Welcome to the Crowdfunding Carnival for May! The push in April means that the crowdfunding machine is quiet, at least in terms of big names pushing big games. For newcomers, though, there is some variety. We’ve got dystopias, we’ve got mecha, and we’ve got…maggots. Come with me, and see what games you want to throw some money to this spring.
Continue reading Crowdfunding Carnival: May, 2024Tag Archives: crowdfunding
Crowdfunding Carnival: April, 2024
Welcome to the Crowdfunding Carnival for April! As you business types know the first quarter is over, and it’s time to kick things up! More realistically, ZineQuest is over and PAX East is recently in the rearview, meaning that the first set of product announcements in the tabletop gaming world have kicked off in earnest. Commercial con season runs from roughly PAX East to GenCon in August, so we’re in the height of major announcements and the crowdfunding campaigns which accompany them. As such, we have four major glorified pre-orders campaigns that you can check out. Beyond that there’s still a lot of momentum in the indie space, at least somewhere down in there. Sifting through the weird porn minis and 5e “supplements”, I’ve picked out five indie campaigns that are worth checking out and, quite possibly, worth a pledge as well.
Zine Month 2024 Round-Up
Lock your credit cards, hide your wallet, tell your banks to close early, because it’s February and that means a veritable deluge of new tabletop roleplaying game zines taking their shot at getting created with some crowdfunded help. Down the hall Aaron can be heard trying to keep his head above water with the first wave of ZineQuest projects on Kickstarter (there’s an alarming number of gargling sounds), but as has been tradition I’m taking a look beyond the white-green halls of the original ZQ to see what other excellent projects can be found in the wider Zine Month 2024.
Crowdfunding Carnival: February, 2024
Welcome to Crowdfunding Carnival for February! Uh oh…it’s February already? You know what that means…ZineQuest! This month I (mostly) put the big games aside and look at all the different zine campaigns that are coming up thanks to Kickstarter’s ZineQuest event. ZineQuest is now in its fifth year, and after some hiccups over the last two pertaining to both blockchains and scheduling, everything appears to be full speed ahead. Of course, this is a Kickstarter-specific event, and there is also a companion event, Zine Month. We’ll have coverage of some of those campaigns later on, but as these campaigns are all on Kickstarter, they’re all ZineQuest campaigns.
And as far as the great Zine agglomeration goes, Kickstarter is the place to be. Last I checked there over over 150 campaigns with the Zine Quest tag applied, and I’ve been able to pull out just about half of those as interesting little nuggets worth your attention. As that number is almost certainly going to increase, we’re going to have a second go-around of Crowdfunding Carnival in a couple weeks (that’s also where the five-year retrospective is going to go, in a slightly different form because it’ll be talking about ZineQuest from five years ago). For now though, check out a whole bunch of zines, as well as a couple more traditional big campaigns that happen to be running in February.
Continue reading Crowdfunding Carnival: February, 2024
FIST: ULTRA EDITION Review – Paranormal Cold War Mercs
Now: the second half of the twentieth century. The powers that be are locked in a tense nuclear standoff, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Away from the watchful eye of national intelligence, a cadre of exceptional misfits is assembled. These soldiers of fortune are uniquely equipped for covert and unusual operations.
In these uncertain times, the line between science and superstition has been broken, and the new arms race is only beginning. You, or your associates, may be faced with weapons, tactics, and actors unlike any you have ever seen. For a price, those exceptional misfits can help.
When you’re all out of options, it’s time to call FIST. Continue reading FIST: ULTRA EDITION Review – Paranormal Cold War Mercs
Weekend Update: 9/17/23
Welcome to the Cannibal Halfling Weekend Update! Start your weekend with a chunk of RPG news from the past week. We have the week’s top sellers, industry news stories, and discussions from elsewhere online.
Crowdfunding Carnival: September, 2023
Welcome to the Crowdfunding Carnival for September! There are a lot of games on Kickstarter this month; the post-GenCon recalibration has happened just as expected. Beyond that, there’s a large number of big campaigns; beyond the ones we cover here there’s a big Free League campaign for a supplement to The One Ring as well as a new collection of Game Master Advice.
There’s something else going on here, though. Is it getting…spooky? It’s not just vampire commandos and weird wizards, it really does seem like Halloween is starting earlier every year. Check out what’s on offer this month, and see if you agree.
Continue reading Crowdfunding Carnival: September, 2023Crowdfunding Carnival: August, 2023
Welcome back to Crowdfunding Carnival! While I’m not in Indianapolis this month, I’m still working to sift through all the cash-in board games and sexy elf minis to bring you the best in RPG crowdfunding from Kickstarter, Crowdfundr, Backerkit, and Gamefound. It’s Kickstarter and Backerkit that are really carrying the month this month, and I have ten campaigns that I’m excited to talk about.
Continue reading Crowdfunding Carnival: August, 2023Crowdfunding Carnival: June, 2023
Welcome to the Crowdfunding Carnival for June! This month I’m trying something a little different, though the outcome will likely be similar to how the series has always gone. On Kickstarter, there is a pretty significant bifurcation between small independent outfits and larger, established companies, both in terms of overall success as well as campaign size. Now, as much as they don’t need the help, big campaigns are important to the hobby and are driving more of the self-sustaining fanbases across the RPG landscape. Still, listing them alongside a one, two, or three person effort seems a bit disingenuous. As such, I’m going to be breaking out the ‘big campaigns’ from established names (and serial crowdfunders) and then keeping the ‘indies of note’ in their own section. Whichever sort of campaign you’re looking for, you should be able to find it more easily now. Beyond that, there’s still half a year left in our first five year retrospective, and as more articles were written, 2018 kept on getting more interesting. To start, though, let’s talk about three campaigns from existing companies; we have entries from Steve Jackson Games, Evil Hat Productions, and Kobold Press.
Continue reading Crowdfunding Carnival: June, 2023Crowdfunding Carnival: April, 2023
Welcome to the Crowdfunding Carnival! It’s April, which means two things. First, we’re done with ZineQuest for real; there are no more event stragglers (though an odd zine will pop up from time to time) and we’re back to “normal” campaigns. Second, April is my birthday month. Readers, I’m feeling old, I’m feeling it in my bones. Looking at campaigns this month has gotten me all crotchety. I will admit, I’m turning 36 and that’s not actually old; I’d still be ‘the kid’ in many gaming groups I’ve played with in the past. What has happened, though, is that in advance of my birthday a lot of the Kickstarter campaigns have got me complaining. Nothing makes you feel older than complaining about stuff you have no control over.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there aren’t that many interesting campaigns live right now in the wake of ZineQuest. There are plenty of 5e filler modules, which I don’t care about, and a lot of model files for semi-pornographic minis, which is weird and a bit disconcerting. In my usual market, though, new original RPGs, there are only a few of interest and weirdly a bumper crop of ones I can’t bring myself to be interested in or write about. It’s made me realize it may be another good time to go over the crowdfunding market, and ways that the crowdfunding market could be more useful for project backers.
Continue reading Crowdfunding Carnival: April, 2023
Cannibal Halfling Gaming 