Garden Club & Petal

Games on Boats + Pledge Manager Status Update
6 days ago – Tue, Sep 01, 2026 at 12:30:36 PM

Hey cultivators!

I'm here with our monthly update. This one is fairly short, but positive!

🚢 Games are on boats!

• All assembly and safety testing has been completed. 
• Games are on boats to the US, UK, and Asia hubs. 
• US hub games left on August 17 and should arrive in September.
• UK hub games left on August 25 and should arrive early October.
• Asia hub games left on August 25 and should arrive in October.

Fulfillment Hubs

All pledges within the US, Canada, and Mexico, will be fulfilled by Chris Couch Games. Pledges in Asia will be fulfilled by GamesQuest/VFI. All other pledges will be fulfilled by GamesQuest from the UK hub.

Fulfillment for all games are scheduled to begin in October. Hopefully the US games arrive a bit sooner and I can begin fulfillment in late September. If we run into any unexpected hiccups, I will provide an update accordingly. 

We had a slight delay in getting games on boats because the EU recently updated their import rules. I had to find an EU representative and will need to add stickers to the shrink wrap for each unit to abide by these rules. This brought some unexpected costs, but that is how it goes in the product design world. Thankfully, our fulfillment partner is ready and willing to assist! These stickers will not impact your game box. 

🔔 Pledge Manager Status

There are still 88 people who have not completed the Pledge Manager. I do have an account for your pledge, but unless you complete the PM by providing your email address and paying for shipping costs, I will not be able to fulfill your pledge. I am sending out reminder emails today for this group of people. If you do not get a reminder email today, then you have completed your pledge! 

• If you've lost your PM invite, click this link and follow the instructions to access it.

Orders have been locked, but cards have not been charged. I'm waiting to know the exact landing date for the inventory for the US. Once I know that date, I will charge cards about 10 days beforehand. This way, I can order all of the shipping supplies and get games going out to everyone as soon as possible. I anticipate charging cards the week of Sept. 14th or Sept. 21 and I will provide an update accordingly.

🌸 Unboxing & Components Preview

If you missed my unboxing video spotlighting all of the components, then you can check that out below. I'm so thrilled with how the games turned out. I'll be taking photos of everything soon, and I'm working with The Grove for our official how to play videos for both games and the expansions. These videos are planned to release in October 2026.

That's all for this update! In terms of future games, here is a list of everything we're working on now and beyond! If you are on BGG, you can find all of our listed games here. I created listings for all of the expansions in Garden Club and Petal in case you want to log them into your account. Please leave a like or follow if you feel so inclined :)

• Headliner, 2026
• Vector, 2027
• Tug of Words, 2027
• Magic Tricks, 2027
• Perfect Pairs, 2027
• Menu of the Day, 2027-2028 (Officially signed as part of the CCG lineup! Yet to be added to our BGG catalog.)
• Haunted Hills, 2028
• Hackers, 2028
• Unannounced mini-expansion, October 2026
• Unannounced Game #1, 2028
• Unannounced Game #2, 2028

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-Chris P.

Manufacturing Complete + Pledge Manager + Gen Con!
about 1 month ago – Mon, Jul 27, 2026 at 05:25:52 PM

Hello cultivators!

Lots of positive news in today's update. July has been CRAZY to say the least. I'm currently printing 14 total SKUs (individual products) at the same time 😵‍💫. Plus preparing for Gen Con! But, let's dive in.

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Manufacturing is Complete!

Boda has confirmed that manufacturing is complete! We are still slightly ahead of schedule, but due to a couple of logistics hiccups, there was a slight delay in getting the wooden, screen printed components to the factory.

I received the MPC! This mass production copy is the final printing of the game and mini-expansions that you will receive. Everything looks FABULOUS, and I'm very thrilled with the game and components. You can watch a video of me walking through everything below.

If your'e a BGG user, I have uploaded all of the mini-expansions to BGG so you can log them into your inventory if you wish. I use that to keep track of all the games I own! Just click the link and go to "Expansions" to see the listings.

• Additionally, you can watch me unbox Headliner here.

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Pledge Manager - Closing Aug 5th

So far, 85% of you have completed the pledge manager! THANK YOU! For the remaining 122 backers, please please go ahead and complete that ASAP. We are getting ready to book freight, and I need to allocate all of the items for your pledges. I plan to lock orders and close the PM the week I return from Gen Con on Wednesday, August 5. I wanted to give everyone an extra week, but to keep our timeline on track, we need to close it and move forward.

Note: You are required to complete the pledge manager so that I can have your address to ship your game to you. Without it, fulfillment will not possible. If you've lost your PM invite, click this link and follow the instructions to access it.

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Gen Con!

If you haven't already heard, Chris Couch Games has been selected for the Gen Con 2026 Marketing Fellowship. We'll have our first booth at Gen Con this Thursday through Sunday! It's an extremely exciting opportunity that we thrilled to take advantage of. This means we'll have a 10x20 booth where you can come visit to see the new games and even some future releases. 

Gen Con is the biggest convention in the US, and thanks to y'all, Garden Club, Petal, Headliner, Holiday Hills and Jingle Bell Roll are super high up on the BGG list of hot games to see at the convention. Please drop a few more likes if you haven't already, it really helps out!

I was really hoping to have a surprise for y'all at Gen Con. My manufacturer finished assembly and was able to air freight about 100 units of Garden Club and Petal (base game only) to me. I was going to offer backer pickup, designer events to sign games, etc. But sadly, they air shipped games are nowhere to be found for the last three weeks. UPS seems to have lost any trace of them, and my manufacturer is unable to provide me contact information for the freight forwarding company. This loss not only hurts emotionally, but financially. I was excited to provide review copies to content creators from around the globe, show off games to potential retailers, and have our full catalog on display. The shipment cost around $3k, with about $6k worth of inventory included. Maybe it turns up eventually, but it's certainly a more than frustrating situation and I'm sorry I don't have the games there for y'all to pick up.

All of that aside, I'm really thrilled to be at Gen Con. It's a HUGE opportunity. If you're going to be there, please come by the booth and get a name badge ribbon for FREE! This is just for you backers. Others can get a name badge ribbon with a purchase. 

If you're curious what games I'm excited about for the convention, check out my preview video with my friend Wes (he's working the booth with me at Gen Con). 

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More Fun + Future Games

• Chris P. 

Pledge Manager is OPEN! + Survey emails are on the way
2 months ago – Fri, Jul 03, 2026 at 10:21:19 AM

Hello cultivators!

BackerKit Pledge Manager is Open!

The smoke test is clear and the rest of the surveys are on their way to your inboxes! Thanks to the folks who completed the smoke test.

We did run into a slight error in the smoke test that we fixed, but unfortunately it's caused some of the folks who had already completed their pledge to need to reconfirm their pledge. This is part of the reason we do the smoke test, to make sure things are working correctly.

If you already completed your pledge but are emailed to do so again: Please click the email and reconfirm your pledge. Apologies for the confusion, and I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Here's what to expect:

• An email invite to complete your survey. This is your opportunity to send your address and add anything additional to your pledge. You can complete and update your survey any time up until shortly before fulfillment begins and the Pledge Manager closes.
• You will receive the invite from BackerKit, likely from this email: [email protected]
• The Pledge Manager will close on Friday, July 24.
• Your credit cards will not be charged for shipping until we're closer to fulfillment. Right now the estimated date to charge cards is between July 27 and August 17. I'm leaving some flexible time depending on how many pledges get completed.
• If you want to do free local pick up in Memphis, TN, please select "Local Pick Up" for your country in the survey.
• Surveys are expected to go out in waves, so don't be concerned if you don't receive one until the end of the weekend. Before reaching out, please check your associated pledge email and spam folders.
• If you're an AppleID user, it's possible your email may be out of reach. If this is the case, please reach out and we'll get it situated for you. If you've already sent me this info, you're good to go!

Have a Question in the Pledge Manager?

If you need assistance in the pledge manager or if you have questions about your pledge, click the "Need Help?" button in the top right of the pledge manager screen. You can also send me a direct message or leave a comment here on Kickstarter.

If you cannot find your backer email, please visit this link and use your email to find your pledge: 

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Headliner Backers & Combined Shipping

Garden Club will ship BEFORE Headliner unless selected otherwise in Headliner's PM. If you are interested in combined shipping, reference below:

US & Canada

• Garden Club will begin shipping in August at the earliest.
• Headliner will begin shipping in November at the earliest.
• Shipped together: You will save $6 on shipping costs, but your full pledge will ship later in November.
• Shipped separately: Garden Club will ship first, then Headliner. You will pay for shipping separately.

All other regions

• I am still finalizing a freight plan for both campaigns internationally.
• Shipping together WILL save money on shipping. 
• I will be sharing the detailed plan within Headliner's campaign.

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It's a holiday weekend in the USA. Please have fun and celebrate safely! I will be in touch soon with details about the final sample of Garden Club once it arrives. 

• Chris P. 

Post Campaign Update #3 - Pledge Manager Smoke Test + Manufacturing Ahead of Schedule
2 months ago – Wed, Jul 01, 2026 at 01:47:41 PM

Hello cultivators!

Some good news this month. Origins was wildly successful, and it was so lovely getting to meet several backers and show them the games in person 🙂. You can check out some photos on our Instagram.

TL;DR:
- BackerKit Pledge Manager smoke test surveys have been sent out.
- Manufacturing is one month ahead of schedule! Final sample is on the way.
- I'll be a vendor at Gen Con! Give our games a "like" on BGG

BackerKit Pledge Manager Smoke Test is on the way!

I know y'all are waiting on the pledge manager. It was supposed to launch earlier this month, but with the steep learning curve, BackerKit connectivity issues, and personnel on vacation at BackerKit, that created some hurdles. But, everything is finally set up!

• I sent out a smoke test to about 5% of backers at the time of this update.
• If you are one of the backers that receive the smoke test, please go ahead and complete the Pledge Manager so I can be sure everything is set up correctly.
• I'll wait a couple of days for the smoke test to clear, and then I'll send out the rest of the surveys!
• BackerKit Pledge Manager surveys typically are sent from the email address ([email protected]). Please check your spam and additional folders.

Have a Question in the Pledge Manager?

If you need assistance in the pledge manager or if you have questions about your pledge, click the "Need Help?" button in the top right of the pledge manager screen.

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Manufacturing is Ahead of Schedule! 🤩

Some very good news here. We're ahead of schedule for manufacturing by about one month! I met with my manufacturer (Boda) at Origins Game Fair this month and they let me know that all components are complete. I'm waiting to receive my final MPC (Manufacturing Production Copy) of all items in this campaign. 

Once I have inspect and approve that, Boda will complete final assembly of the games and we'll get them on boats! I was hoping to have a video to share today, but I'm still waiting. I will share that in another update as soon as I have it in-hand.

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Fulfillment Timeline Update

US/Canada
With being ahead of schedule, that would mean that fulfillment in the US/Canada will hopefully begin in late August / early September.

• I will be self-fulfilling USA & Canada pledges for this campaign from my local warehouse facility near Memphis. I want to be sure to provide everyone with the best and most accurate shipping. And it allows me to offer the rest of our catalog to our neighbors up north.

All Other Regions
I'm still waiting to hear back from GamesQuest on their timeline. But the goal is to stay on track for October delivery as originally estimated. Shipping to the UK, EU, AU, etc. takes a bit longer due to logistics and world incidents I'm committed to getting these games to y'all as soon as possible!

We wrapped up our encore campaign for Headliner yesterday, and it's possible that we book our sea freight for both Garden Club and Headliner campaigns so we can be as cost effective as possible. I will keep you posted.

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Adding Headliner in the Pledge Manager

• If you backed Headliner in either of our other campaigns, you'll get a pledge manager invite for them, separately.
• If you add Headliner in THIS Pledge Manager, you'll be notified that we will ship all of your games together and save you some shipping costs. Meaning, your pledge will arrive later. 
• If you want to receive Garden Club asap and Headliner when it arrives later, then late pledge Headliner via Kickstarter, here.

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That's all for now! I'll be in touch again soon (hopefully by Friday) with the PM launch details.

Kick Back and Play,

• Chris P.

Post Campaign Update #2 - Manufacturing Underway + Pledge Manager Coming Soon
3 months ago – Sun, May 31, 2026 at 12:14:12 PM

Hello cultivators!

I hope everyone has had a great month. I'm here to give y'all another update on the progress with Garden Club and Petal. We are on schedule and moving forward!

Manufacturing Update

All files were submitted to our manufacturing partner, Boda, and have been approved on my end. The deposit has also been paid, so games are being printed! I don't have any photos to share right now, but when I have photos and/or videos to share I will do so! We are right on schedule with the printing of all game content.

Pledge Manager Update

I decided to use BackerKit's pledge manager service for our crowdfunding campaign, and I've enjoyed learning the back end so far. I have the PM about 80% complete. The schedule originally had us opening the PM in May, but with the launch of Headliner this month, I wanted to spend extra time to save crossover backers money on shipping costs. This would also save us some money on freight costs outside of the US. But I need to see the data on how many backers outside of the US are supporting both projects in order to make the best decision cost-wise.

All of that to say, I need a bit more time with the PM. But it is not delaying the process overall with the game and our delivery timeline. I expect to send a PM smoke screen (a test run) between June 12-16, and then the full invite list will go out the following days.

Convention Season

Geekway to the West
I attending Geekway to the West in St. Louis, MO this month! It was so fun to show off Garden Club and Petal. If you came by the booth, thank you so much! Here's an Instagram post recap.

AdventureCon
I will be attending AdventureCon in Arkansas in June! I will not be a vendor, but Garden Club will be part of the "Hot Games" for people to check out. I will be running an event on Saturday, June 13, with my pals from The Grove to show off all our titles. If you're attending, I'd love to see you there!

Origins Game Fair
We will be a vendor at Origins in Columbus, OH, from June 17-21! This will be my first time to attend Origins as a vendor, and you can find me at Booth 1714! I will be running demos of all our games, selling our inventory of Holiday Hills, Jingle Bell Roll, and Kraken Skulls, and taking pre-orders/late pledges for Garden Club, Petal, and Headliner. Please come say hi. I plan to bring extra copies of Garden Club so in case people want to check out the game and play it in the hall, they will have the opportunity to do so.

Please "LIKE" our listings on BGG's Origins Preview. It helps us spread the word about Garden Club / Petal!

Gen Con
We will be attending Gen Con in July/August! We will be in a 20x10 in Entrepreneurs Alley area, Booth 2753. This is our first time at Gen Con. I'm so thrilled and (naturally) a bit nervous. It's the biggest show in the US, and a dream come true to be there. It costs a lot of money to go, but it's worth it to make a dream happen. I plan to have our large scale dice tower(s) there for attendees to win prizes, a Sunday family event with a Christmas Tree, and hopefully some more surprises!

PAX Unplugged
More to come for this convention later in the year. By this con in December, you will have already received your pledges for this campaign, but I'd still love to see you if you're there!

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Apple Emails

If you used an Apple email for this Kickstarter, please message me and let me know another email to use. Apple emails can be quite difficult to communicate with for pledge managers. 

Thanks to all of those who have already messaged! I received it and noted it :)

Errored Pledges & Charges

Some backers' pledges errored out due to your card not being able to be charged. I'm not sure if you'll get this update, but if you've found yourself in "error" status, please message me and I can see the best way to get you included in the PM invite.

Headliner - Late Pledges

In case you missed it, we successfully funded our 6th game, Headliner, this week! We ended up with 367 backers and raised nearly $15k. We unlocked some great stretch goals, and if you'd like to hop in on that campaign, you can pre-order at this link. 

• All returning backers will automatically receive a free promo back of four cards that relate to our current catalog.

Lastly, we are working on new games! Let me know what new game you'd like to learn about in our next update by voting in the poll below.

That's all for now! Kick Back and Play,

• Chris P.