Check Out Gamefound, The Alternative to Kickstarter

Kickstarter has become a standard in tabletop games. Over the years, from the explosion of Exploding Kittens, to the super cool funding of Frosthaven, we've come to anticipate handing over our money before the release in order to help with production. Pledging for our chosen option, keeping an eye on stretch goals, heading to a pledge manager to (let's be honest) add even more little extra bits to our pledge, and then eagerly awaiting (if all goes well) a future game appearing at our door 

Crowdfunding isn't new, but Kickstarter is the usual go-to for creators. Except, now, as announced last week, there's going to be another option, with Gamefound from Awaken Realms. Gamefound isn't new - it was a free to use pledge manager, except now it's going to be going front of house, to begin with ISS Vanguard. 

Gamefound admit that the time spent in being behind the scenes has benefitted the production of a crowd funding platform. They're aware of what areas are sticking points, and they've worked to change those. For example, adding additional options, like upgraded tokens, or add ons, can now be completed within the pledge, rather than after the campaign ends. Plus, stretch goals now unlock automatically, comments can be sorted by topic (hashtag) so you can see any similar concerns or shout outs, and a bit more clarity in your pledges as to what you've picked, what you're gaining in stretch, and easily transition into the pledge manager afterwards if needed. 

This isn't the first alternative to Kickstarter - whilst it may have taken over Indigogo in popular culture, others like Hasbro have created their own, seen in its recent HeroQuest (where UK customers can still contribute but through purchases with Zavvi), which demonstrate that there's an appeal to follow the games, and that other options have a great chance too. 

For now, only a few projects will be on Gamefound, so they can ensure everything runs smoothly, but they're hoping for this to change within 5-6 months, so we'll keep an eye on crowdfunding in the new year!