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Monolith Reveal Plans to Use Kickstarter as Store Front to Sell Claustrophobia 1643

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20 Jun 2018 15:11 #275850 by ubarose

Monolith, creators of Conan, Batman: Gotham City Chronicles and Mythic Battles board games, has announced controversial plans to use Kickstarter as a store front. They plan to produce 10,000 copies of Claustrophobia 1643, ship them to distribution centers, and then sell them via Kickstarter. Monolith says, "Many of our supporters will be able to play and manipulate the final product even before the campaign and all will be delivered within the six weeks that follow."

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20 Jun 2018 15:36 - 20 Jun 2018 15:37 #275851 by ubarose
This is my favorite quote from the article:

The stretch-goal system is only a marketing gimmick:

We know it all the better because we do it ourselves. Today stretch-goals are already included in the campaign financing plan and serve only as an adjustment variable. They are stretched or limited according to the sums collected, but they are never "gifts" offered to the backers. Whatever its outcome, you will have more or less the same value in stretch-goals at the end of the campaign. We might as well be done with these marketing gimmicks and instead present a straightforward offer, improved by the value of these stretch-goals, from the start



This was also interesting:

Attracting new pledgers:

Everyone will have noticed that, campaign after campaign, the rate of new pledgers is dropping, to the extent of being ridiculously low today (often under 10%). This is due to the proportionally increasing number of "regulars", but also because the pool of new backers ready to pay more than a year in advance for a game with hypothetical qualities is drying up (while at the same time the number of new projects is exploding). If we want to return to higher rates (in other words bring new blood onto KS), we must attract a less "adventurous" population onto the platform, those who are ready to accept drastically reduced delivery dates and very little risk (of delay, non-compliance ...).



Last edit: 20 Jun 2018 15:37 by ubarose.
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20 Jun 2018 15:51 #275852 by WadeMonnig
A whole lot of honesty in the post and the follow up replies.
My take is "Preorder our game through KS. Not kickstarting, just kick selling"
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20 Jun 2018 16:50 #275858 by ChristopherMD
I find this interesting for both the game itself and their use of KS. Its almost like they read this website or at least we aren't as far out from reality as some people think. I never picked up the original Claustrophobia because I'm usually swimming in unplayed 2-player games but the 1643 setting is my cup of tea right now so who knows. Regardless of how this turns out I applaud them for stepping up and financing the release themselves since they have the money.
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20 Jun 2018 17:18 #275862 by jpat
So do we praise the honest knave or no?
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20 Jun 2018 20:54 #275869 by DarthJoJo
Does this work? I mean, this Kickstarter as storefront model is a marketing gimmick. They admit as much when they say they’re trying to attract new pledgers, and if it’s successful, there will be imitators. Then it’s not special anymore and doesn’t stand out on an already overcrowded platform. At that point, if you have the name recognition, you may as well just sell them from your own site and save the Kickstarter fees.

Wonder how the Batman backers will take it when Claustrophobia is out a year before their game.
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20 Jun 2018 21:51 #275873 by WadeMonnig
What I would think kickstarter would be perfect for but I haven't seen much of is premium versions of successful game. Giant Azul would seem to be the perfect fit.
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20 Jun 2018 22:41 #275875 by Michael Barnes
I thought I had a bunch of stuff to say about this but then I realized that it actually has absolutely no impact on my life.
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20 Jun 2018 23:35 #275877 by ubarose
I’m guessing the value of Kickstarter promotion/advertisement makes is worthwhile to use it as a store front. I guess we’ll see if it succeeds.

I read an article awhile back on how a really well established performer used Kickstarter to promote his live performances. They would sell posters through Kickstarter at breakeven cost to get “backers” for their tour. Then their ticket sales would go up significantly.
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21 Jun 2018 02:03 #275882 by SuperflyPete
This is awesome.

Kickstarter has always been a bespoke, boutique store anyhow, but if it shifts to selling items that are already produced, and you can see what you can reasonably expect to get...total win.
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21 Jun 2018 02:05 #275883 by SuperflyPete

Michael Barnes wrote: I thought I had a bunch of stuff to say about this but then I realized that it actually has absolutely no impact on my life.


“Dear clown, until you pick up a rifle and defend the Constitution, or call every Congressperson WITH A PLAN to solve the issue, your social media frothing amounts to a child screaming at the North Star that their wish didn’t come true.”

This is my new answer to all questions that involve politics, or really, about anyone frothing about anything.

Worth noting that I’m on a TSA watchlist for letters I wrote comparing them to brownshirts.

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21 Jun 2018 02:07 #275884 by SuperflyPete

ubarose wrote: I’m guessing the value of Kickstarter promotion/advertisement makes is worthwhile to use it as a store front. I guess we’ll see if it succeeds.

I read an article awhile back on how a really well established performer used Kickstarter to promote his live performances. They would sell posters through Kickstarter at breakeven cost to get “backers” for their tour. Then their ticket sales would go up significantly.


I think that Kickstarter is a legitimately excellent marketing platform. It saves publishers tons of money because the “Kickstarter industry” has gone in balls deep on reporting about every new KS project under the sun. It’s multi tiered and both vertically and horizontally integrated into almost every relevant media outlet.

It would be dumb NOT to leverage that.
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21 Jun 2018 08:02 - 21 Jun 2018 08:05 #275892 by drewcula
Surprise surprise.
Drewcula jumps into the fray to report, "I like Monolith games!"

I enjoy Conan.
Consequently, I feel confident I will enjoy Batman.
I enjoy Mythic Battles.

Both Conan and Mythic Battles have pretty solid rules, and I thoroughly jam on the "universes" they occupy. A few bits of crossover is nice too.
Additionally, I REALLY appreciate the components. I genuinely had a fun time painting the core set of Mythic Battles. I have no doubt I'll have fun painting more Conan, and eventually, Batman.

Years ago? I read Michael Barnes Claustrophobia review on Nohighscores. I respect MB's opinion, and I bought the game. God damn (literally. figuratively). What a fun game. MY WIFE WILL PLAY CLAUSTROPHOBIA.

So Monolith wants to take a swing at Hell Dorado? I'll venture that the miniatures will be fan-fucking-tastic.

It's safe to say that I'll be looking to grab one of these 5K US copies.

As far as Monolith's "experiment?" IDK. Pros and cons I guess. But my initial reaction is, "fascinating perspective." I don't know if it's completely honest or transparent, but it feels that way.
Last edit: 21 Jun 2018 08:05 by drewcula.

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21 Jun 2018 08:42 #275897 by Colorcrayons
My interest lies in what is going on with Helldorado.

Are they making a legit go of it? This will be the fourth attempt at getting it to stick.

Or are they just concentrating on Claustrophobia, and the expansion of territory into hell?
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21 Jun 2018 08:56 #275898 by Sagrilarus

ubarose wrote: I’m guessing the value of Kickstarter promotion/advertisement makes is worthwhile to use it as a store front.


Kickstarter IS a storefront, always has been, and it's one that gets a lot of traffic.

This is simply an excellent idea. The company has contracted out their ordering and payment system for a 10% fee. It scales with sales which reduces negative risk. They've indicated that they are going to focus on the rest of the development and publishing details in-house. This is what companies do -- they "focus on their core competencies" and subcontract out the stuff they aren't good at or don't want to deal with. They can sell directly to customers without worrying about building and maintaining a web presence.

This is Kickstarter's role in the boardgaming industry maturing, becoming more of an institution than a platform for mavericks.


So now everyone not doing the KS thing is looking at one of two sides --

1. minimum pricing via the traditional channel in order to "support local games stores and increase the perceived value of the product"; or

2. direct to consumer sales, "passing the savings on to you."

Option 2 now has big visibility and a marketing platform to carry it. If this gets traction with other publishers you'll see game stores in a world of hurt. They're pissed at Kickstarter already, this just drives the screw that much deeper into the wood.
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