I back a lot of crowdfunding games, yet I don't like exclusive contents. The model I like is for the backers to get the stretch goals for free, and for the company to charge for the stretch goal box in retail. This gives me an incentive to back, but for people who are waiting for retail, they're not missing out on the content except they have to pay more, sometimes a lot more for those stretch goal boxes. On the other hand, I don't mind if the game is only available on crowdfunding, as some games are just not viable in retail, such as the upcoming Euthia.
Agreed! I will add it sucks playing a friend's Kickstarter copy and then getting a retail version that is 50% of the game, with no option to buy the stretch goals that bring the game to 100%. Should have been a Kickstarter only game at that point.
That only works if your shipping + Vat costs don't add up to more money for kickstarter products. Basically for every European it is not reasonable to back on KS anymore since it is just too expensive in the end - even with the discounts. So the ONLY incentive for an European would be KS exclusives.
@@Brainfracture Actually, then what I suggested would work perfectly in your scenario (where shipping+VAT cost more on the KS than in retail), since all KS contents will be available in retail, so just buy them at retail and save. On the other hand, if the KS offered exclusive content, then you'd be forced to pay whatever the cost if you want that exclusive content. Having exclusive content benefits the companies, not the consumers.
@@samhowe9986 Sure but it would not work from the creators perspective since I simply would not back the game at all on KS. And if everybody does that the project will be underfunded or not funded at all. And then there will probably also not be a retail version. I don't think any creator can afford to loose the majority of European backers since this is the second biggest market for boardgames.
From my perspective, crowdfunding exclusives are a double-edged sword. I get that they help drive pledging, but I'm a completionist and if I can't get all of the content for a game I likely just won't get the game at all (there have been very, very few exceptions to this). So if I miss the first campaign for a game and future campaigns don't offer all previous content, I'll just never back it.
Boardgaming is a niche hobby that is getting more and more popular with every year to come. I experienced the same trend in the PC gaming hobby in the past 25 years and i'm noticing a lot of similarities. I can tell you that making things exclusive was one of the worst trends in gaming history ever! Milking fans money with stupid exclusive stuff is just sad! We are all part of the same little hobby. Why would you ever want other people not having access to the same content as you do? Just because you have more money to spend? This is so sad and egoistic at the same time and perfectly reflects the image of our society. That's why i never touched any Kickstarter campaign that offered one time exclusive gaming content. I don't mind enhancing the game with optional premium addons and bling, but keeping content from others is just a no-go for me!
I feel like you are trying to make a point but are coming off sounding like you think you’re better than everyone else. I’m just here to enjoy games, and exclusives are actually fun and I don’t feel bothered when I miss them but the game is still good… soooo thanks for preaching but no thanks
@@Twineandribbon You didn't get a single word of what i was saying! I think that im not a bit better than anybody in the hobby, that is the whole point! I think that everyone should have the same access to boardgames!
@@sedraniM I thought about what I’d said and realized I only back games on crowdfunding that are completely non viable in retail so your statement that you’re against those existing came across as an attack on why I enjoy the hobby, which it probably wasn’t meant to be. Sorry for being snappy. I just think you might be missing out on the entire point of why a lot of these projects exist.
@@Twineandribbon I don't agree at all. I know that a lot of games only exist because of Kickstarter and i did back a lot of games! But Boardgaming is a niche hobby that is getting more and more popular. A lot of publishers don't try to trigger your FOMO or bait you with exclusive stuff that is just available for 3-4 weeks that force you to make impulsive decisions. FOMO is a very dirty marketing trick imo, it is scientifically proven that it is an exploitation of an addiction! Good examples without exclusives are Leder Games, Stonemaier Games, Matagot, Orange Nebula, Cephalofair Games (Gloomhaven the most popular game ever) and many many more! Bad examples are CMON Games, Awaken Realms, IV Games and many others! Since my group plays 50% online and 50% offline, we play all the games that offer super rare exclusive cards for free on TTS while playing the non exclusive games on the table, because we don't wanna feed an economy that shamelessly exploits an addiction of many people in the community. Many small and big publishers showed how it's done that everyone can enjoy all the content!
I think component upgrades, insert and a free (not exclusive) expansion are good motivators. Gameplay should not be exclusive in my opinion, you could charge more for the expansion later. However nowadays with expensive international shipping and VAT I can get the game plus upgraded components in retail for the same price as in the campaign with charges.
There is one other incentive that companies offer: the chance to shape the design of the game. Orange Nebula excels at this with “which planet option should we use for planet #6…” This isn’t quite an “incentive,” since one can always back out the last day after contributing ideas and comments during the campaign, but this builds excitement. (“I named planet 6, so I want to see this done…”)
I think backer input on game design is a double-edged sword... for example if you let backers vote between 3 possible approaches, and the winning approach ends up in the game... generally just a bit more than a third of the backers will get the thing they voted for, while all the other backers will have received a glimpse at what the game could have been, but they won't get what they voted for. So it will make the backers who went for the winning vote happy, but it may actually turn off the backers who voted for the other options. There are certainly situations in which backer input can be very useful, but there are also cases where I think it's overused, and where the creator should just have trusted their own design decisions instead.
@@TheBanzaiTree agreed. But I usually find each of the options to be good enough that I’m agnostic as y’ to which wins. And if backers appreciate being asked more than they are attached to a specific outcome, which is often the case, then it is a technique that can build enthusiasm.
I think in most cases backers don't care at all about being involved in the process. If you see the votes on these kind of topics compared to the amount of backers it is often times just 4-5% of people.
There is a big difference between exclusive gameplay content and exclusive extras that are not gameplay-related. And there is a big difference between games that couldn't exist without crowdfunding and games that would work fine solely through retail but are held back just to make more money through crowdfunding. I have backed both campaigns with exclusive extras and campaigns without exclusives (only discount). I used to like discount more but I see why it doesn't work as well for the creators. I dislike gameplay exclusives because it harshly punishes potential customers that just weren't lucky enough to be around for the campaign (+ late pledge period). Sometimes you find out later about a game and then you're locked out. After all said, I likely won't back anything for a longer time because it has become too expensive. Between extremely increased pledge prices, all-in pledges that go way over 250$, extra high shipping cost, 19% VAT ontop, tanked Euro-to-Dollar exchange rate and increased general living costs there is no way for me to afford this for the time being. It's too much anyway, I have a shelf full of unplayed games.
I don’t mind some stuff being KS exclusive but I think anything that effects game play (including promo cards/characters/etc.) should be at least available for purchase later even if it’s exclusive to the publisher’s store, I vastly prefer the publishers that take this approach to others like CMON especially who thrive off the FOMO with more and more people getting into board games every year, it seems unfair for someone to discover a game that they love only to be told they can’t get everything for it because it was on KS years before they had discovered board games and the only way to get everything is to spend hundreds if not thousands more
A follow-up conversation that would be nice is to talk about what kind of exclusive content is good for the fans of the game. If you come in late, I believe you should have access to all the things that make the gameplay great but missing out on deluxe components is fine. I dislike gameplay exclusives unless it's small promo stuff. An example that annoyed me recently is the stretchgoal box for Nemesis Lockdown. That exclusive cut off access to two retail expansions - Carnomorphs and Void Seeders - from the Lockdown game. Since they were bought retail, they should be supported in some way by retail. I'm less annoyed about bringing up the aftermath characters to Lockdown or the Untold Stories book - but the additional alien species also found in the box I believe should have been retail.
Great Video, Alex. I am 100% your opinion. The only reason i back crowdfunding (with a few Single campaigns like dungeon crusade, where every Single backer was needed) are KICKSTARTER EXKLUSIVES.
I saw a recent Kickstarter offering "Kickstarter promo" instead of exclusives. The publisher said if you bought it during the campaign, you'd get it, but if it proved really popular, they'd release it at retail as well. I love the idea. FOMO makes my want to be all-in or not at all. A promo makes me more comfortable about backing the base game without extras, which I think is better for everybody.
I think the promo rather than exclusive is the more ethical way to do it. That also applies to content creators crowdfunding promos. Give the exclusivity for 6-12 months so they can maximise the revenue, but don't annoy those backers who thought they'd backed 'all-in' and are now spitting tacks that there is other content that they've missed out on.
This is a good incentive to skip the campaign. If the game is popular, I'm assured the promos will be available later and I won't miss out on any content. If the game isn't popular, it's a game I probably didn't want anyways.
My thought on KS exclusives is that they should never be gameplay based, or at least not in a major way. Alternative models, promos, deluxe versions sure. First bite at the expansion sure, but it should be available later. But Kickstarter exclusive expansions come in three flavours: 1) Pointless filler that increases costs for everyone. This is fine, but hard to balance for. This is the type that is fine, but it’s hard to check what the expansions will do in advance. Even if you watch KS previews, it’s rare they show the expansions. 2) Essential fixes, which should be in the main game but have been spun out. These are bad for retail buyers and KS buyers who didn’t back at the right pledge. Plus it means that there really are two games, and the fans who found out about the game later on need to find a KS copy for sale or they miss out. 3) Unbalanced KS expansions. Characters who break the game if they are played. New mechanics that change the entire game but in a weird way. Sure you can not use these, but often they have something cool in the expansion, so you still have to use the rest of the expansion. Yes there are good expansions, but the risk for us the buyers are risky. It’s why you should buy expansions for minis, not for gameplay. And we all have loads of minis at this point… (in my case mostly unpainted).
I agree, no gameplay exclusives, period. If it changes the gameplay or adds to the gameplay on a first print run, it should likely be part of the base game. Keeping first runs to well thought out and balanced base games only, will keep production costs lower and shipping cheaper. It also always for a game to hit the table for more people allowing more feedback for potential fixes or expansion ideas down the road. Deluxe components, storage solutions, new or additional art, minis vs standees, sure make as many exclusives as you want.
Crodfunding exclusives are actually the reason why I haven't purchased some games. There are certain customers that do it right (available after the campaign on their website or on future Kickstarter campaigns for other projects), otherwise I don't think they should be used and would rather everyone be able to enjoy the content. Deluxe upgrades are fine for crowdfunding and I feel like that's what it should be for.
Rules for backing a game that I learned from Tom Vassel which has come out to be true. "Pass on a game you are unsure of and go all in on the game you know you will love and make that game as good as it can be" I back maybe 5-8 games a year, I've gone all in on them and have been so happy when I get them. I've backed out of maybe 20+ games or decided to pass on. I've not once regretted not getting them down the road.
The top two reasons I back on KS are: Cheaper than retail (sometimes by a lot, sometimes not at all) and the exclusives. If a game doesn't have some sort of KSE (component upgrades, insert, expansions, etc) then I'm just gonna buy at retail. "Supporting" the company doesn't mean much to me, they're getting my money either way regardless of where I buy it.
- The game only via crowdfunding? Yes I'm ok with that. If it's the best and only route to market for them, it's fine. - Incentivising backers? Yes there has to be a reason for backers to get on board. The what and how does indeed matter The options are a. Offer a genuine price reduction to backers, which used to seem viable, after all the company should get more of your money from crowdfunding than via a retail sale, plus they are the people funding upfront, with unsecured risk, which in a business context is massively valuable compared to borrowing on the open market. Whether they aren't accounting for the value of that upfront funding, or the crowdfunding model is no longer competitive / efficient? b. Deliver early to backers. For some this is massive, but luckily our group plays a broad range of games from new to old. It really doesn't matter much to me, but I do recognise how it is important to others c. Exclusives. Generally there is a lot of pushback from ordinary backers on this. Cosmetic exclusives that don't affect the gameplay and importantly might not make sense in a retail context e.g. that plastic monstrosity in Marvel Zombies. Such cosmetic exclusives are generally accepted as reasonable. However should the exclusives involve gameplay exclusives, then there is enough pushback, that it's resulting in some people walking away completely from that campaign and indeed being turned off the retail option.
Kickstarter exclusives are a nocive practice to the hobby for multiple reasons - it preys on FOMO, it creates gameplay unbalances, it punishes new gamers and it creates elitism. I'm new to the hobby myself and it sucks to know many games out there have content i will never be able to play - it actually puts me off on buying certain games if I know its missing gameplay content that is unreachable - like new characters or storylines. If board games are to grow they need to follow the video-game industry where any exclusive content is purely cosmetic. You can deluxify pieces, bags, boards, create cosmetic minis but never lock your players out of your content, unless your goal is to keep the hobby forever a niche.
Some Kickstarter projects produce a lot more content than is viable at retail - Marvel United being a perfect example of this. The option is for either the content to be exclusive or for the content to not exist at all. Board games are different than video games. Cosmetic exclusives have very little attraction to board game KS backers.
I only crowd fund at the PNP level. I have fun building the games. It's easy to proxy the components. The creator makes 100% profit on my pledge. I also REALLY get the game first and often right away. It isn't worth it to have my money held up for years. I can wait. I often save a TON of money by buying on the secondary market or buying at a huge discount at retail.
After my first campaign I started from an I'm not backing position. If you want me day 1 then I need a reason to be there. All the campaigns i've backed have featured one or the other of the factors mentionned. Most have deluxified components exclusive to the campaign
Interesting topic, FOMO is huge in this hobby, and exclusive content perpetuates that to the next level. Many times I don’t care for the exclusive content because it throws the game out of balance. Some do a better job of this than others, but, more often than not, I don’t care for the exclusives.
I'm more okay with exclusives that are non-gameplay, such as a special slip box cover, but when it comes to upgraded bits, shaped wooden pieces instead of cardboard, those can often make the game experience better. I absolutely hate when any gameplay content is exclusive, like solo mode or promo cards or mini expansions. Some of those have had a huge impact on the game experience and, even if I get it because I backed the project, I know the retail people won't get it and it makes it harder for me to recommend to friends. Creature Comforts comes to mind as an example, both the bits and mini expansions have a big impact on the game, but are exclusive. Also, there have been some instances where too much content was made exclusive and it made the game not viable in retail because people knew the crowdfunding version had so much more content. Fallen is the best example I can think of here, where almost half the content was exclusive so the retail box was half empty. It tanked the game, which is sad because it was really good. However, I understand why companies do it and continue to do it. I just think, in some cases, they're excluding more future buyers than getting more buyers now. Also, I'm totally fine with any company that says they have no plans for retail, so the whole game and anything else offered is exclusive. It's really hard to get into retail, especially right now.
while some exclusives I do not care for, they *never* convince me to back, but more often than not they convince me not to buy the retail version. especially if that is a model of 4 heroes/factions for 4 p game in retail, and KS stretch goals would have been 16 more. no amount of money is cheap enough to buy a demo...
Agreed. The old Zombicides bothered me due to the lack of diversity. I much prefer 2E and Cthulhu dmd having enough to feel like a full game With some choice in the box
Honestly, Kickstarter exclusives are a great way for companies to get a start. Board games are a difficult market. That being said, games that are available to the core market of board gamers (and not just Kickstarter whales like myself) are the ones most worth supporting. They get people into the hobby and support your local LGS. I’ve gotten tired of KS exclusives hitting my table only for excited friends to ask where they can get the games and be told that they can’t or that the version available isn’t as good
I've done about 60 crowdfunding options. 58 of them had kickstarter exclusives, the other two were said to never come to retail and thus were themselves exclusive. For the most part if it doesn't have exclusive components I won't crowdfund. I know it's a manipulative practice however I don't care if I want the exclusives enough. I have no concern over getting a product that doesn't exist faster. I wouldn't pay a dime for that. Also I don't believe most producers don't make sure they aren't producing half a game without exclusives. I've played way to many base level kickstarters that feel incomplete.
Love this conversation. There must be a reason to back. And yes sometimes the reason uses is just to support the company and the creation of the game. That is not enough value for me, it's why I don't back Garphil games on KS. They make great games but I just preordered Circadians for $40 and on KS it was $52+shipping, just seems like a rough deal to me. These companies are for profit, not non-profit. Yes there are people behind it, but companies exist to solve problems and then make profit from solving those problems, me as a single backer can't solve a companies profitability issues.
Garphill also puts at the top of their KS page to get the game however you want, there are no KSE, if you can get it retail cheaper go for it, we just want you to enjoy the game.
If im backing a crowdfunded game I'm looking for 1 thing, a reason to back the game. This could be because I want to support a passion project, because im getting the product for cheaper than retail, or some exclusive content. Cheaper just doesnt seem to be a thing anymore which leaves getting exclusive content. With the price of shipping I was hoping the pendulum would swing back towards cheaper vs content but alas.
Another reason not to back is that version 2 might be way better & include the "exclusives" too. Who polices the appearance of some extra minis in a subsequent expansion or a retail version?
I can no longer take the risk and also pay more unless I’m getting exclusives. I actually dread backing anything because of the world situation and the years it takes now to get them done and out of China. So much anxiety you have to buy into.
I have the same anxiety but I keep telling myself that publishers will find a way because they're (mostly) good people. The future has looked bleak for years in the past but it keeps turning out better than I thought it would even I critically evaluate my anxiety from the past.
I feel like I'm getting more and more selective and even on campaigns that might be intriguing, I tend to approach the baseline of not backing a lot more often. With over 20 outstanding campaigns I can't and don't want to afford to back games on looks or a whim anymore. Where I can make a much more educated decision is on the reprint campaigns where the game has already proven itself. I love CTG, but didn't back Hoplomachus or burncycle. The first just doesn't interest me themewise and the second was too unproven when the campaign ran. But I will go back the burncycle reprint and expansion now that it's coming back to GF, even though I could get it all a bit later from CTG directly. Deluxification is another thing that makes me back games. I initially had no interest in Septima. I haven't played a Mindclash game yet and the optics turned me off the game, even though the theme looked interesting. But I loved the Past 2 AM gameplay on Quackalope and decided to back in after all. It pulled me in enough to back it during the campaign and get the game at higher production value.
I really don't judge either way on exclusives, but I will say exclusives are how I will justify paying more at KS than saving money at retail. I skipped the Viscounts expansions/big box expansion because there were no exclusives and I knew I could get it cheaper at retail. I just pre-ordered all 3 items for $60.30 total shipped. Would have cost about $82.50 for the KS. If there were even something as small as 10 exclusive cards, I *probably* would have backed the KS even though that seems like a silly price to pay for 10 cards. The only time I will begrudge a company is if they sell deluxe versions with no exclusives to retailers at such a low price that the retailer can list the item on pre-order for less than what I'm paying on the KS, meaning the company is basically gouging the backers...*ahem* Feed the Kraken *ahem*.
Please cover the Darkest Dungeon kickstarter demanding more shipping. In the update they mention not increasing shipping for any other project past, present, or future. That's my biggest gripe with it.
It would be interesting to research some Kickstarters and how much the “real” target is with and without KS exclusive expansions (which most people think are the real issue). Often the extras have higher shipping as well, so it’s just the production (and designing). I just wonder if KS designers feel if they don’t have exclusives that no one will back (excluding obvious winners like Frosthaven)
I don’t mind Crowdfunding exclusive games as long as it’s clear from the beginning that’s what the company is offering. The reality is that’s usually a lie - they’re going to sell direct copies at the end or a conventions. That’s the real problem - companies promise things that aren’t within their practical control in order to manipulate behavior to get backers. Get burned on this enough, and it can sour the whole experience. I liked the Stonemaier “no exclusives” model. But they don’t do crowdfunding anymore mainly because their model relies on evergreen sales and locking games behind crowdfunding lowers the number of potential buyers significantly.
Me begging for triple layer boards in my future copy of planet unknown hobby edition sub-consciously inspired this video. I would have backed the deluxe if I knew it existed at the time.
I doni know how much it is relevant but a few month back I got as a present Inish big box and realy close arrived Massive darkness 2 core pledge and the person gifting Inish is still disappointed from the cost to component ratio between the 2 (Inish was acquired in a store and was not on sale foe my knowledge)
I agree with you Alex. For me to back a game I need some strong incentive because I'm investigating my money insomething I've never even seen, in a project that may never even fulfill. Especially with recent shipping prices getting rather ridiculous and the fact that you usually end up paying more than you would in retail. Shaping the game doesn't really interest me as I usually don't participate. That's why I made a decision to not back unless there are kickstarter exclusivesnot that are make it worth the price, free stretch goals that will have to be bought separately in retail or the game will not be available in retail at all
As someone who came into these kickstarter games recently exclusives have mostly just made me not want to buy older games. I see no point in buying Resident Evil 2 since so much of the content is in extra expansions some of which cost several hundred dollars. RE3 I bought since I love the video game but not being able to get extra zombies and the 3D terrain bothers the hell out of me. Yeah, they aren't super mandatory but they still improve the playability considerably. There are plenty more games that have caught my eye but it's just too expensive to get a complete experience so I'm just not going to bother.
Simple decision for Kickstarter exclusive is “is it cosmetic or game related?” No issue if cosmetic but a hard no if game related. The issue is that if the game is really good, and people can’t get all content, it is a handicapped long term growth for the game. Any company that makes that decision is not for me.
I don't reply often to things but came here to say this, it's not about exclusivity it's about the kind of exclusivity, if they are making gamplay exclusive that puts me off massively from backing. If it's cosmetic only or deluxe version, I'll happily support.
I totally agree. I'm one of those board gamers who likes to complete their collection. Exclusive game play content can sometimes make that impossible through either quantity or price. I'm okay with cosmetic change that are exclusive. When I want to buy a game at retail, I check the Kickstarter page and if I see gameplay exclusive content, I will not buy it. Therefore I have to be very sure I want to pledge to a Kickstarter or gamefound boardgames if it has content exclusive content, because I won't buy it later.
i have no long KS or Gamefound history. I backed Mindbug with just the core game for 16€, what more do I want ? I don't need a numbered box or promo cards. Than there is Frosthaven, there was no KS exclusives at all, well expect the price of 99€ back at the time... And for ISS Vanguard I choose the base game plus the nicer dice and the personal files. I don't want every game to be 8 boxes filled with a lot of air 2 minis and 4 cards and extra campaigns that will never be played because I move forward to the next game
I'm more okay with games that are pure KSE vs games with a lot of KSE add-ons. The reason for this is that it's simpler in terms of decisions. Either I back it now or I forget about it, compare to a lot more hand-wringing now and later. I know some people hate this because they feel mad they didn't get the game when they could and now they never can but...at the end of the day you probably don't need that game anyway and if it really does turn out to be amazing the odds of said KSE game getting a reprint or a new retail form are high.
In addition to this as well I've noticed kickstarter exclusive stuff available on miniature Market. Ie some of cmons stuff. I have no idea how they got hold of these. I don't know how common this is mind across the industry. And there's no guarantee either. The fomo is real :)
I do agree with your video as a whole, but saying you don't need to back a game to bring it to live is about the same as saying you don't need to vote on elections since one vote doesn't make a difference.
My problem is that I feel a compulsive need to get the kickstarter... because if I don't, I'll miss out. That alone is why I don't like kickstarters like CMON's.... plus, I feel like they create a stupid-expensive aftermarket with their business practices.
For me all this 'game' of FOMO/fake SG on top of crazy shipping and VAT has pretty much ruined crowdfunding for me. I want a good deal but not at the expense of others. Only things I backed in the past 6 months are RA, a crokinole board and the new mission cards for Mind MGMT.
Perhaps a dip in success of crowdfunding may be what's required to redress the balance and offer a better deal to backers to attract them back. If we keep buying, there's no need for companies to offer better deals / more ethical attitudes.
I back games because I want them to become reality. I don't like kickstarter exklusives. In 90 % they are trash. They are either absolutly overpowered or not very well implemented. Thats why I love Leder Games games. You get what you pledged and everybody can habe it too. I never buy games later if they had exklusives and coming to retail. I missed bloodrage and will never get it, becaus I am a completionist and cannot have it all. Easy pass for me.
I refuse to back on FOMO. F**k that noise. I will back to help with stretch goals. I will back to support good companies. I will back to get sooner or get a better price. I recently found out about three headed monster games. I would have backed Astrominers, until I saw exclusive content. Nope. Stop gouging consumers. I don't always have funds available right at that second, if I can't chuck in a little during the campaign and get what I want at retail later or during a reprint campaign for games that are not in retail I refuse to support such a cancerous practice. Make the stretch goals meaningful enough and you WILL get the funding. FOMO, while I agree is the powerful motivator, it shouldn't be.
All the reasons why not to back is Bigger for me than the value that I'll get, thus I didn't and won't NEVER back a game. I know that Im not missing anything anyway so fomo? Don't care. I have a small collection which sure has a lot of ks games, but!!!! All of them bought as 2nd handed games. Im very strict with my taste I love only card games and I play only solo - this constraints give me the room to breath. Guess what? Most of the ks anyway don't give games that I will love (minis? 🤢🤢 Huge pass for me) So... Explosive? Fomo? I don't care if I want a game ill buy it later as 2bd handed or just find the tts module. Problems solve
I back a lot of crowdfunding games, yet I don't like exclusive contents. The model I like is for the backers to get the stretch goals for free, and for the company to charge for the stretch goal box in retail. This gives me an incentive to back, but for people who are waiting for retail, they're not missing out on the content except they have to pay more, sometimes a lot more for those stretch goal boxes. On the other hand, I don't mind if the game is only available on crowdfunding, as some games are just not viable in retail, such as the upcoming Euthia.
Agreed! I will add it sucks playing a friend's Kickstarter copy and then getting a retail version that is 50% of the game, with no option to buy the stretch goals that bring the game to 100%. Should have been a Kickstarter only game at that point.
That only works if your shipping + Vat costs don't add up to more money for kickstarter products. Basically for every European it is not reasonable to back on KS anymore since it is just too expensive in the end - even with the discounts. So the ONLY incentive for an European would be KS exclusives.
@@Brainfracture Actually, then what I suggested would work perfectly in your scenario (where shipping+VAT cost more on the KS than in retail), since all KS contents will be available in retail, so just buy them at retail and save. On the other hand, if the KS offered exclusive content, then you'd be forced to pay whatever the cost if you want that exclusive content. Having exclusive content benefits the companies, not the consumers.
@@samhowe9986 Sure but it would not work from the creators perspective since I simply would not back the game at all on KS. And if everybody does that the project will be underfunded or not funded at all. And then there will probably also not be a retail version.
I don't think any creator can afford to loose the majority of European backers since this is the second biggest market for boardgames.
From my perspective, crowdfunding exclusives are a double-edged sword. I get that they help drive pledging, but I'm a completionist and if I can't get all of the content for a game I likely just won't get the game at all (there have been very, very few exceptions to this). So if I miss the first campaign for a game and future campaigns don't offer all previous content, I'll just never back it.
Boardgaming is a niche hobby that is getting more and more popular with every year to come. I experienced the same trend in the PC gaming hobby in the past 25 years and i'm noticing a lot of similarities. I can tell you that making things exclusive was one of the worst trends in gaming history ever! Milking fans money with stupid exclusive stuff is just sad! We are all part of the same little hobby. Why would you ever want other people not having access to the same content as you do? Just because you have more money to spend? This is so sad and egoistic at the same time and perfectly reflects the image of our society.
That's why i never touched any Kickstarter campaign that offered one time exclusive gaming content. I don't mind enhancing the game with optional premium addons and bling, but keeping content from others is just a no-go for me!
I feel like you are trying to make a point but are coming off sounding like you think you’re better than everyone else. I’m just here to enjoy games, and exclusives are actually fun and I don’t feel bothered when I miss them but the game is still good… soooo thanks for preaching but no thanks
@@Twineandribbon You didn't get a single word of what i was saying! I think that im not a bit better than anybody in the hobby, that is the whole point! I think that everyone should have the same access to boardgames!
@@sedraniM I thought about what I’d said and realized I only back games on crowdfunding that are completely non viable in retail so your statement that you’re against those existing came across as an attack on why I enjoy the hobby, which it probably wasn’t meant to be. Sorry for being snappy. I just think you might be missing out on the entire point of why a lot of these projects exist.
@@Twineandribbon I don't agree at all. I know that a lot of games only exist because of Kickstarter and i did back a lot of games! But Boardgaming is a niche hobby that is getting more and more popular. A lot of publishers don't try to trigger your FOMO or bait you with exclusive stuff that is just available for 3-4 weeks that force you to make impulsive decisions. FOMO is a very dirty marketing trick imo, it is scientifically proven that it is an exploitation of an addiction!
Good examples without exclusives are Leder Games, Stonemaier Games, Matagot, Orange Nebula, Cephalofair Games (Gloomhaven the most popular game ever) and many many more! Bad examples are CMON Games, Awaken Realms, IV Games and many others!
Since my group plays 50% online and 50% offline, we play all the games that offer super rare exclusive cards for free on TTS while playing the non exclusive games on the table, because we don't wanna feed an economy that shamelessly exploits an addiction of many people in the community. Many small and big publishers showed how it's done that everyone can enjoy all the content!
You're part of a minority who don't back because of a Kickstarter exclusive
I think component upgrades, insert and a free (not exclusive) expansion are good motivators. Gameplay should not be exclusive in my opinion, you could charge more for the expansion later. However nowadays with expensive international shipping and VAT I can get the game plus upgraded components in retail for the same price as in the campaign with charges.
There is one other incentive that companies offer: the chance to shape the design of the game. Orange Nebula excels at this with “which planet option should we use for planet #6…” This isn’t quite an “incentive,” since one can always back out the last day after contributing ideas and comments during the campaign, but this builds excitement. (“I named planet 6, so I want to see this done…”)
I think backer input on game design is a double-edged sword... for example if you let backers vote between 3 possible approaches, and the winning approach ends up in the game... generally just a bit more than a third of the backers will get the thing they voted for, while all the other backers will have received a glimpse at what the game could have been, but they won't get what they voted for. So it will make the backers who went for the winning vote happy, but it may actually turn off the backers who voted for the other options.
There are certainly situations in which backer input can be very useful, but there are also cases where I think it's overused, and where the creator should just have trusted their own design decisions instead.
@@TheBanzaiTree agreed. But I usually find each of the options to be good enough that I’m agnostic as y’ to which wins. And if backers appreciate being asked more than they are attached to a specific outcome, which is often the case, then it is a technique that can build enthusiasm.
I think in most cases backers don't care at all about being involved in the process. If you see the votes on these kind of topics compared to the amount of backers it is often times just 4-5% of people.
algorithm: (noun) A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.
There is a big difference between exclusive gameplay content and exclusive extras that are not gameplay-related.
And there is a big difference between games that couldn't exist without crowdfunding and games that would work fine solely through retail but are held back just to make more money through crowdfunding.
I have backed both campaigns with exclusive extras and campaigns without exclusives (only discount). I used to like discount more but I see why it doesn't work as well for the creators. I dislike gameplay exclusives because it harshly punishes potential customers that just weren't lucky enough to be around for the campaign (+ late pledge period). Sometimes you find out later about a game and then you're locked out.
After all said, I likely won't back anything for a longer time because it has become too expensive.
Between extremely increased pledge prices, all-in pledges that go way over 250$, extra high shipping cost, 19% VAT ontop, tanked Euro-to-Dollar exchange rate and increased general living costs there is no way for me to afford this for the time being.
It's too much anyway, I have a shelf full of unplayed games.
I don’t mind some stuff being KS exclusive but I think anything that effects game play (including promo cards/characters/etc.) should be at least available for purchase later even if it’s exclusive to the publisher’s store, I vastly prefer the publishers that take this approach to others like CMON especially who thrive off the FOMO
with more and more people getting into board games every year, it seems unfair for someone to discover a game that they love only to be told they can’t get everything for it because it was on KS years before they had discovered board games and the only way to get everything is to spend hundreds if not thousands more
A follow-up conversation that would be nice is to talk about what kind of exclusive content is good for the fans of the game. If you come in late, I believe you should have access to all the things that make the gameplay great but missing out on deluxe components is fine. I dislike gameplay exclusives unless it's small promo stuff. An example that annoyed me recently is the stretchgoal box for Nemesis Lockdown. That exclusive cut off access to two retail expansions - Carnomorphs and Void Seeders - from the Lockdown game. Since they were bought retail, they should be supported in some way by retail. I'm less annoyed about bringing up the aftermath characters to Lockdown or the Untold Stories book - but the additional alien species also found in the box I believe should have been retail.
Great Video, Alex. I am 100% your opinion. The only reason i back crowdfunding (with a few Single campaigns like dungeon crusade, where every Single backer was needed) are KICKSTARTER EXKLUSIVES.
"There is no strong incentive to give up your money with no reason, unless there is a reason".
Alex Radcliffe Board Game Co 2022.
I saw a recent Kickstarter offering "Kickstarter promo" instead of exclusives. The publisher said if you bought it during the campaign, you'd get it, but if it proved really popular, they'd release it at retail as well. I love the idea. FOMO makes my want to be all-in or not at all. A promo makes me more comfortable about backing the base game without extras, which I think is better for everybody.
I think the promo rather than exclusive is the more ethical way to do it. That also applies to content creators crowdfunding promos. Give the exclusivity for 6-12 months so they can maximise the revenue, but don't annoy those backers who thought they'd backed 'all-in' and are now spitting tacks that there is other content that they've missed out on.
This is a good incentive to skip the campaign. If the game is popular, I'm assured the promos will be available later and I won't miss out on any content. If the game isn't popular, it's a game I probably didn't want anyways.
I'm a part of a lot of nerdy hobbies and boardgames by far have the most shady Anti consumer practices
My thought on KS exclusives is that they should never be gameplay based, or at least not in a major way.
Alternative models, promos, deluxe versions sure. First bite at the expansion sure, but it should be available later.
But Kickstarter exclusive expansions come in three flavours:
1) Pointless filler that increases costs for everyone. This is fine, but hard to balance for. This is the type that is fine, but it’s hard to check what the expansions will do in advance. Even if you watch KS previews, it’s rare they show the expansions.
2) Essential fixes, which should be in the main game but have been spun out. These are bad for retail buyers and KS buyers who didn’t back at the right pledge. Plus it means that there really are two games, and the fans who found out about the game later on need to find a KS copy for sale or they miss out.
3) Unbalanced KS expansions. Characters who break the game if they are played. New mechanics that change the entire game but in a weird way. Sure you can not use these, but often they have something cool in the expansion, so you still have to use the rest of the expansion.
Yes there are good expansions, but the risk for us the buyers are risky. It’s why you should buy expansions for minis, not for gameplay. And we all have loads of minis at this point… (in my case mostly unpainted).
Yes, this. It just gets used as FOMO. And gameplay FOMO is not acceptable imo
Yes, this. Take away the incentive to back the risky KS and convince people to wait for retail.
I agree, no gameplay exclusives, period. If it changes the gameplay or adds to the gameplay on a first print run, it should likely be part of the base game. Keeping first runs to well thought out and balanced base games only, will keep production costs lower and shipping cheaper. It also always for a game to hit the table for more people allowing more feedback for potential fixes or expansion ideas down the road. Deluxe components, storage solutions, new or additional art, minis vs standees, sure make as many exclusives as you want.
Crodfunding exclusives are actually the reason why I haven't purchased some games. There are certain customers that do it right (available after the campaign on their website or on future Kickstarter campaigns for other projects), otherwise I don't think they should be used and would rather everyone be able to enjoy the content. Deluxe upgrades are fine for crowdfunding and I feel like that's what it should be for.
Rules for backing a game that I learned from Tom Vassel which has come out to be true.
"Pass on a game you are unsure of and go all in on the game you know you will love and make that game as good as it can be"
I back maybe 5-8 games a year, I've gone all in on them and have been so happy when I get them. I've backed out of maybe 20+ games or decided to pass on. I've not once regretted not getting them down the road.
Nice :)
I backed so many games this year, the most I've ever backed. I really appreciate your content! Thanks Alex!
The top two reasons I back on KS are: Cheaper than retail (sometimes by a lot, sometimes not at all) and the exclusives. If a game doesn't have some sort of KSE (component upgrades, insert, expansions, etc) then I'm just gonna buy at retail. "Supporting" the company doesn't mean much to me, they're getting my money either way regardless of where I buy it.
- The game only via crowdfunding? Yes I'm ok with that. If it's the best and only route to market for them, it's fine.
- Incentivising backers? Yes there has to be a reason for backers to get on board. The what and how does indeed matter
The options are
a. Offer a genuine price reduction to backers, which used to seem viable, after all the company should get more of your money from crowdfunding than via a retail sale, plus they are the people funding upfront, with unsecured risk, which in a business context is massively valuable compared to borrowing on the open market. Whether they aren't accounting for the value of that upfront funding, or the crowdfunding model is no longer competitive / efficient?
b. Deliver early to backers. For some this is massive, but luckily our group plays a broad range of games from new to old. It really doesn't matter much to me, but I do recognise how it is important to others
c. Exclusives. Generally there is a lot of pushback from ordinary backers on this. Cosmetic exclusives that don't affect the gameplay and importantly might not make sense in a retail context e.g. that plastic monstrosity in Marvel Zombies. Such cosmetic exclusives are generally accepted as reasonable. However should the exclusives involve gameplay exclusives, then there is enough pushback, that it's resulting in some people walking away completely from that campaign and indeed being turned off the retail option.
Kickstarter exclusives are a nocive practice to the hobby for multiple reasons - it preys on FOMO, it creates gameplay unbalances, it punishes new gamers and it creates elitism.
I'm new to the hobby myself and it sucks to know many games out there have content i will never be able to play - it actually puts me off on buying certain games if I know its missing gameplay content that is unreachable - like new characters or storylines.
If board games are to grow they need to follow the video-game industry where any exclusive content is purely cosmetic. You can deluxify pieces, bags, boards, create cosmetic minis but never lock your players out of your content, unless your goal is to keep the hobby forever a niche.
Some Kickstarter projects produce a lot more content than is viable at retail - Marvel United being a perfect example of this. The option is for either the content to be exclusive or for the content to not exist at all.
Board games are different than video games. Cosmetic exclusives have very little attraction to board game KS backers.
I only crowd fund at the PNP level. I have fun building the games. It's easy to proxy the components. The creator makes 100% profit on my pledge. I also REALLY get the game first and often right away. It isn't worth it to have my money held up for years. I can wait. I often save a TON of money by buying on the secondary market or buying at a huge discount at retail.
After my first campaign I started from an I'm not backing position. If you want me day 1 then I need a reason to be there. All the campaigns i've backed have featured one or the other of the factors mentionned. Most have deluxified components exclusive to the campaign
Yep, that's how I look at it.
Interesting topic, FOMO is huge in this hobby, and exclusive content perpetuates that to the next level. Many times I don’t care for the exclusive content because it throws the game out of balance. Some do a better job of this than others, but, more often than not, I don’t care for the exclusives.
I'm more okay with exclusives that are non-gameplay, such as a special slip box cover, but when it comes to upgraded bits, shaped wooden pieces instead of cardboard, those can often make the game experience better. I absolutely hate when any gameplay content is exclusive, like solo mode or promo cards or mini expansions. Some of those have had a huge impact on the game experience and, even if I get it because I backed the project, I know the retail people won't get it and it makes it harder for me to recommend to friends. Creature Comforts comes to mind as an example, both the bits and mini expansions have a big impact on the game, but are exclusive.
Also, there have been some instances where too much content was made exclusive and it made the game not viable in retail because people knew the crowdfunding version had so much more content. Fallen is the best example I can think of here, where almost half the content was exclusive so the retail box was half empty. It tanked the game, which is sad because it was really good.
However, I understand why companies do it and continue to do it. I just think, in some cases, they're excluding more future buyers than getting more buyers now.
Also, I'm totally fine with any company that says they have no plans for retail, so the whole game and anything else offered is exclusive. It's really hard to get into retail, especially right now.
while some exclusives I do not care for, they *never* convince me to back, but more often than not they convince me not to buy the retail version. especially if that is a model of 4 heroes/factions for 4 p game in retail, and KS stretch goals would have been 16 more. no amount of money is cheap enough to buy a demo...
Agreed. The old Zombicides bothered me due to the lack of diversity. I much prefer 2E and Cthulhu dmd having enough to feel like a full game With some choice in the box
Honestly, Kickstarter exclusives are a great way for companies to get a start. Board games are a difficult market. That being said, games that are available to the core market of board gamers (and not just Kickstarter whales like myself) are the ones most worth supporting. They get people into the hobby and support your local LGS. I’ve gotten tired of KS exclusives hitting my table only for excited friends to ask where they can get the games and be told that they can’t or that the version available isn’t as good
I've done about 60 crowdfunding options. 58 of them had kickstarter exclusives, the other two were said to never come to retail and thus were themselves exclusive. For the most part if it doesn't have exclusive components I won't crowdfund. I know it's a manipulative practice however I don't care if I want the exclusives enough.
I have no concern over getting a product that doesn't exist faster. I wouldn't pay a dime for that.
Also I don't believe most producers don't make sure they aren't producing half a game without exclusives. I've played way to many base level kickstarters that feel incomplete.
They also use the extra revenue to get more copies of the game to sell on their site also I believe
What do you mean?
Love this conversation. There must be a reason to back. And yes sometimes the reason uses is just to support the company and the creation of the game. That is not enough value for me, it's why I don't back Garphil games on KS. They make great games but I just preordered Circadians for $40 and on KS it was $52+shipping, just seems like a rough deal to me. These companies are for profit, not non-profit. Yes there are people behind it, but companies exist to solve problems and then make profit from solving those problems, me as a single backer can't solve a companies profitability issues.
Garphill also puts at the top of their KS page to get the game however you want, there are no KSE, if you can get it retail cheaper go for it, we just want you to enjoy the game.
@@Trogdor_Strongbraid Yeah I love Garphill games and I am super happy people back them, I just can't justify it for myself.
If im backing a crowdfunded game I'm looking for 1 thing, a reason to back the game. This could be because I want to support a passion project, because im getting the product for cheaper than retail, or some exclusive content. Cheaper just doesnt seem to be a thing anymore which leaves getting exclusive content. With the price of shipping I was hoping the pendulum would swing back towards cheaper vs content but alas.
Another reason not to back is that version 2 might be way better & include the "exclusives" too. Who polices the appearance of some extra minis in a subsequent expansion or a retail version?
I can no longer take the risk and also pay more unless I’m getting exclusives. I actually dread backing anything because of the world situation and the years it takes now to get them done and out of China. So much anxiety you have to buy into.
I have the same anxiety but I keep telling myself that publishers will find a way because they're (mostly) good people. The future has looked bleak for years in the past but it keeps turning out better than I thought it would even I critically evaluate my anxiety from the past.
I feel like I'm getting more and more selective and even on campaigns that might be intriguing, I tend to approach the baseline of not backing a lot more often. With over 20 outstanding campaigns I can't and don't want to afford to back games on looks or a whim anymore.
Where I can make a much more educated decision is on the reprint campaigns where the game has already proven itself. I love CTG, but didn't back Hoplomachus or burncycle. The first just doesn't interest me themewise and the second was too unproven when the campaign ran. But I will go back the burncycle reprint and expansion now that it's coming back to GF, even though I could get it all a bit later from CTG directly.
Deluxification is another thing that makes me back games. I initially had no interest in Septima. I haven't played a Mindclash game yet and the optics turned me off the game, even though the theme looked interesting. But I loved the Past 2 AM gameplay on Quackalope and decided to back in after all. It pulled me in enough to back it during the campaign and get the game at higher production value.
I really don't judge either way on exclusives, but I will say exclusives are how I will justify paying more at KS than saving money at retail. I skipped the Viscounts expansions/big box expansion because there were no exclusives and I knew I could get it cheaper at retail. I just pre-ordered all 3 items for $60.30 total shipped. Would have cost about $82.50 for the KS. If there were even something as small as 10 exclusive cards, I *probably* would have backed the KS even though that seems like a silly price to pay for 10 cards.
The only time I will begrudge a company is if they sell deluxe versions with no exclusives to retailers at such a low price that the retailer can list the item on pre-order for less than what I'm paying on the KS, meaning the company is basically gouging the backers...*ahem* Feed the Kraken *ahem*.
Please cover the Darkest Dungeon kickstarter demanding more shipping.
In the update they mention not increasing shipping for any other project past, present, or future. That's my biggest gripe with it.
Great conversation. Personally, I’m convinced FOMO is what Hillel meant by “if not now, when?”
Very interesting conversation.
Appreciate it :)
I have less problem with crowdfunding exclusives than I do con exclusives. Its so much more expensive to go to a con to get something.
It would be interesting to research some Kickstarters and how much the “real” target is with and without KS exclusive expansions (which most people think are the real issue). Often the extras have higher shipping as well, so it’s just the production (and designing).
I just wonder if KS designers feel if they don’t have exclusives that no one will back (excluding obvious winners like Frosthaven)
I don’t mind Crowdfunding exclusive games as long as it’s clear from the beginning that’s what the company is offering. The reality is that’s usually a lie - they’re going to sell direct copies at the end or a conventions.
That’s the real problem - companies promise things that aren’t within their practical control in order to manipulate behavior to get backers. Get burned on this enough, and it can sour the whole experience.
I liked the Stonemaier “no exclusives” model. But they don’t do crowdfunding anymore mainly because their model relies on evergreen sales and locking games behind crowdfunding lowers the number of potential buyers significantly.
I still see project elite back there… all is good in the world
Me begging for triple layer boards in my future copy of planet unknown hobby edition sub-consciously inspired this video. I would have backed the deluxe if I knew it existed at the time.
I doni know how much it is relevant but a few month back I got as a present Inish big box and realy close arrived Massive darkness 2 core pledge and the person gifting Inish is still disappointed from the cost to component ratio between the 2 (Inish was acquired in a store and was not on sale foe my knowledge)
I agree with you Alex. For me to back a game I need some strong incentive because I'm investigating my money insomething I've never even seen, in a project that may never even fulfill. Especially with recent shipping prices getting rather ridiculous and the fact that you usually end up paying more than you would in retail. Shaping the game doesn't really interest me as I usually don't participate. That's why I made a decision to not back unless there are kickstarter exclusivesnot that are make it worth the price, free stretch goals that will have to be bought separately in retail or the game will not be available in retail at all
As someone who came into these kickstarter games recently exclusives have mostly just made me not want to buy older games. I see no point in buying Resident Evil 2 since so much of the content is in extra expansions some of which cost several hundred dollars. RE3 I bought since I love the video game but not being able to get extra zombies and the 3D terrain bothers the hell out of me. Yeah, they aren't super mandatory but they still improve the playability considerably. There are plenty more games that have caught my eye but it's just too expensive to get a complete experience so I'm just not going to bother.
Simple decision for Kickstarter exclusive is “is it cosmetic or game related?” No issue if cosmetic but a hard no if game related. The issue is that if the game is really good, and people can’t get all content, it is a handicapped long term growth for the game. Any company that makes that decision is not for me.
I don't reply often to things but came here to say this, it's not about exclusivity it's about the kind of exclusivity, if they are making gamplay exclusive that puts me off massively from backing. If it's cosmetic only or deluxe version, I'll happily support.
I totally agree. I'm one of those board gamers who likes to complete their collection. Exclusive game play content can sometimes make that impossible through either quantity or price. I'm okay with cosmetic change that are exclusive. When I want to buy a game at retail, I check the Kickstarter page and if I see gameplay exclusive content, I will not buy it. Therefore I have to be very sure I want to pledge to a Kickstarter or gamefound boardgames if it has content exclusive content, because I won't buy it later.
i have no long KS or Gamefound history. I backed Mindbug with just the core game for 16€, what more do I want ? I don't need a numbered box or promo cards. Than there is Frosthaven, there was no KS exclusives at all, well expect the price of 99€ back at the time... And for ISS Vanguard I choose the base game plus the nicer dice and the personal files. I don't want every game to be 8 boxes filled with a lot of air 2 minis and 4 cards and extra campaigns that will never be played because I move forward to the next game
I'm more okay with games that are pure KSE vs games with a lot of KSE add-ons.
The reason for this is that it's simpler in terms of decisions.
Either I back it now or I forget about it, compare to a lot more hand-wringing now and later.
I know some people hate this because they feel mad they didn't get the game when they could and now they never can but...at the end of the day you probably don't need that game anyway and if it really does turn out to be amazing the odds of said KSE game getting a reprint or a new retail form are high.
In addition to this as well I've noticed kickstarter exclusive stuff available on miniature Market. Ie some of cmons stuff. I have no idea how they got hold of these.
I don't know how common this is mind across the industry. And there's no guarantee either.
The fomo is real :)
Retailer pledges I suppose is how the stores get such items.
I do agree with your video as a whole, but saying you don't need to back a game to bring it to live is about the same as saying you don't need to vote on elections since one vote doesn't make a difference.
My problem is that I feel a compulsive need to get the kickstarter... because if I don't, I'll miss out. That alone is why I don't like kickstarters like CMON's.... plus, I feel like they create a stupid-expensive aftermarket with their business practices.
For me all this 'game' of FOMO/fake SG on top of crazy shipping and VAT has pretty much ruined crowdfunding for me. I want a good deal but not at the expense of others. Only things I backed in the past 6 months are RA, a crokinole board and the new mission cards for Mind MGMT.
Perhaps a dip in success of crowdfunding may be what's required to redress the balance and offer a better deal to backers to attract them back. If we keep buying, there's no need for companies to offer better deals / more ethical attitudes.
Dying is like bruh, if i would think about that i could never do anything cuz "what if i would die"
I back games because I want them to become reality. I don't like kickstarter exklusives. In 90 % they are trash. They are either absolutly overpowered or not very well implemented.
Thats why I love Leder Games games. You get what you pledged and everybody can habe it too.
I never buy games later if they had exklusives and coming to retail. I missed bloodrage and will never get it, becaus I am a completionist and cannot have it all. Easy pass for me.
Im shocked by the number of people that back kickstarters for all the reasons you meantioned here.
I refuse to back on FOMO. F**k that noise. I will back to help with stretch goals. I will back to support good companies. I will back to get sooner or get a better price. I recently found out about three headed monster games. I would have backed Astrominers, until I saw exclusive content. Nope. Stop gouging consumers. I don't always have funds available right at that second, if I can't chuck in a little during the campaign and get what I want at retail later or during a reprint campaign for games that are not in retail I refuse to support such a cancerous practice. Make the stretch goals meaningful enough and you WILL get the funding. FOMO, while I agree is the powerful motivator, it shouldn't be.
All the reasons why not to back is Bigger for me than the value that I'll get, thus I didn't and won't NEVER back a game.
I know that Im not missing anything anyway so fomo? Don't care.
I have a small collection which sure has a lot of ks games, but!!!!
All of them bought as 2nd handed games.
Im very strict with my taste I love only card games and I play only solo - this constraints give me the room to breath.
Guess what? Most of the ks anyway don't give games that I will love (minis? 🤢🤢 Huge pass for me)
So... Explosive? Fomo? I don't care if I want a game ill buy it later as 2bd handed or just find the tts module.
Problems solve
Mortgage…ha…
:)
If only there was a friendly Canadian content creator giving you reasons not to back games 🫣
Lol indeed :)