Kickstarter Goodness

I tend not to follow fashions too closely these days. With two kids and a house to manage, it's hard to do so. So Kickstarter, while being something I have heard of, isn't a site I've really looked at. Until the following offerings came up.

First off is Mantic's Kickstarter. Is a fairly general one. They wanted $5000 to help develop the business and bring forward the development of their fantasy armies. That goal was reached in hours and they are now updating the page with stretch goals and further bonus offers for supporters. I almost went for it, but fantasy just isn't my thing. I'd love to support the studio, but I know us never get round to painting all those minis, let alone play with them. If you are thinking if starting playing a fantasy battles game, this is an excellent place to start.

If only there was a sci-fi offering..

So here is Studio McVey and their Sedition Wars Kickstarter. These gutta Hebrew been petting it some gorgeous miniatures for a few years now, and more recently models for their Alabaster universe. Time had come to release the game but they needed a little help to do so. Their goal, like Mantic's, was reached within hours of opening the fund and the McVey's are also now trying to come up with better and better stretch goals.

Their $100 pledge deal is a great one  - the game,a signed art print, limited edition alternate sculpt mini, and a patch. For some reason you only get free postage in the US though - a little galling for UK supporters of a UK studio.

Kickstarter is such a great place for small startups like this. They already have a fairly well established fanbase, built up in the usual ways. For these guys, launching a new product our development line, funded directly by their customers must be so great, compared to the stresses and strains associated with raising funds, say, through a bank or private investor.

I wish both funds luck. I just have to figure out how I will explain to my wife I bought a new Cryx army and a copy of Sedition Wars in the same weekend...