KickTraq

If you’re thinking about using Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, or another crowdfunding site to raise money for your next big project, proceed with caution. (Read More)

Despite its complications, crowdsourcing enables diverse creators, outperforms VC funding. (Read More)

FTC orders Erik Chevalier to repay all backers for board game project that raised $122,000 but never saw the light of day. (Read More)

The Federal Trade Commission just posted some fascinating details regarding a settlement related to a failed crowdfunded project. The project, a board game.. (Read More)

It sounded fun enough: “The Doom That Came to Atlantic City,” its creators said, would be a “lighthearted Lovecraftian game of urban destruction, for two to four players.” Sort of like Monopoly, but with more destruction. The game’s inventors said they needed $35,000 to get the project off the ground, so they turned to crowdfunding—and, naturally, to Kickstarter. Online backers pledged a total of $122,874 in exchange for advance copies of the game, T-shirts, pewter figurines, and special crediting in the game’s eventual rule book. (Read More)

In its first crowdfunding case, the Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action against the developer of a board game who raised more than $122,000 on Kickstarter but failed to deliver a product. (Read More)

Earn rewards for supporting a project you believe in? That’s what “crowdfunding” is all about. Here’s how it works: “Creators” think of projects. To pay for those projects, they ask for small amounts of money from lots of people, usually through online platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Often, creators offer rewards to contributors. So far, so good … as long as the creators keep their end of the bargain. (Read More)

For a while now I’ve subscribed to a blog called the Board Game Lawyer. The author, a lawyer named Zachary Strebeck, writes consistently insightful posts about the legalities of publishing board games. (Read More)

Two years ago, Double Fine brought crowdfunding and kickstarter to the public eye and kicked off an almost gold rush period of projects being funded. The ability to receive funding purely off your concept from interested fans drove many developers both new and old to the platform. (Read More)

You've just successfully funded your product or service on Kickstarter. It might have taken you a couple of attempts, especially if you are a newcomer to your industry. There are a select few Kickstarter campaigns that not only reach their goals the first time around but completely blow by the goals in question. (Read More)

When the Internet got wind of a Kobe Beef jerky, thousands of carnivores heaved cash at a L.A. startup's Kickstarter. The only issue: neither the company nor the product was real. Unfortunately, stories like this aren't uncommon in the pages of Kickstarter's short history. Here are the six worst violators of our crowdfunding trust. (Read More)

The "Veronica Mars" movie comes out next month, which was one of the highest profile Kickstarter-funded projects to date and raised $5.7 million, but Kickstarter projects often aren't so immediately successful. (Read More)

Last week I detailed the sad, sorry state of the crowdfunded board game The Doom that Came to Atlantic City, which was cancelled 13 months into production after it raised a whopping $123K - about 3.5 times its initial goal. As it turns out, The Doom that Came to Atlantic City has been saved (sorry, Atlantic City) by board game and trading card publisher Cryptozoic Entertainment. (Read More)

As of this evening I've begun refunding backers along the terms I initially outlined in the Terminus update. I've refunded the top backer, James Bauer, his full $2500 and contacted everyone in the next tier down to confirm payment methods.   Much... (Read More)

Cryptozoic Entertainment will publish the board game The Doom That Came to Atlantic City in 2014, the company announced today. The news comes just a week after the announcement by the previous publisher that the Kickstarter-backed game had been cancelled, much to the dismay of both Kickstarter backers and game creators Keith Baker and Lee Moyer. (Read More)

Chuck Lawton’s post about how Kickstarter is broken really made me stop to think about the way I, as a blogger, approach Kickstarter projects. When I reviewed The Doom That Came to Atlantic City last year, I treated it the way I approached most Kickstarter board games. That is, I judged it mostly on the gameplay and the artwork that I’d seen, not on any examination of the project’s business plan. I’d communicated mostly with Keith Baker (the game designer) and Lee Moyer (the artist), but hadn’t had any direct interactions with Erik Chevalier, the project owner (and the one who was ultimately responsible for the Kickstarter project). (Read More)

This is not the post-mortem but a clarification for the last update. Its wordy, yes, but there is a lot of clarifying to do as many have already stated. I've read every comment but they are too many to address individually. I've attempted to respond... (Read More)

If you were thinking about donating some money to help Spike Lee get back on his feet, maybe think twice: this guy just raised over $120,000 to make a game, and then just walked away with all the money. Contrary to what The Crowd Economy preaches, strangers can still screw you. (Read More)

Two days ago, Erik Chevalier of the Forking Path announced that he has cancelled the Kickstarter to produce The Doom That Came To Atlantic City, a board game designed by Lee Moyer and Keith Baker, which is to say, me. When Lee and I first heard this news from Erik, it came as a shock. We've been working on this game for over a decade. (Read More)

This is not an easy update to write.  The short version: The project is over, the game is canceled. After much deliberation I've had to make this decision. I've informed Keith and Lee and neither at all happy with this situation. Every possible... (Read More)

Greetings Backers, Just touching base so you know we're still alive. The project is moving along but there isn't any news beyond our last update to add. Still looking at a Q3 release. Remember, you can keep up with Lee Moyer on his blog... (Read More)