Kickstart or Kickstop?

I was (somewhat) recently reading an interesting forum on BoardGameGeek (although I can't seem to find it now?) that asked this question: "if you died today how many games would still arrive at your house after your death?" A morbid, yet interesting, thought. At the time I believe I would have had 3 arriving still, all of which would have been Kickstarters. I think that's really what this question is asking as most games ordered online from a games store or Amazon would take weeks at the most, whereas Kickstarter games take between months and years (sometimes more...).

Some people said 3, some said 5, some said 10, some said 30. I believe one individual said they'd still have 100 games coming to their house in the case that they died! How? Who has the money for that? 
Kickstarter is an interesting creature. Basically you're giving someone money and hoping you'll get a game out of it. Obviously, some companies that use Kickstarter are more reliable/well known than others, so you probably have a better chance of that arriving. I'm very hesitant to back board games because I'm relatively cautious with my money and don't like getting screwed over. That being said, I have Kickstartered 8 games now, only 1 of which I'm still waiting for (come on, Unbroken!). Do I regret my backings? Let's find out.

Gloomhaven (Second Printing)
Kickstarter Ended: May 1, 2017
Kickstarter Received: December 2017

This was my first Kickstarter but with the success of the first printing, I wasn't very concerned. I tried to preorder the first edition, but (fortunately, in the end) there was the massive, worldwide disappointment of unfulfilled preorders. But then, the second edition came out on Kickstarter only a short time later with upgrades and everything I wanted. This game really felt like my game-come-true and I was sad that I had missed out on at first, but so glad I got a second chance. This one cost me $115 USD and I'm pretty sure that included shipping (amazing for Canada). I've really only scratched the surface of this one (about 10-12 scenarios in), but this behemoth is amazing. I'm hoping to pick up a Gloomhaven organizer this year to speed up set up time and get this guy back to the table. 

Kickstart or Kickstop

Flash Point: Tragic Events
Kickstarter Ended: August 16, 2017
Kickstarter Received: December 2017

Flash Point: Fire Rescue has always been one of my favourite non-fantasy cooperative games. It's the kind of game I can get my less-nerdy friends (and spouse) into it. I have the base game and the big expansion, Extreme Danger (basically got it for the individual miniatures which look pretty sweet). What I was really excited for in this expansion were the event and fire decks. Rolling dice for the fire in the base game was good, but, just very random and not very deep. The fire deck adds more of an AI to the game and it makes it more interesting. The event deck does the same. I would never play this game without this expansion again. I had to shell out $30 USD for this one, which is probably a little much for the content, but I don't believe it was ever coming to retail. I really don't play this one that much lately because usually I'm playing fantasy game solo or designing my own game, but I'm so glad I have this one in my collection.

Kickstart or Kickstop

Star Realms: Frontiers

Kickstarter Ended: August 10, 2017

Kickstarter Received: October 2018

It was quite the wait for this one. It was supposed to be delivered December 2017, making it about 10 months late. I know others have waited longer (or are still waiting for things), but this was my first taste of Kickstarter delay. This is one that I would usually have waited for retail for, but I really wanted the zillions of promo cards. I felt it was worth it this time. The real draw, however, were the new solo/cooperative challenges. Having only two in the Gambit expansion were not enough. That being said, I haven't really made use of these much since getting them. I do enjoy Star Realms and it's a fun little two player co-op (I don't really like it competitive), but I feel like I don't get it to the table much. There are other big or small games I'd rather bust out lately. With the promo cards, I have way too many cards to play with (I have the base game and Colony Wars). I would put this on the positive side of buying, but I'm not 100% sure I'd do it all over again.

Kickstart? or Kickstop

Lightning & Bolt

Kickstarter Ended: February 14, 2018

Kickstarter Received: February 2018

This was a Make 100 that didn't ship to Canada, so I couldn't buy the actual game. I settled for the $1 USD print 'n' play. Print 'n' play is not my speciality, but I put together a cheap little workable version to play this co-op game with my daughter. It's made to be like that - the child plays the super hero (dice chucker) and the adult plays the robot (need to plan your skills a little more). To be honest, I've only played this game twice - once solo to learn the rules and once with my daughter. I'm not sure exactly why. I have one big beef with the game. When you flip the evil professor tile, you have to reshuffle all the tiles (the tiles make up the board, a la Burble Bros, Forbidden Desert, etc.). It might not seem like a big deal, but when you're at the end of the game trying to find the last few matches, it's really annoying to shuffle everything 3 or 4 times in a row and get nowhere. The art in this game is amazing, I simply love Andrew Bosley's art style. So, to have a game with his art for $1? I can live with that. I'm thinking that I would have been disappointed with the full game, considering my beef and the fact that I've played it twice in a year, so I don't know that I can count this one as a win. I'll need to pull it off the shelf and give it another try maybe.

Kickstart or Kickstop

Unbroken

Kickstarter Ended: April 5, 2018

Kickstarter Received: April 2019 (hopefully...?)

I have not played this game yet, so the verdict is still out. I've only heard great things from playtesters and those brave enough to build the PnP for this bad boy. The game is scheduled to ship about four months later than expected which is a bummer, but I'd rather the game was done right and shipped right than done and shipped on time. Really looking forward to this one. I'll do an update once it arrives and let you know how it goes.

Kickstart? or Kickstop?

5-Minute Dungeon: Curses! Foiled Again!

Kickstarter Ended: June 5, 2018

Kickstarter Received: February 2019

5-Minute Dungeon is my favourite timed game. I've played FUSE and Escape, but they don't come close to this one. The cooperation is real, the cards are hilarious, the art is fun, the production value is high. What's not to like about this one? I did not back the base game, I just picked it up at Toys R Us as a retail copy. So what did I do when this expansion came around with a chance to get the Kickstarter stuff that I missed from the first one? Uh, duh. I jumped on it! Not only that, the Curses expansion adds a new hero and new enemy cards for all the bosses. Things have been crazy since Christmas and so I've only managed to get this played one time since getting it. That one time, added to the 50+ plays of the base game, are enough. Please, give me more 5-Minute dungeon and I will take it!

Kickstart or Kickstop

Goblivion

Kickstarter Ended: June 27, 2018

Kickstarter Received: January 2019

This has probably been my riskiest Kickstarter to date. This was Goblivion Games' first Kickstarter, whereas most of my others were from tried and true companies or designers. I won't go on and on this one, because I already have in previous posts (also have a review on BGG), but this game is amazing! I might've got a better price at retail, but being able to help Jean Francois and get the game for sure (not all games go to retail) was worth the $43 CDN. This is a definite win.

Kickstart or Kickstop

Mephisto

Kickstarter Ended: February 14, 2019

Kickstarter Received: March 2019 (probably)

This one just ended a few weeks ago and isn't expected until November, but I didn't back the whole game. I threw in $5 USD to support the designers and get a PnP version. I'm at a point where I don't need any more games right now (ha ha ha) nor do I have the money for them. This one looked really interesting and looked easy enough to build my own PnP. It's a one deck dungeon crawl and I'm excited to see how it works. My version is supposed to be released this month so I'll report back and let you know how it goes.

Kickstart? or Kickstop?

So there you have it, my exciting (or not so much?) journey with Kickstarter. I thinkg that Kickstarter can be a great platform if you understand what it's purpose is and do your research. I feel quite satisfied with my Kickstarter backings thus far. I'll always be careful, but I'll back the ones that I think are worth it.