Eyeball to Eyeball: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Hello everyone! We are reaching out to give the low down on our Backerkit surveys, which will be coming soon. These surveys are important because they allow you to finalize your shipping information, include any add-ons you want as part of your pledge, and collect payment information for add-ons and, eventually. shipping fees. While production continues to proceed accordingly, we're also getting all our ducks in a row for fulfillment.

 

When Are Surveys Coming?
First, the timing: surveys will go live a few days after we launch our smoke test (where we send out surveys to a small subset to check for errors or other issues). Right now, the plan is to initiate the smoke test on Monday, September 30. Assuming the smoke test goes ok, the remaining surveys will roll out after that in batches starting on Wednesday, October 2 until all are in the wild!

 

Where Is the Survey Coming From?
Our backend fulfillment partner is Backerkit (naturally), so your survey email will come from them.

 

How Do You Complete the Survey?
You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey (although you already have one from when you backed the campaign...on Backerkit). When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like.

Why Aren't Shipping Fees in Backerkit Yet?
Due to the volatility of shipping prices globally right now, shipping fees for this project will be calculated at a later date once we have the best estimates for everyone. We plan to enter & charge backers for shipping a month before fulfillment when we have better estimates of what it will cost to ship backers rewards. We will alert backers when shipping costs are finalized & before we charge your cards in your BackerKit survey, so that you can review the charges. For US domestic shipping, we still expect final shipping costs for a single copy of the game to be between $12-$15 total. For international backers in the UK and EU, we anticipate being able to offer customs friendly shipping rates through our fulfillment partner in the UK, but those rates are not locked in yet. Everywhere else in the world, shipping will be much higher than the base US cost. This is just the reality of global shipping right now (which we are finding out once again as we get fulfillment ramped up for Five Hundred Year Old Vampire right now).
 

How Long Do You Have to Complete the Survey?
Surveys will be live until December 2, 2024, after which we will close surveys to begin ramping up to fulfillment later in the winter/spring, so you will have plenty of time if you don't get to it right away. Also, after you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys.
 

How Do You Access Your Survey After Completion?
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://eyeball-to-eyeball.backerkit.com/.
 

What If You Don't Receive the Survey Email?
Beyond checking the spam or junk folder in your email, there are two other steps to check if you do not receive a survey email.
 

First, if you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your crowdfunding account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address associated with your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at https://eyeball-to-eyeball.backerkit.com/faq.
 

Second, after surveys are sent, if you did not receive the email, and you Signed in with Apple ID, your email address might be a private relay email address. We can help locate your survey and update your email address, please message us or post a comment with your Backer ID or Pledge # found on your confirmation. You can learn more about your email hiding for your Apple ID here.

 

We also want to pass along to you that the Preorder Store for the Eyeball to Eyeball campaign is open and available. For backers, you do not need to worry about this. You will finalize your orders through the Backerkit survey, but if you know anyone who you think would enjoy the game, you can point them at the Preorder Store here:

https://eyeball-to-eyeball.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

We'll be in touch again soon to let you know when the smoke test is starting. 

Stay on the brink, everyone!

Dear Amazing Backers,

Thank you all for your support and for the wonderful push at the end to get us to the first stretch goal. The game is ready to go and the contract is being signed with the manufacturer as I type. We will update you as information comes in. Sorry to keep this one short but we spent the weekend and today packing for Gen Con. If you will be there please stop by our table on Community Row. We have a couple of prototypes of the game kicking around that you can take a look at! 

Happy gaming!

Thank you, everybody, for your support in bringing Eyeball to Eyeball to life. We’ve reached our funding goal with time to spare. Thank you!

Here’s a message from the game’s designers, Ray Kimball and Kimberly Redding:

“We are so excited that Eyeball to Eyeball is now funded! We want to take a moment and thank the 114 backers who have made this project possible. We are so grateful for your support of our little game! Best of all, it's not over yet. We want to share info about the two stretch goals that are now in play - if you want to see these happen, please nudge friends and colleagues to share their support!

$10,000 - Game Soundscape: For this stretch goal, world renowned musician Mark Cox has designed a soundscape for Eyeball to Eyeball that we'll give to all backers. The soundscape is a single track that can be looped during game play that can help reflect the mood of the time period the game is set in.

$13,000 - Experiential Simulation (ExSim) Glow Up: Meeting this stretch goal will allow us to take the amazing graphic design and style set already present in the Core Gamebook and apply it to the Experiential Simulation (ExSim) platform. This will allow for a consistent look and feel of the game in all media and enhance the player experience. Money covers the licensing of intellectual property into the online medium, along with labor costs for both Bold Pocket Press and Mustard Square.

Under 30 hours to go - let's do this!

Ray Kimball and Kimberly Redding”

One day closer, let's go!

Here's the next set of character capsules for Eyeball to Eyeball: the Intermediary roles in the game. Ray's commentary on the role is in italics below the description, as before.



U Thant: The first non-European Secretary General of the United Nations. You are a firm believer in the UN Charter and its mission of global peace. Can you keep the world from ending in flames?

The Intermediary Contingent is the Swiss Army Knife of this game. You can play entirely without them if you want to focus on US-Soviet-Cuba engagement, or if you want to emphasize more media engagement. But for folks whose curriculum or group composition lends itself to a more internationalist perspective, the Intermediaries offer LOTS of possibilities.
 


Adlai Stevenson: Longtime lawyer, Democratic politician and U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN. You joined President Kennedy’s Administration out of a sense of national duty. Can you beat the Reds?

In a longer-form game, I definitely would have given Stevenson a larger role. He's absolutely fascinating to me as a person and as a politician. He definitely is not as prominent in the game as he was in real life.
 


Valerian Zorin: A legendary Soviet diplomat who has represented the USSR at the UN since 1956. Your service gives you unique insights into the minds of capitalist leaders. Can you secure victory for the Rodina?

Zorin had the actual nickname of "Mr. Nyet" because of his copious use of the Soviet veto in the U.N. Security Council. That being said, he had a reputation of being easy to talk to and work with on matters of common ground. It would be fun to create a two-person debate game between Zorin and Stevenson where they square off on the issues of the early Cold War.
 


Mustafa İsmet İnönü: Prime Minister of Turkey. Over a lifetime of public service, you’ve nurtured a modern economy and a strong sense of hard-won independence. Can you get your way?

Kimberly came up with the idea of adding İnönü, and it adds a great wrinkle to the discussion of the Jupiter missiles in Turkey. During one playtest, the US just casually announced to the world that they were getting rid of them, and İnönü lost his mind. The Soviets successfully exploited that to get the Turks to leave NATO. Awkward.



Willy Brandt: Mayor of West Berlin since 1957. You have championed development of West Berlin as a showcase of capitalism and a stark contrast to the gray drabness of East Berlin. Can you get your way?

There's a point in the game where Berlin potentially becomes a significant issue, and Willy Brandt gets a chance to shine. Always fun to see what players do with that opportunity.
 


Josip Broz Tito: Founder of the post-war Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. Always the pragmatist, you have also nurtured good ties with the capitalist powers as well. Can you get your way?

Tito is a great role because he underscores just how complex the politics of the Cold War really was. It wasn't always "with us or against us." It really breaks some players' brains.
 


Julio Lobo: Sugar tycoon and recent Cuban exile. Your outsized ego is exemplified by your massive collection of Napoleonic artifacts, the largest in the world. Can you get your way?

Oh, man, Lobo. This guy is the closest thing to an actual Bond villain I've ever seen in real life. From his giant collection of Napoleonic-era artifacts to our complete inability to find an actual picture of him, the whole character just reeks of "sharks with frickin' laser beams."
 


Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Russian author and former political prisoner. You hope that publication of works like yours will correct the worst excesses of Soviet power and lead it on a better path. Can you get your way?

I’m a Russian/Soviet historian by training, so you KNEW I was going to get extra Russians in here somehow, right? When I realized that "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" came out in 1962, I knew Solzhenitsyn was perfect for the Intermediaries.



Indira Gandhi: President of the Indian National Congress. You are keenly ambitious to follow in your father’s footsteps while maintaining India’s strict policy of non-alignment. Can you get your way?

Sigh. The lone female role in the game. We tried and tried to improve representation in this game without breaking historical plausibility, and this was the best we could do. 

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We're at 96% and counting! Let's go!

Hi all,

Before we get into the next set of character capsules, here's an article from the independent news website Rascal that dropped about Eyeball to Eyeball. It includes an interview with designers Ray Kimball and Kimberly Redding. Reading the full post requires a subscription, but Rascal is a great site to support in the gaming industry, so check it out:

https://www.rascal.news/eyeball-to-eyeball-classroom-larp-interview/

Onto the next set of character capsules. Next up: the Media roles in the game. Ray's commentary on the role is in italics below the description, as before.



Herbert Matthews: Internationally recognized New York Times journalist. You are known to ask probing questions, and have a well-rounded grasp of international affairs. Can you get the scoop?

Matthews' picture is one of two images that we actually licensed for the game; everything else is public domain. The full shot (which is included in the game book as a primary source) is him interviewing Fidel Castro in the mountains of Cuba in the late 1950s. It was just too perfect to pass up.
 


William Turner Catledge: NY Times Editor. You are strongly committed to freedom of speech and the responsibility of the press to expose truth at all costs. Can you get the scoop?

| I love roles like this that require players to exercise peer leadership. In this case, the coaching component as Catledge reviews the work of his two NYT reporters is always fun to watch.



Isidor Feinstein (I.F.) Stone: American investigative journalist. Your left-wing positions and consistent engagement with Communists have led to whispers that you are a Soviet agent. Can you get the scoop?

We had a lot of fun with the ideologies of different media figures. We certainly had a wide range of options to choose from, so having a leftist like Stone versus a die-hard conservative like Paul Harvey was too good to pass up.
 


Walter Cronkite: new anchor of CBS’s nightly news broadcast. As “the most trusted man in America,” you are a shining star of modern journalism and professional rival of other journalists. Can you get the scoop?

Man, thank God for presidential libraries. This pic of Cronkite taken by a JFK White House photographer was the only one we could find that wasn't under copyright. Ditto for many of the Soviet roles. 

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We're standing on the brink. Less than $500 now. Do we take the leap?