

Anatomy of a $631,230 Kickstarter Video - danshapiro
http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2013/12/anatomy-of-a-631230-kickstarter-video/

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danshapiro
Interesting. A few minutes after this hit the front page, one person ordered
every single one of the 700-odd copies in the amazon warehouse. (There are
still copies in the Fulfillrite warehouse though, purchasable through Amazon).

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guynamedloren
Very interesting indeed. Obviously they'll be reselling them, but via which
outlet is anybody's guess. Don't seem them on eBay yet. Anyway, that's quite a
big investment. I hope they've done their homework.

Keep us updated on this?

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danshapiro
I will blog about it if/when I solve the mystery.

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blahedo
"The game’s out of print, but ..."

I've seen this for a few of the successful kickstarters, and it always makes
me kind of sad; when Kickstarter is working at its best, it, y'know, kick-
starts something so that the initial backers are just the first run, and then
the product will continue to be available (and possibly the line will expand).

Obviously it's totally within the creator's rights to just use the kickstarter
funds to fund a single round of product. But, it makes me sad.

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egypturnash
Yeah, I was coming here to say that.

I've done two kickstarters for comic books, and my print run has been about 4x
what I actually got from the Kickstarter. I've sold the extra copies of book 1
over the past year; I'll do the same with book 2 over the next. Basically I
walk away from a Kickstarter with about $0 cash profit, and a nice pile of
inventory to sell.

Of course, the margins on graphic novels are a LOT better than on board games.
And they're easier to stick in a closet, easier to ship to a convention, etc.

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conorh
I was one of the people that did not watch the video. It came as a
recommendation from a good friend and I loved the idea. I didn't need to watch
the video to convince me that a board game to gently introduce programming and
logic concepts to young kids was a good idea!

The game arrived recently and I've played it a few nights with my 3.5 year old
daughter. She's starting to get the hang of it and is enjoying it. I can
definitely recommend the game and I'm looking forward to her 'leveling up' and
doing the slightly harder versions. Congrats Dan on all your hard work paying
off!

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drharris
Also a backer that didn't watch the video. I've always been more swayed by
ideas and text than videos anyway. We got our copy, and it's in christmas wrap
right now, burning a hole in my floor underneath our tree. I can't wait to try
it out on my 3.5 year old!

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onedognight
I bought the game without watching the video and now having watched it I can
say it didn't add anything, not already in the copy, for me.

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RobotCaleb
Thanks for the game, Dan. I have it wrapped and under the tree. I'm sure we'll
try it out on Christmas day.

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pilom
I love the idea of the game, but I'm curious what Wizards of the Coast thinks
of this game?

Roborally
([http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009HLSP0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009HLSP0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0009HLSP0&linkCode=as2&tag=kayaklines-20))
is the exact same game just targeted for an older audience.

Can you patent or copywrite gameplay mechanics?

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Pxtl
RoboRally is a fantastic concept, but imho the game is terribly bogged down -
they hyper-dense maps, the long areas, the card-locking damage mechanic, the
confusing conveyor-belt-turn rules... it makes the game take _forever_ , and
usually one player had a breakaway lead anyways.

I'd still recommend any programmer give it a try, it's a brilliant game that
makes your brain grind _hard_. It just has its flaws.

If this "Robot Turtles" game is a stripped-down form of it, I'd love to give
that a try.

And no, you can't copyright gameplay mechanics. As long as no actual art or
verbiage of the rule-book is copied, a game can be copied freely.

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pilom
> And no, you can't copyright gameplay mechanics. As long as no actual art or
> verbiage of the rule-book is copied, a game can be copied freely.

So I really could satisfy all of the pent up demand for this game by making a
clone with different artwork and a different rule book? Sounds too good to be
true.

Anyone know some good one off game manufacturers?

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bjorg
Seems like most followed the same reasoning to back Robot Turtles: Dan +
Programming + Kids = I'm in!!! ;)

