Ugh. Thanks for the heads up.
Wow. I decided about 6 months ago that I’m done with Kickstarter for good. I pledged to pledge no more. Good reminder that was a good decision.
Yeah. I’ve had a range of OK-ish to regret level Kickstarter boardgames with very few that really pleased me much once they came in. Then I had two colossal failures that as far as I can tell will never deliver and feel like serious mismanagement of funds/ misrepresentation of facts to what should be criminal levels. I’m not completely out, but I am much more selective nowadays.
I only do kickstarters from established game makers. I have never tried one from a first timer and will always research the people/companies/publishers to make sure they are legit.
I’ve had good success with kickstarter…I pledge and forget and a game suddenly shows up at my door, it’s like xmas.
I did screw up with Nemesis. I picked the wrong shipping option so my purchase of only the main game is coming with the 2nd wave stuff as I messed that up.
And, D day dice 2 is taking an annoying amount of time getting done but overall I’ve been happy with KS.
I got nailed by Myth 2.0 that looks like it will fail to deliver anything besides printed material and the two base expansion boxes. The creator just pushed out printed items and did a bunch of hand waiving about selling the IP before washing his hands of the whole thing. The believers still think all is dandy and the new owners will make good someday, but there is a whole lot of quiet and no action almost a year after the supposed final sale. If anything I expect a disappointing reboot that will leave backers behind.
I also got nailed by Super Dungeon Explore Legends. These guys are thieves. Their game was rather clunky. It was then fixed up rather well with the help of a hamstrung outside developer (Malifaux) brought in and fans testing and providing feedback. The game was considerably better. But Soda Pop Miniatures had burned through all their cash doing other Kickstarters (that failed too to ranging degrees), overhead, and paying licensing fees to themselves among other shady crap. Right now I have great rules, but no product. They are broke and seem to only exist to troll backers and fluff up intentions to attorney generals.
Both of these were large, well known commercial products that have retail presence and have had as much for years. I’ve been a fan and played SDE since it was first released under the then unknown Cool Mini or Not that just had a website for showing off mini paint jobs. Soda Pop did have questionable connections to the Robotech Tactics that failed.
Besides those huge disappointments, I have run through my list of backed and delivered games. Some are good to okay. However looking at all that I spent, I never got near the fun return for investment. I kind of miss the good old days when just base games existed and I could guiltlessly buy them without risking filling my house with untested expansions.
I’ve leaned that Kickstarter pretty much exists to push FOMO and as long as they get paid, they don’t care what happens in projects. It is a much safer bet to wait on reviews and product then pay eBay tax.
Sorry you got burned, man :(
I’ve been burned twice, but on smaller projects. For my part, I figure that the kind of things I am most interested in tend to have second printings that are more widely available at more reasonable prices. So the price I pay is more in patience than in lost consumer surplus via ebay. Still, waiting, as we all well know, sucks.
I swore off video game Kickstarters a long time ago after a short string of failures and just plain galling treatment, but I thought board game Kickstarters were in better shape, although I have not backed any and do not plan to. In fact, I should probably just stop buying board games altogether, as I just don’t have the shelf space for any more!
They are. Most boardgame Kickstarters are already at final stages of design if not fully complete and are funding production, not development. They are far more likely to fulfill than videogame projects and are generally as promised or very close to it. And while that doesn’t mean they are automatically a safe bet, it tends to be relatively easy to identify projects that aren’t a great idea to back. Finally, because of the economics of physical production, you may find Kickstarter games cheaper at online retail than for backers, but it will never be as much or as fast as post-launch videogames get discounted, if you can find it at retail at all.
So last weekend I picked up the big box full expansion for Robinson Crusoe, Mystery Tales. Before I felt comfortable with starting my campaign in search of the Lost City of Z (not a spoiler), I wanted to go back to the base game and make sure I had a complete understanding of the rules. Which of course involved then playing a couple of games. :)
Man. I cannot express adequately how much my opinion of Crusoe has changed since Portal took over publishing/distribution from Z-Man. I originally owned a Z-Man copy of the game, found the rules frustratingly complex and confusingly vague at equal turns, and gave up on it. Sold my copy at a used game auction for store credit at my FLGS.
The theme, though, greatly appealed to me, and even in that first copy, I could see theme everywhere as integral to the game. I really wanted to like this game…but in this irreconcilable relatioship, it wasn’t me. It was the game.
Anyway, I saw that Portal picked the game up when Z-Man’s distro deal expired. I noticed they reworked the game box and other stuff. On the BGG forums, people talked about the overhaul of the rules manual, and that it made much more sense. Having a “Watch it played” official rules video didn’t hurt. It remains a game that has some frustratingly complex elements. No getting around that.
And so I bought that 2nd edition, and it clicked. Played through all the scenarios solo, and had a blast. Even finally won 1 or 2 games.
Going back to refresh on the rules after not playing for a while has been great! I love how even when losing games, I typically lose so hilariously and spectacularly that even losing is a great deal of fun. And in the two games I played solitaire this week, I did indeed lose in amazing ways. :)
And so I’m now into the rules of Mystery Tales, and hope to maybe play the introductory scenario this weekend. It appears to very much be a “legacy” type game expansion, with a heavy RPG element and persistency (perhaps) between scenarios, though I can’t tell that for sure just yet.
Since I saw some positive discussion of Maximum Apocalypse in this thread, probably worth noting that they are Kickstarting a all-in-one Legendary Box storage solution + survivor miniatures. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mikegnade/maximum-apocalypse-legendary-edition-with-miniatur?ref=user_menu
Doesn’t look like there is (currently) new game content on offer but it seems like an easy way to get in on the game for those of us who missed it previously, and with the storage solution I invariably crave for these things as well.
$129 for the game and storage for what’s essentially a card game with a few tokens? Too rich for my blood, alas.
Also, adding minis adds storage space requirements. I used to be really interested in getting minis, but now I find the game has to justify it for me to make space for the bigger box (Gloomhaven is worth the space, for instance). Extravagant boardgame collections and SE of England room sizes don’t mix. :(
Yeah, I could really do without the minis. But that $129 is for the game, a similarly priced expansion (possibly standalone? not sure), two smaller addons and previous Kickstarter promos, which you’d pay more for separately, at least at MSRP. Not just a single game. :)
Anybody has any experience with Space Infantry?
The reprint Kickstarter is up and this looks like a lot of content. I’m tempted.
Its a decent solo board game, I was not a fan of the chits though in the first edition. I was wondering the status of the new edition, and the dice make this tempting…
Looks like Hostage Negotiator is getting a campaign addon, via KS. How are previous entries in the franchise?
I am too much a sucker for Kickstarter. I watched the “watch it played” video on Hostage Negotiator, and that was enough to get me to back campaigns.
Also, I started blogging (again), but on solitaire games. https://playsolitairegames.wordpress.com/
Playing through Arkham Horror 3E now, but am really looking forward to trying out NATO Air Commander once I finish.
Anyone have thoughts on whether the Mage Knight Ultimate edition is worth it, or a good starting point, for a solo player? I’ve played Mage Knight twice solo on Vassal and had a pretty good time with it. It’s a bit of a pricey jump in to the game, but I believe most recommend the Lost Legion expansion for solo, and that brings it almost up to the price of the Ultimate edition.
If you enjoyed it I would definitely would get the ultimate edition. I have the original game plus lost Legion but still picked up the ultimate edition and sold the originals. It’s a game you can play off and on for years, might as well get everything at once.
Yeah, definitely worth it. Sadly, as someone who already owns everything but Shades of Tezla, not so much for me.
It’s a fun little solo game. The theme is neat and there’s a variety of bad guys to go against.