check out the first 6 cards unlocked, check out the update HERE.

Social Goal #3

Drumroll please as we introduce Stretch Goal #3:

Good luck everyone as we need 5 people to act out moments from the game in Cosplay (it doesn't have to be "good" cosplay, just do your best with it!),  5 people need to reenact a session with Dr. Enon, 10 people need to scream at a lake, and 5 people need to "marry" a mannequin. Please keep in mind that when doing these things, please do not do anything illegal or destructive to other's (or your own) property.

The difficulty continues to ramp up, so for this one only 3 of the 4 challenges need to be completed to move on to the next level. Get to it!

~The Maestro Team

Add-ons & Merch Part 1 - Figures, Shirt Sizes, and Playmat
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Mar 02, 2023 at 10:11:00 AM

Hello Friends!

Let's talk about add-ons!

You can check out the available add-ons on the campaign page, about 2/3rds of the way down. These add-ons will be available after the campaign ends in our pledge manager, Backerkit. For now, all you have to do is back a tier, as any tier will give you access to the pledge manager. Make sure you back during the Kickstarter though, because Kickstarter backers get access to a special store with discounted prices!

If you'd like to help unlock more Stretch Goals, you can add bonus support now, which will act like a gift card in the pledge manager. Check out how to add bonus support HERE.

Now, let's talk about specific add-ons starting with:

Sally Face Figures! The tallest figures will be approximately 3.75 inches (95.25mm) tall with the others being proportional in height. The figures come in a 4 pack with Sal, Ash, Todd, and Larry in the pack. The shortest, the Glitter Pony and Dark Glitter Pony, are 2 inches (50.8mm) tall.

The T-Shirts! The shirts will come in US size Small to 3XL and will be 100% soft cotton!

The Playmat! The playmat shown is not the final design of the playmat. It will be a Spirit Board, but we are still finalizing the design. It will be approximately 20 inches by 40 inches (50cm x 100cm).

We'll be back again soon with more information about all the awesome merch you guys can get your hands on! Keep your eyes peeled - there’s some stuff coming you certainly won’t want to miss…

How to get add-ons

Remember, if you'd like Add-ons, you will add the ones you want after the campaign is over in our pledge manager, Backerkit. For now you just need to back any tier so you gain access to the pledge manager. 

If you'd like, you can "pre-pay" for the add-ons you want using Bonus Support, which is explained HERE.

~The Maestro Team

First 48 Hours Complete!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 01, 2023 at 09:07:34 PM

Hello Friends,

This has been an amazing 48 hours and it is so nice to see how much this campaign has grown in just two short days!

This update is going to be half recap of some of our previous updates and FAQs and half new stuff.

• What has happened so far?
• What are social goals?
• Social Goal #1 complete! (NEW!) 
• Social Goal Challenge #2 (NEW!) 
• How does Kickstarter work?
• What is a pledge manager?
• What happens after the Kickstarter?
• What has happened So Far?
• How do I spread the word?
• What are Stretch Goals and how can we reach them?
• What’s next?

What Has Happened So Far?

So much. Steve Gabry and Maestro Media spent years planning this game and this Kickstarter but no amount of planning could have prepared us for your astounding support. In just 48 hours, we have already hit 5 stretch goals and have unlocked a new Story, Sally Face & the Temple of Doom (see below). In that same amount of time, you all have knocked out 4 social goal challenges and have unlocked 6 new cards for The Nightmares Deck (see below). We’ve also seen 450 comments and reached over 1,500 backers! Last night Steve Gabry, Beneeta Kaur, and Dustin did a live Q&A, and you can catch the replay HERE. But enough with all that! Let’s get into what else you can expect to see as we dive deeper into the Addison Apartments.

What Are Social Goals?

First, for those of you who are unfamiliar with social goals in a Kickstarter campaign, they are simple. We set out a list of things to do and post on social media, we assign a number of people that have to do each thing on the list, and at the end of the completed list, we unlock a bonus for the campaign! All you have to do is post your submission on either Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok and @TheMaestroTeam & @portablemoose (@portablemoose1 for TikTok) with the hashtag #StangeNightmares. From there we will add your submission to our count for the social goal! Your submission will not be counted if we are not tagged in the post or if the hashtag is not used so be careful before posting!

Social Goal #1 Complete!

That's right, less than 12 hours after we posted the first group of Social Goals, you all have already completed it unlocking the first 4 (+2 for special assignments) cards in The Nightmares Deck. The Nightmares Deck is full of card art designed by some amazing artists in their own signature style! Check out the first 6 cards below, right next to their in-game counterpart!

We're not done with Social Goals and Challenges yet though... we have 11 blocks of challenges planned so without further ado here's Social Goal Challenge #2!

Drum roll please....

That's right; we're looking for 10 people to dye their hair blue or rock their blue wig, 10 people to headbang with a friend to Sanity's Fall, 10 people to take pictures of Sally Face items IRL, and 10 people to make Sally Face character in other games (maybe some of the team will dust off our old Sims saves). Now this one is a little more difficult, so we only need 3 of the 4 to be completed to move on. Let's finish these quick so we can unlock some more cards and challenges ASAP!

How Does Kickstarter Work?

For those of you who are new to Kickstarter, don’t worry, we have done this before! The way this works is that a project creator (Steve Gabry & Maestro Media) has an idea for a cool project. We need to raise funds to execute our vision. To do this, we put it up on Kickstarter to crowdfund the project. Pledge tiers are available to back the project with. These tiers have rewards that you will receive based on which tier you pick! The money gathered from backers and their selected tiers (you all!) is then pooled into a total on the Kickstarter page. The project becomes successfully funded when that total reaches the pledge goal on the page. In this case, our goal was $25,000.

We can also go above and beyond said goal, allowing us to produce bonus content for the game. The way that works is, as we print more copies of the game at the factory, our cost per copy goes down, so we can add more cool stuff at the same cost. These extra milestones are called Stretch Goals and we have many planned for us to reach!

After the campaign ends, we take that money to produce and print the game and merch. In exchange for your support, you receive the pledge you backed! It’s a win-win for everyone involved!

What is a Pledge Manager?

There is also something called Backerkit. Backerkit is a pledge manager we use that lets you manage important aspects of your pledge like adding and paying for extra add-ons and taxes/duties to your order after the Kickstarter ends, telling us where to ship your goods, and more! It is typically opened a few weeks after the Kickstarter ends and remains open for quite some time before officially closing so production can begin.

It’s probably good to note that there will be two different “Backerkit Stores.” Anyone who backed during the Kickstarter campaign will have a Kickstarter store, which includes exclusive, discounted, pricing. A second pre-order store will open up for anyone who missed the Kickstarter as well. Both stores will run concurrently, and Kickstarter backers will receive an email about 6-8 weeks post-Kickstarter with a private link to their exclusive store.

What Happens After the Kickstarter?

After that, we play the waiting game a bit. When the Kickstarter ends, we will be finalizing the art and graphic design for the game, work with the factory on game box design so everything fits nicely, deliver finished files to the factory, get the game manufactured, assemble the games, and freight ship to the fulfillment centers before the games can ship to you. It’s a long process, but we’ll be sending updates out as we clear each stage. For this project, we plan to deliver the game in JUNE 2024. With all manufacturing projects there can be delays. We have planned for all the known issues (war/conflict, COVID-19 outbreaks, cordyceps, etc) that have plagued manufacturing the past few years, but there can always be something unexpected. Don’t worry, as soon as we know, and know the impact, we will pass the information along to you. We will always keep you well-informed every step of the way with at least one update a month!

How Do I Spread The Word?

We have a referral program for the campaign to reward everyone who thinks they can help more people discover this awesome project! If you’d like to help, you can sign up for our affiliate program using the link here!

The following benefits are offered for those who participate in the affiliate program:

• Base 10% commission on generated pledges
• Access to a custom Kickbooster dashboard that will allow you to easily monitor your clicks, referrals, and commissions
• A wide range of available creatives and copy materials to maximize the appeal of your efforts
• Our track record of successful, exciting crowdfunding campaigns and impeccable delivery of the rewards we promise to backers

What Are Stretch Goals and How Can We Reach Them?

Stretch goals are an awesome way to reward you all for supporting our project. Our goal was for the campaign to become funded, which it was within the first hour! Now that we are funded, we can manufacture and sell the game; however, stretch goals allow us to stretch beyond our original goal. As we go further and further beyond our original goal, we can add more and more things to the game. This is because the more backers support the game, the more units of the game we produce. The more units produced, the less the factory will charge us per game produced. As the cost of each game goes down, we’re able to add more cool stuff to each game for the same price! Each time we hit a stretch goal, that is one more thing we can include as a thank you for all your support! These extras can range wildly in what they are. They can be as simple as fun stickers all the way to adding extra Kickstarter exclusive cards into the game and more! Here's a huge Stretch Goal we reached this morning:

What’s Next?

We’ll keep setting them up as long as you keep knocking them down! Social and Stretch goals will continue throughout the entirety of the campaign. We also have livestreams showing gameplay, multiple live AMAs with Steve Gabry (and Maestro Media!), new tiers announced throughout the campaign, and so much more planned for everyone. Continue to check our campaign page daily for new updates and content as we continue our march toward the final days of the campaign which will feature all kinds of exciting things you won’t want to miss.

If you have any questions regarding the Kickstarter, Backerkit, the affiliate program,  the board game itself, or anything and everything in between, we will be in the Kickstarter comments answering all of your questions and don’t forget to head over to the FAQ section of the KS where your questions may already be answered!

In the meantime, we look forward to seeing everyone in the comments! Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night and hold your glitter ponies close. You never know who (or what) could be lurking in the shadows…

~The Maestro Team

Final Hours To Get Free Dark Glitter Pony
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 01, 2023 at 02:46:12 PM

Hello Friends!

Just a friendly reminder that the FREE Dark Glitter Pony Figure offer goes away forever tonight at 11:59PM Pacific Time (07:59AM GMT). I do not want you to miss out on this offer, especially the 240 of you in the $1 CREEPER Tier!

For folks backing at any other tier, from Strange Nightmares to the Strange Prototype, you're all set and will receive the free figure as long as you do not drop your pledge below $40 for the remainder of the Kickstarter. You can switch tiers and do all of that, just DO NOT drop below $40!

For the CREEPER tier folks, if you want the free figure (and let's face it, why wouldn't you want free stuff) you need to make sure you pledge bonus support of at least $39 to get over that $40 mark.

Adding Bonus Support

Here's a step by step of how to add bonus support when you've already made a pledge. This is the same for all tiers, so even if you're in a higher tier and want to add some bonus support for add-ons or shipping to help us get even more Stretch Goals, follow this guide.

On Desktop

Log in and navigate to the Sally Face Kickstarter Page. At the top of the campaign page click "Manage Your Pledge":

On the next screen click "Change your pledge":

On the next screen click the box that says "Bonus support" and type in the number you'd like to add. For the $1 backers, remembwr that needs to be at least $39. Then click "Pledge $xxx".

SUCCESS! You're Done.

On Mobile

Log in and navigate to the Sally Face: Strange Nightmares campaign, found under "Profile" or by searching for Sally Face: Strange Nightmares in the search. Once there, click "Manage."

That brings up a new page, click the three... at the top of the page.

Click Update pledge:

On the next page click the + button to add bonus support (or you can click where the zero is and type in the amount of support you'd like to add).

Once done, click Confirm and you're all set!

Remember cards will not be charged until the end of the Kickstarter, which is March 30th at 11:59pm Pacific Time. Once the Kickstarter ends you'll be charged within 48 hrs.

Thank you all for being so amazing!

~The Maestro Team

Introducing Social Goals, Help Us Unlock More Stuff!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 01, 2023 at 09:07:30 AM

Hello Friends,

Now for one of our favorite parts of our Kickstarters, the Social Goals! We can’t wait to see all of your submissions on social media. We love these as they really feel like a great way for us to connect with each other and come together to celebrate the game we all know and love. Oh that, and you’ll get to help unlock even more content for your soon-to-be favorite board game!

What Are Social Goals?

First, for those of you who are unfamiliar with social goals in a Kickstarter campaign, they are simple. We set out a list of things to do and post on social media, we assign a number of people that have to do each thing on the list, and at the end of each completed list, we unlock a bonus for the campaign!

For example, our first round of social goals are:

How Do I Participate?

All you have to do is post your submission on either Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok and @TheMaestroTeam & @portablemoose with the hashtag #StangeNightmares. From there, we will add your submission to our count for the social goal! Your submission will not be counted if we are not tagged in the post or if the hashtag is not used, so be careful before posting!

Once all of those are completed, we will unlock a set of cards from THE NIGHTMARES DECK and we will post a new update announcing what the next set of social goals will be. Simple right?

We have some very special unlocks planned for this campaign! For each social goal we complete, we will unlock a group of cards from The Nightmares Deck. The Nightmares Deck is a deck of alternate art cards where we take cards from the game and hand them off to an amazing artist who then creates another version of that card’s art in their own spectacular style! We have enlisted artists with all manner of unique styles, and each artist is incredibly excited to share their work with you! There are over 60 cards in The Nightmare Deck to unlock and each social goal that is completed will unlock a group of cards from this deck from 1-3 artists!

~The Maestro Team