Arkhamites,

It's been a little while since I've posted, so I apologize for the silence on my end due in large part to the holiday season, coupled with simply trying to carve out the time to move forward on the Subject-referenced items. That said, here's a run-down as to what's new...

Unfortunately, the folks at FFG couldn't grant the Licensing Agreement, but one of their representatives with whom I had some contact and served as my liaison for this project wrote the following:

"It certainly was a pleasure meeting you during your trip to Minnesota a few months back. Thank you for following up and for forwarding the details of your proposal. The concept is intriguing, well conceived, and definitely "Cthulhu-esque"! However, we took a good hard look at the numbers, in the most positive light, and I regret to say we won't be able to move forward on a licensing agreement. In any case, thank you once again for submitting your proposal. We certainly wish you nothing but the best."

I remain impressed by the FFG staff, but as they need to run a business, this idea will remain with us. As we had discussed, in deference to their license, we'll not advertise our items as Arkham Horror accessories, but instead, "thematic Card Holders, Game Component Trays, and a Player's Plate. I've included a short write-up from the proposal for your review:

• Player’s Plate: Central area holds the player’s Investigator Card with side panels accommodating either tokens in small wells (left side) or display myriad Investigator cards ( Common & Unique Items, Spells, etc .) along "tentacled" grooves (right side)
• Great Old One (GOO): Displays GOO (either upright or flat), along with slots for Guardians and/or Heralds, along with small wells at the base for Doom Tokens and other components
• Location Cards (Base Game Only): 3-tiered card display with period cityscape adorning front panel, containing nine card holders corresponding to the game’s nine neighborhoods
• Mythos Cards: 4-section display which possesses a tray for the entire deck and three small wells to accommodate each of the different Mythos Cards ( Environment, Headline, & Rumor )
• Graveyard: Component Tray which possesses multiple wells to hold various Tokens ( Clue, Money, Sanity, and Stamina ), and an open grave for discarded Allies. Behind this area, five headstones and slots are available for the following cards: Retainer, Allies, Blessing/Curses, Deputy. and Bank Loans

The "Artist" has produced the Graveyard which looks amazing. He's moving forward with creating the Mythos Deck Display before turning his attention to the Player's Plate. In the weeks ahead, I'll post pictures on my profile and send them directly to the individuals who corresponded with me via e-mail.

Thanks you again for your continued interest in this project!

Cheers,
The Professor

Aw poop. So without the licensing, does this mean they won't be mass-produced? I admit I haven't kept this project in my forelobes (due to the time involved; as with FFG, I decided not to "care" until something actually "hit the shelves"), but I am still very much interested in the finished products. From the descriptions, I'm EXTREMELY interested in the Mythos Bin, but if I have no shot at getting one, I'm gonna want to temper my expectations soon.

jgt7771,

Well, that's the underlying issue...I don't believe that they saw this venture as being necessarily lucrative. Given the generally-reported negative feedback for the minitaures (Investigators and Monsters), I'm not surprised since they do need to run a business.

As to the pieces, which we'll produce, I'm fully-confident in my long-time friend. This is the short bio which accopanied the correspondence:

Profession: Full-Spectrum Artist

Experienced in the full range of available artistic media, he's served as the lead for manner of sculpting, painting, and fabricating custom museum exhibits, props, and displays/dioramas for Science Museums; Historical Landmarks, including Mount Vernon; and several Presidential Libraries. He's been a gamer for nearly three decades and shall emphasize the use of vertical space in the creation of these Arkham Horror accessories.

Anyway, we're moving forward with the project, due in large part that I'm a Type-A personality (17 years, so far in the Air Force and currently employed by the FBI), and the incredible number of people who have shown support through their e-mail and forum-based correspondence.

*** Just an Update ***

According to my friend, the "Artist" ~ he's nearly completed one item, half-way completed another, started a third, and has completed the design for a fourth display. As he's wokring on the set of a TV show this week and next, production has slowed down a bit. As soon as I have access to pictures, realeasable to everyone, I'll post them here, at BGG, and send them to everyone who has reached out to me.

Again, thank you for your continued support in this endeavor.

The Professor said:

Sounds great :-)

The Professor said:

Hi, Veet,

I'm not sure what happened to your post and your quotes...anyway, I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Cheers,

The Professor

Awesome news that this project is continuing!

Can't wait to see the images... And to place my order...

I'll send pictures to you directly, once we're closer to finishing the project. I suggest heading over to BGG and follow the threads/post your interest there so I have a way to correspond with you. Thanks again for your interest!

Arkhamites,

Thanks to all of you who have written to me (here and at BGG) and shared your interest and enthusiasm. Just to reiterate, the 'Artist' has completed one of the items (the " Graveyard ") which will serve as the first mold, half-finished another, started fabricating a third, and conceptualized/designed a fourth. While the Player's Plate has moved to the right on our production schedule, he'll probably start it within the next week or so.

In future posts, I'll talk about our process and how quickly we can get these items to you. Again, this is as much a labor of love (for the game) as it is a project which really highlights the Artist's true talents. Again, I'll send pictures to those individuals who send me an e-mail, as I've already collected nearly three dozen names, thus far.

To all of you who continue to keep us motivated, thank you!

The Professor

Is there any particular reason why you don't just post the pictures, rather than sending them out to dozens of people?

Brine,

Good question...a.) part of it is out of deference to FFG since we indicated that we don't have an agreement (obviously we have no control over other individuals' actions) so we certainly don't want to post pictures on their site, though we're pleased that they've wished us well with the project and b.) we want to have a direct relationship with our potential customers with whom we've had regular and frequent contact.

The Professor

I guess I was really referring to posting them to your own gallery on BGG. But it is your prerogative.

Oh, Brine that's not a bad idea...but I'm actually going to have my daughter design and prepare our website, which will include some information about the product and us.