What's important to you when looking at a board game on Kickstarter?

Done, though your rankings are odd (Make them Go Away, Not Important, Doesn't Matter .. wouldn't not important and doesn't matter be the same thing?)

A similar survey was done recently and the results were quite telling. I'll see if I can find it, but it was a few months ago so I'm not sure I will.

Not the one I was thinking of initially, but I do remember that one as well.

What will turn me off RIGHT-AWAY, like 1 second and it's over: the KS GOAL!!!

If it's over $30,000 dollars - I'm saying the creator is a flipping idiot!

We all know that some KS are wildly successful - but the problem is the 0 Backed, 1 Created designers that set a goal like $45,000 (as an example). There is no way anyone will back such a project.

Like I said people back in the MILLIONS sometimes... But there is no way those $30k+ KS campaigns ever get any traction!

NUMBER 1: asking TOO MUCH money from the start = bad idea!

This too^!

Of course it is achievable.

Depends on the game, presentation, components, existing following, advertisement etc. etc.

Then IMHO you need to re-assess your project.

Just on figures alone, this is a very HIGH objective. And it will turn away a lot of people. And I'm talking about the BASIC FUNDING GOAL. Not stretch goals that can go into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the goal you set to be successful AT THE MINIMUM.

In my opinion if you are setting your GOAL that high... Your projections are incorrect or you have something that's blocking you.

Let me make some assumptions:

• This is your FIRST created KS.
• You've backed at least some OTHER KS in the past.

The odds are you'll probably get 200 backers or less. So let's assume your game's reward is $50 USD. That means your goal = $10,000 USD. See how simple the math is???

Now IF you are basing everything because you MUST order 1,000 units of your game... That's where the problem lies. You won't get 1,000 backers. At least basing myself on the odds of a FIRST KS.

Using the amount of units, your goal = $50,000 USD. And here is the problem... Your projections are incorrect. You're basing it on 1,000 units that you need to have made.

Another problem, minimum manufacturing cost. Say your retail is $50 USD and you used a 5x multiplier. This means your game costs $10 USD to make. Make the computation of $10 USD x 1,000 units = $10,000 USD!!! So to cover yourself the total price to MAKE the game is $10k. This is realistic and feasible. Because we just computed 200 backers = $10k in KS backing.

Maybe you give FREE shipping or you charge extra. Your decision.

Getting back to the GOAL: if your game costs $20 USD to make. That means to cover the game, it would cost $20k... Also still REASONABLE... It's UNDER the $30k mark. And realize that $20 USD to MAKE is HIGH. It means you need to retail your game for 5x or $100 USD...

I think ALL games should be LESS that $100 USD to buy... Otherwise my guess is that nobody will buy the game because the Reward price is TOO HIGH.

I've shown you HOW a KS can be no more than $30k... Even that is BORDERLINE. maybe $20k-25k is more reasonable. Giving you CONCRETE figures, my guess is that the game's goal should be $20k maximum.

Don't say that nobody warned you...

Why is it done like this???

Well assume you make $29,750 in money and your goal was $30,000 USD. You'd lose all that you gained, just because you didn't make your goal.

Now it $10k is your base minimum, if you get LESS money, you're in a HOLE and in the RED... So at that level, you WANT KS to say: "Not Funded!" But ABOVE the $10k GOAL, you're golden...

That's a little bit about how to KS the right way.

And just in case you think this is pure BS, read Jamey Stegmeir's thoughts on KS goals... You'll see they're not far from what I have been explaining to you:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-7-the-funding-goal/

And he has funded games into the over $1M dollars!

Oh and BTW I would charge EXTRA for shipping... Just because this is your FIRST KS and you don't want to get screwed by shipping costs - which are a rather substantial chunk of money...

Don't worry, you can always try again, with a more reasonable goal!

I'm just telling you, as per your survey, IF I see anything over $25,000 USD - there is no way I'm going to back it...!

I don't care what the game has, it could have miniatures made of solid gold. And I'm sure there are others like me... that feel the same.

Cheers and best of luck with your game!

Frank,

I certainly admire your commitment, but as you've already noted through your own analysis, it's difficult to fund on KS. Less than 40% of TableTop games succeed, and a very small percentage of those that do succeed, do so in a significant fashion. As someone who has helped others, including a company for which I'm now a designer, I strongly urge you to strip away as much chrome as possible...don't change the game, just the shiny bits, to bring your funding goal down to a more reasonable level. No one will wish you ill on this site, but many will be surprised if a first time creator meets such an audacious goal.

Cheers,
Joe

Don't you find it ODD that the "Master" of KS, Jamey Stegmeir AND I QUOTE:

Now, does this mean you should set your funding goal at $39k? Definitely not. A goal that high will ward away some backers. So this is where you need to start considering how much you’re personally willing to invest, and you can hope that you’ll be able to sell some of the mass-market versions of the game.

We may be in a minority - but it's EASY for us to recognize inexperienced KS campaigns. Anything over $30k is out for me. Unless you are Jamey... He went JUST A LITTLE over $30k (to be exact $33k) for Scythe.

And he made millions. So if a guy that's made MILLIONS on KS says a GOAL of $39k is TOO HIGH - I would heed his advice. I'm not making up this goal stigma. It's real...

And why many games with $5k goal don't succeed - is pretty basic: unknowns. Like I said first time KS-ers should expect about 200 backers. And that may have gone down since I have seen SUCCESSFUL games at LESS than 200 backers.

So I'm not making it up. Maybe you don't agree with me... That's your choice. But I'm telling you, a certain percentage of people look at the funding goal and say: "Hmmm..."

But you are entitled to your own opinion.

It's rough trying to convince people that you're legitimate enough for them to part with their money. Even with the credits I have in both the video and analog game industries, I am hesitant to create a Kickstarter because I need to approach it KNOWING I'm going to successfully fund, which means having ALL my ducks in a row...and I don't think most people that launch campaigns realize that.

To be honest, I'd shorten it to like 10 seconds. If you're launching a KS about funding a movie, by all means, talk about the story. But people buy games because of the gameplay, with the story being secondary...even tertiary. The only time I'd back a project based mainly on story is if it's something I know is already successful (i.e. based on a successful book or IP). Very rarely will I fund on a story...and that story has to be so unique that I've never seen anything like it.

By responding to your thread, you've demonstrated that you care about the project over its advertisement. I can tell you care, and that means a lot.