With Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other campaigns regularly raising impressive sums for all sorts of projects, it’s easy to become numb to all the hype. Some companies merely use the fundraising sites as a preorder system, while others bend over backwards to create every possible backer-exclusive chotchkie, tempting the completist collector that lurks in us all. The best of these campaigns are the ones falling somewhere inbetween – those that offer an impressive, worthwhile product with additions/”stretch goals” that enhance the original product, or better yet, are worthwhile on their own.
For gamers, at least one such worthwhile campaign is the TableTop Season 3 – with Wil Wheaton campaign on Indiegogo (which, when phrased that way, makes excellent host Wheaton sound kinda like a side order. “Make mine a mushroom burger, medium rare, with a side of garlic Wil Wheaton.”). Having already cleared its $500K goal to bring viewers a new 15 episode season, backers have helped TableTop achieve additional goals. These include an additional 5 episodes, custom dice, DVDs, t-shirts, posters, commemorative coins… you get the idea, and maybe you aren’t impressed – you’ve heard all this before. Where things really get interesting is the lofty region of unlocked coolness TableTop fans are striving for in these last 11 days of fundraising. At $800K, fans already secured a free downloadable game designed by Mike Selinker, James Ernest (Lone Shark and Cheapass Games, anyone?), and TableTop host Wil Wheaton. At $900K, fans will unlock a special Cards Against Humanity expansion designed just for the TableTop campaign. Finally, at $1 million, the Geek & Sundry network founded by Felicia Day (co-creator of TableTop) will create a whole new RPG show, hosted by Wil Wheaton, in the style of TableTop. At the rate pledges keep coming in for the show, these goals are ambitious, but certainly achievable. Go on – visit the TableTop pledge page and hit refresh every few minutes. You’ll see.
So, with various TableTop goodies, a free game designed by Wil Wheaton and two award-winning designers, and the potential for both an expansion to the most popular rude party game and another whole show, this seems like the direction part of your gaming funds should go.