Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Citizens of the Spark
I had a parcel in the post today, a board game that I supported on Kickstarter, Citizens of the Spark from Thunderworks Games. Now I get Kickstarter fulfilment parcels frequently enough, as I have still 17 board games backed that haven't delivered yet. But I wanted to give a thumbs up to Thunderworks Games for two reasons:
- The estimated delivery date of Citizens of the Spark was July 2025, and I received my game in July 2025. That really rarely happens. The last game I received had an estimated delivery date of October 2023, and I received it in May 2025. The large majority of Kickstarter board games I received were at least 6 months late.
- I paid $40 on Kickstarter for this game, plus $18.40 for VAT and shipping. That included the small "Transmission" expansion pack for free. If I bought the game now, it is $54.95 + $10 for the expansion, plus shipping. The game also didn't go for sale on retail before the backers received their copies. I thus feel as if I got good value for money by backing this game.
Now, if you aren't backing many Kickstarter board games, you might think that all this is perfectly normal. Backers get good value for money, and receive their promised rewards on time. Sadly, that isn't the case. I'm still waiting for Steam Power from Wallace Design, which was already for sale for the general public at last year's Spiel 2024 in Essen in October, but hasn't been delivered to backers yet. I could get the game by mail order from several different suppliers already, and sometimes for cheaper than what I paid for backing the project. Those are the situations where you feel that you have been taken advantage of for your willingness to back an unfinished game. Guess what company I would be willing to back more games of, and what company I wouldn't.
Labels: Board Games
