I am ramping up to do the Kickstarter for my card game in May, 2021. The plan is for fulfillment by November, 2021. (I don’t want it interfering with my busy time of year at the day job.)

Plans were in place to do it in 2020, but 2020 threw the world a curveball, and then I had a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Cancer is an attention whore, so all my plans unraveled.

I had that sucker cut out, and so far the first blood test is clear, my next one is in a month, another in June, and the final in September. If they’re all clear, I’m done, no radiation or chemo needed.

My artist is working on the new art. The base deck will be the original public domain art that others have seen at the various conventions I’ve demoed and play tested it.

The rules are down to one US Letter size page.

I printed a test deck last spring, and had the icons way too small. So I’ll be correcting that.

My plan is to have a sample deck ready for those who indicated they’d plug the KS when the time comes. I want you to have time to play it before you plug it.

The public domain art version will be on DriveThruCards [Affiliate Link]. The commissioned art will be Kickstarter backers only – unless a stretch goal is met. (I reserve the right to use the art I purchased full rights to for other projects.)

If you want an email when the KS launches, join the KS announcement only mailing list here: https://followmeanddie.com/sign-up-for-kickstarter-updates/

Help

I put out a request on Twitter and other social media for information on Backerkit or similar service.

Over on Twitter I launched my public quest for an artist for my card game for a Kickstarter launch in the first quarter of 2020. You can listen to the companion podcast episode here.

I then reposted the link to that Twitter thread across my social media. You can read the entire thread below this article.

I find that I prefer interacting on Twitter, mostly because I have a growing following on Twitter that is approaching 900, and I expect to be over 1,000 by the end of April. I curate a positive atmosphere and mute and block nonsense and those who spread it. I prefer to talk about games and fun and be supportive of the fun and efforts of others.

There have been several re-shares on Twitter, but my first response was on MeWe.

I want to give it some time before I narrow down to an artist or artists. A cool idea is to have multiple artists so I can have multiple versions of the deck, with a newer artist for the base funding level, and more well known artists at higher funding levels. This is only at the idea stage, and the realities of time and base funding available pre-Kickstarter.

Target Date

The first quarter of 2020 means that I want to launch sometime between January 1 and March 31, 2020. Since January is the bulk of my busy time at work, I will probably avoid January. It all depends on how well things come together and how well a hopeful new hire is at dealing with the chaos of our busy time of year. One of my colleagues resigned and their last day is this coming Friday. Hopefully we get a new person hired that is a former user, so we only have to teach them the support tech stuff. That’s a wrench I wasn’t anticipating and has thrown off my pacing on some of my blogging, podcasting, and publishing efforts.

Planning & Research

For my first Kickstarter, I am focused on doing all I can to maximize success. I am fully aware that any major misstep or miscalculation on my part will have a major impact on whether I can hope to have future Kickstarters. I have ideas for more things to Kickstart, including more card games, board games, and RPG supplements.

I have backed 69 projects and have learned what I like and don’t like about how a Kickstarter is handled. I want to emulate Kevin Crawford [Affiliate Link] of Stars Without Number [Affiliate Link] and other successful Kickstarters. I want to plan adequately and have the work done ahead of time so that I am merely waiting for the funding to arrive so I can pull the trigger on initiating production, etc. Kevin has graciously shared his checklist and method and the spreadsheet he uses to track art from artists. I plan to put all of that to use.

I have studied the top ten card game Kickstarters as of a year ago to see what pledge levels they used, how many, and which ones yielded the best results. I have sought advice from others who have ran successful Kickstarters, and read all I can find online.

My plan is to have all the work completed that is needed to begin production. I hope that the amount I have set aside to buy art is enough to have the art done and ready to go. The Kickstarter will pay for production, editing of the rules, layout of the rules and the cards to be print ready, and bonuses for the artists. Plus any other costs I identify. Shipping will be a separate charge that is applied once the cards are ready to ship.

Stretch goals will be directly related to fulfilling a production of a card game. If you want T-Shirts, you can get them from my Teespring store. If it isn’t part of the end result of holding a card game in your hand that you can play, then it will not be a stretch goal.

It should be clear that I plan to avoid all the things I know have sunk or greatly delayed Kickstarters full of promise.

If things don’t come together for a first quarter launch, I will only launch in a later quarter if my time line allows for completed production and delivery by November. My busy time at the day job starts in November and runs into and even through February. I don’t want the headache of dealing with work and trying to juggle a Kickstarter. Of course, if I hit a million dollars, I can quit my job and put all my focus on games. I’m not yet sure how much it would have to be for me to quit the day job, but that’s my dream to make my next job more about fun and doing things I love.

Play Testing

Between now and launch of the Kickstarter I will be tweaking the cards for the third iteration of the test deck and play testing as often and as much as possible. My plan is to have this iteration of the deck in my hands before the end of April, by mid-April if possible. I’ll then set up play tests at nearby game stores and take it with me to conventions. Ideally, I’ll have more than one deck and have multiple groups playing on their own without my having to explain it. After I used my new short rules at Gary Con XI, I learned that I have the rules pretty tight, I just need to re-arrange the order of explaining a couple things. Players picked up the game with minimal questions from those rules.

Suggestions

I am always open to suggestions from those who have been there, done that. Anything to help me avoid faux pas is welcome.

To all who have played my card game and made suggestions, I have noted all of them, and applied them where they make sense. My game is the better for it, and I thank you for freely offering those suggestions.

To all who have offered help with things, I will be contacting you soon to discuss the things you offered your assistance.

Some suggested that one of the cards for which I did the art, that it should stay in the game. Others suggested I should have a stretch goal of a Larry Art Version. My concern about that is it might hurt things, but I might consider it. What do you think?

Thanks!

I want to thank all the play testers at all the cons and other locations I’ve played my card game. In some ways, I still can’t believe I made a game that works, AND that people actually like! Also thanks for keeping certain details under wraps to help build suspense.

Many thanks to all those who are interested and shared on social media all my mysterious postings about it.

Local Artist

The picture used in the blog header is from artist Lindsay Poulos from Grand Rapids, whom I interviewed on Episode 86 of my podcast. She is under consideration for doing one version of the art for the card game. You can see her share of the picture on Instagram. Lindsay has experience doing art for board games.

My granddaughter is obsessed with Elsa & Frozen and I commissioned an ink drawing of Nikola with Elsa taking a selfie. Lindsay colored it to give it that last bit of punch. Nikola loves it.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I launched my newest PDF for March, No Really, It’s Me.

This is the first adventure of my monthly PDFs published on DriveThruRPG.

The player characters are doppelgangers who have replaced an adventuring party and must go back to town and convince other adventurers not to return to the dungeon.

Are you looking for a quick scenario idea that you can easily craft to your own style?

Check out my first adventure PDF which is a quick overview of an outline for one of my four hour convention games.

If this does well, I will eventually add all of my existing convention scenarios to my growing list of PDFs.

Twitter Thread Below

I have the entire thread below after the link to the thread on Twitter.

My plan is to Kickstart my card game in 1st QTR of 2019, so I need to work on arranging the art now. I’m interested in artists who are obviously good and experience with card art is a plus. If interested please add a comment with a link to your portfolio, and your rates. 1/n

It is a fantasy theme. I’ll discuss details of number of pieces, payment terms, etc. via Direct Message/email. References for timely delivery is crucial. My plan is to have art and details of production ready so can deliver by Nov. 1st. My preference is for a single artist. 2/n

This is so it all looks like it goes together.

Also needs to be digital so ready to layout the card it goes with. Please ask questions for clarity and cure my ignorance if needed. I want to do this right, since a flop will ruin chances of future Kickstarters. I have ideas for more, so there is a chance of future work. 4/n

You can do original in physical media and scan, whatever your best workflow. NOTE: I set aside part of my annual bonus so payment is available before the Kickstarter. I want to be fair and exposure is a bonus, not payment. 5/n

If you are within a couple hours of Kalamazoo, MI I would like to meet to show the game. Otherwise we can do an online meeting. I work a 9 to 5 job in Eastern time zone, so meetings around that. 6/n

There will be an NDA until the KS is about to launch. You’ll be free to say you’re working on an upcoming KS for my card game, but no details. I think those are the pertinent details. I look forward to having to make a tough choice between multiple artists. 7/n

I shared a couple of days ago that while at Gary Con IX, I woke up with an idea for a card game that could be good enough to Kickstart. On the drive home, I had an idea for another card game that I think is also good enough to Kickstart. The second one is simpler, and thus I think a better option for a first Kickstarter.

I’ve made a checklist and a price list to determine break even points, i.e the minimum amount for a Kickstarter. I don’t have all the numbers, but it shows how little one actually makes unless the thing goes viral. One should do this for the love of creating and playing games, and not count on it for a living.

I’m interested on feedback on this list. I don’t have all the answers for some points, but I want to make sure that I avoid pitfalls. I have a few specific questions at the end under Input.

Preparation Checklist

Independent of the financial considerations, there are a lot of things to keep in mind.

• Design, write, & play test the game.
  • Get input from trusted friends who have lots of ideas about such things.
  • Test what pens/inks/pencils will write on blank cards before making first play test deck.
• Copyright for parts that can be copyrighted.
• Trademark for the name of the game.
• LLC or similar for a company to separate my personal assets from it, just in case.
• NDA to share ideas with others, just in case.
• Custom URL & Website for game.
• Use DriveThru Cards for fulfillment, as they can print on demand and do individual shipping.
  • For the Kickstarter itself, can do a bulk order delivered to my home and I do the shipping, within the U.S.
• Rules – They will need to be polished enough that your play testers understand. You also have to be flexible to revise and change through the course of play testing.
  • Final rules will need to be proofread and edited for a polished presentation free of errors.
• Cards – For POD a PDF of the cards fronts & backs are needed. If you don’t have the skill to make such a PDF, you will either have to learn it or hire it done.
• Video – A video showing what it is with an example of play.
  • High quality video is downgraded if placed in the spot Kickstarter gives you. Some place the video below that, linked from YouTube. They put a graphic in the spot Kickstarter offers for a video.
• Engagement – You will have to engage with backers during the entire run of the Kickstarter and push it on social media. If you don’t work it until the end of the run, it may not fund, or you will miss out on actually making money.
• Delivery timeline. It must be realistic and have padding for unexpected delays. Make sure that you can deliver no later than that date.
• Communicate with backers all the way through final fulfillment.
• People are suspiscious of those who launch a Kickstarter and have never backed any.
  • You should back a few Kickstarters and see how they handle things, so you can see what you liked and didn’t about being on the backer side of things. This will be a good experience so you can avoid customer service pitfalls.
• Don’t run it too close to the end of the year, that you can’t spend money towards fulfillment, this will reduce the amount of taxes. My model with the $1,000 level shows the effects of waiting until the following year to pay expenses.
• Minimize changes from Kickstarter coments.
• Minimize or avoid stretch goals, and only use stretch goals that add value. Such as tuck boxes for card games, or GM screens for TTRPGs.

Cost Checklist

At some point, you will have to spend money, and will need to have very close estimates on costs so that your Kickstarter goal garners enough money to fulfill without finances being an issue. I don’t plan to spend much money on this until I have a play tested game that has the kinks worked out. If it isn’t a fun game and consulting with friends and play testing doesn’t change that, then I know not to sink a lot of time and money into it.

• If you can afford it, pay all the upfront costs before the Kickstarter so that it is ready to fulfill as soon as the funds are released.
  • Work that Kickstarter every day that it runs to get the word out.
  • Leading up to the Kickstarter let people know you are working on something to help build interest before launch.
    • The quicker a Kickstarter hits the funding level for its goal, the more likely it is to go above and beyond and lead to making decent money.
• Make backers pay for shipping separately, so none of it comes out of the Kickstarter. That is a cost that can change unexpectedly and is one of the biggest reasons for failed and late Kickstarters. Second only to those that did not start any work until funding. Always do as much work as possible BEFORE launch.
• $15 for box of 500 blank playing cards from Amazon.
• $15-$20 for a domain name.
  • If you don’t know how to do your own website, you will need to factor in costs and add it to the Kickstarter.
  • If you do this all yourself, keep track of the hours to determine your final hourly rate.
• Assume a bare bones $1,000 Kickstarter & pre-existing art and no other costs.
  • Taxes would be about 28.75%, based on being a self-employed effort, instead of the tax benefits of an LLC or similar.
    • NOTE: Research how much the taxes are for this model.
  • Kickstarter & Stripe fees would be 38.75%
  • Total taxes and fees would be $380.50, leaving $619.50 to cover expenses.
• Low volume & High volume runs. Assume maximum deck size of 120 cards.
  • The only way to decrease cost per card is to shop around for other fulfillment options. Most likely, these will require more effort to handle shipping, etc. So you will need to keep that in mind. How much work do you want to do to complete fulfillment to all backers?
  • Low Volume is less than 5,000 cards at $0.085 each, or $10.20 for a 120 card deck. Plus $1.00 for a plastic deck box. This is $11.20 per deck.
    • 50 decks would cost $560.00. (However, this would be enough cards for high volume printing, is delivered to same address.)
    • The $619.50 left after taxes and fees is further reduced by the $560 for the decks, leaving a net profit of $59.50.
  • High Volume is 5,000 cards or more at $0.06 each, or $7.20 per 120 card deck. Plus $1.00 for a plastic deck box. This is $8.20 per deck.
    • 50 decks would cost $410.00
    • You can only take advantage of this cost if all the decks are shipped to the same location. Add shipping to this location, how much?
    • The $410.00 left after taxes and fees is further reduced by the $560 for the decks, leaving a net profit of $209.50.
    • If shipped to your location, and you do all the hours of work involved, and your hourly rate will soon be negative.
• If you pay $1,000 for art, you will need to plan for more than $2,000 for the goal, or you will be in the red, due to taxes & fees.
  • The only way to avoid paying for art is to use public domain art, or do it yourself.
  • NOTE: How much for art for 50 cards, for example. Most of the rest would have the same image on them?
    • This requires contacting multiple artists, seeing samples of their work, and working out rights to use their are, or purchasing copyright from them.
    • Assume that they will not do the work until you have the money.
• If you pay $1,000 for lawyers, you need to plan for more than $3,000 for the goal. Always remember taxes & fees.
  • Depending on where you live, this rate could be high, or way low.
  • You will want to shop around for the best rate.
  • Do research on what you want the lawyers to do for you and gather all the information in an organized fashion, so that they can just do the part of making the legal jargon valid.
• If you pay $1,000 for editing and layout, then you need to plan for over $4,000 for the goal. Again, there are still taxes & fees.
  • Again, most work will not get done without you having the money.
• There may be other things you discover as you go that will drastically affect your estimates of costs if you find them AFTER you launch the Kickstarter.
  • Contact others who have run Kickstarters similar to the one you have in mind to make sure you didn’t forget anything.
• Keep track of all the hours spent at each step from the initial idea to the fulfillment of the Kickstarter and use that to determine your hourly rate of pay base on how much money is left.
  • As should be evident, it is very difficult to get rich or make a lot of money with Kickstarters if you are honest.
  • Enough people in the realm of game related Kickstarters have been burned, and there are those like +Erik Tenkar, of Tenkar’s Tavern, who will point out the flaws in your Kickstarter and steer people away from you.
    • It should be nearly impossible to run a dishonest game related Kickstarter and run off with the money.
• Backerkit or other site that is used for fulfilling Kickstarters. What is the cost and other requirements for using it?

Input

Did I leave anything out? Do you have experience with game related, and specifically card game Kickstarters? I’m definitely interested in having gaps in my knowledge and experience pointed out.

If you have experience with fulfilling a card game Kickstarter with OBS, or a different vendor, I’d like to hear your take on them.

If you are an artist who has worked on art for card games, or would like to do so, please contact me. I will be contacting some artists to see who is in my price range over the next few weeks. If I can, I’d like to get everything done before

My Plans

For one of my card game ideas, I already have art for the back of the cards. I need to factor in what I paid for that art as part of my profit calculation. I can do simple art or just text for the game mechanics. If I do that, I could make that a version 1, and a second Kickstarter if it takes off for better art. I think a single Kickstarter for the best product and presentation possible is the way to go.

One of my ideas could be expanded to a board game, but I want to keep it simple. I suppose both could be done as board games, but there is less involved with a single deck card game.

I already have 500 blank playing cards that arrived yesterday, and I figured out that sharpie ink dries the fastest to avoid smudges. I built my prototype deck on one game, and am just waiting to play test it with the family. I need 46 to 50 images for cards depending on what we come up with in play testing.

So far, counting this blog article, I have between 5 and 6 hours invested, plus about $20 in materials, and I haven’t yet play tested the game. That puts my mythical $200 in profit down to less than $40/hour. Every additional hour between now and fulfillment further reduces the hourly equivalent, if the game plays as well as I hope, and there is a Kickstarter….. I make about $25 to $28 an hour in my day job, depending on the size of my annual bonus.  Unless I come out of a Kickstarter meeting or exceeding that range, I know I can’t quit my day job anytime soon.

Some of the above time and expenses can be halved, if I end up Kickstarting two card games. As with anything else, doing something the first time helps me see all the things I didn’t know to expect, so any subsequent Kickstarter will be the better for it.

Conclusion

There is a lot more planning and preparation for even the simplest of Kickstarters, than most seem to realize. Even if you net several thousand dollars after final fulfillment, how many hours are in that? What is your final hourly rate? Unless one has an idea that goes viral, you probably won’t make more than minimum wage when you divide your net profits by the hours put in. If more than one person is involved in the Kickstarter, it is further divided by each person’s share in the partnership, or whatever it is.

Lazy people looking to get rich quick are in for disappointment. A lot of work and organization is required. If you don’t have organizational skills, you will have a lot to overcome to be successful.

Treat backers like customers, just like any other business. You must be kind, courteous, and responsive. Be proactive an identify problems before they happen.

If you do have a successful small Kickstarter that is fulfilled via OBS (One Bookshelf), then you have the potential for a small automated recurring income over time.

You can also get at cost print runs to take with you to conventions, or see if your local FLGS is interested in carrying them, or let you put up a flyer.

If you have a successful first Kickstarter, you are more likely to have success with following efforts.