War of the Ring Anniversary Release – the limited edition version of our popular War of the Ring Second Edition board game – was announced in summer 2015 for a spring 2016 release.
War of the Ring Anniversary Release: production miniatures on the Second Edition board.
Soon after the end of the Chinese New Year holidays, in February, we were able to assess, together with our suppliers, the production progress of this exclusive item and determined we must reschedule its release for September 2016.
A good number of components – including the most important ones, the painted miniatures – progressed well through the production pipeline, and are now 100% completed.
War of the Ring Anniversary Release is a complex item, though, and its production involves five different suppliers. Due to the exclusive nature of this product, we cannot accept any compromise on its quality. At this moment, some of the pre-production components still do not have the quality we require, and we do not feel they are ready for mass-production.
Some of the packaging elements are still not suitable to provide the best protection for all the components of this precious item. The proper quality for trays and cardboard components is critical for a game which, in our intentions, will become a gem in your gaming collection.
Production components of the limited edition.
We also want the two books included in the Anniversary Release to have the design quality to entice you to browse their pages, over and over, and we are not yet completely satisfied with the design on one of them.
We estimate 6 to 8 more weeks are required to complete the development and testing of the packaging components. We will use this time for further refinements on the graphic design of all internal components – especially the books and the board – and on the box design, in order to make all of them truly outstanding.
Some painted figures of the Anniversary Release.
In addition to the time required for production (normally, 60 days), this timeline gives us an estimate for shipping out of the factory in early to late July, and an expected arrival at our warehouses in August. All factors considered, we feel confident the new shipping date of September 2016 is a safe estimate.
As we write this announcement, less than 200 copies of War of the Ring Anniversary Release remain available for preorder on ks.aresgames.eu. Due to the delay on the promised release date, we are extending our refund policy on this item, as outlined on the product page.
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