Geeks Doing Good 2017

It’s that time of year again, folks. Time to make the world a better place while buying some delicious geeky swag.

For those of you who are new around here, (or who just missed it, because it only lasts a week) for the last couple years, Worldbuilders has held a Geeks Doing Good fundraiser in the summer.

During this campaign, we throw up a ton of new merchandise on Indigogo. Sometimes we’re giving you an early shot at items we’re developing for The Tinker’s Packs, sometimes we’re giving away rare things we only have limited quantities of, sometimes we’re just experimenting, and making things available that you’ll never see again….

It only lasts a week (June 5-12 this year), and we have all manner of geekery to show off.

  • New Creators in The Tinker’s Packs

For the last couple of years, we’ve been slowly gathering seducing creators into letting us make cool things for them in Tinker’s Packs. And we’ve had some good success. For example, we’ve done Jim Butcher t-shirts for two years now…

But this is the year where we’ve really managed to make some stuff happen….

This year’s fundraiser features products from Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Holly Black, Myke Cole, as well as the fabulous comics Bitch Planet, Sex Criminals, and Rat Queens.

We have t-shirts, tank tops, tote bags, hoodies, coffee cups, stickers, and so much more.

There’s signed, special edition copies of books, too.

If you want, you could just stop reading now and swing by the campaign and see what we’ve got. My feelings wouldn’t be hurt at all. There’s more going on there than I can showcase here in a single blog…

Or, if you like, I can show you some of the highlights….

  • Tons of New Shirts

As you already know from recent blogs, we ran a t-shirt design contest.

When the time came to vote, we had two clear fan-favorites battling it out through the week of voting, never more than 10 or 15 votes apart.

But I’m not the only one who’s got new shirts in this year’s fundraiser. Far from it, as a matter of fact.

We have a new t-shirt from Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files; two new shirts from Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles; two Bitch Planet t-shirts; and a shirt from the ever-knowledgeable Myke Cole, presented in awesomely overkill handbook-speak. All of these shirts are under the umbrella of “t-shirt” on the fundraiser page, meaning to order any of these shirts, you’d select  the “Your Choice of One T-Shirt” perk.

Or, if you are understandably overwhelmed with the choices and feel the need to grab more than one shirt, we also have a t-shirt 3-pack where can grab any three of those shirts and save some money at the same time.

(If you want to buy even more than three shirts, because you’re possessed of more than the usual levels of style and good sense, you can just buy multiple shirt 3-packs, then you’ll just get the discount again and again.)

Also, we have a few non-t shirts, if you see what I mean…

Rat Queens and Sex Criminals are both doing tank tops, which people have been asking us to produce for a while now. We’ve also got a cool raglan for Sex Criminals. (I had to ask what a raglan was, apparently it’s a baseball-type shirt.)

Because these aren’t t-shirts, each of these is its own perk, so they won’t be part of the One Shirt or Three Shirt perks,  so keep that in mind when you’re deciding what to order.

  • Tons of Tak

Ever since we ran the kickstarter, I’ve been itching to bring more Tak stuff into the world, and now we’re able to do just that.

For almost a year now, we’ve been researching and prototyping, so now we’ve got a bunch of new Tak products to expand your collections. Or, if you’ve never played before, this is your chance to start playing the game with unprecedented style….

After much searching and experimentation, we have found a way to make stone piece sets available. (Ceramic, actually, but let’s not quibble.) We also have some limited edition handmade capstones, and new board drawn by Echo Chernik…

And metal pieces folks. It took a long. LONG time to find someone who could make quality metal pieces for any sort of sensible price. But we did it. And they’re made here in the US, too.

What’s more, we’ve worked with Wyrmwood to come up with an entirely self-contained travel Tak set.

It’s small, but still has full-sized pieces and a board big enough for a 6×6 game. And as with everything Wyrmwood makes, it’s a thing of beauty. Also? It’s hingeless. It hangs together with magic. Or magnets. Or both. They’re pretty much the same thing.

We’re offering two versions, so you can pick whichever one fits your pocketbook and personal aestetic better. What’s more, if you’re strapped for cash, we’ve made it so you can buy just the board without the pieces, which knocks a chunk off the price. Then you can either use your old pieces, make new ones, or… I dunno, just use this as a stylish and deceptive way to carry around your gear….

  • A Cabin on JoCo Cruise 2018

Yet again, the folks from JoCo Cruise have contributed a cabin on the next cruise to support the fundraiser.

I’ve been on Joco three times to far, and it’s one of my favorite conventions by far. It’s everything I enjoy about going to a convention, plus I get to go snorkeling. Plus all night gaming. Plus getting to hang out with cool geeks. And there’s karaoke, dance parties, cabaret performances, panel discussions, cocktail hours…

The price tag for a 2 person cabin may seem a little steep. (Though it’s not that bad if you consider that it includes meals and drinks and entertainment for the duration of the trip.)

But even that doesn’t matter in this particular instance. I know a lot of you don’t have a ton of money, so here in the Geeks Doing Good fundraiser, you can throw your hat into the ring for 5 dollars. That’s right. For five bucks, you have a chance to come along on the cruise with us.

You can enter as many times as you buy the perk. We’ll get in contact once a winner is selected, and in February you’ll be sailing high seas with the cool kids.

Seriously guys. It’s a ton of fun, and this is a great opportunity.

  • A Signed, Pre-ordered 10th Anniversary NOTW.

I mentioned a while back on a livestream that this year my publisher is releasing a special 10th Annivesary Edition of The Name of the Wind.

It’s got a bunch of new stuff in it, including beautiful new illustrations….

New maps that I’ve been slaving over with Nate Taylor. A long rambly authors note, and a series of appendixes where I share all manner of secrets from the world, including explanations of the Aturan calendar, an exhaustive pronunciation guide, historical notes, and a long, freaky description of the currency system with illustrations of the coins by Nate Taylor.

It will be released later this year, and if you want a copy signed by me, we’re going to give you the chance to pre-order it here, so you can get a signed book AND splash some money toward a good cause at the same time….

Ordering the book here doesn’t mean you’ll get it sooner than anyone else. We’ll be shipping these out the day before publication, so the soonest they’ll arrive is on the pub date itself.

But that’s pretty much the soonest you’ll be able to get a *signed* copy. And while doing that, you’re helping out your friendly neighborhood geek charity, and that’s always a win.

  • More Book and Game Bundles

As has become tradition, we’ve included some mystery bundles of books and games for you.

These are always a resounding success, and we’re always happy to provide the opportunity for folks to get new geekery in their lives.

This year, we even have a mystery kid’s books bundle, so if there’s a kid in your life you can’t buy enough books for, we’ve got you covered.

  • So much other cool stuff

Please keep in mind that I’m just scratching the surface here….

There’s coolness from Storiarts. There’s an all-Worldbuilders-supporter True Dungeon Run.

We’ve got water bottles, wristbands, miniatures, change jars, and so much more. We’ve even got tiers for you to buy a goat, if you already have enough stuff in your life, and you’d rather just chip in some money to make the world a better place.

So go check it out.

Seriously. Go.

pat

P.S. I’ll be doing some livestreaming to promote the fundraiser and show off some of the cool new merch. Exactly *when* I’ll be streaming is a little up in the air right now. But if you head over and follow my channel, then set your account to get updates, you’ll get a heads-up when I go live…

This entry was posted in calling on the legions, Geeks Doing Good, Worldbuilders. By Pat27 Responses

27 Comments

  1. stingrae
    Posted June 5, 2017 at 3:13 PM | Permalink

    This all looks awesome! I can’t wait to best my friends in Tak. Though I’m pretty sure I need to learn it first…

  2. MrPensees
    Posted June 5, 2017 at 11:01 PM | Permalink

    Is there a way to add multiple things to a cart?

    • Posted June 6, 2017 at 2:19 AM | Permalink

      Part of the reason we use indigogo (instead of kickstarter) is that it lets users buy several different tiers in the same event. You just check out several times, and all your orders will be combined….

      • MrPensees
        Posted June 6, 2017 at 8:58 AM | Permalink

        Thanks, Pat.

  3. Karissima
    Posted June 6, 2017 at 10:44 AM | Permalink

    Is the water bottle dishwasher safe?

    • Amanda
      Posted June 6, 2017 at 10:51 AM | Permalink

      They are, but they do recommend hand-washing for best results long term for the outside design.

  4. Cinnamon
    Posted June 6, 2017 at 11:31 AM | Permalink

    Just wondering if Lorren’s Tak set will be available in the Tinker’s Packs at a later date? I’d love to be able to save up for that one, pretty pricey in Canadian dollars. Thanks for doing this every year.

    • Amanda
      Posted June 6, 2017 at 1:23 PM | Permalink

      It will be, no worries there. It’s too beautiful not to carry :)

      • Cinnamon
        Posted June 6, 2017 at 2:06 PM | Permalink

        Great, thanks! I’ll pick up a couple smaller things for now. Love the Eolian coasters. :)

  5. Schwartz the Younger
    Posted June 6, 2017 at 12:30 PM | Permalink

    I’m sad to see no calendar this year. :-(

  6. Camruinn
    Posted June 6, 2017 at 1:02 PM | Permalink

    Is there a product limit? Looking to know if I can wait until payday to drop the cash for 10th Anniversary NOTW or if they’ll all get snatched up.

    • Amanda
      Posted June 6, 2017 at 1:20 PM | Permalink

      Nope, you’ll be totally fine to wait until payday!

  7. InkSplotches
    Posted June 6, 2017 at 4:03 PM | Permalink

    Hello all!

    I was wondering about shipping costs for two items. If I purchase two items, will I have to pay shipping costs for both items seperately or will they be put together in one package? I live in Switzerland and I’m hoping shipping costs might be a bit less if it’s all in one bundle?

    • Amanda
      Posted June 7, 2017 at 9:30 AM | Permalink

      Shoot us an email at fundraiser (at) worldbuilders.org and we’ll work with you to see what we can do!

  8. Posted June 6, 2017 at 8:15 PM | Permalink

    Off to shop…

    P.S. Happy birthday, Youngster!

  9. jordynlynn
    Posted June 6, 2017 at 10:01 PM | Permalink

    Happy birthday Pat I hope you had a wonderful day with your family. Congratulations to you and your team on reaching 151% of your goal in TWO days!!

  10. AKAF
    Posted June 7, 2017 at 1:37 AM | Permalink

    Hi Pat. Have you looked at corian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corian) (or one of the many competing products) for TAK tiles? It’s marble/stone powder mixed with plastic. I came across it many years ago as a replacement for horn, since it’s turnable on a lathe (with increased tool wear) and doesn’t have the natural inclusions of horn which can be annoying when making a lot of knobs for a box which should have a symmetrical look when finished. I suspect it’s an order of magnitude cheaper than ceramic in the finished form due to the machining costs, but you’d need to get your hands on a sample to see whether the surface suits your tastes.

  11. kvothethearcane
    Posted June 7, 2017 at 5:39 PM | Permalink

    I just saw a video from the 2014 fundraiser about a Three Threes package. Will there be something like that this year? (All the stuff this year is amazing, and I’ve already jumped in, so at this point I’m just wondering if I should save a little money to jump in again)

    • Amanda
      Posted June 8, 2017 at 9:32 AM | Permalink

      No worries there! We don’t intend to release any new products in the campaign, so everything you might want to grab is up there :)

  12. Jeremy
    Posted June 8, 2017 at 1:05 PM | Permalink

    Yay!! Got my 10th Anniversary ordered! Can’t wait to put that up next to my other editions. Now I just have to try not going broke buying everything else on the list.

  13. aphrodite
    Posted June 8, 2017 at 2:18 PM | Permalink

    no BPAL this year?

  14. sethbu
    Posted June 8, 2017 at 2:50 PM | Permalink

    Are the game bundles still Mayfair only or from multiple publishers? Relatedly, it seems like the smaller bundle (Buncha games) is concentrated more on smaller, family-friendly games–does that mean the larger bundle has more of a mix?

    Thanks as always!

    • Amanda
      Posted June 12, 2017 at 9:51 AM | Permalink

      The game bundles are both primarily Mayfair games, yup. They’re so generous every year that we always have tons available. There’s a good mix of games in both, so you should be set either way :)

  15. Crimsyn Seraph
    Posted June 9, 2017 at 1:19 PM | Permalink

    I can’t afford to get the anniversary edition any time soon… Is this a one shot printing? Or will this edition be available alongside the standard edition (albeit at a higher price point) for years to come?

    • Amanda
      Posted June 12, 2017 at 9:14 AM | Permalink

      I don’t know how long it’ll be available long-term, but it’ll be in bookstores in October and it’ll be around a while.

  16. Kimberlyand
    Posted June 12, 2017 at 10:42 AM | Permalink

    Are there any more/embiggened versions of the photos for Lorren’s and the Scriv’s tak sets?

  17. suraklinprime
    Posted June 13, 2017 at 11:06 AM | Permalink

    Ach! Missed the event :(

    Will the stone and metal Tak pieces be on sale again at any point?

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