Let’s face it, the last few years have been weird just in general. Some of us might like it because we can be at home more and don’t feel like we need to do things. Others of us have ended up going stir crazy a lot because we couldn’t get together with people. And one area that things have changed in, maybe unexpectedly is Crowdfunding.

There are a few things to notice that might be different there now. And for the consumer, not all of them are for the better. Or at least not changes that we wanted to happen. And honestly, it’s not going to go back to the way it was before the pandemic even as more and more things are opening up. So, let’s talk about the changes.

More Companies Going to Crowdfunding

This is one of the maybe better things that happened. Now, for some, they might see this as a negative, but companies going to crowdfunding means that those companies survived. There were certainly companies that went under during the pandemic. I don’t know how much that played into TMG going under, or getting out of board gaming, but that sucks to have a bigger company no longer there. And other game companies as well did.

Plus, I think it allows companies to more correctly judge demand. If you’ve ever notice with Stonemaier Games, their games are always impossible to find when they release. The print run isn’t that big. That is something that Kickstarter or Gamefound takes care of. You have a better idea of demand. And if it does well there, you know to order more copies for retail locations. If those companies only stick on Crowdfunding, though, then it can be a bit of a negative. But I think Kickstarter and Gamefound were a lifeline for some companies.

Higher Shipping

Now, to a negative, shipping is higher. And I fully expect that won’t come down. Now, it might fluctuate over time, but it’s going to take years for shipping to sort itself out. With inflation as well, it’s never going to be as cheap as it was.

Now, some of this is the container shortage, or more containers going from one side and not back to the other side of the ocean. So they build up in different spots. Some of it is that it’s been harder to staff positions right now. And some of it is with the pandemic generally people order more for delivery. So that means that there is a higher demand for shipping products and not yet catching up on space and employees for shipping those products.

Higher Production Costs

With that, there is also a higher cost of production right now. That is more that there are fewer resources going around. It’s not an obvious thing, but when a lot of those places that create the resources, farm the trees, things like that, cut back or shut down for a period of time, we’re now at a product shortage.

Things like cardboard, plastic, and wood all cost more than they did before. If you have tried to do a house project or know someone who did in the past couple of years, it’s more expensive now than it was. Will these prices come back down, I feel like it is doubtful. Right now there is inflation happening and that means that prices are going to stay higher.

Long Delays

Finally, there were a lot more delays. And these delays happened for a few reasons. The most obvious would be delays in shipping. Everything takes longer to cross the ocean and unloaded. Now, crossing the ocean, that part is the same amount of time, but getting containers then getting them onto a ship, and unloaded on the other side, and onto trucks or trains, there is a lot of reasons why shipping is delayed.

But it is not just shipping. Production can be delayed if the factories have to work limited hours, or limited capacity due to brownouts or COVID. So production locations are delayed and that takes longer than normal. Though, often times that can be estimated, especially for smaller Kickstarters or Gamefounds with short print runs.

Finally, there are also delays when it comes to things like designing the game. It is much harder to playtest a game these days. I have playtested a few, Rogue Angels which is playtesting and coverage, and it has to be done via Table Top Simulator. That is not as good as in person. And even designing, things are slower when you are working remote. So there have been a lot of big delays.

Crowdfunding Expectations Going Forward

So, what does that mean? Firstly, it means that your Kickstarter and Gamefound games are going to be more expensive. Shipping and production costs might come down a little, but don’t expect pre-pandemic pricing on your games. Even in retail games are going up in price. So no, it won’t get cheaper again, which is a shame, but also necessary at points in time. It probably means that we all can’t back as much so need to pick and choose more.

But I don’t think it’s all negative. I think that delays will lessen over time. And I think that with the delays going on, most new crowdfunding games are pushing their timelines out a bit. Now, that isn’t to say it won’t be much later, it certainly might be. Eventually shipping and staffing and everything is going to even out as things return towards equilibrium.

Finally, I hope that there will be a few things coming from this. Firstly, I’d like to see, eventually, more localized production. I know Rogue Angels was originally looking to do German production but that made the cost point too high. But I’d love to see more productions based in the areas that buy more of the board games to help keep times shorter. I’m not sure it’d be a massive difference in price, but timelines, getting a product from the US to the US is much faster than across the ocean

I also hope we’ll see a pull back on big minis games. Now, don’t get me wrong, I want my campaign games. But the size of those games makes shipping exceedingly expensive. To go with Rogue Angels again here, the game works well with standees and giving optional minis, that’s cool. But I don’t need every game to come with a million minis, minus Marvel games, or something like that where it adds so much to it. Games with minis for minis sake, I hope we see fewer to help keep costs down.

Final Thoughts

It isn’t all good news when it comes to crowdfunding, obviously. We’re still going to be in a world where there are a lot of delays. Factories are going to shutdown for a week or work at limited capacity. It is going to take longer to get your games.

I do hope that there will be some things that can happen to help improve the situation over time. Like I said, I do think shipping will get better, but I don’t expect it to happen over night. And when I say shipping, I mean, shipping times, costs are likely stuck where they are at. So, maybe don’t plan on backing as many games. I might go through and talk about Kickstarter and Gamefound again and what to know about projects.

But what do you think will happen in the world of crowdfunding?

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