The cooperative boardgame based on the hit graphic novels!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
The CatStronauts are Coming HOME!
11 months ago
– Mon, May 12, 2025 at 06:08:25 PM
US and Chinese negotiators agreed over the weekend to a 90-day reduction in the tariffs that have kept our Catstronauts trapped in geosynchronous orbit. The new rate of 30% is still a shockingly large tax, but a huge improvement over last week's 145%.
Here at Mission Control, we don't want to press our luck hoping for a better trajectory, given that we've already paid for the printing and it's sitting complete and awaiting further instructions. We're arranging shipment of the entire production run to our US warehouse ASAP.
We are now locking down orders in Backerkit. You have two days to make any final changes to your pledge before orders are locked. If you haven't filled in your survey, please do that ASAP! We need to know the final quantities for various add-on items.
After orders are locked, we will charge cards for shipping, VAT, and any items added to your original Kickstarter pledge.
We are NOT asking for additional funds from our backers. We will absorb the tariff cost on your pledges, and we thank you for your patience in these circumstances.
We will increase the suggested retail price for sales after the Kickstarter fulfillment. So if you want the expansion or an extra copy for a gift, add it to your pledge now! We really appreciate your support.
-John Nephew Atlas Games Co-Owner
Who IS that masked kitty? YOU ARE, in the new action-packed SUPERHEROES setting for the Magical Kitties Save the Day RPG.
Meowtropolis is our next crowdfunding campaign, coming this fall to Kickstarter. Since Meowtropolis is a book-format release, we can print locally without incurring tariffs. Thank you for supporting Atlas Games!
-Michelle Nephew Atlas Games Co-Owner CatStronauts & Magical Kitties Producer
Orbital Holding Pattern
11 months ago
– Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 08:59:46 AM
Hi, folks. We want to provide an update about where things stand right now, even though we don't yet have a firm decision to report.
Catstronauts and Fish Finder Satellite are TOTALLY COMPLETED and sitting at the printer, ready to ship to the US. We have a shipping estimate from our freight broker, and normally it would be on the ocean already on its way to us.
However, CatStronauts is stranded in China for the moment. The current Trump administration import tariff of 145% would mean a massive loss if we were to import all the games now. We would have to pay over $20k in taxes, when our Kickstarter brought in $37k. Those numbers just don't work out, obviously.
We've been working on solutions ...
International Backers
For international backers, we need to arrange fulfillment that doesn't involve US customs entry, somehow. That's because these particular tariffs are NOT refundable even if we just mail the games straight out of the US again from our warehouse (the way tariffs usually work).
One possibility is to use an international fulfillment partner for the games instead of bringing them into the US, and send your other add-ons and bonus items separately from our warehouse. That "split shipping" is still a big extra cost for us, though.
Another is to keep the games at a warehouse located in the Foreign Trade Zone at our local port here in Duluth MN, and mail the games out of the US straight from there. That would mean they wouldn't have to clear US customs, technically, and we can include the add-ons in the same box. But again it's a big extra cost to pay the port to do our shipping, when our warehouse is literally just a few miles away.
US Backers
For US backers, we've been looking at bringing in just enough copies to fulfill your rewards, and storing the rest in China indefinitely.
Backerkit now has an option to add a tariff line item, so we could ask backers to pay the exact amount of tax per item that we'll be charged at the border. At 145% of production cost, that's $6.63 per core game and $3.63 per expansion. We don't want to do that, though.
Then yesterday afternoon everything was thrown for a loop again, when Trump said that the tariffs on China would "not stay so high." This morning news reports say that the tax may be slashed to 50%-65%, or possibly move to a tiered approach where non-critical items (which hopefully would include board games?) might have only a 35% tax.
So What Do We Do?
It's hard to believe we're talking about "only" 35%. It's also hard to believe that as it stands at 145% our brand new game is pretty much not viable anymore, after we've spent more than two years of our lives working on it and put so much work into a successful Kickstarter. No matter which of the "solutions" we use, we still can't afford to offer CatStronauts into distribution to game stores at the original MSRP.
So, we just can't make a decision about how to move forward until things settle one way or another. We don't want to pay (or ask you to pay) 145% tariffs if they might become 35%. But we also don't want to leave part of the production run in China (and pay for storage and higher split shipping costs) if the tariff suddenly drops low enough that we might manage to bring them all to the USA.
Basically, we're in limbo, and we're dealing with an incredible amount of stress because of it. We hope that changes soon, but for now we just wanted to fill folks in on where things stand. And we want to reassure you that we WILL get your games to you, as soon as we're able. $20k is a big loss, but we're vastly luckier than some of our publisher friends, who are actually facing bankruptcy right now.
We'll update you when things change. Until then, THANK YOU for your patience and your support, now more than ever.
-John and Michelle Nephew Atlas Games Owners
Super Quick CatStronauts Update
about 1 year ago
– Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 12:14:48 PM
Our CatStronauts mass production sample was in Kentucky this morning, says UPS tracking, and should be delivered to us within the next couple of days! After that's approved, we'll finish arranging freight logistics for the completed production run to be shipped from the factory in China to our warehouse in Minnesota.
So, with delivery on the horizon, I've finished the survey set-up in Backerkit, and have submitted for review. We should be able to send out a "smoke test" to a small percentage of backers sometime this week, and then will send surveys to everyone.
One thing to watch for: Since running this campaign, we've made arrangements for handling EU VAT. VAT/GST will be collected in Backerkit for Canada, the UK, and all EU countries, so you won't have to pay VAT (nor extra service fees) upon delivery.
Watch for more news soon!
-John Nephew President, Atlas Games
CatStronauts Physical Samples!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Dec 18, 2024 at 07:21:05 AM
Physical samples of CatStronauts are on their way to us, and our printer provided us with these sample images. They're looking excellent!
They also sent a video, to show how the expansion parts fit nicely into the core game's box.
One change is that they folded the main board backwards! For the final, it will fold so the card spaces are on the inside, and the starscape and logo shows when it's closed. Catching things like that is what physical proofs are for!
-Michelle Nephew Atlas Games Co-Owner CatStronauts Producer
CatStronauts Digital Proofs Approved!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Dec 09, 2024 at 11:24:58 AM
I'm really thrilled to announce that digital proofs for CatStronauts are ALL APPROVED! Soon we'll have physical proofs to show off, but for now I'll share the new digital mockups that have significant changes. That's the main gameboard and the insert trays for the boxes.
Gameboard
The board took some reworking … I think I'm on Version 10 now! Remember that we're going for a premium double-layer design, with cutouts in the top layer so that the cards can't shift around. This is because in playtesting my own kids had trouble with things sliding. Here's what the board looked like for the Kickstarter mockup:
But in proofing, our printer warned us that the cut-out wells can easily shift a couple of mm. So, since we had a thin border tight around those wells, one side could end up looking much thicker than the other, or be cut off entirely!
To avoid this, I substituted a translucent overlay at the cutout line, and pushed the border further away from the wells. I used the existing graphic design from the Power Level and Coundown areas to do that, which gives the board a consistent design.
BUT, that meant I had to remove one of the Mission card spaces at bottom, to give us more clearance between them. In the end, I think I actually prefer the board with only 4 Missions … this way you won't see ANY of the card spaces when the board is folded (between the satellite image and Power Level). Players will get the experience of opening up the starscape-wrapped gameboard to see all the interesting things laid out inside! :)
Box Trays
For the box trays. Here's our big reveal of what they'll look like!
Trays are a lot more important to game experience than you'd think. For kids' games, in particular, I hate having to put lots of little tokens into individual wells made for each. That's because usually either I'm in a hurry, or the kid putting it away is not at all conscientious about doing it right. So instead, I went with a deep well for all the bits. I also made sure that the core game tray will be able to hold all of the expansion components!
We should have physical proofs in a couple weeks, and I'll send another update then, with photos. Thank you, again, for your support!
Pick up a Puzzling Gamebook for Xmas!
Another project I produced just arrived from the printer! If you live in the US, you can even get yours for Christmas delivery if you order right away.
Each book is an interactive story that letsyou solve puzzles to progress. They're addictively immersive, drawing you into the story and making you feel like part of the adventure
From gothic Gloom, to steampunk elves, to creepy cryptids … they're fun for all ages and interests!
-Michelle Nephew CatStronauts & Enigma Producer Atlas Games Co-Owner
