Tabletop game projects raised $146 million in the first half of 2021, up from $120 million in the Covid-turbocharged first half of 2020. Projects funded were also up 22%, to 1,833 from 1,503 in the first half of 2020. Projects not funded were only up marginally, from 593 to 606; over 75% of tabletop game projects successfully funded in the first half of 2021.
Bidaux took a closer look at the 28 tabletop game projects that raised over $1 million in the period, and found three groups of games driving growth. Board game projects based on video games, including The Witcher, Monster Hunter, and Stellaris did well, with those three among the top eight most funded projects in the first half of 2021.
Five tabletop RPG projects raised over $1 million, more than doubling the four RPGs that hit that threshold prior to 2021: The One Ring, Twisted Taverns, Auroboros, Grim Hollow, and Coyote & Crow. Bidaux also notes that his analysis did not include popular campaigns around RPG accessories such as dice and miniatures.
Sequels, expansions, and new printings of successful board games also did well, including those tied to Everdell, Zombicide, Mythic Battles, Root, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, and The Isle of Cats.
Projects raising between $10,000 and $1 million were down marginally in projects funded and dollars.
Bidaux also notes that with the launch of new platform Gamefound in late 2020, some crowdfunding dollars that would have accrued to Kickstarter were likely diverted; the Kickstarter numbers, strong as they are, understate the true strength of the tabletop games crowdfunding phenomenon.
For the full year 2020, dollars raised for tabletop game projects on Kickstarter were up 34% to a new record (see "Tabletop Games Blow Away Old Record on Kickstarter in 2020").
