Kickstarter projects I’ve backed: Number 21-30 (chronologically)

Continuing my series, I’m going through the Kickstarter projects I’ve backed, in chronological order, noting why I backed each project, what level I backed at, and how it turned out. Part 1 of the series, covering the first 10 games I backed on Kickstarter, is here. Part 2 is here.

21. Geek Love – September 2012

Why I pledged: Folks I follow on Twitter were talking about it. They had a fairly inexpensive e-book option. And hey, who doesn’t love a geeky dirty story?

My pledge: $20 for an e-book

How it turned out: I got the e-book, and I’ve read a few of the stories. They’re pretty good! Probably not really worth $20 on the merits, but I was happy to support some good folks in the geek community, so I’m fine with it.

22. d20 Monkey First Edition – November 2012

Why I pledged: Because I love the d20 Monkey web comic, and its creator, Brian Patterson, is an all-around awesome guy. (I met him at GenCon 2012.)

My pledge: $25 for a copy of the book, plus the e-book version.

How it turned out: Freaking awesome! I devoured the e-book as soon as it arrived, and I treasure my physical copy.

23. ArmorClass10 Shirts for Gamers – October 2012

Why I pledged: Because I didn’t own enough geeky T-shirts, and I thought some of the shirts they were offering looked cool.

My pledge: $34 for two shirts.

How it turned out: Great! I like my “Shirt +1: Protection from Nakedness” shirt, and my wife’s “Boobies of Distraction +5” is awesome, too. My shirt was a little on the small side, but I’ve lost about 15 pounds since I got it and now it fits perfectly. The shirts even arrived in time for Christmas last year, so I could give my wife hers as a surprise gift.

24. Dice Rings – December 2012

Why I pledged: How could I not? These rings looked so cool. And did you see that video? Worth the price of admission all by itself.

My pledge: $15 for a ring, although I upped my pledge later to get three rings (I believe this put me at $42 or something like that).

How it turned out: Awesome! I got a ring for myself, one for my wife, and one for my brother-in-law. Everyone loves them. Plus, the Crit Success guys were at Denver Comic Con and I was able to exchange my ring for a slightly larger size (it fit my left ring finger, but I decided that I would prefer to wear it on my right ring finger, which it turns out is slightly larger).

25. Nothing Personal – November 2012

Why I pledged: I wanted to support Tom Vasel (one of the designers of this game) because I have gotten so much enjoyment from the Dice Tower podcast.

My pledge: $45 for a copy of the game

How it turned out: Funny story. I actually backed this game while knowing next to nothing about it; I just wanted to support Tom. Once I actually heard what the game was about (months later), I realized that it was a game that I wouldn’t enjoy playing. So, I used the BGG marketplace to sell my copy (unopened) for the price I paid to someone who actually wanted it. I guess that’s a win!

In addition, my backing of this game indirectly led to Chaos & Alchemy getting published. (You can find that story here, in the pre-pre campaign section.) So, extra win!

26. Fate Core – January 2013

Why I pledged: Ten bucks for the e-book version of the game – why not? I had enjoyed what I had seen of FATE from my earlier backing of Race to Adventure, which came with a free e-book of the FATE-using Spirit of the Century, and I liked it.

My pledge: $10 for the e-book.

How it turned out: Awesome. I loved reading this game, which I did in fact read cover to cover. I have yet to play it yet, but I want to. Hard to beat that for ten bucks.

27. To Be or Not To Be, That is the Adventure – December 2012

Why I pledged: I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid, and I like Shakespeare. Plus, the campaign looked hilarious. And the price was right.

My pledge: $25 for a copy of the book (plus e-book)

How it turned out: Fantastic! I spent several days going through the e-book version, and it was genius. Seriously, this book is hilarious; I highly recommend it. The physical version rocks, too. Go buy it!

28. Guilds of Cadwallon – December 2012

Why I pledged: I’m not sure, really. Something about the game intrigued me.

My pledge: $40 for the game plus the board and box.

How it turned out: Um, I haven’t actually played it yet. I guess that means it didn’t turn out great, since I haven’t been motivated enough to get the game to the table. Hm.

29. Rebuilding EN World – February 2013

Why I pledged: I had gotten several years of enjoyment from EN World, and I wanted to support them. I also wanted the e-book version of the first five ZEITGEIST adventures.

My pledge: 25 British pounds (about $40)

How it turned out: Well, okay, I guess. I had forgotten that I backed this, actually. I guess I should go see if I can download those adventures. But either way, I just wanted to give one last thank you to EN World; I never go there any more.

30. The Dice Tower 2013 – February 2013

Why I pledged: As I mentioned with Nothing Personal above, I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the Dice Tower, so I wanted to say thank you.

My pledge: $1, to say thank you.

How it turned out: Well, they’re thanked! Part of the reason I didn’t pledge more was that I had already supported Tom with Nothing Personal, and I had also paid for a bunch of advertising on the Dice Tower when I was planning to run my own Kickstarter campaign for Chaos & Alchemy. Still, I figured I might as well toss a buck in the virtual hat.

Scorecard for projects 21-30 that I backed:

  • Number that were actually funded: 10/10
  • Number that were eventually delivered: 10/10
  • Number that I feel were ultimately worth it in retrospect: 8/10 (the two exceptions being Guilds of Cadwallon and Rebuilding EN World)
  • Total money spent: $282
  • Money spent on not-worth-it projects: $80

What’s next?

As I mentioned in my last update, I’m at the point where I’m going to stop these recaps for a while, to give the next few projects I backed some time to catch up.

But I do have something interesting coming – a guest post from a friend of mine who decided to go through this same process for the first 10 projects he backed on Kickstarter! I’ll post that soon.

Michael the OnlineDM

@ClayCrucible on Twitter

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