KS vs GFM

Nobody but YOU needs to know what the money is for. Having to say X = this, Y = that is rather "RIDICULOUS" IMHO.

Kickstarter is simple: You set your minimum goal so that you can print 500 games. Included with that might be the cost of artwork and other fees that you might include.

Generally speaking you don't want to be held accountable for EVERY PENNY you earn. And it's pretty much an OPTION to say X = 25%, Y = 30%, etc. Some people claim to say what the money is being used for - how accurate this is - nobody knows because financial accountability does NOT exist on Kickstarter. Delivery accountability exists to make sure you deliver on your promise...

But having to divulge how much everything costs - is YOUR business not anyone else's (IMHO).

Don't worry if you KS, you will be doing the same math... Just that you don't need to full disclosure over each dollar earned.

KS is very much a business and in business your figures remain confidential unless your work for the IRS. Then you have accountability.

Also KS-ing as a BUSINESS instead of a PERSON also has a big factor too. As a business you pay taxes when the game is delivered to backers (liability). As a person you pay taxes in the year you got them (direct income).

Who cares?! My Publisher is KS-ing the game and even has contacts for direct distribution WITHOUT having to go through distributors. Some retailers are so big, the off-set their Brick & Mortar sales with ON-LINE sales too. If you can sell 100 games for 50% off MSRP and have no middleman - that's pretty impressive...

I don't think it's 80%. If it would be - Kickstarter would have closed its doors a long time ago. Accountability in Kickstarter exists - it's not just a fairy tale... To be real honest - I can't even say 20%... If this was such a problem, Kickstarter would have revised their policies to correct the situation.

As this has NOT happened - my guess is that there is a MINORITY of CrowdFunders that have fallen into debt. I would dare to venture that it's probably around 2%. Something larger would make KS rather questionable as a platform for funding projects...

I "think" I understand your idea: it's like venture capitalism. You basically do "Rounds" of funding, whenever you need money. To be honest my first game I invested money and lost a fair amount of a nest-egg. My second game cost me HALF to produce (and it still has not been Kickstarted). It takes REAL MONEY to drive these Board Game "ventures"... Don't kid yourself.

You can do the math: my second game has cost me about $10k to make (to date)... Before hitting up a Publisher ... and they are investing MORE money in it too!

My guess is that you need to have money if you want to "venture" into the Board Game Design "world". So while you struggle to have the finances, I struggle to make certain I make them back! LOL As I like to say: "It's an EXPENSIVE hobby..."

Cheers!

Not at all true. There are many games that have gone through KS that then went on to be picked up by a publisher and/or publishers themselves KS'ing games.

Where on earth are you getting this from? Not even remotely true in any way. There have been a few cases like this, but it's nowhere near that high (probably closer to 1% really).

Because a platform like GoFundMe is a donations platform. Who is going to donate money to you to do whatever you're doing? In reality, GFM is for people to donate money to others who need it for (X) and who expect nothing in return. Consider it more like a Charity platform.

Kickstarter is a fundraising platform that you offer physical reward to those who back your project, complete with some level of accountability to actually do so. Kickstarter has an audience of people looking to back games.

I'm not going to say don't try GoFundMe, but I really don't think it will do what you want it to do. Looks like you need to do more homework on the subject.

This is exactly why KS is the best option.
Because it protects consumers and they feel more secure about pledging.

I`m much more likely to throw my money in if I know that there won't be a situation where money is spent, but the game won't be completed. (Granted, it still happens on KS due to poor budgeting, but those cases are relatively rare).

In addition, it's almost completely pointless to spend those small amounts during the campaign as manufacturer will require at least 50% of the entire print run cost from you before they start which will likely be close to your funding goal anyway.

Friendly advise: don't go into self-publishing if you don't have disposable income. It won't end well.