Pros

• The aesthetic
• Abstract/simple to teach game
• Toy factor
• Solo Mode on Kickstarter

Cons

• Abstract game
• Triangle Box
• Funding Level
• Price

The Page

Breaking Games is another one of those Kickstarter companies that has previous projects. I don’t throw in it as a pro anymore, because a lot of the games I talk about are the ones that already have an established base and knowledge of Kickstarters.

But they do a good job on the page. However, there are a few things that stood out to me on the page. Firstly, the funding level is really high. I don’t doubt with something that has electronics like Kroma does that it costs a fair amount to make. And in particular, it costs a lot to make only a few of it. So the higher funding level means that they can keep the price down.

With that said, the price is not cheap. Shipping is actually really good but $79 for the game and the two added things from the Kickstarter are a solo mode, I like, and a triangle box, I don’t like. This is an abstract game that if you get a copy of it you’re probably in for about $85. I’m not sure that the toy factor and uniqueness of the game is going to make up for that.

But in terms of the information, they do a good job of laying it out. I don’t have to search hard to find the information that I want on the game. They have a playthrough and a number of previews for it. So you can get a good idea if you like the game or not.

The Game

The game itself has some really cool things going on in it. It is a pretty simple game, though. You draw a tile from a bag and you put it onto the board. But you can stack the tiles up two levels so that these translucent tiles have light shining through them. So if you stack blue and red you get purple or red and yellow you get orange. And each player has their own combination color that they are trying to create the largest area of.

That is how the game works, but the game takes it up a level because of that light and the translucent tiles. It really makes it something more interesting and unique to do with creating colors. However, is that enough for this game? I honestly don’t have that much more to say about the game than the solo mode looks interesting. It seems to be challenged based as you draw things out of the bag and are trying to create the certain shapes, I’m assuming. So that is fun that they added it.

Back or Brick

I’m cutting to the chase, this is a Brick for me, and I want to play the game. So how does that work. It’s an $85+ abstract game, and that is just too steep. I’d pay $40 + shipping for this game so that is almost half of what it is going to cost to get the game. However, the concept of the game is really cool. This is a game that would be perfect to put on a demo table in a game store at a mall. People would see it and stop. You’d be able to sell it for $50+ if people could get their hands on it.

I hope that this game funds. I don’t think that people who back it will be disappointed that they got it. For me, the price is just a little bit too steep. But I suspect that Breaking Games needs to Kickstart it first so that they can create the initial product to get it into those game stores and do the business this game can do. I also think that this would be a good gift for someone who likes those lighter abstract games, but just not for me.

How about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?

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First off, though, let’s define what a stretch goal is. A stretch goal is a funding goal to get additional content or improvements added to a game. For example, in Marvel United, there are stretch goals to unlock additional characters for the game. Or there are some where it’s less game play focused or additional game play focused and it’ll be something like linen finish for the cards or a Game Trayz insert for the game. So something that is going to make the game feel more special or complete. Another example would be Tainted Grail, they did two expansions that were for added into the Kickstarter pledge but if it goes to retail, you’d have to buy them separately. Basically, they are to add extras into the game, sometimes for the Kickstarter backers only and sometimes for everyone. What is cool about stretch goals is what it can bring the community of board gamers into help something be fully realized. The downside is of course FOMO, that you might be missing out on a bit for the game because it wasn’t unlocked, or because something is exclusive to Kickstarter.

That is one of the toughest things about Kickstarter, the FOMO, not just from stretch goals. If you’re not familiar with the term, FOMO stands for “Fear of Missing Out”. Basically, it’s the idea that you need to do and get everything in order that you don’t miss out on something great. When it’s doing things, it can be a bit paralyzing, because you don’t know which thing is going to be the best or how you’re going to do everything. With buying a Kickstarter, it’s less paralyzing, because it’s money not your time, which isn’t a great thing. There are two ways that Kickstarters can create FOMO for users.

The first is what I mentioned above, Kickstarter exclusive things. Now, going back to Marvel United, a lot of the Marvel characters are going to be Kickstarter exclusive, it isn’t the main characters, but if you wanted Beta-Ray Bill or Spider-Ham, you need to get them through the Kickstarter. So while the game will likely be hitting retail, and I expect it to be pushed big in retail, you’re going to have a more limited number of things that you can get, and to track down those characters later could be spendy. So do you risk missing out on those exclusives? That’s how they get your FOMO going with Kickstarter exclusives.

The other way is technically not a Kickstarter exclusive, but it is pretty similar because it could just be that the game itself is exclusive or not hitting retail for sure. For example, Tainted Grail might not hit retail, and probably the expansions won’t even if the base game does. So do you risk it not hitting retail and having to find it on the secondary market, possibly costing a lot? And some games will only ever be on Kickstarter because they are too large and expensive to stock in stores, or because it is such a small indie project that the person doesn’t have connections to get it into stores. Those I think are easier, but the ones where it might go to retail, how do you handle that? Do you wait and hope that everything makes it to retail or that it isn’t a lesser retail version or do you still go in on the Kickstarter. Add in the fact that deservedly so Kickstarter backers who are making the project happen most of the time get their games first, do you want to wait the extra two months to a year to get the game in retail?

So, is there a good way to avoid FOMO with Kickstarter? I don’t really think that there is. At least nothing that you can do without treating FOMO as a whole. Kickstarter and sales in a brick and mortar store are all built around making you feel like you have to decide now and fast and that you’re going to miss out if you don’t decide fast. I can go into, maybe, in a future article about FOMO and how you can cope with FOMO, but Kickstarter is built to cause FOMO and without just avoiding Kickstarter, I think that FOMO is going to just be a part of it for a lot of people. So, if I were to have a few tips and tricks for helping deal with it with Kickstarter, I can think of a couple.

A lot of Kickstarters allow you to back for $1. You aren’t going to get a game just backing for $1, but it can give you access to the pledge manager quite often. In the pledge manager you basically can always get the same deals as you did on the Kickstarter. What that does is it allows you to consider it for a small amount of money. Get a regular coffee instead of a fancy coffee and you can do 2-3 $1 pledges. This allows you to feel not as rushed about making the decision. The Kickstarter will run for a month, fairly often, then it might be a month setting up the pledge manager and the pledge manager will stay open for another month. In that month between the Kickstarter campaign and the pledge manager, did you think about the game, if you don’t, you’ve just spent $1.

Similar to this, Kickstarter has a final 48 hour notification. That means that they send out an e-mail and notify you when a campaign is ending. I use this all the time. If I think something looks interesting, I save it, I get notified, and generally, if I haven’t backed it before then, I ignore it, because the FOMO wasn’t that strong. But it could be a good reminder or maybe I got some money for spending on games so I might consider it again at that point.

In both of the cases, it’s about seeing how much you actually think about it. In the games that I’ve been interested in and been all in on, I generally look at it, consider it and sleep on it, but if I’m still thinking about it the next day, I know if I’m going to back it, so I do right away. Otherwise, it’s probably isn’t one that I’d back. These can techniques buy you the time to decide that you might not feel like you have otherwise with a Kickstarter, and hopefully can help your budget and your FOMO.

Do you have FOMO with any games? Has it come back to bite you ever?

Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!

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(All games are Kickstarter games in images)