Pretty much any idea you can imagine can get funding on Kickstarter. It’s the biggest and most popular traditional crowdfunding site around.
With such a huge community of creators and backers, Kickstarter remains one of the best places to find funding for gadgets, games, and other creative projects.
That was true when Kickstarter took off in the early 2010s, and it’s still true in 2023. All sorts of creators continue to find their niche on Kickstarter, and some are pulling in up to eight figures to bring their creations to life.
In fact, some of the most funded Kickstarters of all time took place in 2022, and the ideas behind them ranged from novels and board games to 3D printers and homecare robots, proving that Kickstarter success doesn’t favor just one industry.
To give you an idea of what a successful campaign can look like, let’s take a look at the top 10 Kickstarters in 2022.
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One of the most popular Kickstarter campaigns of 2022, PuffPals: Island Skies is a PC game in which players can explore the world, interact with other characters, and decorate their own homes.
PuffPals was created by FluffNest, a small creative startup founded by a creator called Lily.
The FluffNest team set up their campaign in April 2022. They used their page to explain how Kickstarter funds would be used to develop the game.
They also created an Alpha tier, which would allow backers to Alpha test an early version of the game.
PuffPals: Island Skies quickly became one of the most backed campaigns in Kickstarter history, raising over $2 million from over 42 thousand people.
2. Yarbo: An Intelligent Yard Robot to Meet All Yard Care Needs 
Yarbo is a multifunctional yard care robot that can act as a lawn mower, snow blower, and leaf blower.
Yarbo was created by a New York-based tech startup of the same name, and they hoped their invention would make yardwork easier for people all over the world.
Bolstered by a press release they had done as part of their prelaunch, the company set up the campaign in Fall 2022 with several detailed videos featuring Yarbo in action.
Backers could choose from nine tier levels for rewards including the Yarbo body and the add-ons for its different functions.
People loved Yarbo, and after a 47-day funding period, they had raised more than $3 million!
3. How to THINK when you DRAW BOOK 5
British comic book artist Lorenzo Etherington has frequently found himself at the helm of some of the top Kickstarter campaigns of all time. This was his tenth successful Kickstarter, and it marked the fifth installment in his How to THINK When You DRAW book series.
To date, he’s raised over $4 million for his projects on Kickstarter, and his series of fun and user-friendly drawing and writing tutorial books are especially popular. In fact, the series has managed to break the world records for Kickstarter’s most-funded artbooks for three consecutive years in a row.
By the time Etherington launched his campaign for How to THINK When You DRAW BOOK 5, he’d already completed all the artwork for the books – much of which he showcased on his page – but he needed funds to cover the costs of production and distribution.
He offered some of his previous books as rewards for backers, and by the end of his 38-day funding period, his new book had managed to raise £752,060 from 7,856 backers!
A creator called The Professor spent 8 years reviewing Magic: The Gathering accessories on YouTube before deciding to create his own.
The Academic 133+ XL is his attempt at designing the ultimate deck box. It comes with 2 draws, an extra top compartment, and a removable compartment divider, and The Professor knew card game fans would love it!
He set up his campaign with 11 tier levels from $1-180 and promoted the deck box with several fun videos.
His campaign was set to last for 29 days, but in just 17 minutes, it became one of the year’s most rapidly funded Kickstarters!
At the time of writing, The Professor has raised nearly $4 million from 39,275 backers for the Academic 133+ XL.
5. SuperBase V; First Plug-and-Play Home Energy Storage System
Zendure, an EnergyTech startup in Silicon Valley, launched this campaign for their revolutionary home battery storage system, SuperBase V.
SuperBase V is a hardware system that uses semi-solid batteries to efficiently store enough solar energy to provide up to 3,800W of power.
The team at Zendure knew that SuperBase V was going to revolutionize the energy industry. They thought it could be particularly useful for owners of electric vehicles.
They took to Kickstarter in 2023 to help cover the costs of SuperBase V. Their page was set up with 42 tier levels and a variety of detailed infographics to describe their product.
Fortunately, the Kickstarter community embraced their invention with enthusiasm, and they raised over $5 million from 1,183 backers.
According to their website, British game development startup Steamforged Games has already run 11 successful Kickstarter campaigns for tabletop adaptations of popular video games, and their campaign for Elden Ring: The Board Game is their latest win.
After designing and handcrafting their Elden Ring board game, Mat Hart, Sherwin Matthews, and Russ Charles of Steamforged Games used Kickstarter to get the game out into the world.
They decorated their page with images, infographics, and videos of the game, and also added a few personal touches to tell the story of their business.
Their campaign included 3 tier levels offering expansion packs, accessories, and discounts on the game’s MSRP, and it took the gaming world by storm.
By the end of the campaign’s 10-day funding period, the Steamforged Games team had significantly surpassed their £150,000 goal and raised more than £3 million!
7. Bambu Lab X1: CoreXY Color 3D Printer with Lidar and AI
Bambu Lab turned a big problem into a huge success with their Bambu Lab X1: CoreXY Color 3D Printer with Lidar and AI Kickstarter campaign.
The Hong Kong-based tech startup was founded with the mission of making the complicated and often frustrating process of 3D printing smoother, easier, and more accessible, and the CoreXY Color 3D printer represented their latest innovation.
They set up their campaign in May 2022 and used their page to show how much their design was capable of and explain how it would solve a lot of the problems of 3D printing.
The campaign’s 10 tier levels offered backers the opportunity to own their own 3D printers and accessories, and it was met with a great reception.
Bambu Lab’s campaign smashed its original HK$78,495 goal, and brought in an impressive HK$ 54,970,803, making it one of the year’s best Kickstarter campaigns!
8. AnkerMake M5 3D Printer – 5X Faster Printing and AI Camera
Speaking of 3D printers, Bambu Lab wasn’t the only company to use Kickstarter to fund their new innovation.
Seattle, Washington-based startup Anker Make promised that their M5 3D Printer would make 3D printing more reliable for everyone.
To prove it, they filled their page with videos and graphics showing how the device works. They also advertised with write-ups on several online tech sites.
And it paid off with flying colors! By the end of their 45-day campaign, AnkerMake’s 3D printer had amassed almost $9 million from 11,313 backers.
9. Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game 
Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game asks what would happen if the Marvel Universe were plagued by a zombie outbreak, and based on its Kickstarter campaign, at least 28,974 backers wanted to know the answer to that question!
Featuring original art from comic book artist Marco Checchetto, Marvel Zombies is a cooperative board game in which players collaborate as heroes or zombies to fight off AI-controlled enemies, and it found a huge audience on Kickstarter.
Marvel Zombies was created by CMON LTD, a board game company that initially started as a community miniature rating site in 2001, and they’ve had a lot of success with their games on Kickstarter.
CMON set up their campaign with 5 tier levels, offering copies of the game and several bonus rewards. To get people excited, they showcased several images of the game and its features.
By the end of their sixteen-day funding period, they’d soared past their $500,000 goal and raised over $9 million!
10. Surprise! Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson
Did you know the most funded Kickstarter campaign of all time took place in 2022?
Popular fantasy author Brandon Sanderson set up this campaign in March 2022 to bring four secret novels to his fans outside of his normal release schedule.
He helped build intrigue for his project by revealing as little as possible about the new novels. He leveraged his already large audience to generate excitement about his campaign.
He set his initial goal at an ambitious $1 million and created eight tier levels that would allow backers to access his new novels in a variety of formats. He also included a series of swag boxes for some pledges.
By the end of his campaign’s 1-month funding period, Sanderson had surpassed his goal by more than 41 times. At the time of writing, he has raised $41,754,153 from 185,341 backers for his novels, making his campaign the biggest Kickstarter raise of all time!
So what about you…?
Could your project be the next huge Kickstarter campaign?
Sure!
The beauty of Kickstarter is that don’t have to be as well-known as Brandon Sanderson to have a successful raise. You just need a great idea and a powerful strategy.
Of course, that doesn’t come naturally to everyone. That’s why I want to tell you about my new book.
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Your ideas deserve the best treatment you can give them, so get out there and crush your campaign!
