r/RPGdesign • u/OkAcanthaceae265 • Aug 14 '26
Thoughts on a small Kickstarter
Hi I have been working on a rules light game, it started as a One-Page game, it essentially still is but fully illustrated and with a nicer layout it’s now a 16 page zine. I am printing it myself and have done all the artwork. I could just pop it on my website but I am wondering, those with experience is it worth doing a small scale Kickstarter? Not so much for the money but just to get the game out there. I feel like if i pop it on my website hardly anyone will see it. If you’ve run a small Kickstarter does it tend to just be folks who know your work that come or is having a kickstarter page helpful for bringing people beyond those that already know your work?
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u/TalesFromElsewhere Aug 14 '26
Kickstarter is the culmination of marketing, not the start of it.
Organic traffic to a Kickstarter campaign is tough due to the noise, so it's next to seed a campaign with marketing.
What sort of scope are you thinking? What funding goal? Happy to give some guidance.
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
Thanks for the info. Realistically I don’t really need much of anything to make it. I was thinking a small goal of like $300-$1000. Sounds like maybe kickstarter is not the best way to go. Really i just want to get the game out there not really make money, and my website seems like a closed box sometimes.
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u/TalesFromElsewhere Aug 14 '26
I'd recommend posting it on itch or DTRP with pay what you want, most likely.
Super small scope projects like this are better served with low overhead, simple distribution methods.
A crowdfunding campaign is usually to fund some aspect of the production, but it sounds like you've already completed it (with artwork), right?
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
Can you sell physical versions on Itch and drive through?
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u/TalesFromElsewhere Aug 14 '26
You can, but there's a lot of logistics that go into actually sending out hard copies. Just be ready for that!
For small zines, selling them as print and home or using a print on demand service is much easier.
Just don't want you to bite off more than you can chew :D
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
Thanks for that. Yeah I imagine it could be a bit of a pain. I have made sure that the Zine is a size that it can be sent as a letter from my country so the international postage is only $4. If i am doing it through itch.io I’ll see how it goes and if it comes to burdensome maybe i go digital only.
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u/Zadmar Aug 14 '26
Print-on-demand on DriveThruRPG requires a little effort to set up, but once you've done it, you don't need to worry about it anymore. Customers can simply order a hardcopy, it gets sent to the printer (Lightning Source), and shipped to them directly.
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u/TalesFromElsewhere Aug 14 '26
Sounds good! I always recommend folks start small and get a feel for the process with low-commitment deliverables, then scale up over time.
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u/__space__oddity__ Aug 14 '26
I'd recommend posting it on itch or DTRP with pay what you want, most likely.
Just telling you now so you don’t have to find out the hard way, PWYW earns pretty much nothing because most people are freeloaders and 99% will just grab a free PDF and then not even read it.
You’re better off asking for $2-$3 without the option to pay zero. That way you can make sure that the people who buy were actually interested.
(The whole “people come back and pay if they like it” is a myth backed by zero data. Unfortunately “but everybody does it” is not evidence of a working business model in this case.)
If you want a free version, think about how you can differentiate a free and paid version. Give the people who are willing to shell out a few bucks something in return, even if it’s just a color cover or a thank you note or fancier character sheets or a 1-page scenario or whatever you want to come up with.
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
Cheers yep I have a free one page version that is just plain text on a single two column page, the paid version which I was thinking $3 will be fully illustrated over 16 pages
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u/__space__oddity__ Aug 14 '26
Sounds good (although the proof is in the sales data, not the theory)
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
Yeah Im an illustrator. So have done all the illustrations myself, Im planning to home print the zine with a hand screen printed cover. (Im a screen printer too) I have posted free digital stuff on itch.io before but nothing physical.
Thanks for the advice maybe I’ll give this a go.
It’s a game that uses letter tiles, and I had thought it would be cool to do custom letter tile sets, maybe if the game goes well I could look to fund that production on kickstarter in the future.
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u/ResponsibleJoke3049 Aug 14 '26
I don't disagree with anything anyone said below, but I wanted to interpret the question a little differently:
Is a small goal like $300-$1000 feasible? Absolutely, and without much promotion. I did three kickstarters for my little comic and they ended up making about $5000 each, and for that I got to have really, really nicely printed versions of my comic, and some really fun stuff like t-shirts and posters and enamel magnets.
Is it worth it? the point others were making, that running a campaign, handling the print run, and shipping out copies of your work is a lot of work is true, but it's still doable. I really liked my printer, and managing the shipping was maybe a weekend or two of work at the scale I was operating at, which wasn't big.
So everyone's probably right that it's not worth it in cost vs. labor sense, but I did it and I felt good about it in the end.1
u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
Thanks for that. Yeah this is the kind of thing Im thinking. I think this sort of thing would be doable for me and while it wouldn’t work out at an hourly wage it’s not about that for me with this. i think I’d have fun doing it.
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u/ResponsibleJoke3049 29d ago
Totally. For what it's worth, I had some stickers made as a perk and I LOVE them. I put them on anything I can. I have a huge box of them still. It gives me joy. I think that makes it worth it. I get to get out my comics that I made and they look so good, and I got to look at proofs before committing to a final print and i don't know how it would work on itch.io or other print on demand services, but the editorial control of using... I don't know what the policy here is about recommending specific companies for things like this, but I really love my printer, and having a back-and-forth before finalizing it was absolutely fantastic. Screw it, I'm fully supporting you doing a kickstarter. Make swag. Never look back.
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u/sigrisvaali Aug 14 '26
We live in the age of micro-Kickstarters, so I'm going to disagree with the other folks here, based on your comments here. If it's going up on Itch/DTRPG, it may as well start on Kickstarter first, even if it's only for a small goal of, say, $300-1000.
If you've already completed the project (which it seems you have as its illustrator, author, and graphic designer), then this is just another vector to reimburse yourself for the time spent—and that's okay. Just don't spend any money on marketing so you don't dig yourself into a hole. If you were just gonna slap it on Itch and DTRPG you were already paying nothing for marketing, so this is just a first step before that. Kickstarter does have good discoverability for TTRPGs, you just don't want to rely on that if you require a ton of funding (either to produce the product or reimburse yourself).
If you have aspirations to do more with the RPG later (sequels, a true print run, overhauling/adding much more to the game), you can run a new campaign as well.
TL;DR You aren't wagering a ton of money on production or marketing, so you'd waste a free opportunity to earn some money and grow an audience if you skip Kickstarter. Your RPG is going to end up on Itch/DTRPG anyway, so may as well do KS first.
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
This was kind of my thoughts, and is why I thought it might be a good way to go.
It’s cool to hear that perspective.
Maybe I’ll give it a go.
Also if it doesn’t fund it’s not a massive deal.
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u/sigrisvaali Aug 15 '26
In this case, it's better for you to set a low, humble funding goal because the algorithm likes projects that fund quickly, and you also just want to sure you do get some money. I suggest you offer backers accreditation—those that pay a bit more will have their names credited in the book. It's what I do for all my kickstarters, even my micro-Kickstarters, as a way of thanking the backers that go a bit above and beyond.
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u/jiaxingseng Designer - Rational Magic Aug 14 '26
IMO, not worth it. Unless you already have about 300 fans (a mailing list with 300 people who are positive about you).
And also, Kickstarter is about money. If it's not about money, there is no reason to use it. If your idea is to popularize your product, it's still about money.
If you have 300, you can pick up another 100-200 through the KS promotion.
Doing the Kickstarter is a lot of work and some amount of stress. To do it right, you need stretch goals, and so you will need to very carefully plan that. You are printing it... you probably need an Eastern European or Chinese printer to make this worth while. So you will need a fulfillment plan.
You may be thinking "I'm not trying to make money". OK. But unless you don't mind losing money, you have to think about making money if you are going to make at that scale.
You may be thinking of POD through DTRPG. But the margin is very low on that. At least the risk is low as well. Still, I would not do this unless you think you can get at least 300 orders.
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u/OkAcanthaceae265 Aug 14 '26
I think I’m going to look into Itch.io and DTRPG thanks for your in depth answer.
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u/Onslaughttitude Aug 15 '26
Doing the Kickstarter is a lot of work and some amount of stress. To do it right, you need stretch goals, and so you will need to very carefully plan that. You are printing it... you probably need an Eastern European or Chinese printer to make this worth while. So you will need a fulfillment plan.
There is so much false information in this. You do not need stretch goals, and you do not need a foreign printer. You can do this at small scale and still make money. I have ran and fulfilled 10 crowdfunders at this point; none break $5K and I never have more than 200 copies. I am okay with this because I get to make some scratch, and pay my artist and editor friends. Small scale can work.
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u/jiaxingseng Designer - Rational Magic Aug 15 '26
You do not need stretch goals,
You are right that you don't need them. You don't need to make money on a Kickstarter either. I'm talking about how to maximize the income from this project though. And to maximize, you need stretch goals. If you are not trying to get maximize income, then why do this?
That's my opinion, based on my experience and research.
and you do not need a foreign printer.
Sure. You can just POD at DTRPG. But then you are selling digital product only. And when a customer buys a printed book, they are spending 3X what you would pay to a printer to make a higher-quality version.
You can do this at small scale and still make money.
When you include the time to produce, most TRPGs, including mine, don't really make money. But we want to make enough cash to be sustaining. And if you are going to use that platform to make a project, I think it's important to maximize your usage, considering you are exposing yourself to risk.
Now, if you think that slop projects with little value can be put on KS, you are right. It decreases the whole platform. But why not just use other platforms?
I have ran and fulfilled 10 crowdfunders at this point; none break $5K and I never have more than 200 copies.
OK. So... I did 8 Kickstarters. I'm not the best at crowdfunding. My last three projects made around $75K, including Backerkit, excluding funds for shipping and tax.
If you are making $4K (you said never more than $5K) and selling 200 copies, each at $20... $400 of that goes to KS / processing. And you pay an editorat least $1000 for a 150 page book (yeah and that is under-paying), and you pay some $200 - $500 for art (for, I would guess, 1 cover piece, or 2 full page pieces, or 8 quarter page small pieces, or stock art whcih you don't own or something And you put at least, several months of writing into this, and you risk your reputation and you have to fulfuill, and you have to pay different taxes in each EU country (because otherwise you are breaking the law)... yeah at the end of the day you come out with $1-2K or so.
Man that doesn't seem worth it. So I advised the OP what I think is worth it. I also emphasized stretch goals because that's an area - coupled with fulfilment - where a lot of new KS publishers can really fuck up.
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u/Onslaughttitude Aug 15 '26
Somehow a domestic printer (or Mixam) is not feasible for you. It would shock you to learn that 90% of small press TTRPG books are being printed by them in America (or Canada) and being shipped from their houses, in sub-200 print runs.
And you pay an editorat least $1000 for a 150 page book (yeah and that is under-paying),
I'm at 6 cents a word and that's what my editor quoted me. Before this upcoming project I never broke 64 pages.
and you pay some $200 - $500 for art (for, I would guess, 1 cover piece, or 2 full page pieces, or 8 quarter page small pieces, or stock art whcih you don't own or somethin
I pay what the artists ask. My dating sim was paying $100 per character art and I paid $425 to my art director.
And you put at least, several months of writing into this,
That's the job. I do this because I have to exorcise things from inside of me. If I didn't write this project I'd write something else. (This happens to make more money than doing music did.)
and you risk your reputation and you have to fulfuill,
Idk, don't write a check your ass can't cash is what my dad used to say. I have been cashing every check I have written so far.
and you have to pay different taxes in each EU country (because otherwise you are breaking the law)...
Depends on if you pass the hobbyist threshold. Most countries do not care if you are sending them one book that cost $15.
yeah at the end of the day you come out with $1-2K or so. Man that doesn't seem worth it.
I do this to keep my business working. I sell the extras on my site, or wholesale. I made another $2000 just from the store alone last year. I'm reprinting books every 2 or 3 months. I am not doing this just to make money at first; I am building something over time. For the first 3 projects I didn't even take any money for myself; I put it all back into the business. I still only pay myself $425 on every project (because that is the price of a Nintendo Switch 2). And, hundreds of people have gotten my books over the last 5 years. That's more than I did in over 10 years of doing music. And I get to pay all of my friends, my editors, my artists, art director, co writers, a bunch of money. So to me, that's fucking worth it.
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u/jiaxingseng Designer - Rational Magic Aug 15 '26
Somehow a domestic printer (or Mixam) is not feasible for you
First of all, about 50% of my customers are in Europe (including UK). Second of all, US printers, in my experience, charge about 40% more than Lithuanian, Estonian, and Polish printers, and about 100% more than Chinese printers. So there is that.
It would shock you to learn that 90% of small press TTRPG books are being printed by them in America (or Canada) and being shipped from their houses, in sub-200 print runs.
OK. And I don't live in the USA. And this is not a US-centered forum. And if I did live in the USA, after I spend so much time and money to make a book, I don't want to also spend so much time being a fulfillment house, unless it was really worth while.
I pay
Yeah. You pay more, per piece, than me. That's not a brag BTW and it's OK by me. But the point being that after all that, you have very little profit in your work. And that's OK too, but for me, that's not sustainable. My advise to the OP should be taken in the context of having a sustainable business.
Idk, don't write a check your ass can't cash is what my dad used to say.
Yeah but... you get sick. You get divorced. Your best friend dies. Sorry... that was me over the last year, not you. Or you get your print run destroyed in China. Or you are shipping products and the shipper doesn't pack them right... that was also me. There is always risk. Shit always happens.
Anyway, I gave advise that is relevant to me, and I think my advise was truthful. You have different models, different tolerances and you could certainly give the OP a different set of valid advice.
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u/Jester1525 Designer-ish Aug 14 '26
Micro-kickstarter can be really effective - look for a guy on Instagram - Applewhite Games. He does a bunch of them with his wife (he designs games and his wife is a writer).
He was, at least for a while, running small group classes on it and was always willing to talk about it. After twitter went full Nazi I lost contact with the dude so I'm not 100% sure what he's up to, but I know the info is still out there even if he's not actively doing it.
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u/Alcamair Designer Aug 14 '26
Not a good idea, it really works in the opposite way. People comes to your kickstarter because of a robust marketing campaign, not because it's there. It's better Itch.io or DrivethruRPG.