Is Crowdfunding an Investment or a Pre-Order?

This is a challenging question yet a simple question to answer. Crowdfunding was created to be an investment system. And it is still that. However, some companies treat it as a pre-order system and that muddies the waters. But at it’s heart it is an investing system into a small company or individual to help them support a dream.

Why Does This Matter?

Well, if it is purely a pre-order system, then a company 100% owes you a board game at the end of the process. And the board game should be basically ready to go. A pre-order should be for a fully designed game that just needs to get over the finish line.

And investment, it is going to come with more risk attached to it. The game is not going to be completed, it is going to be developed enough to show it off, but it won’t be ready to hit print once the funds are transferred over. And for your investment that expectation is the game will be produced and you will get a copy. But that is the expectation, not the demand.

But the Waters are Muddied

The tricky thing is that some companies use it as a pre-order system and that changes how it’s handled or perceived for the other companies where it truly is an investment into their success. Now, because Queen Games is shipping out big boxes quickly, or Claustrophobia was ready to ship and in a warehouse before the campaign was done, people see it as a pre-order system. It’s been that way for other companies, why not for company X? Well that company actually needed it for an investment.

So What Should Expectations for Crowdfunding Be?

I do think that on both sides there needs to be a resetting of expectations. Why, because we’ve seen companies go under. The standard for companies needs to change as we look to crowdfunding in the future. And the expectation of investors (backers) needs to change as well.

Backers

Let’s start with the backers, because a lot of the issue and responses I seen do lie with the backers. Firstly, for the majority of companies, even more of the larger ones than you think, they couldn’t produce the content they do and the amount of content that they do without being invested in with crowdfunding. Companies are not getting rich from board games, in fact, the margins are razor thin on crowdfunding because crowdfunding platforms take some of the money.

So let’s get back to the mindset of what this is. It is an investment. And if you are not able to invest the money to back a game and not get that game. Then don’t invest the money in the first play. We’re seeing some of that right now with smaller campaigns often not funding because people are choosing what to invest in. But back before inflation started increasing rapidly, people are still getting mad that an investment they made then isn’t fulfilling now. If you can’t afford to lose that money, you can’t afford to back it.

Or if it’s about not getting the game. If you are worried about that loss, buy it at the 150-300% mark-up later on eBay. If money isn’t the concern, it’s the concern that the game might never deliver, then change your strategy and buy it second hand on eBay, Board Game Geek Market, or elsewhere.

Companies

Companies, I don’t think that this expectation really shifted that much. But it is the most important thing you can do right now. And I will say, that the amount you do this and what you share in this matters a lot. Keep your backers informed all the time. Even if there is nothing to update, you need to update a minimum of once a month post campaign. For me once a month is ideal, but twice a month might satisfy some people more so.

And you might think that most people don’t read those updates. Let me let you in a little secret, you are right. Most people don’t read the updates. But you still need to do them. Firstly, it reassures people that you are still there and care. Even if they don’t read it, the fact you’re updating shows that you are still active with the project.

But the other thing is when things do go sideways, inflation happens, COVID happens, the shipping crisis happens, production costs go up, materials go up, last mile shipping goes up, you can talk about it. You let people know what is happening early and often, people will be more forgiving. And if, heaven forbid, your company goes under or a game won’t deliver like planned, or you need to ask for additional funds to get pushed over the last little bit, now you have already warned people.

Yes, people will still be mad. But that is one them, that goes back to what I wrote above. If you don’t communicate, though, that’s on you. If you pretend that everything is fine, or go radio silent when things aren’t, that is on you. I am your investor, I want to know how my investment is doing.

The Sad Truth of Crowdfunding

Let’s wrap up with the downer bit, right now we are going to see more of these small companies going out of business. Holy Grail Games and Grimlord Games are two that I can think of with outstanding projects. Also the company that made Alba a puzzle book story as well. And I would not be shocked if Mythic Games follows that direction shortly.

I am privy to three of those. Alba was cheap, I don’t mind losing that money, though sucks because it is a book and should be a more stable project. But when that company went under the one who bought their assets talked about how the numbers were low. Grimlord Games, they didn’t communicate at all, don’t be like them.

Finally, Mythic Games, this is one that they haven’t gone under yet. I’m just waiting on HEL: The Last Saga, if that will ever come. I expect to be asked to double my pledge. But let me be clear Mythic Games. Start communicating right now. Communicate heavily about finances and about cost increases, decreases, and changes you might need to make. This is on your to try and save your reputation. Because with Darkest Dungeon and 6Siege, you haven’t done that.

And like I said, I expect to see more, mainly smaller companies this happen to. When it does, remember, these people aren’t stealing your money to get rich. They work with thin margins hoping to bring you something they are passionate about. Probably without business knowledge they should have. So try and give grace, be frustrated, sure, but don’t be mean. That doesn’t help our hobby grow and at the end of the day, that is what we want.

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Demonstrating The Problem

Why am I thinking about this now? Well, I just had my CMON Marvel Zombies pledge manager open. And I thought about getting Galactus, I really did. But when one wave shipping for what I got, and now it is a ton of stuff, is $90, and it’d be over $100 adding Galactus, I couldn’t pull the trigger on that. That is almost double of what the original shipping projections were. So, now can companies who were funded before the price hike make it work?

And I don’t want this to be a negative on CMON, Marvel Zombies any of these things. Shipping is completely crazy right now. And with parts of China being closed for chunks of time, including ports, because of COVID cases, it is going to get worse. And even though it might not make that much sense, anything that is getting worked on now or soon, you have to start to think about holiday shipping as well.

Basically, even massive companies that can ship a ton at once, Marvel Zombies had 29,000 backers and more will late pledge, shipping is still expensive. There is no volume discount. Then you think about smaller companies out there for shipping. What does something like Grimlord Games do with Village Attacks. Now, they messed up for another reason, they took too long and producing it. But what is a solution for them since they did?

Possible Solutions

Wait on Shipping

So, one option is for a company just to wait. I dislike this solution a lot. Backers rightfully do expect you to try and get the game out in a given time frame. Now, smart backers understand that the time frame is probably 6 months to a year longer than expected. And maybe even slightly over that right now. But as I said, I don’t think shipping is going to improve. It might stabilize or improve slightly, but not majorly. So waiting means that either it’ll cost you more, or it’ll ship for the same cost they are seeing now.

Eat The Cost

Next up the company could just eat the cost. There are massive problems with this one as well. The main thing is that some companies cannot eat the cost of $100,000 or more in additional shipping charges. So, let’s look at Grimlord Games. They are not printing right now because of costs, but like I said, the costs probably won’t go down. And they are a small operation that is not the designers fulltime gig, so they can’t eat the costs without going under. Shipping to 50% of the people and saying tough luck to the other 50% and shutting your doors is a horrible option.

Raise More Money

I have seen this option out there. Another one that I don’t love because it doesn’t incentivize the backers to join in. Setting up a GoFundMe might be what you need to do, though. And I think for a company that can offset some of the costs, but having that little bit extra to help, this is a solid option. Especially if you have good will in the community. A company that is always open and transparent, plus has delivered on time with products people like, you can probably get people to chip in.

On the flip side, I do think that Grimlord Games is going to have issues if they want people to support for more shipping via a GoFundMe sort of things. I might toss in a few bucks to help offset new shipping costs. But their inability to do regular updates on their projects, plus then the massive delays on their projects, they don’t have the good will. And to be fair, this is on them, not the community having undue expectations. Delays are fine, but then you need to communicate, so what other options are there.

Ask For People To Buy Directly From You

Let me explain what I mean here. When I backed Roll Player Adventures as a late pledge and had backed Cartographers Heroes, Thunderworks Games reached out to say that shipping was more expensive than expected. But they could eat the costs, things would be shipped no matter what. However, they asked that if people wanted to help offset the cost, they order something directly from their webstore. Why, because that is product that had already shipped more cheaply and selling it at MSRP would give them some influx of cash for shipping the new stuff.

So I got a few things from them, not much, but some to help support them. Now, this only works for some companies. Some companies do not have webstores. That means that even if their stuff is at retail, they are seeing less of the money on an MSRP sale. Because whole sale to the retailer is already the price they get, a sale doesn’t do anything more for them. This can be a solution for some companies to help offset but not all of them will it work.

Offer Merchandise

So, then, you could do what Boardcubator did, which is offer merchandise, hoodies, t-shirts, things like that. And I do think that this is a clever enough solution, but not one without it’s flaws. The main flaw for me is that I don’t do too many branded t-shirts. And when I do, it is fairly specific. I have a Marvel one and Dragonball Z. And having Boardcubator branded gear didn’t interest me, nor did it look that great.

But I do think this is a decent solution. And using some of the more print on demand sorts of services for shirts or things like that could work. But, and I think this is important, offer more than just apparel items. Like I said, I don’t generally want a branded t-shirt or hoodie. And depending on the person’s figure, a print on demand t-shirt might not fit well. For me, I generally should wear a t-shirt that is a tall.

So offer other things. There was no Boardcubator coffee cup, but had their been one, I might have ordered that. Do I need more coffee cups, no, but it’s something I don’t need less of, so I might have backed it. Instead, they only offered apparel, so I passed. But merchandise is a solid idea.

Offer A Bonus

Finally, and this is my top option, offer a bonus item. Two examples of this, El Dorado Games is printing a pack of cards. Why, because for their games, like Legends Academy, shipping is about $240,000 more than expected. That is insane. So they are offering a pack of 10-20 cards of promos for their games. $20 for a pack of cards, or so, but you get something extra for a game you are getting, albeit two cards, and you can help offset the shipping. Similar to that, Nemesis Games, who did Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor, asked their backers to help the same way. I supported them by picking up their bonus pack of cards for $20.

Now is this a good way because cards are more cost? Well, yes, it is good, in my opinion. Firstly, you are giving the backers the option to get something more. This is an add-on basically but done outside of a pledge manager in the came of Nemesis Games. So printing cards is cheap, doesn’t add much cost for them. Air shipping 2000, let’s say, packs of 20 cards is also cheap. And then distributing those cards after the fact via post is cheap. So of those $20, most went to help offset shipping.

Final Thoughts on Crowdfunding Shipping

Like I keep saying, shipping is not going to get better. It might ebb a little and stabilize or spike once in a while depending on the time of the year. But pre-pandemic shipping prices are not reasonable. And I worry when I see shipping numbers that seem too low.

I see more and more games of Kickstarter and Crowdfunding that will give a very general ballpark for shipping. Or it will be stated as, shipping right now is $X, but it is presented not as a price for what my shipping cost will be. That is going to be determined later in the pledge manager when closer to the date for shipping. Chronicles of Drunagor did this. Edgeguard is doing this. And I believe all crowdfunding campaigns for the next year should do this.

Does that suck for me as a backer? Yes. I want to know what I need to set aside for shipping right now. However, I prefer that you give me that ballpark for what the shipping is right now. Then, not locking yourself into the price, calculate a more specific shipping at the time you open the pledge manager. I want to get my product, and I don’t want to wait or even lose my money, because shipping went too high and you can’t print without going under. I want more board game companies and more small ones. But setting your shipping can be the thing that puts a company under if they aren’t careful.

What is a creative solution you’ve seen, if you’ve seen any I haven’t mentioned?

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I wrote last week about how it can be dangerous when Late Pledging is an option. But today I wanted to look at the time element of Kickstarter. Today though, I’m going to look at different things, because some of them do overlap, and I might still overlap, but I want to know if Kickstarters are really worth that wait.

How Long Is the Wait?

This is the age old Kickstarter and crowdfunding question, how long will you have to wait. They all try to give an estimate, but is it accurate? Generally, that answer is no. Most crowdfunded board games and projects in general deliver late. Why, because it’s hard to estimate.

When you look at a Kickstarter, you see a game that you want to get. And that’s great, and you want to get it sooner rather than later., also great. But what we don’t always see is where the game is at. Kickstarter and crowdfunding in general are to help get a game made. That means that no production is done. Fairly often it means that art assets are partially done. The game itself could still be going through development.

Each of these steps the companies are guessing at how long it’ll take. If it’s someone like CMON or Thunderwork, they have a decent idea. But even for them, a delay at the factory could shift the timeline by weeks or longer. And newer publishers, they generally underestimate.

What Should The Expectation Be?

Generally, I expect a Kickstarter to be 6 months late. That’s not a short amount of time, I understand. But for me, that way I don’t sweat it when it is well behind. Now, some games I’ve backed on crowdfunding have been much later than that. Some, also, surprise me when they show up on time.

For me, the expectation that they are late also comes with the expectation of updates. Some companies do a lot of updates. Others don’t post nearly enough of them. Right now I haven’t heard anything from Grimlord Games on Village Attacks in months. Last update was in April, actually. Is it annoying, yes. I fully expect delays. Plus, I know Grimlord Games isn’t the best at giving updates, but it is too long.

I also am not highly concerned. Why, because they have a proven track record. They delivered Village Attacks before. They just dropped an update for their other game as well. I knew going in they were bad at giving updates. Is this really acceptable from them, no, but shocking, no.

So Are Kickstarters Worth the Wait?

Simply put, sometimes. I like the shiny games that are up on there and for a few reasons it can be. A lot of them tie into the late pledging article. The game is exclusive to Kickstarter, well if you want it you might want to back it. The game comes with lots of Kickstarter extras.

But even then, is it worth the wait. I can go out right now and buy 100 games from my FLGS (friendly local game stores) and play them tomorrow. Do I need to get a game on Kickstarter with so many out there?

Like I said, it depends on the game. For some games me backing it means that the game can be made. So yes, I want to help in that process. Even in the case of Grimlord Games and Village Attacks, without backers the game wouldn’t get made. They are not a big company. So they need people to back it so they can make the game. For that reason I am fine being patient with them.

Other games, like Marvel United: X-Men, it might not come to retail. Plus, I get 50-70 extra minis because I backed the game. So my amount of content is much higher than someone who didn’t back the game. This could be FOMO (fear of missing out) but also means I have a lot of variety. My knock on the base game of Marvel United was that it didn’t feel that different. Marvel United: X-Men provides a lot more heroes and villains.

Is It Always Worth It Thought?

Most definitely not, because there are so many great games out there. Like I said, I could go to my FLGS and get 100 games today to play if I wanted. In fact, I will be swinging past one today in order to get my store credit and then use that store credit to pick up HEXplore It. So I can even find games that won’t come to retail but are used.

The question to ask is, do I want this Kickstarter game when it becomes available? If the answer is yes, back it. Let’s go with Marvel United X-Men. All in for that was $300, the base game for it was $40+ shipping, I think. Right now the regular, all in, Marvel United pledge on on eBay is about $300+ shipping. That’s about what the X-Men version will cost, but on Kickstarter the original games all in was only $220. So the secondary market sells at 1.5x higher.

So, you can always get a Kickstarter later, but it might cost more. This isn’t even the most extreme example. I went to look for Spire’s End on eBay when Spire’s End: Hildegard was up on Kickstarter. That was a $50 game that was selling for $150+. If you want a game enough, you can get it later. Just know that depending on the game, it might cost a whole lot more.

Do You Wait on Kickstarters?

Let me know if you back games on Kickstarter? Clearly I do a lot of written coverage on Kickstarters with my Back or Brick articles. I back Kickstarters somewhat often. Are they always worth the wait for me? Most of the time they are, but sometimes, such as Divineus, I drop my pledge because I don’t need the game slightly sooner than I can get it at retail.

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In Village Attacks, the villagers are knocking down the doors to the castle and you, and the group of monsters you’re playing with are just trying to have a nice evening. The villagers have torches and pitchforks and it’s just going to be headache if they get into the heart of the castle. You roll dice to get your actions selected and you’re trying to take out enough villagers and survive the waves of attacks. As you kill those pesky villagers and complete scenario objectives you can get closer to winning the game, but it also powers you up so you can handle the stronger hero villagers who are going to be coming after you. If you can complete the objective of the scenario, you win the game.

Village Attacks is a fun cooperative game because it’s a tower defense game, but it turns it on it’s head. You aren’t these heroic characters fending off tons and tons of monsters, you are the bad guys who are fighting off the villagers who you’ve been terrorizing who are now terrorizing you. While it doesn’t really make much difference in the long run, it is fun to see themes that are twisted and changed up from the normal version of the game. If you were playing the villagers defending against Dracula and his thralls and Renfields, that would make a pretty normal game, but instead you get to be the monster. That isn’t enough to make it a good game on it’s own though.

What helps the game out a ton to start getting it to that good range is that you play scenarios. If it were just a pure tower defense style game it would get predictable, but the scenarios are going to change the game up. In the GenCon scenario from 2019, for example, you are trying to get a bunch of totems into position. So you’re fetching stuff around your castle and bringing them back to a room and placing them in certain spots. While you are doing that, the villagers are pouring into your castle and they are doing two things. They are attacking the heart of the tower, basically the mystical energy that keeps the monsters coming back, so if that hits 0, you lose the game. They are also trying to get into the crypt and destroy the place where you are reborn and if enough of them get there, you lose the game. So not only is it about killing the villagers, who were coming into the castle in three different areas, you’re also worried about keeping them away from the heart and unable to attack and keeping them away from another location. And that’s just one scenario. Some of them might be as easy as defend the heart of the castle, but most are going to have more, and that’s going to change up how you play the game. And while playing a cooperative game that’s challenging and doesn’t have scenarios is fun, Pandemic for example, I think that having the scenarios takes it up a notch.

The other thing is that your monsters level up as you go. I like this because each monster starts out with a unique ability, but then you can add in more as you go and leveling up goes fast. In a scenario, you might not level up fully, but you’re going to feel like you’re getting a lot of upgrades to your character, especially as there are more and more villagers who show up that you need to take care of. And each character has their own unique upgrades. So if you’re playing one with a bone whip versus on who is an archer, your upgrades are going to be different for your character and it’ll allow you tailor how you want to play that character. I like being able to tailor a character to play my way, and it isn’t just a single upgrade path for a hero, though it isn’t as branching as it could be.

As for the mechanics of the game, there is a bunch to track in the game, but for the most part it’s roll dice, select the dice you want to use, deal with the villagers, more villagers show up, and repeat the process. The game play is actually pretty simple with a few things that feel like will take a bit to remember. Mainly how the villagers attack, some of them are going prefer a certain monster as a target but if they are closer to the heart of the castle, they are going to attack that, and just keeping that in order can be tricky. The game designers knew that though and there’s a cheat for that and other things, such as turn order on the back. I like big games where it ends up actually not being that complex and Village Attacks (plus a million expansions) is one that has that feel.

I do want to wrap up a little bit about the theme. This is a dark game, you’re killing “innocent” villagers and the artwork can be monstrous or disturbing, for the characters you’re playing. The game doesn’t pull any punches and suggest that you’re the good guys or misunderstood monsters, you are the bad guys who are still being bad. This theme might be a bit dark for some people, but I think with how the game plays, it doesn’t feel like that. And when I’ve played it, people play it more as the misunderstood monsters or that it’s silly. I think of The Fearless Vampire Killers or a movie like that where the vampire is bad, but the whole thing is kind of absurd.

Overall, I liked this game a lot. Unfortunately it’s hard to get a hold of. Fortunately, at the end of last year, they ran a kickstarter which was success so I can get a copy of the base game. I believe that the pledge manager is opening up soon for that, so it might be possible to late pledge at that point. If you want to play a good tower defense/dungeon defense style of game that’s more than something like Castle Panic and has a unique theme, Village Attacks is amazing for that. The game length can be a bit long and seems to scale longer with a higher player count, but higher player is what some of the people running the demo recommend. And if you get the game, don’t let the bits and pieces intimidate you, the game isn’t that hard when you get into it.

Overall Grade: B+
Gamer Grade: A
Casual Grade: C

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