Board game Kickstarter mistakes that sink first campaigns
Most failed tabletop Kickstarters fail before launch day. The common causes are launching without an audience, art or page design that looks unfinished, components or a price that don't match what backers expect, and shipping costs that were never budgeted. Gameplay matters for your reputation, but it rarely decides whether a first campaign funds.
Spider-Goat Games ran four tabletop Kickstarters between 2015 and 2019. Three funded and one, Dark Web, was cancelled. After the cancellation, the publisher wrote a short series on what went wrong. This page and the two linked below pick up those lessons, rewritten and expanded by us, with what we see from first-time designers at our own store.
The mistakes, in the order they usually bite
1. Launching to nobody
Most backers on a small campaign come from people who already knew it was coming: a mailing list, a following, a convention demo, a review. Kickstarter’s own browsing traffic rewards projects that are already moving, so a slow first two days becomes a slow month.
Read more: Mistake #1: not getting the word out
2. Art that looks “good enough”
The cover image and first screen of your page are the first and often only things a browser sees. Art that looks homemade, or doesn’t show what the game is about, loses people before they read a word.
Read more: Mistake #2: the art isn’t good enough
3. Components that don’t match the price
Dark Web shrank its cards to mini size to keep the funding goal low. Backers wanted full-size cards. Cutting the very thing people hold in their hands to save money rarely works; it is usually better to cut card count or box size than card size or card stock.
4. Not budgeting shipping and fulfillment
Freight from the printer, warehousing, packing and postage to each backer can cost as much as printing the game, especially for international backers. Price shipping per region, charge it in a pledge manager after the campaign if you must, and get real quotes before you set the goal. Our manufacturing cost guide walks through every line.
5. A goal that is too high, or too low
A high goal scares backers off; a goal far below your real costs funds a game you can’t afford to deliver. Set the goal at the smallest print run you can deliver without losing money, and make sure you would be glad to deliver at exactly that number.
6. No outside eyes before launch
Show the page preview to people who don’t know you. Kickstarter lets you share a preview link before launch. Ask what the game is, how many players, how long it takes and what you get for the base pledge. If they can’t answer in 30 seconds, the page isn’t ready.
7. Reviews and playthroughs arriving late
Reviewers need a prototype weeks before launch. Spider-Goat Games sent Martial Art prototypes to reviewers about a month before its campaign, and had a review ready for launch week. Plan the prototype and playtesting schedule backward from the launch date.
What still matters about gameplay
Gameplay barely affects whether a first campaign funds, because backers can’t play the game before they pledge. It decides everything after: reviews, word of mouth, and whether people back your second game. Martial Art’s backers came back for the Battlefields expansion two years later. Build a game worth that, then sell it properly.
Questions people ask
What percentage does Kickstarter take?
Kickstarter charges a 5% platform fee on funded projects, and payment processing adds about 3% plus a few cents per pledge. Budget roughly 8 to 10% of what you raise for fees.
How many backers do I need before I launch?
There is no official number, but many creators aim to have enough followers and email sign-ups ready to fund a large share of the goal in the first two days. A campaign that starts slowly rarely recovers.
Does a good game guarantee a successful Kickstarter?
No. Backers decide from the art, the page and the price long before they read the rules. Good gameplay earns you backers for your next campaign.