What KICKSTARTER(S) are you BACKING and WHY?

I would joke that the comments are all "will the box fit double sleeves" but they probably are. :/

Liege of Games posted a video running down the 39 games that raised over $1,000,000 on Kickstarter this past year:

"01:18 - Darwin’s Journey
02:20 - Primal The Awakening
04:03 - Castles of the Mad King Ludwig Deluxe
05:34 - Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition
06:25 - Zombicide Undead or Alive
07:57 - Root: Marauder Expansion
09:11 - Tiny Epic Dungeons
10:18 - Everdell Complete Collection
11:31 - Stellaris Infinite Legacy
12:56 - Robinson Crusoe
14:14 - Mythic Battles Ragnarok
15:31 - Lasting Tales
16:27 - Monster Hunter World
17:48 - Marvel United X-Men
19:07 - The Witcher Old World
20:56 - Isle of Cats: Don’t Forget the Kittens
21:56 - 6 Siege
23:27 - The Binding of Isaac Four Souls Reqieum
24:28 - Scarface 1920
25:36 - Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness Apocalypse
26:59 - Masters of the Universe: Fields of Eternia
28:01 - Arydia
29:50 - Flamecraft
30:37 - Black Rose Wars: Rebirth
31:41 - Masters of the Universe: Clash for Eternia
32:42 - Voidfall
33:47 - Mythwind
35:06 - Too Many Bones: Unbreakable
36:04 - Lords of Ragnarok
37:01 - Resident Evil
38:41 - Senjutsu
39:22 - Marvel Dice Throne
40:13 - Monsterpocalypse
41:07.- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
42:39 - Weather Machine
43:32 - Borderlands: Arena in Badassery"

I keep looking at it and thinking how strange this list is. These are million dollar+ campaigns; which of these are actually indie releases? I see several expansions for already-established titles, a few well-known games getting the 'Complete Collection' treatment, and a bunch of games with IP tie-ins (which I treat the same way I treat novels with raised lettering - overall, they can be safely ignored.) And even though I can tell that a lot of these are high-profile releases (Mindclash and Vital Lacerda are both up there) I still couldn't tell you much about nearly any of them. Are they popular, or just well-publicized? Do companies makes games without crowdfunding anymore?

(I backed Monsterpocalypse, but that game is a decade old and I really couldn't justify why they needed to Kickstart the new release.)

I'm glad I'm happy with the games I own, because I don't have space in my brain to keep up with all the new shit.

Reprints raise a million dollars?

I have to buy the rights to some shit game.

As much as I want to pick on most of the campaigns on this list, I don't think any them are -just- re-prints.

I get a sense that the pendulum is starting to swing back from bloated KS's just like it did during FFG's coffin-box heyday. I would crowd-fund the shit out of some smaller OOP games.

Virabhadra wrote: As much as I want to pick on most of the campaigns on this list, I don't think any them are -just- re-prints.

I’ll include six promo cards.

I'll bite. Which of these are reprints? The Robinson Crusoe and Everdell campaigns both offer "Just the New Stuff" pledges for folks who already own the base game.

Is Monsterpocalypse the 'shit game' being reprinted? I'm confused.

Are these the 2026 releases?

Virabhadra wrote: I'll bite. Which of these are reprints? The Robinson Crusoe and Everdell campaigns both offer "Just the New Stuff" pledges for folks who already own the base game.

Is Monsterpocalypse the 'shit game' being reprinted? I'm confused.

I’m just talking out my ass. I never look at kickstarter shit, I just recognize some of the names.

A couple of those were actually Gamefound campaigns. I expect Gamefound to really make a dent in KS's income in 2022.

I backed Mythic Battles, but I already love Pantheon.

I’m honestly getting to a point where I feel like there is just so much noise now. This buy and trade group I’m on is filled with people offloading lots of games and all-ins.

Same, I see people offloading in shrink all in Kickstarter pledges locally pretty much constantly.

Ah_Pook wrote: Same, I see people offloading in shrink all in Kickstarter pledges locally pretty much constantly.

Same on various Facebook marketplace. The prices are almost always eye popping. And in most cases games I’ve never even heard of.

Virabhadra wrote: Do companies makes games without crowdfunding anymore?

One interesting data point: Red Raven Games. I'm a big fan of theirs. They've released a dozen or so games over the years, and I think most, if not all, were crowdfunded ... until this year. Their next game, Now or Never, did a standard pre-order on their website. No Kickstarter bullshit. When asked about it, the creator Ryan Laukat said Kickstarter campaigns are too exhausting and time-consuming. I think it's great to see that Red Raven had reached a place of financial stability where they can publish a game without a big crowdfunding campaign.

I keep thinking about Reaper Miniatures. Their big Kickstarter shipped in 2021. That campaign raised THREE million dollars. I feel like a 20-year-old, well-established company raking in three million dollars from their fans is sort of going against the spirit of crowdfunding. I love Reaper's products, but I probably won't participate in their next campaign. If they need to raise principal to fund their operations, go get a loan from a bank.

The only game I backed this year was a little $20 card game called Winterhaven Woods. It's a one-man shop, and the creator also did all of the artwork. I like backing stuff like that.

Joebot wrote:

Virabhadra wrote: Do companies makes games without crowdfunding anymore?

I feel like a 20-year-old, well-established company raking in three million dollars from their fans is sort of going against the spirit of crowdfunding. I love Reaper's products, but I probably won't participate in their next campaign. If they need to raise principal to fund their operations, go get a loan from a bank.

Granted interest rates are low and probably less than the cut that KS/Paypal get....but given how long many projects seem to take to bring to fruition, all those months of interest may indeed be more expensive than going KS. Not to mention the huge PR boost KS gets vs the non existent boost a Bank of America loan gives you. As long as people are willing to throw money at crowdfunding and eliminate the financial risk, its gonna keep happening.

Even if they could get a huge loan, they wouldn't sell three million worth of product at retail. There's a magic and excitement in Kickstarter absent from the retail experience.

Furthermore, their margins will be worse as the middlemen take bites. This is how they offer you better value during the campaign (sharing that higher profit partially with the backers).