Gloomhaven

[Melbosa]

These guys start a Kickstarter for a Boardgame Fantasy RPG called Gloomhaven (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1350948450/gloomhaven) back in Sep 2 2015 - Sep 30 2015.  They ask for $70,000 and get almost $400,000 with 4,904 backers.  So the game is delivered in the first half of 2016 and gets out there for sale at retailers, etc but limited quantities (and of course to the KS pledgers).  Quickly it gains praise and fame (as much as a board game can) and makes it into the top 10 of most game leader boards.  Although through this the creators realize some flaws in the rules as people give feedback and they themselves play with the public.

I myself put in a pre-order for it at 401games.ca, wanting to see what this is all about.  Still was sitting in pre-order status when...

Now almost a full year out there they start a second campaign to do a second printing, correcting the rules, and adding in Solo play.  They ask for only $100,000 now, knowing the demand is high and they are going to allow full game purchases through the KS campaign as well as just an "upgrade" for those whom already own it, and a few additional small item additions if you wish to do so.  It ends in a few days but the campaign is now over $3mil in pledges (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1350948450/gloomhaven-second-printing) with 31,765 backers (as of today)!

Turns out the purchase through KS is actually cheaper than my pre-order, and when I talk with 401games.ca about it, they said lots of people have cancelled for just that reason and backed the second printing KS campaign instead. So I pledged and cancelled.

Crazy what a bit of time, word of mouth and exposure can get you!