Kickstarter Tips for Role Playing Games

Tips last updated Tue Oct 22 14:22 PDT 2019
Top 10 RPG Kickstarters by amount funded last updated Fri Apr 10 11:33 PDT 2020 .
I also track Top 10 RPG Kickstarters by number of backers.

2020-02-18 Kickstarter United has been certified by the NLRB. Labor negotiations with Kickstarter are underway. If you are interested in supporting the Kickstarter United labor organizers a good twitter account to follow is ksr_united. They have requested people continue to use Kickstarter while labor negotations are ongoing. I recommend following their lead, because coordinating action is important in collective bargaining.

Keeping an eye on these Active Kickstarters ( last updated Mon Jun 1 14:09 PDT 2020 (UTC -7) )

Kickstarter offers a list of all ongoing RPG-related kickstarters although some RPG campaigns do not tag themselves as an RPG. (You have to ask Kickstarter support to tag you as an RPG, there's no way to set it from the interface.)

If you know of other good articles on Kickstarter for table top Role Playing Games (RPGs) I'd like to hear about them at cdr AT telemancy.com.

Worried about fulfillment?

• BackerKit is especially good if you have a lot of add-ons.
• BackerKit Launch to help projects leverage their communities to get to a fast start 2019-09-24
• IPR offers Kickstarter fulfillment and warehousing.
• FundAFull used by Feng Shui 2 campaign.
• Topataco's Make That Thing Comics Beat on TopatoCo Kickstarter Fulfillment, Wired: 'Make That Thing' Helps Crowdfunded Projects Fulfill Promises.
• After the Crowd
• Pledge Manager
• Kickstarter Fulfillment from A to Z resource list

RPG Kickstarter Tips

• Kickstarter School has their recommendations for best practices
• RPG Kickstarters Tumblr
• How to Get Featured on Kickstarter has a lot of useful tips regardless of whether you get featured. Michael C Stewart tweeted "We like good ideas (new/original/clever) from good creators (communicative/present/engaged) well presented (nice pics/vids/gifs). But don't build it for us—do it for your backer community."
• Kickstarter Stats updated daily
• News Sites Interested in tabletop RPG Kickstarters by David Sokolowski.
• Kickstarter Bulletpoints by Fred Hicks
• Kickstarter Links by Fred Hicks on pinterest
• Running a Kickstarter is like running a business on G+ by Fred Hicks
• Successful Kickstarter Campaigns | Visual Storytelling a summary of principles learned about Kickstarter
• 15 Steps for a Successful Kickstarter Project | GMSarli Games
• Advent of the Insurgent Creative Day 2: Kickstarter - “what is far more valuable than the money is the community that you've created at the end of your funding period.”
• The Kickstarter RPG Marketplace | Sandy's Soapbox #173 | RPGnet
• How to Succeed or Fail on Kickstarter | Purple Pawn
• Kickstarter: Managing Expectations and Evaluating Goals by Joe McDaldno re Perfect vs. Monsterhearts
• 150 RPG Crowdfunding Projects analyzed at Geek Industrial Complex. Part 2 Part 3
• Steven Long's Reflections of a First Time Kickstarter
• How to Deliver Digital Rewards, some tips by Ryan Macklin. (Hint: Don't email large files as attachments.)
• More crowdfunding tips by Ryan Macklin
• Printing Cards for Durance by Bully Pulpit
• Notes on Fate Core Kickstarter
• Greyhawk Grognard: Kickstarter Thoughts on various perils
• Why International Shipping Doesn't Work for a Kickstarter
• Patreon vs. Kickstarter, some insights on crowdfunding by Epidiah Ravichol
• List of RPG Editors by Amanda Valentine.
• Costs of Publishing RPGs by Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Productions 2014
• How to Budget Game Projects Well by Jeff Tidball 2016-04-08 includes a Sample Game Budget Spreadsheet
• 2016 Luke Crane Interview by David Wolinksy on Game Kickstarters is very interesting - "games stand alongside art, they stand alongside sport, they stand alongside all of these other things that make us human and give us society."
• How to Make a Good Impression on the Press by Kickstarter
• Ed Healy of gamerati.net posted 2019-02-13 that "Ads for #Kickstarter that follow these rules see 40% more clicks that those that don't: * One image/person - No scenes * Less than 11 words * Include the @kickstarter logo * Based on serving 2 billion+ banners"
• Tabletop RPG Marketing Q&A by DC and 4 marketing professionals 2019-03-06
• 7 Questions I Get Asked About Kickstarter by the lead designer at Sandy Pug Games, who has run 5 successful campaigns. 2019-10-08

General Kickstarter Tips

These aren't about RPGs but have very interesting information anyway:

• Kickstarter Tumblr
• Kickstarter Creator Handbook to help you get started with your project
• How to Make a Great Project Image, from Design Team at Kickstarter
• Understanding Your Kickstarter Legal Liabilities
• Kickstarter and Taxes: A guide for your accountant Also keep in mind some states tax inventory.
• Guide to Kickstarter and Taxes: Everything is Income - get tax advice if you're running a Kickstarter as an individual and not a business
• Crowdfunding and Taxes "If you're in a state that collects sales tax, it's vitally important to ask every backer where they live."
• How to Make an Awesome Kickstarter Video (and upload 640x480px resolution, so Kickstarter doesn't shrink it, losing quality)
• The Wrong Question to Ask Yourself Before Crowdfunding by Seth Godin, whose Permission Marketing I strongly recommend reading
• How to Think About Kickstarter Rewards
• Doubleclicks Kickstarter advice and lessons is must reading, with bonus advice from Kevin Cole on how to kickstarter if you haven't spent 5-10 years becoming an overnight success. 2014-10-20
• "Crowdfund because you have a great idea for a thing and you want that thing to be in the world and the only thing standing between you and that thing is money." -- Kevin Cole
• How Harry Connolly Planned His Fiction Kickstarter goal: $10k raised $50k
• Harry Connolly on Running a Successful Kickstarter Campaign (on Charlie Stross' blog)
• How to Not Fail at Kickstarter in 12 Easy Steps is about videogames but much is also applicable to other Kickstarters.
• Teelaunch prints and ships crowdfunded project's t-shirt rewards
• Kickstarter has a preview link to share project with friends and collaboraters before launch
• Kickstarter tips from a fan of crowd-funding
• Kickstarter projects that reach 30% of funding succeed more than 90% of the time April 28, 2011
• Kickstarter Trends in Pricing and Duration Sep 21, 2010
• How to Increase Your Video Viewership: Keep it short, frontload, be specific and personal
• Kickstartup - Successful fundraising with Kickstarter and the (re)making of Art Space Tokyo - Craig Mod
• Olga Nunes' Kickstarter advice
• Kickstarted: How one company is revolutionizing product development tips: Tell a passionate story, Keep it simple, Get the word out, Expect failure but prepare for success (Communication, Execution) - “We found a good company -- Shipwire -- that does order fulfillment, so that worked out really well.”
• 2011 Kickstarter stats
• Lessons for Kickstarter creators from the worst project I ever funded by Matt Haughey.
• 10 Project Tips from Ted Rall of Comix Journalism
• Ze Frank Kickstarter postmortem - “I have noticed a tendency to give updates related to trying to get more money - ‘We are almost there, help me raise another X amount.’ I don't think this is a good strategy. You are speaking to people that have already supported you, and if you want them to promote you further I think you owe it to them to come up with new interesting and fun things to share instead of just asking them to restate your cause. I would think foremost about giving back, and then about creating new, shareable media.”
• Dan Abrams Guide to Kickstarter Success
• Tim Schafer's Top 5 Pitch Tips for Kickstarter Success (from Double Fine Adventure)
• Kickstarter stats analysis by appsblogger
• What I Learned From My Kickstarter Campaign by Kelly Thompson on her novel The Girl Who Would be King.
• USPS Media Mail Rules
• Chrome Extension Dashboard for Kickstarter Management
• Kickstarter advice for the UK, including notes on VAT.
• Kickstarter Campaign vs. Kickstarter Reality, a cautionary tale of budgeting and shipping costs. Don't forget packing materials.
• Kickstarter Tips at LA Makerspace 2013
• Where Kickstarter Backers Come From - "successful campaigns are run by those publishers who manage to build a fan base before they start their campaign. .... you must start your marketing well before you ever hit that launch button."
• Elaine Lee: 10 Tips to Survive Kickstarting Your Book
• Shipping, or the fastest way to go bankrupt on Kickstarter on the perils of add-ons pushing you over shipping weight price breakpoints.
• Kickstarter Stats updated daily
• Unboxed: The Board Game Blog: So You Want to do a Kickstarter
• Stonemaier Games Kickstarter Lessons
• 8 Unique Elements of Recent Crowdfunding Projects by Stonemaier Games 2015-02-06
• Comprehensive Guide to Kickstarter Shipping Worldwide for Boardgames printed in China, but may be useful to others
• Kickstarter: Gauging Your Novel's Chances by Matt Forbeck has a list of top-funded novels as of May 2013.
• Ten Secrets to Running a Successful Kickstarter for Games
• Think Before You Add Stretch Goals
• Demystifying the $1 Kickstarter Pledge
• James Mathe on why he prefers Kickstarter to IndieGoGo
• Custom Wall Scrolls recommended by Golden Sky Stories kickstarter
• Making Announcements: Pitfalls and Products - useful tips and warnings by Adam Jury
• Kickstarter Phrasing and Successful Funding by Georgia Tech study.
• When is the Best Time to Launch a Kickstarter for Board Games, but may apply to RPGs too
• Manufacturing a Kickstarter Card Game
• Six Creators on What Makes a Good Project Page
• You Get What You Give: How a Potato Salad Can Teach You To Run a Good Donation Drive "Every donation drive is about how you make the donator feel."
• 7 Kickstarter Questions with James Ernest
• 10 Tips on How to Email an Illustrator by Kelley McMorris
• Parcel Shipping Tips (with links to Tips on LTL Freight and Full Containers
• Greg Pak's Kickstarter Primer is written for comics and books but is very relevant to RPGs too.
• Kickstarter math is Wierd by Marian Call has very good advice on budget estimating - "Crowdfunding is not a magical wishing well, it's a community."
• Do You Really Have To Charge 5x Your Manufacturing Cost? is about boardgames, but relevant if you want to sell through distribution after Kickstarter.
• Kickstarter Reading List has some interesting suggestions in the comments, especially from Stonemaier Games.
• Every resource we used to launch a $75k Kickstarter campaign has a good recommended reading list.
• Creating a graphic novel budget for Kickstarter by Hope Nicholson in 2018 has some Canada-specific shipping info but is also of general interest.
• Free course on how to run crowdfunding campaigns by Ethan Mollick, a professor who studies crowdfunding. 2019-01-02
• How Tobias Buckell Used Kickstarter to Reboot a Book Series from 2012 discusses three things that make for a Kickstarter success.
• Lesson #20 Percent Funding for First 2 days, Middle, and Final 3 days of a Campaign by Dan Letiman about boardgames. 2017-08-07
• The Uses of Kickstarter by Seth Godin, marketing guru 2019-11-21

Useful Books on Crowdfunding

I also recommend these books for anyone interested in crowdfunding:

• Influence, Science and Practice 5th ed, by Robert Cialdini. How people influence others, and defenses. Highly recommended to anyone who has ever agreed to something and then wondered why they did.
• Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, by Clay Shirky. Incredibly interesting.
• Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, by Clay Shirky.
• Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, by Seth Godin. Purple Cow and Tribes and his blog are also of interest.
• The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help, by Amanda Palmer (November 11, 2014).
  • "good crowdfunding is not about relying on the kindness of strangers; it's about relying on the kindness of your crowd. there's a difference." -- Amanda Palmer, 2014-06-29
  • "crowdfunding doesn't make magical new fans or new family appear. it's an organizational tool to harness the help that is already out there." -- @AmandaPalmer 2014-08-03

Other useful advice on Kickstarter

CrowdFunding Dojo has some excellent advice:
Avoid talking about donations. They're backing you, unlike a donation people are getting (hopefully awesome) stuff.
Second, NEVER talk in the third person on the campaign page ("Katie is...") People back people. ALWAYS First or second person.
Third, Backers are making your dream come true. They need to empathise with you. Share WHY this is important to you in DETAIL.
The last image of a Kickstarter video stays up when done. Remind people to share and pledge on it.

Advice from other successful kickstarter creators: When planning your funding goal remember that Kickstarter takes 5%, and Stripe takes 3-5%.

One tricky bit of the Kickstarter interface: you to use the same button you use to make proposals to go ahead and set up/launch an approved project.

For people who haven't done Kickstarter before, here are some useful things to know about the surveys you do at the end to gather information from backers. These are courtesy Steven Long from Hero Games' Book of the Empress Kickstarter:

• You can customize questions by reward level, and have to.
• There's no way no way to re-arrange the questions once you type them in, so get it right the first time or start all over.
• Questions can be single-answer or multiple choice. The latter start with two default choice slots but you can add more.
• the survey comes with a pre-built "what's your name and address?" question that handles international addresses. You can remove it if you want.
• You can only send a survey once per reward tier.
• There's no option to establish a deadline for responses; you have to type one into the text of the question if you want an answer quickly.
• For multiple choice questions with "Yes" or "No" responses, you have to type out the whole word, or the options will be labeled Y or N.

You can only send out a Kickstarter survey to each tier once, so be sure to ask for everything you need. And all questions must be answered (other than the optional bits of address) so make sure you give backers a way to answer "none" or "n/a" for not applicable or what have you.

An interesting thing Zombie Orpheus did for their Hands of Fate kickstarter was direct the backer to a survey on Survey Monkey, which at the end gave the backer a code to enter in at the Kickstarter survey, as the answer to the only question. That gave them much more flexibility in asking what additional rewards people wanted.

If your project expenses are in a different currency than you're fundraising in, think about impacts of exchange rate changes between getting the funds and spending them. For instance, if you're raising Canadian Dollars but paying US Dollars (or vice versa) this can bite you. 10-20% moves can happen within the time frame of a project.

Update 2014-02-10: Kickstarter now permits backers to change their addresses after the initial survey, if you select "Let backers change their address".

Update 2014-10-29: Kickstarter has improved its handling of shipping: https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/weve-made-shipping-rewards-a-lot-more-flexible . You can set shipping costs per-country (or "rest of world") for each tier (although it may get tedious). It still counts the shipping cost vs. the funding goal, unfortunately, but at least now one can charge a different price for US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, without needing 4x as many reward entries.

Update 2015-01-06: Kickstarter is switching from Amazon Payments to Stripe.

Potentially useful places to tell about your RPG Kickstarter other than your own fanbase. (Podcasts, blogs, etc that would like to hear about RPG kickstarters, feel free to email me at cdr AT telemancy.com if you'd like me to add you to this list.

• Purple Pawn's list of Kickstarter tabletop game projects (RPG, board, card)
• RPG Kickstarters Tumblr
• The RPG Informer
• Something Awful TG Crowdfunding Megathread
• RPG.net Crowdfunding Spotlight for RPGs and Related Projects
• Kickstarter RPG Projects - 2013 at rpggeek.com
• Kickstarter Awesome List for video and tabletop games.
• Backerkit to help with fulfillment (I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has used this) (The Tomorrow Girl: Dresden Codak Volume 1 is using Backerkit.)
• 5 Packing Tips for UPS
• Games on Kickstarter (including video games, boardgames and cardgames) in 2017: $172M pledged ($163M raised); 7033 launched projects (2997 successfully funded projects); 767K backers (726K backers to successful projects), up 29% according to Luke Crane of Kickstarter

Top 10 RPG Kickstarters

Here are the Top 10 RPG Kickstarters I know of. If you know any I missed, please let me know via email or twitter (@carlrigney). This list is by amount pledged, but I also track Top 10 RPG Kickstarters by number of backers.

Kickstarter's Most Funded Tabletop Games includes all kinds of table-top games, not just RPGs, and doesn't show games that pre-date the division of games into Video Games and Table Top Games at Kickstarter.

Honorable Mention

RPG-related projects: