For better or worse, and really better and worse, crowdfunding is really hard for small creators. Bigger ones are even running into issues. But for small creators, it’s hard to get noticed. That means, for better, that people with ideas that have been done before or reskins of Monopoly can’t get their game made. On the downside, creators who really have put a lot of passion into a game and turned out something great are having a harder go of it.

But that’s got nothing to do with the question for today.

Which Is Better For Crowdfunding – Cheaper Game or Shipping

I know there might be some who disagree, but for a lot of games it’s just not possible to get the price down. Or the game would not be the same without those nicer components, minis, custom meeples, or metal coins. Does it mean that companies shouldn’t be looking to save money, no, they should be. But as consumers backing on Crowdfunding, there is a certain level that is expected.

However, those expectations now might not match up to what the consumer expects. Linen finish cards, I generally expect that. But more so, good card thickness, an insert that makes sense, stuff that really isn’t that common place in retail board games. It might be getting more common, but it’s not common place. So costs are going to go up for games.

Cheaper Shipping

Costs can go up in two areas. The first being that the game can cost more. The additional cost of a game, all of it, from materials to shipping can be added to the cost of the game. This will keep the shipping price more stable.

And in fact, this way can help cover more general variability in pricing. And it makes the most sense, between the two, for a business. But it’s less ideal for the consumer. Mainly because once a price goes up, rarely will it come back down. So even if shipping costs go down, or material costs go down, the price is still going to stay higher. But from a business side of things, it allows them to “hide” the costs more or the buffer more.

And I don’t mean this in a bad way, but being able to hide your margin somewhat means that people won’t complain about shipping costs. What I’m not talking about is taking on an extra $20 that would never get used to the cost. Something that would just purely be profit.

Cheaper Game

On the flip side, you could keep the price of the game lower. This means splitting out the costs over two things. First the cost of the game, which would go up slightly no matter what because of material costs and inflation. The other part would be the shipping costs.

From a consumer side of things this is a bit nicer. You aren’t actually paying less, but the payment is split over two. You pay once on the crowdfunding platform and then again with shipping. It also allows the companies to get the most accurate estimate for their shipping. If shipping goes up, they can add to the cost, if it goes down, they can reduce the cost.

But there is a downside for the consumer. If a company completely misestimates a the cost of shipping a game, now the new shipping estimate is higher. And that can erode consumer confidence. It shouldn’t, every company, new and established are needing to ask for more funds to help cover shipping differences. I do think that will become less common, but we still have early 2020 or even 2019 crowdfunded games shipping. Those estimates are no where near right.

So What’s the Best Answer?

Honestly, I do not believe that there is a best answer. I would be curious to know what people thing on it? If I had to guess, I think that more people would prefer a more expensive game and cheaper shipping. Mainly because they don’t get that big hit twice. Even though, in the long run, I think that methodology might be worse for the consumer. It locks in prices potentially more so.

But it’s an easier pill to swallow when it’s one bigger hit and a smaller hit to the wallet. And I think people are more apt to overlook that it might not be quite the same value as before. People should know that inflation and shipping crisis are a thing, though some lessening, and know to expect to pay more. It seems like a lot of people don’t though, so hiding that cost, might be best.

Final Thoughts

I know I cover the cost of things and shipping pretty often. Mainly because it’s a topic that keeps on coming up. And I get why it does. Inflation hits everything. That means the cost of everything is going up, and all those lousy things you need for your life are costing more. I run into the same issue.

And the desire is that board games stay at the same price. The things that we want to make us feel better should stay cheap so that we can indulge once in a while. Now, is that reasonable, no, but I get wanting it to be the case. I want to back more games than I do, I want to buy more games than I do. But sometimes things take a back burner. The people I feel worst for with it are the small creators who have a great project that is harder to get scene because of everything.

Do you find yourself buying or backing fewer games now?

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What Is the Teburu System?

So, this I originally saw, through a window, at GenCon 2019. Basically it is a gaming system where the bases of characters, dice, possibly even cards, though The Bad Karmas and The Curse of the Zodiac, the first game, uses digital cards. I will talk about the game in a little bit.

The board is a pad that you can overlay other boards on, I’m guessing chipped so it knows which board it is. Then when you move pieces around, it knows where you moved and lets you know if it’s a legal move or not. When you roll dice, it knows what you roll and automatically applies damage. Basically, it is a system meant to take away from the house keeping of what the game needs to know or you normally tell the game.

What Interests Me?

So, I know for some of you, you heard technology and were immediately out. That is fine, this article is meant more for the people who are interested in how technology can assist your game. There are a few things about this that interest me for sure. Mainly games that are heavy on house keeping, how this might improve the experience with them. I don’t know that a Gloomhaven would be feasible, but something like Zombicide, I could see it helping.

The first thing I want to know is how consistent the software is. I am always hesitant to back something that is technology because, the consistency of new technology is suspect. The company was planning on launching I believe in 2019 or 2020 and held off until now. Some of that might be because of COVID for sure, but late 2019 was before that, so they clearly wanted the technology right. And how much of a drain the technology is. Will I need to plug in my phone for my character, how fast does it burn the charge?

I also want to know what other games are coming to the system. I know that Sword & Sorcery is being developed by the company and Ares Games. And they have their own game, The Bad Karmas and The Curse of the Zodiac. And I know Sword & Sorcery has a fair amount of bookkeeping that you need to do as you play. So I think it could help with that, but the sprawling map, I wonder how that would work, I have some questions. And I want to know what else might be coming.

I do like that they have an SDK. For non-programmers, that basically means that people will be able to develop for it. It isn’t something that only Xplored will develop for. They might have their own team that does a lot of it to start, but more developers will come over time. And more companies can do it themselves for a launch of a game. Or offering two versions, a Teburu version of the game that comes with fewer components but requires you have the system.

What Concerns Me?

It’s new technology and new technology needs to be adopted to be useful. The stuff that interests me, the whole idea of less bookkeeping, games maybe with fewer components, that’s great. But will there be games for it? I am glad to see them working with Ares Games on Sword & Sorcery, but I wish they had 10 or 15 games right now that they could say would be coming to the system. Maybe as the campaign goes they will announce more.

I am also always very wary of new technology. It’s great that it is coming out. I think that it’s a way that companies could possibly save on number of components and maybe even cost of components. But will the technology be able to handle a wide variety of games. Or is this something that is meant only for a few games. And how long will it last. If I buy a Teburu I want to know it’ll last for 10 years, minimum. But will it travel well? Will it charge well and hold that charge in two years? It’s things that can only be tested so much.

Is Teburu A Back or Brick?

It is a brick for me, and I am excited about the system. I do not buy first editions of new technology. I haven’t with video gaming systems, phones, anything, it’s not worth spending to be on the cutting edge. Plus I want to see that the technology works like they say it will in the wild. Game plays by content creators are great, they help me know what it is, but that is still less than in the wild.

If they are still running fine after a year and they do another crowdfunding campaign, I might be interested in it then. Plus, by then I hope to know more games that they might have on the system. Because The Bad Karmas and The Curse of the Zodiac looks like a fun game, but one game, and not that complex a game isn’t enough for me to buy it right now. And Vampire: The Masquerade and Sword & Sorcery, I am less than excited right now with what’s been announced. Not to knock those games, but it won’t get me to back it.

How about for you, is Teburu and The Bad Karmas and The Curse of the Zodiac something you’ll be backing? Does the system interest you if it had other games on it?

You can find out more on the system here.

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