Design A Board Game Ks1

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"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea."
--Buddha

I've decided to address my history with Kickstarter projects with a series of posts about the different stages I've been through. They're only roughly chronological, and certainly *not* mutually exclusive:
--Investor
--Supporter
--Speculator
--Purchaser
--Discriminator?
Additionally, here's a Geeklist of every game project I've backed.

In my previous post when I talked about being an Investor, I thought of myself as backing the publisher. When I back a Kickstarter project mainly because of the designer, I consider myself a Supporter. It's probably a fine line to draw, since so many times the publisher and designer are one and the same, but it makes a difference in my head.

It's pretty easy to have an idea. I would dare to say that it's not even that hard to have a *good* idea. But it takes something special to act on that idea. It's interesting to me how many gamers I've met who have tinkered with designing their own game. Is there just something about this hobby that makes us all feel, "I could do that"? How far do most of us get? A design, a print & play version we sheepishly force on our friends, maybe even post it here on the Geek? It takes a lot of work and confidence and perseverance to go that extra mile to put it onto Kickstarter. Whether the end product is any good or not, that person still has my respect for putting their dream into action.

A great example here would be Jamey Stegmaier. His passion for the hobby in general, design, publishing, and Kickstarting in particular are a wonder to behold. I have great respect for all that he's done, but I'll talk about his KS projects later.

Board Game: Glory to Rome

Board Game: Mottainai

Board Game: Innovation Deluxe

For me, the better example is Carl Chudyk. I really like his designs, even though I don't get to play them as often as I would like. It doesn't matter to me who publishes them, I want to support Mr. Chudyk. The obvious Kickstarter story revolves around the Black Box Edition of Glory to Rome. I was one of the lucky ones who received my copy in the first wave, so I had no idea about the problems others experienced. (A lot of backers were vocally upset about the project being run badly, which culminated in the project runner losing his house.) The designer was the draw for me, so I barely hesitated to also support Mottainai and Innovation Deluxe.

There have been a number of different games I've backed due to the passion of the designer: Divided Republic, D-Day Dice, and Hands in the Sea are several that come to mind. I suppose it's the type of project that I am the most susceptible to.

Board Game: Agility

Board Game: Biergarten

In fact, two of my more recently backed projects fall into this category. I backed Agility because designer Brent Povis showed passion for the subject and I liked his previous design, Morels. And of course I love the setting of Biergarten, but I also enjoyed the designer's dedication to a modest goal.

Non-Game Projects:
Freakers - The first person I thought of for this post was the eccentric founder of Freakers USA, Zach Crain. His simple, goofy product (sweaters for bottles) was pretty great, but his enthusiasm was over the moon. He was such an oddball that he was almost immediately booted out of his appearance on the Shark Tank. I still use and love the Freakers I bought.

Quinn Popcorn - Another product that has turned into a successful business for its creators. Though nowhere near as flamboyant as Zach, I really appreciated the passion the founders had for their product. And it was pretty darn good popcorn, too!