Kickstarter Goods and Bads

I see a lot of posts on social media from publishers and creators about upcoming Kickstarter campaigns and they seem to be asking the same questions: “What do you look for in a campaign for a board game?” “What cost would allow you to back a game?” “What are your thoughts on stretch goals?” Well, I would like to voice my opinion on these questions and also give some props to campaigns that I have backed that were wonderful and give boos to those that have, well, sucked.

So what IS Kickstarter? Why do gamers care about campaigns there and why do creators and publishers use it? Kickstarter (and IndieGogo, GoFundMe, et al) is a crowdfunding website where anybody can start a campaign for any reason in the hopes that people will help them fund their project. It could be a board game, a new music album they would like to produce, a film, other consumer products, or just general philanthropy. The board game creator, in this case, has a project they would like to have funded so they create a campaign on one of these sites to hopefully garner enough financial support to make the project a reality. Sounds great! Submit a project and wait for the money to roll in. And for a majority of successful gaming projects that’s how it will work.

Back to those questions asked.

Q: What do you look for in a campaign for a board game?

A: For me, I am interested in a game that does something different. A different theme, new combinations of game mechanics, different and exciting components, different reward tiers. These factors make me very interested in projects.

What I mean by different themes is that I will (probably) not back a euro game that is trading in the Mediterranean, or historical war re-enactment simulators, or drinking games (been there done that and it was terrible), or any more Apples to Apples clones.

What I WILL back are interesting themes, or new twists on existing themes. Examples? Okay. How about a game that is based on one of my favorite webcomics from college? Enter Trogdor!! The Board Game (review here). How about a game that emulates two peoples’ relationship and can be played by any combination of 2 people? Enter Fog of Love. How about a metagame that you play throughout your game night? Enter Pretense. How about a crazy dexterity game about monkeys flinging fruit into cups? Enter Coconuts (review here). How about an improvement over a previously designed and also successful game? Enter The Resistance: Avalon (review here). This is but a mere smattering of what I mean. Fresh and new themes are always a positive for me.

New combinations of game mechanics are also very interesting to me. Tower defense has been done before. And well. But couple that with an interesting twist and you have something like Set A Watch. RPG character creation is something I really REALLY enjoy, so having that process play out over a board game is what Roll Player is all about (and it’s a FANTASTIC game – review here). Another way to introduce new mechanics, especially to existing games, is to release expansions. Enter Belfort: The Expansion Expansion. Again, we do NOT need more Apples to Apples games – I’m looking at you Cards Against Humanity, Joking Hazard, and the rest.

When I say I enjoy different and exciting components, I mean it. I tire of games that are nothing but a deck of cards, or just layers of cardboard in the box. Yes, there are very enjoyable and great games that fit into those categories, but if I am going to back a game on KS nowadays, I need more. I need 3D terrain in a nesting box design like Tiny Epic Tactics. I need chunky pawns and translucent bits like in Tsuro: Phoenix Rising (and of course the included purple phoenix pawn will always be mine). I need ITEMeeples like in Tiny Epic Zombies. I need over the top production quality in my games now for me to part with my money. Games like D6: Dungeons, Dudes, Dames, Danger, Dice and Dragons! and Tidal Blades – Heroes of the Reef.

Q: What cost would allow you to back a game?

A: I am not what you call a “minis gamer.” I do not need to have my collection improved/infested with tons of little plastic miniature pawns for me to be excited to play it. That alone saves me thousands of dollars from KS. I am more drawn to a “more game for the buck” sort of approach, and that also leads into the next question I will answer. But let me answer this question. I have backed games at $5 all the way up to over $150. Now, the $5 games are “microgames” and consist of just a few cards and I really haven’t enjoyed them much. The more expensive game I backed still has yet to see play time: The 7th Continent. I have heard great reviews of this game so I am not racing to the table yet, but it was well over 6 months past the promised delivery date. While being late on fulfillment seems to be a given with KS board game projects nowadays, it always hurts when it happens to us backers.

I think for me, the sweet spot price point for me to back a game is between $5-40 USD. Of the current projects I have backed, 84% were priced in that range. So I don’t seem to go all out on KS projects, unless they are offering something really special.

Q: What are your thoughts on stretch goals?

A: Stretch goals are one of the main reasons I even use KS at all to add games to my collection. I’m a sucker for KS-only content being included in my box. I have a completionist complex with expansions and promos. Most game projects will have different pledge tiers that offer more stuff for the game: components, included expansions, and other fluff. Again, I want as much game for my buck as possible, so projects that have lots to add in the form of stretch goals are winners for me.

Many projects will have extra content if you pledge a little more toward it. Usually I do take advantage of these pledge tiers because I have a problem with needing that sweet special content. If I can still satisfy my previously-mentioned requirements, then I am all the happier.

I especially love it when a game has more components added as stretch goals. Throw in extra pawns. More coconuts. New characters. Additional scenarios. I love them all. If the project adds an expansion to the pledge tier, I am more often going to splurge a bit extra for that. But for every project that has great stretch goals there are just as many that have fluff for stretch goals – art books, digital content, becoming a character within the game. This stuff doesn’t do it for me. At least, none of it has enticed me yet.

Here is my biggest gripe about stretch goals: many projects will have stretch goals planned, but they only reveal one goal every time an arbitrary increment mini-goal is met. Things like 30,000 Facebook Likes, or once a certain dollar amount is met THEN they will show you what the next stretch goal is. I just want the entire plan laid out for me so I can see what the campaign mini-goals are and what it is we are all striving to achieve (and receive in turn). So show me everything right away. I really hate being excited for a game and there are no stretch goals. I mean, I get it, that’s what you get when you buy it retail anyway. But the point of KS to me as a backer is to get me excited about your game, and stretch goals definitely do.

This article is way too long. I need to end it. But I have more thoughts. They are probably better suited to a future article.