Interesting Kickstarter Catch-All

This AR gaming table by Tilt 5 looks pretty neat.

My wife is doing a Kickstarter to fund her research about Francis Perkins. She is a fascinating woman and it does seem like people should know more about her. Perkins, not my wife...well she is fascinating too but you keep your slimy mits off knowing more about her....

Why Now?

The practical reason:

2020 is the 85th anniversary of Social Security, so it's an especially good time to publish a book about Frances. A new one-hour documentary, Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare, just had its world premiere in Minneapolis. It's showing this fall on the East Coast and next March on PBS (times and locations in the link). It's fabulous, and everyone should see it.

But there's room for something more, a novel that brings to life Frances and all of the rich characters who fought for the passage of Social Security, as well as Frances's hidden personal struggles to care for her family.

The sort of spooky, maybe-the-universe -or Frances-wants-this reason:

I decided about three months ago that this would be my next writing project, and began the research and writing. I do this for an hour a day, because I have a day job and a family.

But then, as I'd been anticipating for years, I got laid off. And so, thanks to the unemployment insurance Frances gave us, I have the gift of time. I can spend much of the next couple of months on this while I'm looking for another job, and get it finished quickly.

[quote="farley3k"]My wife is doing a Kickstarter to fund her research about Francis Perkins. She is a fascinating woman and it does seem like people should know more about her. Perkins, not my wife...well she is fascinating too but you keep your slimy mits off knowing more about her....

Pledged! My budget is tight, yet I think it is important for folks to know why we have some of these amazing supports.

I pledged as well. Primarily because your wife's novel sounds awesome. But secondarily because I want to thank you for posting all the funny gifs and memes I enjoy looking at during my work day.

Thank you both! She is half way to her goal which feels amazing to me.

Serious question - how do you advertise Kickstarters more? I have posted in my haunts, she has posted in hers but we are not "influcencers" so I have kind of shot my wad (excuse the expression) for ideas.

Is there a good way to get more people to see it? Do we just hope that people who back it post on Facebook that they backed it? Do we invest in ski masks and visit the bank.

farley3k wrote:

Thank you both! She is half way to her goal which feels amazing to me.

Serious question - how do you advertise Kickstarters more? I have posted in my haunts, she has posted in hers but we are not "influcencers" so I have kind of shot my wad (excuse the expression) for ideas.

Is there a good way to get more people to see it? Do we just hope that people who back it post on Facebook that they backed it? Do we invest in ski masks and visit the bank.

As with most PR, if you make it as easy as possible for those with a shared interest to help you. Write something akin to a press release or elevator pitch about the subject and goal. Even a Tweet as an option. Then present it to a group with a wider audience that you think would share it and you have done most of their work for them. Could get it on a local spot or article in Iowa City. Note: I am not in PR but have friends who are.

Good ideas. I will pitch them to my wife.

“Silver & Me,” is about if it’s possible to find a single professional athlete who will support Hong Kong. I don't think it is but he want to have you come along on the journey to find out. Exposing the Chinese government’s control over both traditional sports and esports this project will about making a PSA in support of the Hong Kong people while simultaneously exposing the degree to which the government of China can dictate what prominent Americans can and cannot say. If this intrigues you, please click and share!

Cross posting with the Expanse thread:
21 inch, 4 pound Roci model

It is so pretty. It might be worth the $200.

Backed this today:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...?

Join Book of Travels and become part of a unique social roleplaying experience that doesn’t hold your hand. Inspired by genre classics, this is an online adventure that sets you adrift in an intricate fairytale world... but it’s also an invitation to roleplay without the restraints of linear quests and plotlines. Feel at liberty to travel the free wilds and vivid cities of the Braided Shore peninsula. Wander deep into the layers of this hand-drawn world, stumble upon its hidden places or unravel one of its many mysteries. There is no overarching goal, no real beginning or end, and ultimately you are in charge of shaping your own journey. It's a land of elusive creatures, lush natural beauty and pastoral calm... but one that has known troubles and where shadows play their part.

Its just over $20 to buy in.

Car Wars, 6th edition

I kinda want to jump in at the $75 level. I'll never play it. I really don't have the money to spend on it. But damn, I had so much fun with that game 30+ years ago...

tanstaafl wrote:

Car Wars, 6th edition

I kinda want to jump in at the $75 level. I'll never play it. I really don't have the money to spend on it. But damn, I had so much fun with that game 30+ years ago...

I played first edition with some friends back in the 80's. it was fun.

Kiri wrote:
tanstaafl wrote:

Car Wars, 6th edition

I kinda want to jump in at the $75 level. I'll never play it. I really don't have the money to spend on it. But damn, I had so much fun with that game 30+ years ago...

I played first edition with some friends back in the 80's. it was fun.

Ditto. I took it to college in '87 and it never made it home. Sadness.

I bought the Car Wars that was on Kickstarter a year or so ago. It's never been played.

My friend is just now getting into Gaslands. He (and I) are 3D printing some terrain stuff for it. We're going to kitbash some cars soon. I don't know anything about the playing of Gaslands, yet, but I've heard it's kind of a lite version of Car Wars.

I'm about to leave the house, but found this article. I'll read it when I get home to see what it says about the 2 games.

Car Wars 6 & Gaslands

-BEP

I thought this one looked interesting enough to back: Board Game about the Polish WW2 303 Squadron

I'm not sure if they'll make it. They are 4 days away with just under $20k to go. But I like the idea of a game celebrating that squadron's exploits during the Battle of Britain.

bepnewt wrote:
Kiri wrote:
tanstaafl wrote:

Car Wars, 6th edition

I kinda want to jump in at the $75 level. I'll never play it. I really don't have the money to spend on it. But damn, I had so much fun with that game 30+ years ago...

I played first edition with some friends back in the 80's. it was fun.

Ditto. I took it to college in '87 and it never made it home. Sadness.

I bought the Car Wars that was on Kickstarter a year or so ago. It's never been played.

My friend is just now getting into Gaslands. He (and I) are 3D printing some terrain stuff for it. We're going to kitbash some cars soon. I don't know anything about the playing of Gaslands, yet, but I've heard it's kind of a lite version of Car Wars.

I'm about to leave the house, but found this article. I'll read it when I get home to see what it says about the 2 games.

Car Wars 6 & Gaslands

-BEP

Man just give it over to HBS to make a PC version of Car Wars already.

The Vorpal Board Kickstarter has returned with, in my opinion, a better looking business model. I was excited by the concept the last time they came to Kickstarter (though it was cancelled) as a different approach to playing board games with non-local players, so I'm glad to see their much more polished product make a return.

Hmm. Heavy reliance on their software and the subscription model. Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia out there along with Discord for voice or video chat. Interesting, but, even as a boardgamer/D&D player/DM with GWJ friends all over North America, I can't see pulling the trigger on this.

bhchrist wrote:

Hmm. Heavy reliance on their software and the subscription model. Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia out there along with Discord for voice or video chat. Interesting, but, even as a boardgamer/D&D player/DM with GWJ friends all over North America, I can't see pulling the trigger on this.

Yeah I feel like with these tools, Tabletop Simulator in particular, this is already a solved problem. I play a ton of online boardgames with folks around the world, and I can't see myself backing this.

Kindred Fates

Another Pokemon-killer game, this time an open world monster collecting game with real time combat. I like the look of this more than Temtem since Temtem is too much like Pokemon.

garion333 wrote:

Kindred Fates

Another Pokemon-killer game, this time an open world monster collecting game with real time combat. I like the look of this more than Temtem since Temtem is too much like Pokemon.

Backed! Thank you.
I've been playing Sword and Shield, and this seems like where I'd like the game style to go, so... neat!

Venture & Dungeon are two pen and paper RPG systems together. Venture could be good but I'm mostly getting it because of Dungeon.

Venture is a game of introspective heroic fantasy. You play an adventuring party of a traditional fantasy story, but framed in a way that shifts your perspective, focusing on the inner lives of the characters.

The game is written to encourage players and characters to think about who they are, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. What does it mean to be a Cleric with a personal relationship to a deity? How does it feel to create magic out of nothing as the Wizard? Venture is a game about understanding the archetype through the character, and understanding the character beyond their archetype.

Dungeon is a game about recapturing the experience of enjoying traditional fantasy narratives. You play a group of young kids playing Dungeons & Dragons while grappling with the perils of high school, and how these things can intersect.

In Dungeon, the characters the kids play are tied to the feelings and experiences of the kids themselves. The magic the characters can cast are reflections of the kids' own skills and experiences, and the monsters the kids face are allegorical to the challenges they experience in day-to-day life. Like all of Jay's work, Dungeon is a queer narrative that features genders tied up in high school experiences and a flexible approach to the ever-shifting teenage identity.

Also in the tabletop RPG zone is Decuma. It's a card game that helps build up your RPG campaign, by building up relationships and locations important to your characters and making you answer some more ethical/ideological questions along the way.

I played a pre-release version last month and it's really cool. We started with "some kind of hard SF/cyberpunk sort of game" and ended up with a setting and character relationships that we would all have been happy to play a full game in.

zine month again!

Deadly, for my wallet :O

...i didn't realise this was actually a thing they do annually or i'd have tackled something myself. Oh well. next year maybe.

pyxistyx wrote:

...i didn't realise this was actually a thing they do annually or i'd have tackled something myself. Oh well. next year maybe.

This is only the second year, so it's only an annual event since... now

I dunno where else to put this. PlatinumGames has launched a Kickstarter for a remaster of The Wonderful 101. Currently planned for the Switch, releases on Steam and PS4 are currently stretch goals.

Platinum really are trying to become capable of independent publishing.

One of the rewards is to get permanently blocked on Twitter by Hideki Kamiya.

Well, shoot. I totally forgot to post here before the campaign ended, but did anyone back Return to Dark Tower? My parents used to play Dark Tower all the time when I was young so it was a no-brainer to pledge at the $225 level. The number of stretch goals and how much you get included with the game seemed pretty awesome.

Now to sit and wait patiently for a year and hope it doesn't get delayed.

DeThroned wrote:

Well, shoot. I totally forgot to post here before the campaign ended, but did anyone back Return to Dark Tower? My parents used to play Dark Tower all the time when I was young so it was a no-brainer to pledge at the $225 level. The number of stretch goals and how much you get included with the game seemed pretty awesome.

Now to sit and wait patiently for a year and hope it doesn't get delayed.

Too pricey for my tastes. And I used to play Dark Tower all the time as a kid.

My friend backed it so I'm good.

The team behind Star Traders: Frontiers have launched a Kickstarter for their next project, Cyber Knights. It's a cyberpunk-themed turn-based squad tactics RPG.

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