Yonder Progress Update #12 - Where Things Stand
18 days ago
– Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 03:24:10 AM
Hi everyone,
I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update. The good news is that I'm still here.
UK and European fulfilment is complete, but pledges for the rest of the world are still outstanding, and I don't have a confirmed shipping date yet. The main problem is still money: I haven't raised enough to cover the remaining fulfilment costs.
There has been some progress, though, which I want to share.
Licensing
I've agreed terms in principle with a publishing partner for an English-language retail edition of Yonder. The contract still needs to be finalised, so I can't call it a done deal yet. The agreement includes an advance against royalties, and the partner will pay for their own production. This raises the possibility of a retail edition of the game appearing before Kickstarter fulfilment is complete. I'll do my best to avoid that outcome, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.
I'm also continuing discussions about further language editions of Yonder and our other titles. These deals bring money into Sinister Fish without us having to pay for those print runs upfront. They won't cover the whole shortfall, but they will help. Getting your Kickstarter pledges delivered remains my responsibility.
Keeping things moving
A recent distributor payment has helped ease the immediate pressure on the business. I’m also chasing outstanding payments and working to sell existing stock.
Keeping the lights on at Sinister Fish is essential to getting Yonder delivered. We need to keep operating long enough to complete licensing deals, launch upcoming Kickstarter campaigns and bring other releases to market. Those are the opportunities we’re working towards to earn the money needed to finish fulfilment, and covering the everyday costs of running the company is part of reaching them.
That means progress won’t always translate into an immediate shipment. Some income keeps the business running so we can reach those bigger milestones. I know that’s frustrating when you’re waiting for your game, but it’s important to be clear about how the plan works.
Just so you know, I'm paying myself as little as possible while all this is going on. I"m currently the only employee at Sinister Fish, and I work from home, so my overheads are quite low.
Fossilium
In June, I said we expected to launch Fossilium within a few weeks. Obviously that didn't happen. Checking the samples turned up problems with some components and how everything fits in the box. We're still working through revised specifications and samples with the publisher and manufacturer.
I covered how Fossilium fits into the plan for finishing Yonder in the last update, so I won't go through it all again here. Its own production and delivery costs have to be covered first. How much it can contribute towards our other commitments depends on how well the campaign does, but if you're still waiting for Yonder, I absolutely do not expect you to back Fossilium.
I know you want your game, and news about contracts and preparations doesn't change how long you've been waiting.
There is progress, but there's still a substantial financial shortfall to resolve. I'm continuing to work on that, and I should be keeping you informed while I do, even when I don't have a shipping date to share.
Thank you for sticking with me. I don't take your patience for granted.
Take care, and play games.
Dave
Yonder Progress Update #11 - Europe & Looking Forward
4 months ago
– Thu, Jun 18, 2026 at 08:34:43 AM
<Edited to add more context>
Hey everyone,
I hope you're doing OK. I just wanted to check in and share the latest news...
Ongoing Fulfilment
Yonder's European fulfilment wave is currently listed as being in "Project Data Analysis" over on the weekly GamesQuest fulfilment blog. So it's in the system, now we just wait a little longer for pledges to start shipping out. The next blog update will be on June 30th - skipping a week for scheduled staff absence.
GamesQuest will double check your shipping details by email, so you have one more chance to correct any errors prior to dispatch.
I'll post news of all the other outstanding pledges as soon as I have a firm plan.
Looking Ahead
I also wanted to let you know that we’re preparing to launch our next Kickstarter campaign, Fossilium, in the next few weeks.
Some of you may understandably wonder why we’re launching a new project before Yonder fulfilment is completely finished. Yonder was budgeted to fund and deliver Yonder. The problem is that fulfilment is taking far longer than planned because of delays with the deluxe insert, delays around avoiding tariffs, and a very difficult period for me personally.
During that time, Sinister Fish still had ongoing operating costs, and the project didn’t raise enough beyond its funding goal to comfortably absorb those delays.
I’m not pretending that’s an ideal situation. It isn’t. But the way forward is to finish Yonder while continuing to publish new games and rebuild the company’s cashflow. Stopping all new releases wouldn’t help me deliver Yonder, it would make it much harder for the business to survive long enough to do so.
So the answer is simple: Sinister Fish needs to keep publishing games. Like most small publishers, we rely on new releases to generate the cashflow that keeps the business healthy. Just the other day we released Go Big, we’re about to release Tulip Season, and Fossilium is the next step in getting the company back onto solid ground.
Because Fossilium is a licensed edition of an existing game, it’s already fully developed and ready to go into production. The funding goal has been set to ensure that Fossilium itself can be manufactured and delivered without compromise.
Any success beyond that strengthens Sinister Fish as a whole. It allows us to finish Yonder, support our existing games, and continue publishing new ones. Launching Fossilium now is part of my plan to ensure the company is in a position to fulfil all its commitments.
I know the last couple of years have tested your patience, and I’m grateful to everyone who has stuck with me. My goal is to put Sinister Fish back on solid footing so that we can continue making and delivering great games for years to come. To do that, I have to keep the company moving forward, and I hope you'll join me!
Much love,
Dave
sinisterfish.com
Yonder Progress Update #10 – European fulfilment
4 months ago
– Thu, Jun 04, 2026 at 02:47:51 AM
Hey everyone,
I’m back from UK Games Expo, having completed UK fulfilment of Yonder by the skin of my teeth. It was an excellent event, and it was great to meet so many of you in person. Sales were strong, which helps the remaining stages of Yonder fulfilment.
If you’re still waiting for your pledge in the UK, or if you have any damaged or missing components, please email [email protected] and I’ll look into it.
When you've played the game and have a good feel for it, I invite you to rate and review it on BGG.
Europe Fulfilment
I’ve just activated the address confirmation process in BackerKit for European backers. You should receive an email from BackerKit giving you 48 hours to review and update your shipping details. If you don’t see it, please check your spam or junk folder.
If you still can’t find the email and need to update your address, please contact [email protected] with both your old and new shipping information.
Once the address confirmation period ends, I’ll pass the shipping data to GamesQuest. They will provide one final opportunity to make corrections before fulfilment begins. You'll be able to track progress on their weekly fulfilment blog.
Please make sure your details are correct. If a pledge is shipped to an incorrect address after these checks have been completed, we won’t be able to offer free replacements or reshipments.
Other than that, it’s finally time to get excited. We’re about to get an excellent game into your hands.
Rest of World Fulfilment
I still don’t have a firm timeline for the remaining regions, and I’d rather be honest about that than make promises I can’t keep.
I know many of you have been waiting a long time, and I understand the frustration. Please know that completing fulfilment remains my highest priority, and I’m continuing to work towards it every day. As soon as I have concrete information to share, I will.
Thank you for your continued patience and support. I appreciate it more than you know.
Future Releases
Sinister Fish will continue releasing new games while Yonder fulfilment is completed. No funds set aside for Yonder fulfilment will be used for future projects.
However, the business needs to keep moving forward in the meantime, and there is a lot in the pipeline, including multiple Kickstarter campaigns and retail releases. Continuing to publish new games is an important part of ensuring Sinister Fish remains healthy and able to fulfil its commitments, both now and in the future.
Until next time...
Take care, and play games!
Dave Clarke
sinisterfish.com
Yonder Progress Update #9 – UK Fulfilment Begins
5 months ago
– Thu, May 07, 2026 at 02:12:02 PM
Hi everyone,
Shipping of UK Yonder pledges is set to begin shortly, with the goal of getting games into backers’ hands before UK Games Expo. You can find fulfilment updates on the GamesQuest blog, which is updated weekly.
I plan to start fulfilment on pledges for the rest of Europe soon after UK Games Expo, in early June.
I want to be transparent about where things stand for everyone outside the UK & Europe. The remaining copies are still in China, and fulfilment for all other regions is planned to happen in stages over the coming months. I won't be asking any of you for more money.
I touched on the reasons for this situation in the last update, and while I'm still facing an uphill struggle, things are looking positive. There are several projects coming together over the next weeks & months that will allow me to complete Yonder fulfilment simultaneously with:
- Retail releases of Go Big and Tulip Season.
- Localisation and licensing deals for Yonder and other titles.
- Ongoing direct sales.
- Our next Kickstarter campaign.
I know this isn’t the update many of you were hoping for, and I understand the frustration from those of you still waiting outside the UK. But I want to avoid vague promises or timelines that might not pan out. Right now my focus is on making progress on all fronts and getting Yonder fulfilment moving in a sustainable way.
I’ll continue to share progress as soon as I have concrete information.
Thanks as always for your patience. I never take it for granted.
Take care, and play games.
Dave
www.sinisterfish.com
Yonder Progress Update #8 – First Shipment On The Water
7 months ago
– Wed, Mar 04, 2026 at 02:29:14 PM
Hi everyone,
I want to give you a clear update on where things stand with Yonder.
The good news first: the shipment of games for backers in the UK and the rest of Europe is loaded and due to leave the port of Shanghai tomorrow (March 5th), with an estimated arrival in Southampton of April 18th.
You can follow voyage 019W of the good ship YM THRONE here.
As is now my standard practice, I won't estimate delivery times until I know for a fact that fulfilment has begun, but sometime in May seems reasonable. We will have copies of the game for sale at UK Games Expo at the end of May.
Getting to this point has taken longer than I ever intended. A combination of things pushed the timeline out: the GameTrayz insert delay, tariff changes that caused me to abandon an earlier shipping date, plus various health & family issues that have kept me away from my desk. To add insult to injury, we discovered a production issue with the recent mass production samples where the round tracker token was missing from the Kickstarter edition and had to be manufactured and added to the production run - this has now been resolved.
Now, because of all the time lost, the company’s financial runway is short. When it came time to arrange and pay for freight from the factory, I had to make a practical decision about how to handle things responsibly.
Rather than risk overstretching the company by paying for worldwide freight all at once, I’ve arranged for fulfilment to happen in two waves.
Wave 1 – UK & EU
The container I talked about above contains the copies for the UK and rest of Europe. Once it arrives in Southampton and clears customs, those copies will make the short trip to GamesQuest and fulfilment will begin.
Wave 2 – US & Rest of World
The remaining copies will ship later. Splitting the shipments this way allows me to raise some revenue and complete fulfilment in a controlled way and make sure every region receives their games. Please bear with me - all my focus is on timing everything responsibly so we can get things moving as soon as possible. As soon as I know anything, you'll know.
As a token gesture for US backers, we will try to tariff fees and not ask you for any more money.
In the meantime it’s business as usual here. We have a couple of direct-to-retail titles close to release which are being funded through localisation deals rather than company cash, so they aren’t competing with Yonder for resources. Those releases will help strengthen the company’s position as we finish fulfilment. Haakon is close to finishing new villager illustrations for the upcoming Villagers Big Box edition, which will launch on Kickstarter after the completion of Yonder fulfilment. We also have a number of other direct-to-retail games in the works which we'll fund externally. So, I'm not sitting on my hands here.
I know delays are frustrating, and I’m very grateful for the patience people have shown over the past couple of years. My aim now is simply to land the final stretch cleanly and get everyone's pledge delivered.
I’ll post another update when I have firm fulfilment dates for the UK & Europe.
Customer Support
If you'd like to change your address, you can do so by accessing your BackerKit pledge manager account here.
Failing that, email me on [email protected]
Thanks again for sticking with me on this. As ever: take care, and play games!
Dave
