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Michael Mindes
United States
Tucson
Arizona
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For those of you that do not know, Eminent Domain raised $48,378 on Kickstarter, the most ever raised for any game (board or otherwise), and it will likely hold that record for awhile. This is the story of how I remember that happening.
Eminent Domain – The Concept
It all started on the way back home from BGG.con 2009. I was flying home with Seth Jaffee, designer of Eminent Domain, and after a great time playing games, I said many things, including:
-----• "I would really like to play Twilight Imperium 3 in less than an hour."
-----• "Dominion is doing really well. Maybe Tasty Minstrel should have a deckbuilding game."
Don't be impressed that I remembered my exact quotes because I don't. However, from those two thoughts, the idea that became Eminent Domain was born. Well, not exactly – Seth had been thinking about how to utilize the deck-building mechanism in a more fulfilling game experience. He felt that it would apply well here.
What I really should have said is, "I want a game that gives me an epic and immersive sci-fi experience, takes less than an hour, and utilizes deck building." That would have been an impressive vision of the future.
Eminent Domain Is Ready
Fast forward almost a full year to September 2010, and Eminent Domain was the only game I wanted to play. As an amazing and finished game, I wanted to see and publish the final product NOW! I can deal with and wade through a lot of crap, but patience about optimistic possibilities is not a strong suit of mine.
The problem was that Tasty Minstrel did not have the money to publish Eminent Domain, and it would not have the money for at least a year. Based on how far along we are now, it probably would have been more than a year!
Seth suggested that we use Kickstarter. I objected...mainly out of fear, fear that the Kickstarting would fail. In my mind, failure meant that the game would be permanently tainted, and thus unpublishable. I was also scared about what this meant for the future of Tasty Minstrel Games. I was scared that it would be the harbinger of ultimate failure for Tasty Minstrel Games and the shattering of my dreams.
Coming to grips now with how I felt, it seems silly to have such fear.
Still, there was this paralyzing fear. Then a fellow publisher that I respect emailed me about promoting his Kickstarter project. After learning why he wanted to use Kickstarter, my opinion changed, the fear lessened, and the project was on. However, the fear of failure was still there.
Knowing that the best way for me to defeat and eliminate fear is to be properly prepared, I devoured all of the information I could find about running a successful Kickstarter project. I reviewed every game that was successfully funded and most of the games that were not successful. I sketched up a plan, let people know they should be watching for something, fought back and forth with Seth about some aspects, and eventually it came time for the project to start on October 24th, 2010.
Eminent Domain On Kickstarter – The Beginning
The first couple of days of any project will be a huge indicator of success in the end. The immediate social proof of supporters is amazingly important. There is nothing that convinces you not to support more than a project that has seven days left and is 10% funded. Plus, the very early supporters will likely be your best promoters. The first five days looked like this cumulatively:
-----• 36 Backers @ $1,813
-----• 50 Backers @ $2,788
-----• 72 Backers @ $4,985
-----• 86 Backers @ $5,785
-----• 98 Backers @ $6,785
A great start and 33% funded after five days. WOW! There were two big things that I did to get there: (1) I sent an email on the first day to everybody subscribed to the Tasty Minstrel Games list and (2) on the third day I sent another email to the people who did not open the first email.
These first 98 backers were instrumental in spreading the word. They were excited about the game and hoped to see something other than a sketch of a cover idea by Seth and a video of me talking about Tasty Minstrel Games not having the money to publish Eminent Domain.
Come to think of it, it is amazing that anybody supported the project considering the lack of information we had to provide early. It is great to know that people out there trusted us.
Eminent Domain – The Hotness
Then the first (and eventually only) step of the cover art became available, and it became the first part of the "Hotness Bomb". Within two days, Eminent Domain ended up #1 on the hotness and stayed there for nine straight days.
While Eminent Domain was #1 on "The Hotness", we went from $7,910 in funding to $24,696. People even started complaining in the Eminent Domain threads about how Eminent Domain took over the BGG home page. There were several images, reviews (based on print-and-play copies), and session reports in that short period that were quite popular.
After that we kept getting more funding until the project ended. Once you get a project that receives an additional $2,000 or so a day in funding, you'll be wishing that you made the project go just one week longer...
Now we needed to buckle down and get everything about the game finalized, including the artwork, illustration, layout, rulebook, absolute final rules, and preparing the existing rulebook for potential expansions.
BGG.con 2010
I distinctly remember arriving at BGG.con 2010 as the first words out of Derk's mouth were, "You created a real problem for me." Uh oh, I had just leveraged the BoardGameGeek community like nobody before, and I was worried that I had upset the powers that be. Then, Derk continued, "People are emailing me now asking me how I can help them make $40,000 for their board games."
Whew! Relief came back to me. "I told them that BGG didn't do anything to help," continued Derk, "So, how did you do it?"
How We Raised $48,378 To Publish Eminent Domain
Well, it really is quite simple, and I will tell you:
-----• I had an existing fan base and a method to communicate with them at will. Email marketing is amazing...
-----• I asked the TMG fan base to support and spread the word. People that love your company and what you are trying to do are amazing...
-----• I fostered communication about the project, asking people what they wanted, then proceeded to give it to them. Asking people what they want, listening, then giving it to them is amazing...
-----• I leveraged the excitement about Eminent Domain coupled with amazing cover art to get significantly more exposure on BoardGameGeek. Tapping into a community is, you guessed it, amazing...
-----• Seth provided prototype files for print-and-play as requested by supporters. The #2 rule of sales: Get the product into their hands.
-----• Seth and I actively answered all questions posed on BoardGameGeek about the project. I like to think that some people supported Eminent Domain with a little fear, but trusted us to follow through with a great product based on our devotion.
Questions About Kickstarter
W. Eric Martin asked me specific questions about Kickstarter, so it is time that I get some value out of my college degree in Philosophy.
WEM: What are the pluses of using Kickstarter?
MM: There are numerous pluses to Kickstarter. The most obvious of which is getting money in advance of production. Others in no particular order:
-----• Determining the sales viability and popularity of your game prior to production.
-----• Determining the total quality (MONEY) that should be invested in your game. For example, thanks to Kickstarter, Eminent Domain looks at least ten times better than it would have.
-----• Supporters get emotionally involved in the success of the product. If they want it, then they place it upon themselves to make sure it becomes fully funded. In turn, they promote the project for you.
-----• Supporters become vested in the quality of the final product. If you want somebody's 100% honest opinion about what to do, then ask them what they want after they have paid!
-----• The process of Kickstarting can be used to create a microburst of popularity and excitement which can be leveraged over time into an even greater success.
WEM: What are the drawbacks of using Kickstarter?
MM: Almost none. For an existing publisher, I thought it could be seen as evidence of a lack of success. If a game fails to be funded, then you might decide to not publish it. (Which is maybe a good thing?)
For a game designer or aspiring publisher, then the biggest possible drawback would be the result of a failed Kickstart. It might be difficult to get somebody else to publish the game with the evidence of failure there. Knowing this, I suggest you prepare thoroughly for the Kickstart of your game. There is no sense in working on a design for years, then flushing it down the drain because you failed to prepare to properly market it.
WEM: Is this a model for Tasty Minstrel Games in the future?
MM: Having grown wiser in the area of publishing board games, Kickstarter will be very important to TMG in the near future. There are three reasons for this:
-----• TMG will be reinvesting most revenue into the support and expansion of inventory of successful games.
-----• I will be taking money back out of TMG to recover the initial investment and reap some financial rewards. As a financial advisor, I have seen too many people fail to take money out and watch their bussinesses essentially fail.
-----• With all of the benefits stated above, how could Tasty Minstrel not utilize Kickstarter often?
All of this is with the caveat that if we see ridiculous success, the need for Kickstarter moves to zero. If we do not need Kickstarter and we move to use it, then this would probably be damaging to our brand and the trust we value with our customers and fans.
WEM: Is this a model for other small publishers?
MM: Definitely. Right now, there are lots of projects on Kickstarter. I imagine that the perceived quality of a Kickstarted game will go down over time as more half-baked games get published through Kickstarter. However, there will always be room for proven publishers (yet without immense financial resources) and designers to raise significant support through Kickstarter.
WEM: What is the future for Eminent Domain?
MM: The next big thing will be the Eminent Domain preview nights at participating retailers, then hopefully selling out the first print run before it gets to the United States, an SDJ win after being released in Germany, and catching up to and surpassing Dominion to be the best-selling deck-building game.
For the record, I do not expect win the SDJ or outsell Dominion.
Michael Mindes
[Editor's note: Just a few hours ago, while preparing this diary, I received a newsletter update from Tasty Minstrel Games announcing that the first printing (5,000 copies) of Eminent Domain has sold out, with more than 6,000 copies ordered. Thus, Mindes has achieved goal #1 and the game will likely be allocated among retailers unless the print run can be increased without delaying shipment of the game. Get it while you can... —WEM]
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