Top 5 Reasons Your Kickstarter Campaign Will Fail

[@ScytheNoire]

7) TIMING - Releasing your campaign at the same time or just after another huge campaign can overshadow your campaign, especially if there is any audience overlap (example: they are both big boss battler games). I think this one can get overlooked, but if someone just spent $300 on a game, they might not jump on another big campaign right away.

[@BoardGameCo]

That's actually more complicated. Data seems to imply that people come to KS for the big guy, and then shop around.

[@pillinjer]

A great example of good timing is Eleven by Portal games. I normally would be meh on a football management game, but it’s the Euros. Football (soccer) is on TV three times a day and now I’m interested in the game and want to see a gameplay video so I can decide whether to back it (yes it’s coming to KS in September but the pre-KS campaign has been timed brilliantly)

[@TiagoSousa026]

@@BoardGameCo I think I agree with what you both said. When they are the same type it happens what ScytheNoire said, it will be a lot of comparison and the majority of the people will only choose one. But I also agree with BoardGameCo because the big games bring an audience that is not the usual buyers and they will also take a look at other projects and back them.

[@CremaFR]

@@BoardGameCo so true came into board games because of the Witcher and now I'm looking at plenty of ks !

[@pawnstorminreno]

You are totally right about the game looking good as a good value signal. All of my books need to have top notch covers before they are published. It's about providing a totally great product.

[@BoardGameCo]

Absolutely.

[@sharon2674]

Thank You for the heads Up while I am in the development phase! I will stay in touch to ensure all points are hit. I'm sure I will be reaching out. Haven't been on FB, Twitter, or Instagram with the game idea as yet to build an audience. Really appreciate you and the information.

[@BoardGameCo]

Absolutely :)

[@smoothrivera1928]

Wow, this was really informative. Great breakdown of key elements for a successful campaign. Thanks for this!

[@BoardGameCo]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@sortehuse]

I'm not a board game designer, but at one time at had an idea for a game. I posted about my idea on Board Game Geek and someone startet to say that the idea sounded awesome and gave me feedback. Eventually after a few playtests realized that it was much harder to design a game than I thought and that I didn't have the design skills to move forward, so I had to abandon to project. My point is that it's really not that hard to get people to engage if you tell about the game you are working on and keep updating your progress.

[@michaeljameskeating1348]

With AI art being more accessable, perhaps you should revisit your idea.

[@57thorns]

One way to get attention and buzz is to be active on forums for boardgame creators, you will get valuable feedback while advertising your game. Of course, you will have to help people testing their games as well, giving you valuable experience and good will in the process.

[@BoardGameCo]

Absolutely agreed.

[@jessehupp44]

Ok so I have an idea for a board game it is a mix of work replacement and area control with legacy elements. You play as different families of monsters competing for control over a city. While trying to remain hidden from humanity. The monster factions would have asymmetrical abilities. The game would start pre-industrial and end in modern times over the course of several games. Allowing you to grow your family and build on the various hex tiles your family controls across the city. What do you think?

[@BoardGameCo]

Go for it :)

[@Mr47the]

I'm interested! I like the theme a lot! Legacy sounds cool but it can't be necessary (makes it too hard to get to the table).

[@Mr47the]

Check out the following website, it allows you to make your own board game: www.thegamecrafter.com/ I hope to see your game on kickstarter or thegamecrafter!

[@jessehupp44]

I will take that on board and add a way to pick a time period and do like a single game play though

[@JustAGeekyDad]

Really good information. Thanks for sharing. 👍.

[@BoardGameCo]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@bobsteel1981]

"Don't piss off your backers" is good advice: there have been many campaigns I have skipped on because I saw the creators insulting people in the comments or the FAQ, especially when they start getting political (they're supposed to be selling a game - why would they annoy potentially half of their customer base by being overtly partisan one way or another?). I even cancelled my Frosthaven all-in pledge as Isaac sent out an update insulting current and previous backers who don't agree with him. Personally I also avoid Kickstarter nowadays - I do Gamefound and late pledges. I have become annoyed at Kickstarter as a company, so if a campaign doesn't state it is going to have late pledges available I do tend to pay less attention to it to. I'd also add: make your tiers clear - even if you require a graphic showing what comes in each tier. There have been many campaigns where it has been difficult to tell which addons come in which tier and I've had to write down all the options and check the all-in tier to see if there's anything not included. It doesn't take long, but it's a hassle.

[@andreasgabel]

As a person who backs a lot of games on kickstarter and gamefound I couldn't agree more with everything you mention in your video.

[@BoardGameCo]

:)

[@SteveOw0]

I'm not a game creator, but this looks like really good advice. I hope all the game creators out there pay attention to this and don't make these mistakes.

[@captainspoof101]

I published a game last year on kickstarter. Raised 12k on a goal of 10k, and we did so without a great online community ahead of time. We did a TON of outreach to our personal networks to get folks on board early and it worked pretty well. Were publishing our second game soon, but doing it ourselves without kickstarter for a number of reasons. It was a huge learning experience!

[@BoardGameCo]

Nice!

[@BoxOfFear]

Oh, mystic Monkeys?

[@captainspoof101]

@@BoxOfFear yes indeed! Have you played it?

[@nicholaswarren3898]

Just seen this link thanks to Gabe Barrett from the Board Game design Lab even though I already follow you (doh). Some great simple advise here that I will certainly take forward into my own project. One of the best campaigns I ever backed was Etherfields, every day I was engaged and excited for the project and tried to help figure out the community puzzles (very bad by the way). After working on my own game for a year I have worked out a viable price (tick) I'm in the very early stages of already trying to build my own community (half a tick) and working on a cool graphic style for the game (tick - yet to be justified) so I feel at least I am on the right track!

[@dungeonworld2893]

I think the last point @22:00, was specifically because at that time, several, even poorly created KS pages, first timers were getting funded. it was a golden peak of KS games, and practically anything was funded for a few years. Similarly positioned KS projects are not hitting those same goals. people have games now, the 'really interested in new games' crowd has come and backed and now have 10+ games on their shelves, the newer backers are the trickle ins, still new, still apprehensive and the higher income brackets with disposable income to just buy 100+ games. I've seen more than a few major campaigns that would have hit 2mil in the 18's and 19's struggle to fund in 24 hours, and barely scrape past 800k.

[@piotrjasik2835]

Really informative video, thanks! At some point I'd love to kickstart my boardgame, but that's probably not happening anytime soon :P Btw, the conclusion you reached at the end (back many campaigns to make good campaigns) made me think that we can expect one from you soon :D

[@BoardGameCo]

Lol, not for me anytime soon. Maybe way down the road, but right now I have way too many things I'm already trying to do.

[@Axel_Vrarimor]

I think that a really big error is promising something and then changing it up or not delivering, that is one of the things that I've seen people really getting angry over

[@BoardGameCo]

That's fair

[@legacysallure]

Hey Alex. You may remember playtesting Legacy's Allure a few months ago. We're still headed down the KS route and hoping to launch one in 3-6 months, so this is a very timely post with a lot of fantastic info. I've also been skimming your "KS campaign survey" videos to keep an eye out for other spatially-aware combat card games. Learned about Arackhan Wars through you. Anyway, great job, love the professionalism behind your content, and hope to work with you again one day. Indeed, it would be great to hire you in a few months to get your opinion on whether you think we've checked off all of the boxes in each of these categories.

[@BoardGameCo]

Absolutely remember :) And for clarification, their is no hiring, I don't charge for any content.

[@michaelmitchell2123]

Excellent video

[@BoardGameCo]

Thanks :-)

[@Deabru3]

Great advices! I think those are aplicable to ALL kickstarter campaings, not just for boardgames.

[@BoardGameCo]

Fair :)

[@57thorns]

It is basically startup marketing 101. Doesn't matter if you crowdfound or not.

[@fuzzzy88]

Creative Games first solo project was Towers of Arkanos. Prior to that, they did Masmora.

[@BoardGameCo]

Good call! I think I managed to mess up most of those "first time" creators.

[@successfulgeek]

Every KS creator needs to watch this video!

[@BoardGameCo]

Thanks

[@harmarize]

Im interested to hear your thoughts on Stronghold Games releasing TM: Ares at target before KS backers.

[@BoardGameCo]

I'll talk about it this Saturday.

[@82ndmi]

Happy as I just grabbed my copy on sale ^_^

[@joeferreti9442]

Don't bother. It's not a good game!

[@TiagoSousa026]

@@82ndmi Already in a sale? But it launched today (20th)...

[@82ndmi]

@@TiagoSousa026 I've gotten preorder board games on sale before from target, nothing is excluded from their sales.

[@rickbachCGS]

Amazing reality check for our community!

[@BoardGameCo]

Thanks!

[@PeteQuad]

One recent exception is Legends of Void. I don't think they had any social media presence before launching. They do have great visuals though.

[@BoardGameCo]

Good call, they limped over the finish line but they did it.

[@TylerAndToast]

I hope one day to run a successful kickstarter. Aspiring designer. Just at the prototype stage atm. Great video as always. When would it be better to pitch your idea to a publisher vs launching a campaign?

[@Vadimaster]

Typically you: - posts a top 5 - lists 6 things 😄😁😆😂 Good stuff though 😉

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep ;)

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

Stationfall is an interesting case study here. It was a publisher with an established fanbase who pretty obviously didn't have a good handle on how to run a traditionally successful Kickstarter. (No slight on them, they are very nice people. It just seems like they don't move in that boardgame space enough to understand what the broader audience expected). It succeeded, but I don't wonder if it would have been even more successful if they hadn't underperformed on most of these points... again, no slight on ION! They make great games, they just move in a different subculture of gaming than most Kickstarter companies do and therefore didn't seem to fully comprehend the broader community's expectations.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep, good example. We get a lot of those. Moving into KS for the first time.

[@Drakkkan]

very nice insights Sir.

[@BoardGameCo]

Thanks :)

[@charlesz5443]

Genuinely thought from the thumbnail that this was reasons why you won’t finish your campaign play through. Can I get that video? “How to finish those 7 campaign games sitting on your shelf”

[@BoardGameCo]

Lol I'll do that video if I figure it out :)

[@82ndmi]

Oh I thought this was your like campaign game with friends. 1. Marketing - do people know it exists? 2. Price perception - how do you compare vs similar products 3. Theme - think prison architect 4. Production maturity - have to look near 100% 5. Appetite for risk - sure your game needs 10k copies, but if you set your funding at 10k copies you won’t have a campaign. There’s also a dirty secret in the small ks game, lots of people are losing money, and garaging their games.

[@BoardGameCo]

Agreed on the dirty secret.

[@trevorsinnott123]

Not sure if this would cause a Kickstarter to fail or not, but for me as a backer, I want Kickstarter extras, such as deluxe components, extra cards or miniatures. If I don't get that, I might as well wait for retail, as usually games are cheaper in retail. If the game doesn't make it to retail, it most likely wasn't that great anyways. I don't back games to support creators, I back them for what I can get from them.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep, that goes under the general value category.

[@maaaaa51]

I think 3 of these apply to Scarface 1920 so far: 1. Price point? Ridiculous 2. How does the gameplay? No playthroughs to watch so far or no idea how solo works 3. Don't piss your backers off? Every suggestion from a backer is ignored cause THEY know what's good for the game. The number of suggestions I've seen in the comments and they reply with something that makes no sense or they simply avoid them. Looks like I'm gonna need to cancel my pledge.

[@BoxOfFear]

I feel vaguely bad about not supporting Thunderworks projects. I am a huge Cartographers fan, for example. But I never do. Price point counts.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep totally get it

[@57thorns]

While I love bashing Terraforming Mars, calling it "not pretty" is a weird comment. Because you have this beautiful map of Mars, all those "borrowed" images om the cards that individually definitely tick off the pretty box, even if they make a messy impression together. The player aid cards are definitely colourful enough to count as pretty. The cube system for counting resources however is definitely a cost cutting corner that is rather obvious.

[@BoardGameCo]

To each their own of course, but it's notorious as being a game with that has terrible art.

[@ea_gaming]

Rondel deck builder- Viscounts of the West Kingdom. And I agree with your things- art and components are massively important to me. Obviously community is helpful or I won’t hear about the game, but art and components will lose me far before price (though price will do it too, Mythic Battles heh)

[@BoardGameCo]

Oh nice, I should play my copy of it then :)

[@FrasierFanMSU]

I think Great Western Trail qualifies as a rondel deckbuilder.

[@pillinjer]

I was about to suggest this as well.

[@steved7926]

I think many first-timers fall into the trap of over-engineering their game. Then the unit cost of manufacturing each game is high. Then to get unit manufacturing costs below a reasonable price point, they must manufacture a large number. This requires a large number of backers. Soon their funding goal is unrealistically high. Most first-timers would be wise to keep it simple. Start design with manufacturing costs in mind.

[@Mepper.]

You'd better knock Project L off that list... It was Boardcubator's third Kickstarter. :) Although it remains a good example of doing things right since it has no minis, no fancy art, and people paid more in the Kickstarter than retail.

[@BoardGameCo]

Ya....I messed up on that :(

[@iansutton7416]

One not directly listed, but arguably falls very much under advertising, is ensuring that prototypes are sent out to people who will review / preview it. 'The Great Race' had a successful first campaign, and they made huge effort to do both English and French updates (and many of them). The games delivered and appear to have been received very well (taking the BGG rating above 8 with the usual pinch of salt). They even got retail release in France and Belgium. However the numbers bought in the US and UK were tiny (I think the latter may have been single digit!!). Of English language sites, only Meeple University had a (shortened) playthrough. No-one else covered this game. I am certain that explains the lack of backers outside of France/Belgium. The 2nd campaign got pulled part way in, looking like it might *just* scrape its funding target. There is a relaunch in a week or two, and I'm hopeful that in addition to revising the pledge options, they'll also have a number of reviewer videos to encourage attention in the big English speaking market. Ironically, there has been one published recently, but Zee Garcia absolutely trashed it! Whether his points were fair and accurate, I'm not entirely convinced, but it's a reminder that having a variety of views does help. Not just for exposure, but also to help clarify our own hopes and concerns. I'm hoping to see other videos. I doubt it will be a success without them.

[@adamanderson1979]

GWT, rondel deck builder…with other stuff too

[@BoardGameCo]

Oh good call :)

[@DanielEbeck]

Someone’s been reading BGG’s “Worst Kickstarter Ever” thread 😁

[@BoardGameCo]

Firstly, you should absolutely read that thread always :) There is no secondly.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

Lack of Advertising! Especially if you are going to do an Early Bird offer.

[@BoardGameCo]

💯

[@mabos555]

Rondel deck building game? Not sure I'm aware of need to check Maybe viscounts of the west kingdom? It seems to have a Rondel as well

[@joeskis]

I just don't get how every game campaign already has the game components. How do they have the game made already?

[@T3chN1nja]

I am currently in the playtesting/proto type stage of a game I am developing. I am trying my best to get testers and followers but I only have 25 people on discord and a handful of friends and family on Facebook. Any tips on getting more followers and traffic?

[@willyum3108]

I thought #6 was going to be directed at Stronghold/Ares.

[@BoardGameCo]

I mean this was filmed before...but same idea.

[@ntmetroid]

Man that update was a slap in the face.

[@ScytheNoire]

Yikes, they are pulling a CMON. So by waiting for retail you get it at a cheaper price point, but without dual layer boards, cube trays, 17 promo cards, and a fancier box. I wonder what the price difference will be, probably a lot. Opinion of Stronghold keeps going down.

[@ntmetroid]

@@ScytheNoire the biggest issue is the complete lack of communication. They didnt mention anything about their deal with target until the day before it dropped there. It boggles my mind that they would drop it to retail before backers have it in hand - its a huge slap in the face to everyone who backed it

[@CheddahSlammer]

@@ntmetroid They probably got such a good deal from target, that it doesn't matter how many backers they piss off.

[@ginrai2291]

but Viscounts Of The west Kingdom has both a rondel system with deckbuilding LOL. seriously, you do bring up some interesting points,but luckily my own protype of a game is nowhere near the level i want it to be and i always can get some feedback through a local boardgame company in the same city i live.

[@BoardGameCo]

Good thing I have Viscounts, need to play it :)

[@michaelb8111]

I think it says a lot about the industry that "How Does Your Game Play" is #5 on the list!

[@EricWoning]

Loads of stuff here where you talk like a real marketer. I say that as a good thing as I'm an ad strategist. I will go one deeper on 'How does your game play' though. 1) first rule of marketing - cast your audience as wide as possible. Depending on the complexity of your game this goes higher or lower. 2) once you have established your audience due to the complexity of your game and who it should speak to - adjust your minimal 'what should I show' to that: if your rondel-deckbuilder is for casual gamers (unlikely - but example), make sure that the person least likely to understand the mechanics will understand. (in this case: show a couple of rounds of deckbuilding). If you don't art & components will have to sell the game instead of gameplay.

[@EricWoning]

I write this because I just backed out of Cyberpunk Odyssey because it's a very intricate game with loads of different things to do and it's just hard for me to get my head around. I backed it, asked for gameplay videos multiple times.... but never got any. Reviews - yes. Short snippets telling you what you can do - yes.... but seeing how this all works together? No. The harder the game is, the more you have to show how it will work for peolpe to understand.

[@BoardGameCo]

Thanks :)

[@dalerancourt5693]

My 1st backing for a kickstarter Edict, looked interesting but looks like it wont make it, hopefully I can find something similar or even better then this game.

[@BoardGameCo]

Ya, I hope they're able to fund.

[@WalmartRich]

If you have a community on fb, etc, why would you need a kickstarter? Your current following would already support you, no? How much do you charge for consulting?

[@SenseiJae]

Contrary to pretty, there is a danger that a game is so pretty, you ignore how bad the game actually is…

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep...but campaigns tend to do well that way....backers not as much.

[@1970joedub]

You didn’t include the “Kickstarters that successfully fund, yet get cancelled by the creator”, as a category.

[@Vascariz]

These principles still apply. It's simply that it failed their internal funding goal rather than the fake published one.

[@1970joedub]

@@Vascariz I get that. And, I think those Kickstarters should be included and discussed. It’s curious to leave them out.

[@BoardGameCo]

Because this list is about things you should be doing to fund. Your category has nothing to do with that. I've talked about cancelled Kickstarters twice before if you want that.

[@Mambaru]

7. Overly complex / too many pledge levels! :D

[@BoardGameCo]

Good call

[@onlinegametime]

I think you met Can instead of will

[@BoardGameCo]

Not for 1 of them.

[@ag806]

Ye, they way it's written can sound a bit obnoxious. Not sure if Alex has ever made a board game or not but could be said a different way

[@patriziopastore9895]

I will say number 7: do something original... art, game play... Is not super important, we are playing clone Boardgames, but still you will take some point

[@BoardGameCo]

That's definitely not essential though, in fact all too often people back the familiar over the new and innovative.

[@patriziopastore9895]

@@BoardGameCo like videogames... Every year call of duty / FiFA

[@JoeHuddleston]

Good thing I'm so very, very pretty.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep, definitely helps.

[@CheddahSlammer]

I have a couple of problems with some of the points in this vid. Point 3 I find to be wrong, because art is subjective, for example you and a whole bunch of channels were loving the art from merchants of the Dark Cove, yet many comments under the campaign thought the only thing stopping them from doing a full pledge was the art. The other example is Massive Darkness 2, once again many thought the art was bad and different between monster, but you and many youtubers liked the art. Also Fallen Lands: Big Box expansion, many KZbinrs were complaining the art sucked even though it was a reprint, but many people enjoyed that type of art for that game. Point 5. I have seen many games that don't have a rulebook, nor any rules posted on the page, and the still get many people getting their game. Stellaris Infinite Legacy is my best example.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

With art, I think it just has to appeal to enough people. It is subjective definitely and some people don't care a whole lot about art, but those people don't tend to be on Kickstarter...anyway, enough people liked the visuals of those two that they worked out. A lot of people didn't like it, sure, but a lot of people did. The look of the miniatures is what sold me on Massive Darkness 2, but I'm sure they missed out on quite a few pledges for that aesthetic as well.

[@CheddahSlammer]

@@johnathanrhoades7751 Their are tons of art out their that are very popular, and very expensive, one of the them is the famous black circle on white canvas, by Kazimir Malevich. Things like this make me think it doesn't really matter, what the art looks like in a board game. As for Massive Darkness 2. I also liked the look of the miniatures, however the art of those mini's, for me was different from piece to piece, almost like it was draw by separate people. I was completely turned away because of that.

[@paulwastney5134]

Great video.should be repeated. Amusing that you have Arena the contest by you in picture

[@thecaryou]

Could have just said "You don't have minis." See that on almost every campaign even the ones with standees that do fund. Also I don't know why but I always want to disagree with you even though you seem pretty on point. I think it is your tone reminds me of a HS teacher or something but great video.