Crowdfunding is a crazy place. And you are new to crowdfunding, or maybe even to the board game hobby itself. Each week, at least for most of the year, several really cool looking projects come to crowdfunding. And if you were to back all of them, it’d cost a lot. So I give a few ways to help pick out good ones, yesterday, that you can find here.

But now you’ve backed one thing. Now only that, you’ve backed it and the project delivered in a year, it was a small game, and it’s in your hands. It feels great. And then you see someone talking about another game on crowdfunding. And then there is another interesting looking one, and another. All of a sudden, you’re checking daily, or more often, and backing two things a week and it’s out of control. Because, what if this is the greatest game ever? What if this game isn’t coming to retail?

Now you are in the clutches of FOMO, so let’s talk about controlling it.

Why Is There So Much Crowdfunding FOMO?

There are a few reasons why there is so much FOMO happening around crowdfunding. There are three big reasons, though, that I see. The first is the game might not come to retail. Some games are just too big to come to retail. Some games there is enough interest to get it made but no connections to get it to retail. Especially for smaller passion projects, they just don’t know how or who to work with to get it to retail. And some games are just to niche.

Next is the upgraded or deluxe version of the game. This is something that’s too fancy to come to retail. But it works on Kickstarter of Gamefound. You can pay the premium to get it knowing that the retail version is going to be more plain. Often this might be minis, or metal coins, or wooden or plastic tokens versus cardboard. This is kind of like the next reason, but the next reason encompasses even more.

The other reason is exclusives. And I talk about it as what are the benefits of going with the crowdfunded version versus retail. Am I getting it cheaper, it could happen, but most likely not. What am I getting that’s exclusive, a first player marker? Metal coins? A mini expansion? And almost all games on crowdfunding do have something like that. Something that makes you think, oh, if I don’t get that, I won’t be able to later.

So How Do You Avoid It?

There are a few things to consider, and honestly, sometimes the FOMO will just get to you, and that’s okay. But let’s talk about the things to think about.

Do You Need the Deluxe?

Let’s start off with this one, the first two are really about points I made above. But this one has to do with the deluxe. Often times that is what traps people into backing something. It seems like a good deal to get all the fancy pieces, or maybe two more factions to play, but do you really need it? Does the deluxe add to the game play? Does the deluxe add to game play? Often times without adding to game play, it won’t make the game get played more often.

Will This Be At Retail?

Next, will it be in retail. This goes back to the question, does the crowdfunding add in more game play that is exclusive? Because, most of the time, you are going to be getting the exact same game at retail. And while the MSRP might be higher, once you figure in shipping versus free shipping, it’s often cheaper to buy it at retail as part of a bigger order. I mean, a game that is MSRP $100 is basically $100 versus discounted to $80 with $25 shipping for $105 via the Kickstarter or Gamefound.

Do You Know You’ll Like The Game?

Also, why do you think you’ll like this game so much? When I started backing crowdfunding games, I backed little things that I thought looked interesting. And some of them were complete duds, and some were cool. But I backed based off of what I thought looked cool. Now when I back, I need to believe that I will really like the game and I need to see what it is doing that I will like. If that information isn’t there, or it’s just shiny minis or metal coins that are drawing you in, stand firm.

Are The FOMO Items Game Play or Cosmetic?

This is going to be a big one that probably trips up a lot of people. It goes back to getting it retail or not. But sometimes you look at a game and you see all these cool things, upgraded resources, metal coins, card sleeves, whatever it might be, and they don’t add to game play. Those are purely cosmetic. If the game is really good, you can probably find something to upgrade the game with on Etsy later, for cheaper. So don’t factor those into a decision, game play is king. A fancy game with bad game play is still a bad game.

Will It Make It More Likely That I Play It?

Now, to counter that last one, sometimes a game needs those cosmetic things to make it better. It’s more interesting when you have those resources that look like resources. Or you have miniatures instead of meeples. It brings you into the game more. They don’t affect game play, but they do affect how likely you are to play it.

On the flip side of things, sometimes games have too much. So there is an element of FOMO about all the things you can get for the game that make it sound like a great deal. But ask yourself, do you need that all in pledge where you get twelve expansions for the game? Sometimes that makes you less likely to play the game because there’s just too much stuff for it.

What Other Games Do I Have Coming?

For me, this comes down to campaign games. I have a lot of campaign games coming. Whenever I see another one on Kickstarter or Gamefound, I want to back it. But I always have to ask myself, do I need it with what I have coming. And right now, I have a number coming. So do I need another game like that, how quickly am I playing that type of game. Those are all questions I need to ask myself. And what different thing is it doing than the ones I already have.

Will It Hold It’s Value If I Don’t Like It?

Probably not a thing you’d think about in the heat of the moment, but is this a game that is going to hold it’s value. I might not like it, so can I get rid of it. It doesn’t even need to be a get 100% of your money back thing. But can you get 75% back or can you get pledge amount minus shipping? Now, this matters more on a $100+ game, or for you it might be a $50+ game. Don’t expect to get your money back on a $15 game with $5 shipping, expect $10 or less on that. But for a big game, and a game with a ton of FOMO, is it a smart buy if you don’t like it?

Options If It’s Too Much Crowdfunding FOMO?

Stop Going on Crowdfunding Sites

Firstly, and most simply, stop going to Kickstarter or Gamefound. If you don’t see it, you won’t back it. That’s the simplest way, cold turkey if it’s a big problem. I know of people who have stopped using Discord, stopped going to the crowdfunding websites, because there is always a new cool game coming out. And they had trouble not buying all the games.

Some of this is cult of the new. Cult of the new being the idea that you always need the newest thing. This happens whenever a new version of the iPhone comes out as well. People with a great working phone go out to get a new phone even though they don’t need it.

And, cult of the new is and isn’t a problem. It is a problem if every game sounds cool and you try and buy them all. That’s a way to go bankrupt. Plus, it might sound cool, but not be cool for you. And it isn’t a problem, because someone else might be really excited about it for good reason. I don’t feel FOMO when it comes to euro style games. They aren’t something excites me, I don’t mind playing them once and a while but they won’t come off my shelf.

Set A Budget

Know how much you can spend. When you set how much you can spend, it makes it easier not to spend money. Because once the money you can spend is gone, then that means that great game that is coming down the pipeline on Kickstarter or Gamefound, it’s outside of the budget. So something that might have hype, might have FOMO going on, but isn’t exactly what you want, or has a retail version coming, it is easier to say no to it.

Know Your Taste in Games

Often times the biggest FOMO regrets aren’t that big game that you got everything for that you love. If you love it you probably are glad you got everything. It’s more the games that aren’t your type that you might like okay that are the big regrets.

If you know what you like, it is easier to avoid FOMO. Now, some of this takes time, and it’s best to experiment on non-crowdfunded games. Play an Ameritrash game. Play a Euro game. Deck building, engine building, tableau building, set collection, drafting, push your luck, take that, figure out what you like. When you know what you like, then you know what really excites you.

An example of that for me was Tidal Blades 1. The game from Druid City Games looks amazing. And it has some cool things going on in it, with upgrading your dice. Just from the look of the game I really wanted it. Then I watched the Dice Tower playthrough of the prototype, and I immediately knew I wouldn’t back it. The game looks fun, but I know my taste, and I know that it is too much on the worker placement and all the world building in it, that’s the artwork, not the game. Tidal Blades 2, the dungeon crawler, was much more tempting to me.

Connect With Other Gamers

This one might seem the oddest one out there. How does that stop you from buying more games? Well, if you can build up a good board game community, you’ll know what other games people are getting.

Let’s talk about Darkest Dungeon by Mythic Games. That game looked intriguing, but I wasn’t sure it’d be my type of game exactly. Dungeon crawl, yeah, I’m into that, and leveling and fighting. But the lack of story, that’s less my taste. So I didn’t back it, but someone who I play games with often did.

Now, this isn’t say that you should encourage someone else to get a game so that you can play it. That to me is just kind of rude to suggest that. Or to ask people to help pay for a game, though with legacy or campaign games that can be different. And you need to know the people well. But knowing what they are getting can ease some FOMO.

Also, it can ease FOMO because you have more gamers to talk to. If I were the only person in my group to own games, and everyone else just played, I’d end up being tempted to back more. But I’m not, so I don’t need to worry about it as much, I can talk to them, and talk about a game and what they think about it.

Count Your Unplayed Games

This isn’t something that I do too much as for me I can avoid a lot of FOMO based off of my taste in games. But when getting into the hobby, it is tempting to get a lot of games to play because games are awesome. And yes, while they are awesome, it’s important to play your games as well as just collect them.

I’m not someone to harp on it when people like to collect games. I like to collect games. And yes, I do have a lot of unplayed games for that reason. But I also like to play games. And April has been way to light on playing games for me thus far.

But when getting into the board game and crowdfunding part of the hobby, look at what you haven’t played. This isn’t about feeling shame over it, but just know what games you still need to play. Ask yourself, do I need that extra game now, or in a little while, to sit on the shelf as well. Do I have a game I need to try that does the same thing?

Final Thoughts

FOMO is a real thing, especially when you see lots of other people being really excited about it. And it is easy to want to go all in on games because games are really exciting. Honestly, there is little that gives me as much joy as getting a new game in to play around with. Even if the game isn’t for me, that’s okay, a new game is exciting to try and then move on from.

But it is really tough at the beginning to just not back a lot of things because they look cool. And that’s the big thing. Not all cool looking games are going to be for you. And some of them might not be for anyone because they aren’t good games. But a shiny crowdfunding page with lots of exclusives, stretch goals getting unlocked left and right, it’s hard to say no.

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