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Can you review my kickstarter rewards?

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Zodiak Team
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As many of you know I'll be launching my kickstarter today but I wanted to check with you guys to see if these rewards were appetizing to say the least. Please let me know what you think and any thoughts you might have on what should be offered. Thanks so much in advance!

1. $4 Aquarius: A special thank you from me to you for supporting the project and a well deserved shout out for you on Twitter.

2. $8 Pisces: A Print & Play version of the game and a special thank you shout out on Twitter

3. $17 Ares: You’ll get the 2 previous awards plus 2 reviewer’s copies of the game for you to play and sample right away. You’ll also be invited to join our Developers group on Facebook so you’ll always be “In-The-Know” on everything in the Zodiak Universe and have the opportunity to share your own thoughts and opinions with the crew. We’ll also feature any gameplay videos or written reviews you do for Zodiak Legends on our blog and social media pages.

4. $26 Taurus: Be one of the first to get a physical copy of Zodiak Legends (your choice of set) as well as all Ares rewards.

5. $36 Gemini: Receive 2 signed 18x12 prints of Adrian Retana’s illustrations for Zodiak Legends as well all Taurus rewards.

6. $54 Cancer: We’ll send you 2 Zodiak Legends sets of your choice, 3 Autographed 18x12 prints of Adrian Retana’s illustrations and give you all the Ares rewards.

7. $78 Leo: Receive a Kickstarter exclusive battle-mat as well as all the rewards for Cancer.

8. $112 Virgo: Thank you so much for your support! As a real special thank you we’ll send you 2 Zodiak Legends sets of your choice, 4 Autographed 18x12 prints from Adrian Retana, and 2 Kickstarter exclusive Enchantment cards. We’ll also put your name on the back of the rulebook! Not to mention you’ll get all the Ares rewards along with the exclusive battle-mat.

9. $149 Libra: Get 3 Zodiak Legends sets of your choice, 4 autographed 18x12 prints from Adrian Retana, 2 exclusive Enchantment cards, your name in the rule book, the Kickstarter exclusive Battle-Mat, the Ares rewards AND receive a very top secret award you can’t afford to miss out on!

10. $199 Scorpio: You’ll receive 4 Zodiak sets of your choice, 4 autographed 18x12 prints from Adrian Retana, 2 exclusive Enchantment cards, 1 exclusive Unit, have your name added to the rulebook, the Kickstarter exclusive Battle-Mat, the top secret Libra reward, and receive a Zodiak Legends “Become A Legend” T-shirt. You’ll also get the Ares rewards.

11. $249 Sagittarius: You’ll receive all Scorpio rewards, 3 top secret Virgo rewards, and a set of custom dice. You’ll also recieve the Areas rewards.

12. $299 Capricorn: You’ll receive 5 copies of Zodiak Legends, 5 autographed 18x12 Prints and 2 full posters from Adrian Retana, 2 exclusive Enchantment cards, 1 exclusive Unit, your name added to the rulebook, the Kickstarter exclusive Battle-Mat, 3 top secret Libra rewards, the custom dice, 3 autographed Units, all Ares rewards, and be locked in to receive the $50 reward of our next Kickstarter campaign for a customizable miniatures game that takes place in the Zodiak Universe.

13. $500 Ophiuchus: For being so generous you’ll receive a copy of all 12 sets as well as a prototype of the Ophiuchus set. You’ll also receive everything listed in the Capricorn reward not pertaining to any deck sets. As an added bonus you’ll be the first to receive 2 expansion sets of your choice and last but not least Adrian Retana will actually draw you your very own, one of a kind Unit to use in the game!

P.S.: I have not added in international shipping costs yet. I'll do that when I'm ready to upload.

voodoodog
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Looks appetizing to me!

The rewards look appetizing to me! On my project "Planet Pioneer", it received an average pledge of $37, with the majority of the pledges at the $25 level. My game is a simple deck of 109 cards, whereas yours seems quite larger in scope, so you should do well at the mid to upper levels.
One thing that is important is proofreading your project. The above may be just a quick post for this forum, but you misspelled the word "Aries" in a few places, and I think that stands out when you are doing a game based on the Zodiac. You want to appear like a total expert on your subject. Proofread: #3, #4, #6, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12
The nice thing about Kickstarter is that you can always edit or revise the main bulk of your project once it launches. The only thing they don't let you change is your goal amount, timeframe and any bonus reward levels that have been claimed by at least one backer. This is important to note, particularly in regards to rewards. Make absolutely sure that you can provide what you promise and not lose your shirt in the process.
Post the link once you pull the trigger and hit that Launch button.
Good luck and have fun!

Zodiak Team
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hey great catch. I've been

hey great catch. I've been doing some Greek mythology work for the next game I mixed up Ares and Aries.

I've gone over the rewards, I've priced them to make sure they're doable, spoke to my artist about the rewards and looks like we are good to go. I'll shoot a video in a little bit and continue to add new videos as the month goes on because I have some sweet demo parties lined up.

Any advice on the video? Is it tacky to shoot a 2 minute vid on my phone?

voodoodog
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Video

I didn't put a video on my project for two reasons. First, when I initially did one, it seemed cheap and cheesy. The production quality was lousy and it did not convey the game as I would have liked it to. Second, when I look at other KS projects, I just about always skip the video. My theory is that you should be able to clearly present your idea in words and a few illustrations or sample images. Unless there is a lot action or physical movement involved, watching a shakey video of a bunch of guys hunkered around a card table is Boring with a capital "B".
The other side of the coin, though, is if you CAN make an engaging video that will hold the viewers interest and help sell the game, then do so and also post it on YouTube. I have heard of projects being found via a YouTube video posting.

Zodiak Team
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I forgot you need to first

I forgot you need to first submit your kickstarter for review before you can launch it. Here is the preview page though. I'll be adding a video soon.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zodiakuniverse/870765417?token=3528f9b0

voodoodog
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Looks real good!

The project site looks good. One thing to consider before you launch is the goal amount, as once you go live, that number is written in stone and can't be changed. My first KS project, I set my initial goal too high and picked a random number of $5,000. Well, I didn't get funded but learned a valuable lesson, keep it within reason. Sure there are games on there that are garnering tens of thousands of dollars, but they are mainly big board games or video games by semi established companies. The card games don't generally command such a high price. On my new project, I set the goal at what some would say is a very low number of $600, but it insured that we would get funded and continue to build upon that. We won't get rich, but that really isn't the idea behind crowd funding. The seed money allows us to get enough copies of the game made to get them into the hands of reviewers, shop owners and distributors.
I feel sorry for the projects that I see up there that are just about ready to end and they have either wildly overestimated the value of their product or end up just short of an enormous amount, and therefore don't get funded. A Kickstarter project can be a lot of work to create, monitor and maintain, and it's not fun to do all that work for nothing.

Zodiak Team
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your right, those are solid

your right, those are solid points. I just wanted to make sure the amount was high enough that I could continue to work on the project and pay my artist as well as higher another one. Maybe I can lower it to $2,000 just to make sure it gets funded.

munio
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i was just wondering why you

i was just wondering why you offer two review copies at ares level instead of just one?

Zodiak Team
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because you can't play a card

because you can't play a card game alone

indrkl
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voodoodog wrote:I didn't put

voodoodog wrote:
I didn't put a video on my project for two reasons. First, when I initially did one, it seemed cheap and cheesy. The production quality was lousy and it did not convey the game as I would have liked it to. Second, when I look at other KS projects, I just about always skip the video. My theory is that you should be able to clearly present your idea in words and a few illustrations or sample images. Unless there is a lot action or physical movement involved, watching a shakey video of a bunch of guys hunkered around a card table is Boring with a capital "B".
The other side of the coin, though, is if you CAN make an engaging video that will hold the viewers interest and help sell the game, then do so and also post it on YouTube. I have heard of projects being found via a YouTube video posting.

I agree, that no video might be better than a awful quality video, but I've got a feeling that video is often the key part of presentation, which sort of helps people filter interesting from not interesting.
I for example like seeing the people making the game. That sort of creates the feeling of being more connected to the project already. And you can also read a lot about the person.
I'd suggest poke around and maybe a friend of a friend does filming as a hobby, maybe you have a film schools in town, young students would always help to hone their skills :)

voodoodog
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$2,000 vs. $5,000

Too many people seem to view KickStarter as a get rich quick scheme. I saw one lady that set her goal at $40,000 and all she had was a lame idea with artwork that looked like her little kid did it. She had this horrible presentation scotch-taped to her dining room wall and a goofy video of her standing in front of it explaining her "theory". I don't know what she was thinking shooting for 40 Grand, I thought it was a typo, but no, she was for real. Her project ended netting a whopping $128! Go see for yourself of what NOT to do:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1946224050/revelation-the-game-0?ref...

At the $2,000 for the initial goal, you are just about guaranteed to get funded within the 30 days of the project. If it doesn't kill your budget and you can still pay your people and provide the rewards, then getting funded is priority one. If you don't get funded, then it has all been for naught and you could have spent your time mowing the lawn or something instead. So make sure that you can get funded and still keep your head above water. Once the project hits the $2,000 mark then you can put your efforts forward to reaching the $,3000, $4,000, $5,000 goal and beyond. It's better to be a minor success than a huge failure. Just ask Sharon James ;)

Zodiak Team
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OMG HAHAHAHA that video was

OMG HAHAHAHA that video was creepy and funny but I don't think she meant it to be either.

I'm def going to go over my expenses and see what I can afford to do. I was hoping to come out of this Kickstarter, not necessarily ahead but well enough off that I can print multiple copies of my game's sets as I show it off to different retailers and distributors. I'd also like to hire another artist but if it needs to just be Adrian and I than we'll see it through but at a slower pace than what I would like.

I'm not sure yet but 3,500 might be our sweet spot

voodoodog
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Sweet Spot

That might be a good compromise. I had the luxury of creating "Planet Pioneer" all by my little old self. As a Graphic Artist by trade, I did all the art for the cards and tuck boxes. I paid myself with the fun that I had doing it. Another thing to take into account is KickStarter takes 5% and so does Amazon, so factor in 10% right off the top going to them.
TheGameCrafter.com just posted that they are now offering Bulk Pricing, so you may want to look into that if you don't already have a manufacturer lined up.

Zodiak Team
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yeah I saw that. Im actually

yeah I saw that. Im actually on the site know talking with the community but Im not sure if they'll be able to help me

Zodiak Team
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