HYVE: A roll-and-color beehive simulator.

Prototypes, Factory Changes & Our Path Forward
12 days ago – Sun, Sep 20, 2026 at 06:49:39 PM

Hi everyone,

We wanted to give you a transparent update on where HYVE currently stands, what has caused the recent delays, and what we are doing to get production moving forward as quickly as possible.

First, a bit of news from us personally: we have officially moved to SE Asia. We (Logan and I) are presently in Thailand and will be roaming the area looking for a place to settle down long-term. So our respond times will be a bit different than they were before as our prior timezone and this one are about as far apart as they can possibly be (13 hour difference).  Been here for a week but I don't think I'm completely over the jet lag yet.  =D

One of the benefits of this move was to put ourselves much closer to the manufacturing side of our business. Being in essentially the same time zone as our factories allows us to communicate with them throughout the working day, schedule meetings much more easily, and have multiple rounds of back-and-forth communication in a single day rather than waiting overnight for every response.

Where Things Stand

Unfortunately, due to the delays surrounding the replacement of our representative at the factory, we have now missed our originally scheduled window to begin mass production.

This is frustrating, and we know it is disappointing news to hear.

In this case, we allowed ourselves to become too dependent on a single manufacturing partner and, more specifically, a single point of contact within that company.

Earlier in HYVE's development, we were actually working with two different factories simultaneously. Both were quoting and prototyping the project, and we continued working with both until receiving our first physical prototype of HYVE: Legacy.

At that point, we preferred the prototype and overall direction from one factory and discontinued development with the other. In hindsight, that was a mistake.

It left the project vulnerable to exactly the situation we ultimately encountered: one representative leaving the company (due to health considerations) caused a breakdown in communication and created significant delays (about 2 months of delay) while the account was transitioned, new rep was onboarded, and took more than ample time to familiarize themselves with the project. During this process they also weren't being completely clear on why things were dragging on, but unfortunately that can be common when the issue is around personal wellbeing.  

The factories internal processes regarding managing a project, being able to be so strongly disrupted by the loss of a single point of contact is also concerning to us.  With proper project management systems and dicipline, the removal of anyone on a project shouldn't be something that causes this much disruption to the timeline.  

Three New Prototype Rounds Are Moving Forward

To not make the same mistake twice, we have now greenlit prototype/sample rounds with not just two but three different factories. One is presently in production as of now, and the others will be in production very, very soon (prototyping funds have already been sent).

All three of these factories will be producing samples for us to evaluate, including the one that we have been working with for a while. This gives us alternatives rather than leaving the project's production schedule dependent on a single manufacturer.

While the current delays were caused by issues at the factory, it was ultimately our responsibility to structure the project so that one partner could not create this much disruption. 

We have already taken steps to correct that.

For Heirloom, our next game, we have so far, and will maintain active communication and prototype development with no fewer than two factories all the way through the point where we are ready to enter mass production. Only then will we make a final manufacturing decision. While we do feel bad for working with a factory for months in expectation of a mass production "sale" only to give it to someone else, there doesn't seem to be any alternative to that in order to maintain our obligations with our backers, without which none of this would be possible.  

That redundancy costs us additional time, work, attention and money during development, but after this experience we believe it is absolutely worth it now. It doesn't matter how good of a relationship you can have with a rep or a factory if it can change so quickly.  Redundanies are absolutely necessary.

What Happens Next

Our priority remains exactly the same: produce HYVE to the quality we promised and fulfill the project as quickly and responsibly as possible.

Bringing additional factories into the process means we now have multiple paths forward instead of waiting indefinitely for one company to get things back on track.

We are continuing to push every day, and being here in Thailand gives us significantly more direct access to the people involved in manufacturing. We can now communicate during their working hours, arrange meetings more easily, and resolve questions in hours rather than days. This already has greatly accelerated this process.

We know delays are never the update anyone wants to receive, and they certainly are not the updates we enjoy writing. But we would rather be transparent about what happened, explain what we learned from it, and show you the concrete steps we have already taken to prevent the same situation from happening again.

Like a Relay Race

Bringing a game from concept through production and fulfillment is a bit like running a relay-race with more than 20 people involved. If even one person drops the ball, it can create delays throughout the entire process.

While Logan and I did not directly drop the ball here, we did create a system that allowed one person doing so to cause significant downstream delays instead of building in the proper redundancies from the beginning.

We had an exceptional representative at our primary factory who was moving the project forward quickly, understood HYVE inside and out, took initiative, and regularly proposed and engineered solutions for us—including the Collector’s Box. But having a great representative does not eliminate risk. That person could still suddenly be removed from the equation by something completely outside anyone’s control, such as health issues.

What we failed to recognize was that many of the excellent results we were seeing were largely the result of that individual, rather than the strength of the factory’s organization as a whole.

For that, we apologize. It has been a very clear lesson for us, and one we will not repeat.

Updated Timeline

I imagine that this has delayed our timeline by about 2 to 3 months, and if our first round of prototypes for all items on the campaign (a whopping 16 SKUs!) are received without further notes (without needing a 2nd prototype), then we can go into mass-production as soon as the factory is available. Having a 2nd and 3rd factory to pick from will also have a lot of bearing on this, if one factory can go into production immediately but the others can't for a month, then that also gives us an option for a more rapid turnaround.

Hardest Part Already Behind Us

The most challenging engineering part of HYVE (the Edition boxes, with their magnetic doors, and secret compartments) has thankfully already been done for almost a year, we did all that hard work before even launching the campaign.  So the rest of the SKUs (puzzles, colored pencils, pins) are much more "standard issue") than the hard engineering work that has already been done.  Just to let you know!  =)

Thank you, as always, for your patience and for trusting us with HYVE.

We remain completely committed to getting this project manufactured, shipped, and into your hands as quickly as we responsibly can.

--Matthew & Logan, Aerobellum Games

Backerkit orders locked, cards charged. New rep at the factory.
about 1 month ago – Fri, Aug 21, 2026 at 06:55:31 AM

Alrighty folks, the day has arrived—we’ve charged cards in BackerKit and locked the Pledge Manager!

As of eight days ago, the factory had everything needed to produce the game, and we were simply waiting for final confirmation before moving forward with a complete round of prototypes. Then… silence. After emailing our representative every other day for more than a week without receiving a response, we were understandably beginning to worry.

Today, we finally learned that our prior representative is no longer with the factory. Thankfully, all of the project’s engineering knowledge, files, and production processes remain with the factory, and a new representative is currently being onboarded. We don’t yet know the full effect this transition will have on our schedule, but it has already caused some delay.

The factory rep sits between the engineers that work directly with the production machines and the customer.  To be completely frank, we weren't very happy with our rep in general, due to communication delays and challenges, so I think our odds are good that this change in representation has a high likelihood to work out to our benefit in the long term.  Still, the loss of tempo to our timeline does sting a bit.   

On a more positive note, the card charge was successful for more than 90% of backers! However, more than 270 transactions failed. This is usually caused by a bank confirmation, security feature, expired card, or another payment issue. If your payment failed, please keep an eye out for a BackerKit notification and update your payment information as soon as possible.

We’ll share another update once we receive confirmation that the prototypes are moving forward. With any luck, they won’t require revisions, and we’ll be able to enter mass production as soon as the factory can accommodate us.

The sooner we can get this game into everyone’s hands, the better! =)

--Matthew, Aerobellum Games

Retailer Shipping Updated, Waiting on Factory
about 2 months ago – Fri, Aug 14, 2026 at 07:38:15 AM

Receipt of Digital Proofs, Awaiting Prototypes 

We just received the digital proofs for all 16 SKUs in the campaign just a few days ago, and I’ve spent the past few days reviewing them and made some minor corrections to some backs of Meadow and Legacy Edition.  Luckily I was able to turn around the few changes that I had within 24 hours.  

The factory has had all of our digital files for about a month, but sourcing all the specific Pantone colors for the colored pencils has taken longer than expected.  Good news is that they haven't told me to change any of the desired pantones that we were sourcing for all Editions of HYVE (and the bonus 24-pack colored pencils), so that's nice.  =)

At this point, we’re still waiting on the factory and their production schedule. We must have a round of prototypes in order to approve mass production, and we’ll be ready to move into mass production as soon as they can fit us in. Since we’re producing a minimum of roughly 20,000 Editions (not including Add-Ons), this is a substantial print run, and the factory will need a large enough opening in its schedule to accommodate it.

Retail-Tier Shipping & Locking the PM here soon

In the meantime, we’ve finalized and updated the retailer shipping pricing. With that now in place, we plan to lock the BackerKit pledge manager and charge cards one week from today, on August 21. Please make sure your pledge, shipping information, and payment method are up to date before then.

We still have 8% of the folks that backed the campaign that haven't filled out their BK survey.  Remember, we can't get you your rewards until you fill out the survey!

We hope to have a firmer production update from the factory in the coming weeks, and we’ll share it as soon as we do. 

Remember, we'll be locking/charging cards in a week!  So if you haven't got into the PM to fill out your survey or are a retailer that has been waiting on accurate shipping pricing, now is the time!

Thank you again for your patience and support! =]

HYVE Pre-Production Update. Meadow Edition getting 2-player Support! And announcing "Heirloom", our next game!
3 months ago – Tue, Jul 14, 2026 at 07:40:37 AM

Hi everyone!

We have several important updates to share as HYVE continues moving toward production.

Meadow Edition Now Supports 2 Players!

We’re always looking for ways to improve the game, even after the campaign has ended. As part of that process, Meadow Edition—formerly called Casual Edition—will now include an official 2-player variant!

We first developed a “Bee drafting” system early in the game’s design, but it felt a little too competitive for the standard version of HYVE. Meadow Edition turned out to be the perfect home for it, since there is much less pressure surrounding resources and survival.

The result is a more challenging and interactive way to play Meadow Edition with another player while still preserving its relaxed feel. Meadow Edition is also being physically upgraded to include everything needed for 2-player play!

We’ve had a lot of fun with this new drafting variant, and we hope you enjoy it too!

(Pledges are still unlocked in BackerKit, so Meadow Edition can still be added to your pledge.)

Prototypes Are Nearly Underway

All the prototype files have now been sent to the factory. Their engineering team has already identified a few adjustments that need to be made to the Bee Pin to improve its structural integrity, so we’ll be sending those revisions back this week.

The factory is also sourcing the specific Pantone colors for the colored pencils. In cases where an exact color is unavailable, we may need to review and approve the closest available alternative. 

This is a normal part of the prototyping process. Once files reach the factory, their engineers review each component for manufacturability and durability. Any necessary changes are passed to their project representative (translated into English), then to Logan and me, and finally to Kevin for the required artwork or graphic-design revisions. Once those updates are completed, they travel back through the same process for another review.

With several teams working across different schedules and time zones, even small revisions can take a little time to move through the full approval chain. We are responding to everything as quickly as possible, always within 12–24 hours whenever something reaches us.  

Once all of the e-proofs—the factory’s digital representations of the prototypes—are finalized and approved, we will enter the prototype production queue. We currently expect the physical prototypes to arrive approximately three to four weeks after that point.

We will then carefully inspect every edition and add-on to make sure everything looks and functions as intended before approving the project for mass production.  

Retailer Pricing Is Still Being Finalized

We are still waiting to finalize retailer pricing. I had hoped to have that information ready for this update, but we do not yet have confirmed costs for either the prototype run or the final mass-production run.  Providing it now would be possible but just premature.

Once the factory prototype is confirmed, I will contact all participating retailers directly with the updated information and next steps.

Pledge Manager at 90%

Just 10% to go, if you have yet to fill out your survey in Backerkit, please do so!  We'll announce when the PM locks likely on the next update.  

Heirloom: A game about tomatoes

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aerobellumgames/heirloom-a-game-about-tomatoes

We're gearing up to launch our next game this fall (likely launching in October).  It's a cute tile laying game about growing and harvesting tomatoes.  The artist is from and lives in Sicily, so the game is also about his family restaurant and Sicilian cuisine.  

If you'd like to know more check out the link.  We're planning a lot of fun stuff for the campaign and are excited to show it to you in the weeks and months ahead, if you're part of our mailing list.  (We won't have any further updates on this campaign regarding Heirloom, but as we just launched our preview page today I was excited to share it.)  =)

More news to come soon, thanks again for all your support!

--Matthew, Aerobellum Games

HYVE June Updates!
4 months ago – Thu, Jun 18, 2026 at 10:08:58 AM

Apple ID "Private Relay"

First thing to note, is if you've got an Apple ID email with a private relay, please PM me and send me your actual email address! The private relay system seems to never deliver emails from BackerKit.  I'll change it in BackerKit to your actual email so that you get their updates regarding HYVE. 

More Upgrades!

More upgrades!  We are ready to show the additional sheets that we made for Coloring Edition! As the theme of Coloring Edition is preparing for Winter, each of the three "segments" of the game take place over 3 seasons. Staring in Spring and ending in Autumn. We are including 3 of these sheets before each segment.  

And Multiplayer, Meadow (Casual), and Legacy are all getting a "Achievements" sheet that some of you will recognize from the original PNP edition of the game. Here you can track all of your games, any achievements that you unlocked, if you won or lost and your score (amongst other things), sorta gives you a fun journaling way of tracking your plays.  

Survey Completion Status

The Pledge Manager now 87% completed by our backers.  So if you're in that 13% of people that haven't yet filled out your survey, please fill out your survey!

Keep in mind that the survey was directly sent out from BackerKit, and this is not the live-campaign survey that was sent out during the campaign (via a PM directly from my KS account to yours). BK will keep emailing you until you fill it out.  And if you haven't seen it yet it is very likely that it is ending up in your SPAM or "Promotional" tab if you're using Gmail.  

Retailer Shipping Pricing in Next Update

For our retailers!  We are still a little ways from pulling together shipping information for you, but we expect to get that organized in time for our next update. This delay is intentional as we want to just ensure that the shipping price is as accurate to what Aerobellum Games will be paying as possible. We'll PM and/or email you directly when we have that information!

Total Status of Project

We're nearing a 100% "Prototype Ready" stage, just a few more steps!
 

At this point, the main remaining task is incorporating the recent Legacy system updates into the new Legacy rulebook. Once that is complete, we’ll be ready to order prototype copies of all editions of HYVE, along with all the add-ons.

That prototype run will give us a much clearer picture of where everything stands. Our hope is that everything checks out on the first round, which would allow us to move directly from prototype approval into scheduling mass production.

That said, we do want to keep everyone informed about how this part of the process works. If we discover any discrepancies, production issues, or component concerns that require a second prototype run, each additional prototyping iteration generally adds about 30–45 days to the overall timeline.

We’re doing everything we can on the front end to catch issues now and get everything sorted in a single prototype run. The sooner we can move into production, the better it is not only for you but for us as well. 

We'll send out another update in about a month from now, maybe a little sooner or a little later depending on when we have enough news to share.  

Thanks again for your support!

--Matthew, Aerobellum Games