When it comes to board games, especially crowdfunding board games, there is a certain trend in 2021 that the value of money is significantly worse than in previous years. There are several reasons for this. First, VAT does not apply to Kickstarter games. The small volumes, plus the subtle excitement that customers were “gifted” money in exchange for a “reward,” held on to tax auditors for a while, but no longer. For Europe, this directly means that everything is going up by around 20%. Another factor is that most board games are made in China and this year shipping costs from China have risen significantly. And finally, Kickstarter’s specific business model, where you now pay և to get your products later, means that companies need to take inflation into account և to sell their products at next year’s prices. which was not possible when inflation was very low, but which is becoming increasingly important today.
These trends do not coincide with another trend: duxification. One of the reasons why Mythwind is more expensive than Paleo is that the trays of Paleo characters are made of 2D cardboard, while Mythwind is made of 3D plastic. This has its value. That’s also an advantage, but not everyone needs nicer ingredients. This year I was very impressed with the Fall game. Legends of the Dark was $ 175 in exchange for MSRP. Yes, the game has beautiful little high quality images և 3D Landscape. But many prefer 2D space և cardboard blocks, which means the game is worth half the price. Of course, different people have different amounts of income, some can easily afford $ 175 board games. But I can’t compare that to the AAA PC game, which will probably give you the same entertainment / time value as a third party. even cheaper if you wait a while to release it.
Gloomhaven is a great example for me. Jaws of the Lion, offering the usual alternative to Gloomhaven at mid-price. Fewer components, but the same basic behavior, and the added advantage of a faster setup is cheaper than the original. I would buy Descent. Jaws of the Lion, but the original is too rich for me. In fact, I want to ask board game manufacturers to always offer a cardboard version instead of a miniature version. Not everyone appreciates miniatures equally, not everyone knows how to paint, so to some extent, monochromatic miniatures are worse than colored cardboard. they are stationary.
