#267 Crowdfunding on Kickstarter with Anya Comb

Anya, Director of Games for Kickstarter, joins Dirk and David to talk about how the crowdfunding platform works with creatives in the games industry. The three discuss why games, and especially tabletop games, have thrived on the platform and how to make sure a Kickstarter campaign has the best chance of working for your game. Topics covered include game-adjacent products, changes in Kickstarter over the years, community building, and discoverability on the platform.

Episode Outline

1:16 Anya gives a quick introduction to her career working for AddictingGames.com, Nickelodeon, and Kickstarter

2:38 Why Anya thinks Kickstarter and games (especially tabletop games) have been a great match

6:07 What are the current roles of video game and game adjacent products like Critical Role on Kickstarter?

11:35 How to know if Kickstarter is a good fit for your game

18:55 How Kickstarter has changed over the years—can small creators still make it?

27:02 Discussing crowdfunding changes in the tabletop role-playing game industry specifically

33:08 Tips on building a community for first time designers

35:45 Describing the Kickstarter organization, and what might be in store for Kickstarter in the future

41:37 How does discoverability work on Kickstarter, and how can developers move the needle there?

46:51 Talking about some of the manufacturing and distribution issues facing tabletop games right now

50:35 Advice from Anya for the podcast listeners

In this Episode

Anya Combs - @AnyaynA
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer