NY-based Kingdom Death has launched a Kickstarter project for its latest game, Kingdom Death : Monster, which slightly resembles the decade old game, Dungeons & Dragons. The project still has 9 days to go, but has already raised $852,621 with only a $35,000 fundraising goal. The teaser reads “Cooperative board game set in a nightmare-horror world. Fight for your life, scavenge, craft, and band together to survive.”
At the time of writing, more than 1279 backers have pledged $155 or more, the reward tier that corresponds with a copy of the board game, 2 miniatures of Adam & Anna (explorers of death), a t-shirt, and a digital art book. The game can be played by 1 to 6 participants who are represented with miniatures and is “set in a unique nightmarish world devoid of most natural resources, you control a settlement at the dawn of its existence. Fight monsters, craft weapons and gear, and develop your settlement to ensure your survival from generation to generation.”
The owner of the project, Adam Poots, has been running Kingdom Death as an independent operation for 3 years and has shipped over 5,000 orders. Having worked with artists and manufacturers, Poots is confident of his ability to fill the large number of orders. At the moment, Poots is working full time on the project. You can visit the Kingdom Death board game website here.
Poots tried fundraising for an iphone Kingdom Death game on Kickstarter in 2009, but was not successful. Poots also used Kickstarter in June of 2009 to fund the development of sculpted miniatures for the game and successfully raised $1,741. Clearly, success requires determination and persistence.
Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites are quickly becoming a viable financing route for game designers that want to maintain creative control and encourage customers to play an active role in the game’s development. Ranging from rewards like a “digital art book” to “exclusive plastic miniatures,” Kingdom Death is a great example of how crafting compelling rewards, communicating a clear vision, and establishing project owner credibility can lead to crowdfunding success.
