Back in March we launched our first Kickstarter campaign ever. It was for our H.P. Lovecraft inspired dice-battle game, Chaos of Cthulhu. The month of March was filled with highs and lows, laughter and tears. When April rolled around and our campaign was coming to an end, we realized that we weren’t going to reach our funding goal. Of course we were a little disappointed, but it didn’t discourage us. In fact, we were quite overwhelmed and invigorated by the support we received. Determined to not let our backers down, we went back to the tabletop to look for ways to help our future Kickstarter re-launch be successful. We’re happy to say that, without losing quality or diminishing the game play experience, we’ve succeeded in making Chaos of Cthulhu even more appealing, while lowering the cost per game and, ultimately, the funding goal!
We also used the last 4 months to conduct additional play testing. Through many hard fought battles, we came to the conclusion that the original win scenario for the game wasn’t the best. As fun as it was to dismantle our opponents’ monsters, we didn’t like it when people were knocked out and left waiting. Oftentimes we found them drifting off into their smart phones instead of staying engaged with the group. Also, when low Elder Dice numbers were rolled at the start of a game, it left some players (especially younger ones) with a defeatist attitude that affected the whole group’s perception of the entire experience.
So, we changed the player elimination mechanic. Monsters no longer lose body parts and cannot be killed; Elder Dice are instead re-rolled if they drop below a 1, which can definitely cause some chaos. (Cut-throats among us, take heart; elimination is still an option for an alternative way to play that you will find in the rulebook.) The win scenario has been simplified to a single way to win: each player attempts to be the first to rotate her body parts in order to form a matching Lovecraftian nightmare. Imagine it as a Rubik’s cube-like puzzle battle, with the catch being an added challenge of defending against the onslaught of attacks by your opponents. While you are trying to figure out ways of rotating your monster to victory, your opponents are forcing you to rotate pieces you may want to stay put. It’s madness I tell you!
Lets move on to the fundraising campaign, which is so important because this game will never see the light of day without passionate supporters! During our previous expedition through Kickstarter, we found ourselves buried far, far (far) down in the bottom depths of the Tabletop Game search results. People continued to tell us they had a hard time finding the campaign, and it was because when they searched through all of the tabletop games, we didn’t show up until page 15 or so. In other words it was hard to discover the game just browsing though. What we learned about Kickstarter is that, while the amount of money raised helps toward your end goal, it doesn’t do that much for your search rank popularity. What does help with ranking is the quantity of backers you have and the number of social media shares you get. The more backers and shares, the higher your ranking and the greater the possibility of gaining that elusive “Staff Pick” badge. Plus, if you have a lot of backers on the first day of a campaign, then you’re super popular and might even crack page 1 of the search results!
So, what does this mean to you? It mean’s we need your support from the get-go more than ever! Every backer counts. Even just a $1 pledge helps out tremendously with the Kickstarter search ranking, plus you will get backer updates and can change your pledge at any time before the campaign ends. Plus, as a thank you to all our wonderful backers from the first launch, we’ve discounted a limited number of games and created the “Controlled Madness” Pledge Level. It’s just a little thank you for being with us from the beginning.
It would also really help if each backer will hit the Share button upon completing your transaction. You never know which of your friends or followers may be interested in pitching in to keep the dream alive. And, it could spark a conversation with a friend you never knew loved Cthulhu!
Now without further adieu, I would like to invite you to take a look at our NEW Chaos of Cthulhu Kickstarter campaign. Please support us if you are a fan of independent games; every successful funding campaign means more unique new games to play with your friends and family!
Yours in Chaos,
Travis Watkins (Imp House Owner and Chaos of Cthulhu Game Development/Art Direction)
