In 2021, Mythic Games, with support from Ubisoft, announced a Kickstarter campaign for an officially licensed board game adaptation of the game. Rainbow Six: Siege. Two years later, Mythic asked the people who paid for the game to pay a little bit—and in some cases, much-than.
The game, known simply as 6: Encirclement, it’s almost like what you’d expect: two task forces fighting on a tactical map, one attacking, the other defending. And as you’d also expect from an officially licensed board game coming to Kickstarter, it’s supposed to be bigpromises all kinds of plastic miniatures, expansions, 3D buildings and terrain.
In 2021, you can get the game in three tiers: the basic version for $69, the premium version for $199, and an even more premium version for $269. The last one comes with a much content: five “years” of expansions, multiple map packs, additional units, neoprene dice trays, 3D buildings, and even a small laser pointer so you can quickly identify and Accurate content vision.
Now, in 2023, with the pandemic that has devastated the board game industryMythology (via gamer) posted an update on their campaign website stating that, as things stand, the money people paid in the original campaign won’t actually cover their production costs.
Thus, they present their backers with three options: they can pay more, they can wait for the price to drop and maybe pick up their game at some point in the future, or they can can request a refund. Backers of the $69 version were asked to pay an extra $39, backers of $199 would have to pay an additional $99, and backers of $269 were asked to pay $129 more.
That’s…hoo boy, that’s a much more money. legend explained the decision on their campaign pageattributed to an increase in international conditions, along with a number of internal costs:
…the combined crisis of COVID and the war in Ukraine that we did not anticipate has changed the international situation. Prices have literally exploded in all areas and the estimates we relied on before and during the Kickstarter campaign are completely out of date.
To give you some examples, the cost of paper and cardboard has increased by an average of 50 to 100% (for example the paper we use has increased from $600/ton to $1200/ton), the cost of labor in China, where our games work. manufactured, assembled and shipped has also doubled from $4 to $8 per hour. The cost of energy, plastics and raw materials has increased by nearly 50%. Finally, while container fees have recently fallen from ridiculously high levels (but not back to pre-crisis rates), the cost of the Last Mile has skyrocketed and has never been higher. On our side, it must be said, we spent more than expected on the development of the game, with more people working than we expected and longer than we initially estimated (this costs extra, but also has the advantage of having in the end an optimal, well-tested, varied and balanced game).
Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time Mythic has had to do this; their Darkest Dungeon the adaptation also had to ask for more money, which 20% of supporters refused to do. In this case, the Mythic update says “If we don’t hit the committed rate, we are committed to reimburse all contributors for these additional costs with the amount of their contribution.” ” and that “At the end of the fundraising period, if we have reached the minimum commitment to go into production, we will start printing.”
While I now sympathize with board game publishers and manufacturers, these conditions are not new; I wrote “Board games are having a bad time” in April 2020 and the game was launched a year later. For Mythic, the lack of enthusiasm for allowing price changes during such tumultuous times reflects poorly on their campaign plans and fans are right to be annoyed at not only being asked to pay more but still have to pay. much than.
It’s also another example of the dangers inherent in the arms race that many board game publishers are stuck on Kickstarter, offering increasingly obscene amounts of miniatures. plastic and other luxuries in their games in an effort to attract supporters, while still making their products. projects are a lot more expensive – and therefore risky – to actually implement.
I’ve reached out to Mythic to clarify exactly what happens to the entire campaign if the “commit rate” isn’t met and will update if I get a response.
