How to Identify Good Kickstarters
Kickstarter now accounts for a huge percentage of board games released every year. There are currently 80 projects live for goodness sake! With this plethora of options, how do we identify the ones most deserving of our cash? Well, there is no full proof method, but for the last 18 months I’ve been looking through every tabletop project running to produce my lists of top Kickstarters (here’s Septembers for example). Here’s how I look through a Kickstarter page to pick those top games each month!
I’m going to run through a Kickstarter page not in order of importance, but from what you see first when you open up a project. And for the key sections section I’ll use a traffic light system. Reds are big warning signs, though one or two reds need not mean it’s a bad project, first timers are inevitably going to struggle with a couple of these and I don’t want to discourage backing 1st time projects! But the project will need to be hitting greens on some other key areas to make up for them. Ambers are a bare minimum in most categories. If a project got all ambers on this checklist, I’d probably call it a safe project to back, but it’s not going to make my top Kickstarter lists. On the other hand, get a few Greens, especially in gameplay, uniqueness and art, and even if the project falls short on other areas it’ll be in with a good chance for a thumbs up from me!
At the end of the list I’ll talk through my process when looking at whether to pick a project for my top Kickstarter lists.
Hopefully this guide will be as useful to those planning projects as it is to those backing them!
Top Matter
This is everything you can tell from that first view of the page, before you even start scrolling. This is where you should be picking up on your first warning signs that this isn’t going to be a good project. While the art might grab you, most of this is just making you feel comfortable with the project and publisher.
Art
Red – Looks like a child’s scribbling
Amber – Solid, classic, board game art
Green – Drop dead gorgeous!
Kickstarter is a hugely visual medium. Whether you think that’s a good or a bad thing, the quality and distinctiveness of a project’s artwork can either entice me or have me running for the hills. Quality artwork costs money and it’s a sign of a publishers investment in their own project. Those creators doing it on the cheap, while I can certainly sympathise with the costs, have failed to cover this most important part of running a Kickstarter. What else are they going to fall short on?
Video
Red – They didn’t make a video
Green – They made a video
I don’t even bother watching Kickstarter videos anymore (does anyone?) but I sure as hell notice if there isn’t one there!
Backers and Funding
Red – Very few backers, long way from goal after several days
Green – Massively overfunding
I don’t like to say that I judge how good a project is by its success but I feel a lot more suspicious about a project without much interest. Kind of a catch-22 for creators, but the fact is people are much more likely to back an already funded Kickstarter.
Publisher
Red – 1 created, 0 backed
Amber – 2-5 created
Green – 5+ successful projects, many backed projects
This is one of the most serious Nos. If the creator has not backed any projects, they have lost all respect and faith from me. First timers are more of a risk than established companies, but if they have at least taken the time to back a few projects (preferably not just in the last week! You can click on it to check) that at least gives me faith that they’ve been planning things. Don’t look at this in isolation.
If a creator has more than one created project, make sure to check how successful those were. Especially if this is their second project, make sure it’s not just their 1st, failed project re-released a week later. They’ve clearly not learnt anything from the experience. Once a creator has delivered several projects, and they’ll typically make this clear to you at the end of the project description, you can feel safer backing them.
The Core Material
Right, now we are actually on to the real meat of the page! This is the stuff that will really determine whether this is a game you want to back or not.
Uniqueness
Red – It’s a zombies vs Vikings miniatures skirmish game! Now with a Cthulhu expansion!
Amber – Some neat tweaks to some well-known mechanics
Green – Completely new!
This applies to both mechanics and theme. Personally, I’m more intrigued by mechanics, particularly new ones! A unique theme will definitely make me smile and pique my interest, but if it’s not applied to something mechanically interesting, that unique theme is being wasted (in my opinion). Likewise, even another zombie game can get me interested if it manages to do something unique with the genre (like The Walking Dead game from last month). No matter whether it’s theme or mechanics, I’m looking for uniqueness. Theme is obvious from your artwork, but mechanical uniqueness needs careful explanation…
Gameplay Description
Red – Just a 40 minute video
Amber – Long wordy description and a video
Green – A succinct explanation of the game, stressing its unique mechanical features, plus a short gameplay overview video.
I want to know how your game plays. I want to know what makes it unique! I do not like watching videos! Now that’s just my preference, but a creator should recognise that some people prefer videos, some prefer text. In both cases, descriptions should be short and to the point, giving a good overview of the mechanics. Video wise, focus on a 5 minute max overview, then a longer more detailed gameplay vid.
I highlight text in particular because every creator is going to have to write a rulebook, if they can’t write a short, clear summary of their game to sell it to you, how good a job can you seriously expect them to do on the rulebook?
Reviews
Red – No reviews, joke reviews or play test comments
Amber – Has reviews
Green – Rave reviews from key media folk (Rahdo, Edo, Bower, Undead Viking, geekdad… me?)
Reviews are essential for a Kickstarter campaign. But even as a reviewer myself, I don’t put too much stock in the reviews themselves unless they are really espousing the game. Only if they are missing from the page do I really sit up and take notice.
Stage of development (and delivery date)
Red – Oh yeah, I’m just about to start play testing
Amber – Game is fully developed, needs some more art, then we’ll send it to the printers
Green – It’s a pre-order, basically. You’re getting it next month
So, I’m not saying I like Kickstarter being used as a pre-order system by larger companies, but if you are worrying about getting a good product you can at least feel safe under these circumstances. If there is any gameplay material needing development, particularly if the creators add expansion material or solo modes in through stretch goals, you should probably expect delays. Delivering on a Kickstarter is fraught with enough delays without adding on the challenges of game design and play testing to a deadline.
EU Friendly Shipping
Red – EU-who?
Green – EU Friendly shipping logo displayed loud and proud
Members of the EU already tend to pay more for shipping than US backers, the least a project creator can do is help EU backers avoid paying the sometimes brutal customs charges. This typically means setting up (or rather, utilising) a distribution centre inside the EU from which to ship out rewards to individual backers. This one obviously isn’t such an issue for US backers (though we’d appreciate the moral support!)
Personal Taste
At this point, things really come down to personal taste. Not that the above doesn’t to a degree too.
Love/Hate
Some types of game you just love that much more than others. I used to be a big miniatures fan (although I seem to be getting over that as my spending priorities have changed), I love a good euro game, and I hate take-that elements. However, when picking games for my top Kickstarter lists I try and keep these personal preferences out of my decision, the list being intended for everyone to get value from. Only if a game is on the borderline do I let this influence my choices. For everyone reading this, if you really love everything Cthulhu then go for it! There’s nothing wrong with taking a bigger risk for something you love, so long as you do it with your eyes open.
Price (inc. shipping)
I don’t tend to look at price unless it’s weirdly high for the components you are getting. I feel the monetary value of something is too personal a decision for me to be making sweeping judgements on. It entirely depends on your own financial situation. Be careful not to get stung by shipping, especially if you’re not fortunate enough to live in the US.
Kickstarter Exclusives
I don’t particularly care for exclusives either way, having missed out on plenty in my time, but this is a make or break issue for some people.
Stretch Goals
Again, I don’t mind either way, though I do enjoy following a project and seeing things get unlocked. One source of frustration comes when a project fails to complete all their stretch goals, leaving backers feeling like they missed out on content. Especially when pledge levels are priced to cover this additional material.
Bonus Extras
These will earn a few more ticks for your game, but their absence won’t bother me.
Rulebook/Print and Play links
I don’t tend to want to spend time reading the full rulebook and I definitely don’t have time to playtest every project, but these can be really great for interested backers. Seeing that these exist is a good bonus, it shows the game is basically in a playable state. Note that these are essential if there is an insufficient description of the gameplay. Typically, including a link to a rulebook is standard behaviour.
Presence in the Community
If I’ve seen a projects name/pics/publisher bandied about social media or on board game geek, or if I’ve heard an interview with the creator, that will prime me before I see the project page. Of course, that’s not going to happen with every project so it’s just a bonus in my eyes.
Professional website
A good looking, professional website is another sign of a company taking themselves seriously. Although, in this industry, up to date websites isn’t even a thing for major publishers sometimes!
Creator Note: Full Project Descriptions
Kickstarter has recently implemented a condensed page view, with the rest of page hidden below a link. For creators, it is now incredibly important to think about good page design – get your most important info above this “see full page” link, even if that means repeating sections (e.g. put a couple of choice reviews and the exciting gameplay overview at the top of the page, then go into more details later on). I can see many potential backers not bothering to expand the page if they’ve not been sufficiently intrigued by this point.
My Priorities
When I am judging whether I consider a Kickstarter good enough to include on my top Kickstarter lists, I typically prioritise the following elements. Honestly, it’s quite simple.
- Run through the checklist – Are we on mostly greens? Then it’s time to look closer. This can often be achieved with only a quick scan of the page, and rapidly eliminates quite a few projects each month.
- Uniqueness and Gameplay Description – Like I said, I’m a mechanics first kind of guy so the next thing I’m looking at is what makes this game stand out from the crowd. It needs something special to make it on to my list. A theme can carry uniqueness (it still needs interesting sounding gameplay) but that is rarer.
- Art – As much as I hate to admit it, artwork and graphic design do mean a lot to a project. Backers are buying a product after all, and they don’t come cheap. So if a project has great artwork I am more likely to recommend it, though great artwork is also correlated with experienced creators and well put together projects.
By this stage I will typically have made up my mind. But there are always edge cases where a project hasn’t blown me a way but it is a very solid looking game and I might give it a shout out, depending on what other projects are running. When I have a few to decide between, I’ll be looking at:
- Reviews – Quick check to make sure reviewers have had positive things to say. Creators funnily enough don’t put negative reviews on their pages though so really it’s a question of numbers: did a few recognisable faces give the game a thumbs up? Normally if condition 2 has been met the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.
- Publisher – A publisher who has done good work before will most likely do good work again!
- Personal Taste – Is this type of game/theme more exciting to me personally? If nothing else has been able to decide it, I’ll just make the call. It’s my list after all and people are always welcome to add their suggestions in the comments!
Note that I rarely if ever comment on price! I will (and have) recommended mechanically unique games even if their price is much higher than you might consider normal. I trust you all to be able to judge for yourselves what money you want to spend!
Hopefully this has provided some useful advice for how to find good projects that will supply a great, interesting game for you to play in a reasonable time. There is no full-proof way of picking the best Kickstarters and sometimes things just go wrong, either in production or in the game’s development. If you ever feel unsure, or unhappy about risking your money, just don’t back it! There are always more, exciting games coming out.
If you have any tips for how to choose Kickstarter projects, definitely leave a comment below!
The images to illustrate this post are screenshots from the Herbaceous Kickstarter being ran by Eduardo Baraf. It’s a great project that was a top pick this month, so do check it out if you have time.
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