Street Kings is another board game project on Kickstarter. Like every board game to launch in the last gaggle of months it faces the uphill challenge of getting noticed and raising funds. It looks like a good game. Curious? You can check it out in more detail on the campaign page or read the summary below.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boardtodeath/street-kings
[Back this Campaign]
At the time of writing Board to Death, the brand behind the project, has managed to drum up more than $7,000 for the campaign. They’re asking for $20,000 and there’s a week to go. It’s still possible but it’s not going to be easy.
The underground racing game looks good and I think the idea of building up your credits to improve your cars, build your crew and win races taps into the Fast and the Furious culture, appealing to a wide range of audiences.
A pledge of $45 will get you a copy of the game and all the unlocked stretch goals. That’s pretty generous. If you’re going to Chez Geeks in Montreal and can pick the game up in person you can drop that down to just $35. If you’re a retailer you can pick up 10 copies of the game for $349. That’s also very generous even if there are some shipping restrictions on this one.
One of the reasons the Kickstarter might be lagging behind Board to Death’s expectations is that they are being very kind. Most of the board games I’ve looked at recently have been more expensive than this. They might also want to consider making alternative use of their art on t-shirts or other street racing gear.
Board to Death, themselves, are interesting. There’s a website and YouTube channel where you’ll normally get board game reviews. I’ve watched a few. They’re good! It’s not easy being a publisher in this space – we do it for the love, not the money, therefore there’s no money but Board to Death have the likes of Rio Grande Games listed as “Partners” on their site. That’s impressive even if we’re left to speculate what the relationship is.
There’s quite a team too; with Felicia Mezzanotte and Giancarlo Caltabiano has hosts but plenty more reviewers, script writers and camera operators.
I think this is a lovely set up; the Chez Geeks store, the Board to Death media platform and the growth potential from Kickstarter. My sense is this team will keep coming back with new ideas, good ideas, and they’ll grow.
