A Kickstarter superbacker is a person that backed at least 25 projects in the last year, with pledges at $10 or more. In other words they back a lot of projects. I have talked to several superbackers in the past but this time I have talked to a real superbacker. Richard Hensman “The Dreaded Geek” has backed over 800 games on Kickstarter!

How many kickstarters have you backed and how many of them are board game projects?

836, all but two of them are board games. 

When you open up a kickstarter page, what is the first thing you look at and how many seconds does the publisher have to convice you before you travel on to other campaigns?

Images, price, gameplay example, in that order.   It’s less “how many seconds to convince me” and more “how much will I read before buying”  🙂  If the game’s cheap enough, I will back almost any game.  If the gameplay is something interesting, I will back at nearly any price.  If it’s a sequel or expansion to something I already have, and doesn’t cost too much, I’ll sometimes buy without even reading most of the campaign page.
If the game is complicated, having several, clear ways to buy “Everything” (All Gameplay, EVERYTHING, Base game plus all non-expansion extras, etc) are a massive advantage. If it’s a reprint or second edition, or sequel to an existing game, it’s REALLY important to have a “I bought at this level in the original and I want all the new stuff” type level.  FAR too many second versions don’t include this, and not only does it make life difficult for returning backers (your loyal customers who you should be rewarding!) but makes it feel like you don’t care about them any more.

What is your biggest turn off when you open a Kickstarter page?

Really expensive games, lackluster design, games with a lot of stretch goals that will end up costing more money. One of my pet peeves is “We don’t send packages with tracking and we’re not responsible if your package gets lost”.  To me that may as well say, “We won’t send you anything”Please don’t make updates that are just links to videos!  I don’t have the time to spend 10 minutes listening to the whole thing just to find out if you had anything important to say!  Don’t be lazy, type it out! (send the video as well if you like, but making it my only option FORCES me to spend the amount of time YOU thought it should take, and I can’t skim or skip as I can with typed updates.

If you could tell Kickstarter creators one thing, what would that be? 

Listen to Backers.  Especially those that have backed a lot of similar campaigns to yours.  They know what will and won’t work. 

What do you REALLY think about stretch goals?

I really appreciate free extras that add value to the end game from economy of scale.  Especially when these add gameplay, or significantly add aesthetic appeal.  I dislike stretch goals that add cost, these are just ways to get more money from backers, not reward them for supporting.  I am ambivalent about stretch goals such as alternate art, that don’t add to the game in any meaningful way. 

What do you think about early birds and exclusives?

I dislike exclusives.  I am a collector, and am turned off by a game I can’t “complete”.  Early birds for a small discount are ok, but I am often frustrated by finding a game late, and the early bird price is significantly cheaper.   

What do you think about paid previews

As long as they’re open about it, that’s fine.  “I was paid for this opinion”, or “I was paid to do this, but it’s an honest opinion”, or “I wasn’t paid, but I got my copy of the game for free”. 

Do you prefer to pay shipping during or after the campaign.

I don’t mind paying later, if the campaign is clear that that will happen, defines the costs up front, and sticks to them.  I get really upset with campaigns that promise low shipping fees, then double them or more when the time comes.  Especially when that makes the cost a significant portion of the game’s price in the first place.  Campaigns that say “shipping prices rose unexpectedly” – but the same creator has done 5 or 6 campaigns, all with the same estimates, and the same rise in prices (one after the other, without learning from previous campaigns), just sound like lies. 

If the delivery of the game is delayed, what is the best way for the publisher to handle that?

Almost every KS is delayed.  Keep communications open, ignore the people who get mad at you for the delays (there will always be some), but keep talking to the rest of us.  “This is where we are, this is what comes next, this is when we hope to have more information”  Don’t ever go dark.