Tasty Minstrel Games was started in early 2009 with initial releases (Homesteaders and Terra Prime) coming out in January 2010. Despite many problems to overcome, TMG quickly grew in popularity.
This blog is meant to make some of TMG's business practices open source.
So, it has not yet been a full 4 days that Ground Floor has been on Kickstarter, and the funding continues to come in at a very healthy pace:
Day 1 - 175 Backers = $10,811 Day 2 - 44 Backers = $2,780 Day 3 - 53 Backers = $3,343 Day 4 - 20 Backers = $1,720 (Thus far @ 1:48 PM PST)
That makes for a total of 292 Backers @ $18,654... This is VERY good for a TMG game on Kickstarter. To compare here is the Kings of Air and Steam numbers:
Day 1 - 100 Backers = $5,497 Day 2 - 23 Backers = $1,381 Day 3 - 32 Backers = $1,586 Day 4 - 21 Backers = $1,161 Total after 4 days of 176 Backers and $9,625 of support
And For the Win:
Day 1 - 558 Backers = $5,643 Day 2 - 185 Backers = $2,374 Day 3 - 25 Backers = $765 Day 4 - 18 Backers = $432 Total after 4 days of 786 Backers and $9,214 of support
Now for an analysis on why I have more support right now at this point in time of the project... The list as I see it:
* Growth of TMG's brand and presence * Growth of Kickstarter as a platform * Pre-project preparation for fans * Better project presentation
In the moment that you launch a Kickstarter project, you will have no control over how well Kickstarter is doing as a platform. So we'll ignore looking at that. Additionally, in the moment, there is little that can be done about the exposure and presence associated with your game publishing brand. So we'll ignore that too.
Now, to concentrate on areas that we can exert significant control over. The pre-project launch preparation and presentation.
Admittedly, with Ground Floor, I was scrambling to get much of this laid out. Thankfully due to my previous Kickstarting experience, additional supporting labor, and preparation, the scrambling was not incredibly bad.
Pre-Project Preparation For Fans
This was a fairly simple and straight forward process which brought great results. I invited people to get special notifications about the Ground Floor Kickstarter project. Then I gave them the following:
* Rulebook and PnP files 2 weeks prior to project launch. This allowed for choices about the game to be made in advance of launch, and queued up some reviews/session reports.
* Preview of Kickstarter project 4 days prior to launch and an opportunity to provide feedback. This allowed me to provide a special personal message (that go a little long winded... Sorry) and find out more about what fans wanted. This led to some changes to the project. Some minor, and some major!
In the process of making a purchasing decision, in my experience, most people will not buy something on the initial exposure to it. At least when there are significant quantities of alternatives (like with board games). A knowledge about the product MUST come before a decision to buy.
This process allowed multiple opportunities to become more knowledgable about what Ground Floor is, which allowed for my support on launch day.
Better Project Presentation
This comes down to an overall better execution on the project page on Kickstarter. Including:
* Video - The intro to grad attention leading into the splash page is critical. Watch the intro for the Kings of Air and Steam video, and then imagine how many people were lost in that 30 second intro... * Rewards - Fewer rewards which are clear, concise, and intuitive. Providing too many decision suppresses response (think of it as real life AP). Unlike with board gaming AP, people just don't pledge and leave. The only decision is, do I want this? After that it is, "Do I want to get my friends in on it to save us all money?" * Headings - Thematic image headings keep the project pages from looking like a wall of text, which for many people (myself included) leads to not reading it. * Story - Everybody loves a good story * Rules video - For those that want it. * Rulebook & PnP files - Shows confidence in a game, and allows this interested in learning more to do so. It also allows an easy platform for people to spread the game and gather more backers. * Testimonials - Reviews & Session reports...
Much of this stuff above was actually added to the project after we went live. Mainly the headings. I could have delayed, except that I had already announced Tuesday as the launch day.
Then again, there is always an opportunity to delay, so set a date, announce it, and then stick to it (because you announced it).
I hope that was helpful, and I just thought I would share.
The question I am answering is "How do I be successful on Kickstarter from scratch?" The basic answer is, that you don't. You first need to build an audience, and I explain how I would go about doing that from scratch again.
Since June 26th, 2010, when Alien Frontiers successfully funded on Kickstarter for $14,885, Kickstarter was officially open for the business of crowd funding board game projects.
On November 23rd, 2010, Eminent Domain funded for the then astronomical $48,738.
These two dates were key to the explosion of new projects on Kickstarter. Currently, there are 2 projects that are live, that might take the crown for the largest board game funding ever:
*D-Day Dice (Kickstarter Link) - Currently at 348 Backers and $37,903. Started Oct 30th, 2011 *Kings of Air and Steam (Kickstarter Link) - Currently at 134 backers and $7,464. Started Oct 31st, 2011.
While Kings of Air and Steam has had a tremendous start, it is eclipsed but the incredible beginning of D-Day Dice. I think by the end, these will be the new #1 and #2 projects, but who will be on top?
Still, there have been a number of very successful funding campaigns:
* Alien Frontiers: Factions (current leader) - $76,078 - Which made great use of an existing audience, building on an existing popular game, and overfunding goals.
* Glory to Rome - $73,102 - which made great use of an existing and very popular game.
* Flash Point: Fire Rescue - $51,398 - Which built on top of previous Kickstarter success for the publisher, and overfunding goals.
* Creatures - $49,358 - And still running.
* Eminent Domain - $48,378
* Eaten By Zombies! - $47,874 - Which made great use of some 3rd party video reviews.
* Sunrise City - $36,891 - Which made great use of overfunding goals and an existing audience.
* Carnival - $34,436 - Which made great use of overfunding goals and an existing audience.
* Dice Age - $34,134 - Which made great use of it's unique nature and existing fans.
* Startup Fever - $30,287 - Which made great use of some great news posts. Most notably for me being the mention on TechCrunch that came shortly after the project launched.
Some Grow Weary...
Given this string of success, many are becoming worried that Kickstarter will be flooded with projects for bad games that will receive funding regardless. Certainly, this is a hot place to find funding right now, and consumers are likely to be more choosy, but the Kickstarter user growth probably overshadows this effect.
There have also been some questionable projects to go up, like for Kingdom Builder. However, the overwhelming voice of BGG users dealt with that one...
As I have said before, there will always be room for proven creators to receive substantial funding for new projects.
In this blog post, I go over some important considerations regarding dice game design from a publisher's perspective. More extensively in the realm of a design aimed at the mass market, but also for a design aimed at alpha gamers.
Finally, we are at the end of the STARFOX anatomy of a hit series. We are now summing it up with the X-Factor.
If you have a unique game which has the X-Factor, then you know it. However, it is hard to build a game specifically to have the x-factor and have it work properly.
For example, Dominion has the X-Factor. It brought along a new and insanely popular game mechanic.
Another example, Twilight Imperium (third edition) also has the X-Factor, since it is a game with an insanely epic space empire scope.
Our final example, Magic: The Gathering has the X-Factor. With the mental competition, collectibility, and customization!
X-Factor Comes From Different Places
I think I named this the X-Factor, because it is so elusive, more so then obsession. How to make it happen is unclear. Certainly a new and popular game mechanic like Dominion, a new type of game like Magic, and a completely immersive game like TI3 result in the X-Factor.
Then again, if somebody really figure this out (I suspect that Fantasy Flight Games has) then the bar will be raise to a whole new level for what will bring X-Factor in a game.
In this second to last post in the series, "Anatomy of a Hit", lets go into obsession. The goal here is to make at least a small subset of gamers obsessed with your game.
I would like to change the style around for this post, and I will say the following:
"I do not know how to get people obsessed about a game."
I would like to hear your opinions as to how to accomplish this, so please don't be shy!
