The volume and variety of Kickstarter projects is sure to increase (if it hasn’t already) now that Kickstarter has lowered the screening barriers that creators previously had to go through when putting up new projects.
It will be interesting to see whether much will change, which projects will underperform, and which ones do well. We believe that looking at what popular and successful projects are doing well can help prospective Kickstarter campaign creators figure out what works before making costly mistakes, as well as show interesting trends within the startup industry.
Check out our list of 6 Kickstarter projects that were launched in the past two weeks that reached their goal within the first 5 days of starting!
#1. Shadows Over Normandie
Creators: Devil Pig Games
Amount Funded: £23,155
Number of Backers: 379
Average Pledge per Backer: £61
Duration: July 3rd to July 25th (23 days)
Shadows Over Normandie is a World War 2 based board game that is a continuation of a previous successful Kickstarter project. The video for this project was short and entertaining, but not very informative to newcomers. This project includes game extensions and accessories, and offers an explanation of how the game works, reviews, and offers rewards for familiar backers and new ones alike.
#2. Tool Pen – Makes Everything Beautiful
Creators: mininch
Amount Funded: $44,447
Number of Backers: 929
Average Pledge per Backer: $48
Duration: June 30th to August 13th (45 days)
Tool Pen is an invention that takes a variety of tools we use on a day-to-day basis and condenses them into an interchangeable device the size of a pen. Inspired by ‘Pop-A-Point’ pencils, this tool comes in different colors, contains the different parts in the center (which has a window so you can see the markings on each piece), and saves space and time.
#3. HANDGREY™ : Quick Release Titanium Keychain Carabiner
Creators: THANASIT (SUNNY) INKAVESVAANIT
Amount Funded: $47,246
Number of Backers: 866
Average Pledge per Backer: $55
Duration: June 29th to August 18th (50 days)
This is another project whose creator has had successful projects on Kickstarter recently, including The Gravity Clock. The product is a follow-up of a previous keychain series released on Kickstarter (BAUHAUS: Titanium Keychain / Key Carabiner) with improvements and a focus on design as well as function. Backers of this project can get the HANDGREY in several different models.
#4. New Dawn
Creators: Artipia Games
Amount Funded: $40,566
Number of Backers: 532
Average Pledge per Backer: $76
Duration: June 27th to July 31st (34 days)
New Dawn is a Greek designed board game featuring the art of Antonis Papantoniou. This is also a sequel to a previous game, Among the Stars (although not a Kickstarter game), and Artipia Games states that the goal of this project is largely to build up their product and brand. Their stretch goals include new cards, ships, and modules, and backers of the project can get a copy of New Dawn, an extension, as well as rewards where backers can purchase both games.
#5. Fragged Empire, Tabletop RPG
Creators: Wade Dyer
Amount Funded: $36,867
Number of Backers: 584
Average Pledge per Backer: $63
Duration: June 27th to August 2nd (37 days)
Fragged Empire is a science fiction tabletop RPG where, “Betrayed by your creators, you are a genetically engineered remnant emerging from the ruin of genocidal war…” The project’s Kickstarter page includes a lot of great information for those who are interested in learning more, including examples of dialogue from the game and videos to help explain the rules. The creators of this project have embraced the reward system and included rewards that involve Beta Access, the ability to give feedback, and design-related rewards.
#6. District-Z – Fight. Escape. Survive.
Creators: George Rubio
Amount Funded: $16,324
Number of Backers: 300
Average Pledge per Backer: $54
Duration: June 29th to August 13th (45 days)
District-Z is a zombie board game that was fully funded on its first day on Kickstarter. Their page includes frequent updates and quotes from satisfied players, showing that they are interacting with their backers and keeping their audience in mind throughout their campaign. Some of the rewards, like the previous board games mentioned include exclusive cards (including cards designed by the backer with the creator!), as well as the board game itself.
Conclusion
Of the six recently launched, rapidly funded projects this week on Kickstarter that I have mentioned in this list 4 were games and 2 were design projects.
Each of these campaigns focused on the audience in some way. The design projects aim to simplify people’s daily lives (a goal that is characteristic of many successful projects) and the game projects to entertain and excite the imaginations of their backers. These campaigns include simple, sometimes creative, and fun rewards. Another thing these projects have in common are creators who communicated their goals in a way that reached their audience and effectively encouraged their support, which helped result in their being funded in such a short period of time.
