My Success Rate with Kickstarter

I decided to get into a few Kickstarter projects, as reported previously, and so I thought I would give an update on my success with it so far.

Up Front – Funded on January 13, 2013. Estimated delivery was for June 2013. As of December 2013 it has not been delivered and no delivery date is set. Yes, this is the one that so many people said "you'll be sorry!" because the project was headed up by someone who had lawsuits in his rear-view mirror. Because of an error on my part, I got way too much of it. Lots of excuses and lots of time in which no updates were forthcoming. Looks bad. Oh, this is supposed to be a re-print and update to the classic Avalon Hill game Up Front.

Rivet Wars – Funded February 4, 2013. Estimated delivery was for September 2013. As of December 2013 it has not been delivered and delivery is slated for "ample time before Christmas". Hopefully that means 2013... I have a fair amount spent on this too, but not as much as Up Front. If I get it, I think the money will be well worth it.

Sergeants Miniatures Game: Red Devils – Funded February 24, 2013. Estimated delivery was for May 2013. It was delivered November 27, 2013. I bought the minimum on this one as I was still skeptical about the game, having read a fair amount about the previous version, Sergeants Miniatures Games: Day of Days. My skepticism mostly arose from the cost of the painted miniatures, and that you really could not play without buying the those miniatures (because they came with unique cards you need). So if you wanted to play a game with 15 miniatures on a side it was going to set you back. And did I really want to invest in another WW II skirmish game, only this time with 20mm miniatures? (Obviously the answer was "yes"...) I am hoping to provide a review of these rules soon.

Small World 2 (Take 1) – Cancelled by project managers as they felt that it was confusing as to what the project was really about.

Small World 2 (Take 2) – Funded on April 10, 2013. Estimated delivery was for October 2013. Delivered September 12, 2013. Game is much better than before, so was definitely worth the $8.

By Fire and Sword – Funded on May 20, 2013. Estimated delivery was for June 2013. Honestly, I cannot remember when this arrived, but as I only ordered the rulebook I was not held up by waiting for the sculptors to finish their task. This company was really good about providing updates and has sent a stream of PDFs, army list additions, etc. about that product and others they offer. Unfortunately, Eastern Renaissance went to the back burner sometime ago, despite having Polish and Cossack armies painted (but requiring rebasing). Someday... There have been some funny errors though, like the "Regimental Rooster Sheet".

So, all in all my big, high expectation purchases were utter flops, with regards to delivery times (or even if they will deliver). By the time I got up to June 2013 three projects were supposed to have delivered and none did. At the time I could see that  three of them were in trouble with their schedules. I decided that I had enough, at least until something delivered.

There has been some interesting conversations about how Kickstarter (and P500 projects) are "killing" retail hobby stores. That may be – although I think it is just one more nail in the coffin rather than the single most important reason – but I honestly cannot see any of the hobby shops in my area, and probably any that I have frequented in the past (that still remain), speculating on buying into Kickstarter or P500 for me. They all want to: a) wait until it goes retail and actually ships; and b) wait to see if it will sell. They have enough SKUs on the shelf as it is.

Added to that they want to sell it for full retail, when the companies are essentially offering a discount to invest in their project early. So who do you support, the manufacturers of the content, or the ones that sell it locally? So many gaming companies are using Kickstarter or P500 to gauge interest. If you wait and play it safe, like the retailers, the game may never come. Tough decision, especially as another local hobby store has just failed.

Ah well, we can't save them all.

I hope to get a review of Sergeants Miniatures Game: Red Devils out soon, along with some news regarding what I have been doing with my time. It is not really gaming, but it is gaming related.