A few of us on the Hand Cannon crew have been backing a number of different Kickstarter projects for various reasons. After some discussion, we thought it might be a worthy subject to tackle in the Kickstarter article series. Last month, Autumn Stone weighed in, and this month I will provide the same. If we can kick DieselDM hard enough, perhaps we can get his input in the series as well. I hope these next few articles helps shed some light on the crowdfunding phenomenon and how it’s affecting the gaming industry.
Our response is going to based on our Demographic – aside from age, and taste in games, there will be factors like how much time we have to play or prepare games (paint minis), cash we have to spend on games (as opposed to all our other expenditures), social group to play with, self control when it comes to buying minis, feelings about quality vs quantity of product, and a host of other factors. In most things, I find myself to be a target market of 1. However in our eclectic little society, I suspect we are all weird enough people that I’ll find myself in good company.
-Autumn Stone
I agree with A.S. completely above regarding demographic. Part 1 of this series can be found Here. In it, Autumn provides some good reading from Penny Arcade, and other sources. Much of it is very funny, and totally true.
I have only been Kickstarting games for just under a year now, and once I had become exposed to the platform, it became very difficult to not back every damn project I saw at first. But, I do consider myself somewhat of a smart guy, and usually make educated decisions on where I spend my money. In almost all cases, when I back a project that is not by a major publisher, I will do research on the person/company attempting to fund their project so I am able to at least shed some light on what to expect when the time comes to receive my shipment.
Most of the time though, I have only backed projects from reputable sources. My main reasons for this is because I do a lot research, and have found a startling number of projects that have yet to see the light of day, despite being fully funded, and some even way beyond what was expected. The funny thing is, some of the biggest fraudulent Kickstarters are within the video game, or table top games categories.
It makes me wonder if gamers are easier to take advantage of? I understand that piles of miniatures will suck a lot of us in, since the main readers of HCO are miniatures gamers, and we’re all looking to get in early on the new hotness. We’re all collector’s to some degree, whether you’re a miniatures gamer, board gamer, or anything in-between. I also believe that exclusives will also provide a solid hook, since the ‘Limited Edition’ market is very speculative, and there’s a potential windfall of money to be made on backing certain projects for the exclusives alone. And that can be a lot of trouble for those of us with loose wallets. Just take a look at the original Zombicide listings on eBay for an ‘Abomination’ level pledge, and see what it’s going for nowadays.
That said, I think Kickstarter is a great platform to get funding for your project. But it requires a huge amount of research and due diligence on the part of the creators – and one can easily tell which projects are well planned, and marketed well. It also takes a good amount of due diligence on the part of backers if you don’t want to get burned – a little bit of research will go a long way to make sure your hard-earned dollars don’t go to some schmuck who thought it would be easy to make a few thousand dollars off of some ‘stupid gamers’.
Gamers tend to be pretty spontaneous, and I’ll admit that I get caught in the rush of hype that every one else does. The lesson here is – second guess yourself, and question your motives, and whether you’re really going to ‘need’ that amazing looking game.
As for my demographic, I am in a similar one as Autumn Stone – I’m a stay-at-home dad, and I work part time in a book store about 30 hours a week. I have two kids (4 and 6 years old) and it’s a pretty busy household. My kids are interested in Daddy’s games, and I have backed one project specifically for them. There have been others I’ve wanted to back for them, but since they grow so quickly, and go through phases just as quickly, I have abstained. This is due to the fact that about 99% of Kickstarter projects are late – in fact, I have yet to see more than a single project (more on this later) I have backed go out when it was planned to ship. Also, since I work in a bookstore which has a huge kids’ department, I can get a lot of good, educational kids games for cheap due to my staff discount.
My wife works a full time, high-paying job, and now that our car has just been paid off, our disposable income has increased by 20% every month. Does that spell trouble? I wouldn’t think so, as I’m pretty reserved with my spending now, and will only back a project if I have a surplus of money kicking about – you know, in case I need another $300 in add-ons to my pledge (see below).
We don’t go out much, don’t eat out (20 years as a chef and baker makes eating out really pointless) don’t have any substance abuse problems (getting me to drink a beer is a feat in and of itself…yeah, who says I’m a Canadian, right??), and our expenses outside of living are pretty non-consequential. This allows me to indulge a bit in my hobby, and spoil the hell out of my children (don’t ask me about the entire bedroom full of toys and play sets…).
However, I am pretty tight-fisted when it comes to spending a lot on a game, sight unseen. This is the reason I didn’t pledge for Shadows of Brimstone. Also, if the price point is ridiculous to get a copy of the game and stretch goals a la Cthulhu Wars, you can count me out. I’m not really risk averse, but I do like to be well-informed before I make any large purchase, especially with games – I hate wasting money on a dud. That said, if I really like what I see, and the base pledge isn’t really expensive ($150 is my upper limit), I’ll more likely than not, go all in for several hundred dollars. As long as the project creators provide me with plenty of information in regards to game play, actual models and mock-ups (instead of just digital renders/concepts), or a nice-looking, and working prototype, they’ll get my money. Sometimes I just get a ‘bad vibe’, and won’t back a project just due to gut instinct.
Projects I have backed:
Rivet Wars
This was the project that started it all for me. It was Cool Mini Or Not, so they were reputable, and had already had amazing success with Zombicide, Sedition Wars, and Relic Knights. It was cute, had a neat theme (who here that reads these articles is averse to Steampunk or Deiselpunk?) played quickly, and was something I could probably get my kids into later. I went all in on this one, and spent an excess of $300 by getting one of each add-on.
As usual, it was late. I just received my base game sans stretch goals and add-ons, and the rest is to be expected sometime in the next few months. As for my kids liking it? My son thinks the Ostrich walker, and tank are the greatest things ever. Despite being late, I’m glad I went all-in – this is CMoN’s best produced board game to date, and it’s hella fun to play.
Zombicide Season 2
Another CMoN project, that of course, was late. No surprises there, and to be honest, it really wasn’t that late. I got mine 2 months after it was due, so it wasn’t really all that bad. Besides, I’m a pretty patient fellow, and the first one had good reviews, so I knew I would enjoy it. I also was lacking any sort of zombie game for my collection, and figured I might as well grab this one since it had good reviews. I opted in for all the exclusive survivors, and I’m still expecting a second shipment with more of them sometime in the next few months.
Krosmaster Arena
Again, this was another one I knew my kids would enjoy, simply due to the cute chibi characters. As plus, I didn’t have to assemble or paint squat….which is nice once in a while. This is especially true when the miniatures look as good as these ones do. My wife was also taken in by the cutesey look, and encouraged me to spend more than I had intended – go figure.
The game had been out in France already for a year, was based off an MMO, and cartoon series which was very very popular. Not only did this game look fantastic, it is a really solid game, and is just a ton of fun to play, especially when the board looks as good as it does with all the resin terrain, and tokens. I spent more than $400 on this project, but it was worth every cent. It’s also one of my most played games since it is such a blast to play.
It was 2 months late, due to the palettes being held up in customs, then shipped to the wrong warehouse. Considering it was already in production a year before, the turn-around for the project was intended to be a month after it funded. All told, 3 months for delivery after the project funds is unheard of in Kickstarter-land.
Guardians’ Chronicles
I backed this project as a late backer. For one, there was a glut of projects on Kickstarter at the time, and I couldn’t afford them all at once. Secondly, I had my doubts about whether this would be a good fit for me. In the end, I decided it was going to be a good game based on what I had seen of the gameplay, and that Iello produces some really good, and fun games (King of Tokyo, anyone?).
The one thing I was unsure about (and still am) is the quality of miniatures. I’m a superhero and comic book fan, and I have only one game that is superhero themed. Guardians’ Chronicles looked be a much different playing experience than Marvel Heroes, although it didn’t look like it suited 2 player games all that well. Even so, I decided to give it a chance, since there are so few superhero themed board games out there. In addition to all the stretch goals included (you needed to pledge $160 +$30 shipping for the ‘All-in’ pledge), Iello tossed in the final stretch goal of 20 extra, aqua-themed troops for the last major villain stretch goal. While it’s a nice gesture, and makes the pledge even more worth the money, they had to make up for the extended delays some how.
Not surprisingly, it’s running on 4 months late, and will probably be delayed even longer. I think this is due to the fact that all the miniatures showcased were traditionally sculpted, and as of right now, they all appear to be digitally sculpted instead. I personally liked the traditional sculpts better. What I found great, is that you could choose to have your figures come pre-painted, or unpainted, which was a fantastic thing to do for backers. Outside the Kickstarter, the game is going to be pre-painted. I went for unpainted, as the pre-paints looked very much like the quality you would expect from cheap, board game pre-paints.
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Myth
MythMERCs Miniatures first foray into board games started off sluggishly, and then picked up momentum and hype as the project wore on. I’m a big dungeon crawl fan, but I had initially passed it over, due to lack of game play information. Once the videos were up, and the number of rewards swelled to epic proportions, I tossed my $100 into the hat. I added some extra stuff in add-ons, which totaled another $118.
And guess what? It’s late. US backers should be getting their base game shipped soon, but international chumps like myself have to wait until April for anything at all. Granted, I get all the stretch goals and such in one big box, but it was a bit of a kick in the teeth. I mean, we’re all waiting here, right? Because I live 100 miles from the border, I have to wait 3 months more than the US guys. If delivered on time, it will be over 4 months late. Not bad, but kind of sucky I have to wait longer than the US backers to even get the base game.
That said, after reading the PDF rulebook I knew this would be awesome. And now that we’ve seen some unboxing videos, I am even more excited. However, one thing that has really stabbed a stake in my eye is how some of the figures were based. I’ll let you decide if they’re up to snuff as far as the quality of the rest of the game.
Hunters of Arcfall
I discovered this little gem while browsing the table top games category. Tony Go had backed a bunch of projects, had a blog, and a Facebook page, which allowed me to stalk…er…research him before I gave his game a punt of $50. I tossed in extra for the expansion, and a little more just to help it reach its funding goal. Which it barely crossed. But it was enough, and it got made. I am now awaiting my copy in the mail, which is incidentally, going on 3 months late.
Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia
I enjoy a good worker placement Euro once in a while, and having a wide, diverse collection of games is never a bad thing. Plus, Jamey of Stonemeier Games has to be the nicest guy in the world. Plus, this man is a GOD at running a Kickstarter. For a $50 punt, with free shipping worldwide I simply could not refuse. Plus, it looked cool, and it certainly delivered in that regard. I haven’t played it yet, but it looks like a very solid Euro, with some just amazing components in the Kickstarter version.
This is the only project I have yet received that has been on time. In fact, my copy arrived almost a MONTH early.
Xia: Legends of a Drift System
A space ship sandbox game with pre-painted ships from an independant designer? Now this guys has some balls! Not only that, but the early review prototypes were bloody amazing. The reviews were glowing, Cody was communicative, transparent, and just an all-around nice guy who simply wanted to make a cool space game.
I was so in. But, as usual, it’s running late. But, it was stated long before the campaign ended that the project was going to run at least 4 months later that the promised delivery date. Cody was up front, and honest. No problem. I can afford to wait a little longer. Now though, as the production stage gets closer, it looks like it’s going to run even later. This is simply due to Cody wanting to make the game the best it can be. When a project creator puts up weekly updates, polls the backers about every component, and is making sure this game is going to blow us away, I have no issues waiting for a quality product.
Hangar 18 Pinups
This one was cancelled due to sluggish funding. It’s too bad too, as I was really looking forward to having a couple 54mm pin ups to paint. The word is that they’re scheduling a relaunch with 30mm and 54mm models, and they’re already in the prototype stage. I’m waiting to see what’s next.
Kaosball: The Fantasy Sport of Total Domination
Another CMoN project designed by Eric Lang of Quarrios!, and Star Wars LCG fame. This guy designs fun games, so I figured what the hell, and gave them a $100 punt. From the looks of it, it seems to be on time. But, CMoN has yet to deliver a project on time, so I’m not getting my hopes up.
I was going to go for the extra teams, but decided to wait and see if I enjoyed the game first. Since my collection is lacking in any sports themes, I thought this would fill that gap.
Shuriken
Another project that was cancelled due to sluggish funding. They had an extremely high funding goal, so it could have killed the project before it even launched – it’s hard to say. The theme was cool, the game play look fast and furious, and the reviews of the prototypes were really good. I’m not sure what went wrong here, but it certainly couldn’t have been due to the fact that it had ninjas.
Forge of Honor: Targimals and Bordor Blades & Shields
This one was specifically for the kids. Stuffed animals, a sword and shield? How could any gamer geeks kid not love these? Dave Taylor looked to be a good guy, and had made plush dog toys before this project – if he can make toys to withstand a dogs rough-housing, then these could survive my kids. Delivery was to be in January, and there is yet to be an update on when manufacturing is to begin. I assume this one will be at least 4 months late, and probably closer to 6 months. Patiently waiting, and hoping my kids don’t grow out of them before they get here!
Templar: The Secret Treasures
Another Euro that looked interesting, and the quality of Queen Games’ production is unsurpassed as far as Euros go. I received this one 3 months earlier than expected! Queen uses Kickstarter pretty much as a pre-order platform, so this was not really a surprise. What is concerning though, is that I have only received half of my pledge.
I pledged for the ‘4 game package’, which was to inlcude Templar, Alhambra, Maharani, and Via Appia. The package came in the mail on December 11, and I was excited – until I opened it. It only contained Templar, and Alhambra. Not a big deal I say, and shoot a message off.
Fast forward 3 weeks later, with one response saying the manager for the shipper in Canada (they’re using a Canadian distributor) was on holidays. Understandable…sort of (delegation of duties anyone? Beuller??). Fast forward another 3 weeks to today, and I’m still waiting for half of my pledge. No responses. No packages. Nothing.
Needless to say, I’m a little miffed. I won’t get too much into it, aside from saying that Queen Games will not be getting anymore of my money.
Wrath of Kings
CMoN’s first, full blown miniatures game. I decided not go for any of the starter sets, or plastic models, as I have little time to play what I have, let alone another miniatures game. I pledged ‘al a carte’ and ordered just the resin previews pictured here, and the exclusive Twilight Knight, simply to paint. As many readers might already know – I absolutely despise the new industry standard of using PVC plastic for miniatures games. I’m taking a stand, and not buying any of them, from any company that uses the material outside a board game.
Let’s see if they deliver in May. Something tells me they won’t. Even so, beautiful models, and I have enough to paint as it is anyways. A little longer wait won’t kill me.
Ninja Dice
I like Ninjas, and I like dice games. This was a no-brainer for a $50 punt. It also has a unique mechanic that involves how your dice land, and not only on what face. I thought it neat, and innovative mechanics-wise, and it looks cool. Small quick games are always played a lot in my house. There’s still a bunch of time to meet the April deadline, and the preview copies have already been shown off.
Monsters & Maidens
Another dice game with a fantasy theme, that earned a well-deserved $30 punt from me. It looks cool, had some extra dice as stretch goals, and played fast. Plus, I like to support new designers and this looked quite enjoyable. Still plenty of time to meet the September deadline, although the project has been severely lacking in ongoing updates.
Coin Age
A $10 punt that was another no-brainer. A game I can fit in my wallet, and play in a coffee shop, or on my break at work – awesome. Plus, when it’s pay what you want, how can anyone possibly refuse? Due in April, with an extra copy. Hmmm, maybe we could do some sort of contest for the extra copy on Hand Cannon Online? What say ye, dear readers?
I hope that this series has helped shed some light on who we are as gamers, and what sorts of projects there are available on Kickstarter. If you walk away from this article with nothing else, I at least hope it was a good read.
Until next time folks, GAME ON!
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