Kickstarter Picks – 02 Feb 2015

Exploding Kittens – Possibly the most overfunded project ever on Kickstarter, thanks to the participation of the Oatmeal. More than 2 weeks left.

Conan – Another massively funded game, this time with just a little less time to get involved.

Kickstarter Picks – 15 Dec 2014

BoardGameGeek – Help support BoardGameGeek by backing this already well funded card game. Nearly three weeks left.

Viceroy – Hot game from Essen this year, fully funded within hours, two weeks or so left.

Kickstarter Picks – 22 Sep 2014

Vye: The Card Game – Quick and simple area control card game. Funded with three weeks to go.

Kickstarter Picks – 08 Sep 2014

CAV: Strike Operations – Reaper Miniatures mechs. Funded with nearly three weeks to go.

Stuff and Nonsense – Victorian London, Wild tales. Professor Elemental and Cheapass Games. What’s not to like? Three weeks and well funded.

Kickstarter Picks – 10 Feb 2014

Zeppelin Attack! – A deck building game, with Zeppelins! Three weeks to go.

Kickstarter Picks – 27 Jan 2014

Village In a Box – Kickstarter from Print on Demand publishers the Game Crafter. A set of up to 8 quick card and small board games. Well funded with nearly three weeks to go

Customised 3D miniatures – 3D printed customised miniatures. Good combination of 3D printing and personalisation, accessible to anyone. Three weeks to go and already funded.

Advertisement

Kickstarter Picks – 24 Jun 2013

Empress Miniatures – 28mm modern figures, expanding current range with USMC and Chinese PLA

Guile – A King Arthur themed memory based card game for two players

Kremlin – A reprint of the classic boardgame of politics and backstabbing in Soviet Russia. Easily funded and a couple of weeks to go.

Kickstarter Picks – 27 May 2013

Scalawag! – A fast paced social card game, not sure about the gameplay, but the art looks nice.

Why Crowdfund?

Designing for fun suggests that you’ll have at least some audience for your game, but how do you know you’ll have enough?

In the past you’d take a rough guess, based on what you’ve done before, what you’ve seen others doing, the phase of the moon and so on.

You might guess right, and produce enough copies of your game to satisfy demand. You might guess short, and run out of stock. Usually you’d guess over, and end up with piles and piles of games you couldn’t shift.

I believe that this is the key benefit to Crowdfunding. You get direct and instant feedback on how popular your game will be. You can print enough copies to satisfy the initial demand, and gauge whether you’ve got a real hit on your hands.

Crowdfunding a game will take away the initial financial risks and costs involved in creating a physical product, and this is a great thing for independent game designers.

As this method becomes ever more popular, you need to stand out from the crowd. Gimmicks and showy presentation is all well and good, but I’d advise creating a tight set of rules, a professional prototype and building a community before you attempt to fund.

Under promise and over deliver. Don’t set unrealistic goals. Go to funding once you know your costs and timescales, then beat them when you ship. Do this and you’ll be set-up for your next project.

Remember that you get more than one chance, so if you don’t fund fear not. Learn from your mistakes, and improve the next attempt. Don’t take money if you don’t meet your goals. Be graceful should you fail, you will earn invaluable trust and respect.

Design for Fun

When I design a game, the first thing I consider is if I will enjoy playing it.

A lot of work will go into a game before it’s ready for the world, and you are unlikely to craft something significant if you don’t care deeply about it.

Building a game that you want to play is going to give an immediate avenue into caring. If you want to play it, you’ll want it to be good.

It also gives you confirmation that there must be some market, and that this market will enjoy the game. You cannot be sure of the size of this market, as it’s defined as people who are like you, but it’s sure to be more than one.

You are unlikely to get rich creating boardgames. Make something you love and will have fun with, and you know you’ve spent your time well.