This week, some expansions to Everdell launched on Kickstarter along with “The Complete Collection.” There’s been a lot of conversations in the gaming community about various elements of this campaign, including the complaint–yes, the complaint–that it the price of The Complete Collection is too good.
When I first saw the $199 price for the complete collection compared to the $350 value, my initial thought was, “That’s quite a good deal. Anyone who previously bought Everdell stuff may not be happy to see that.”
For some people, that was indeed the case. There is a bit of an uproar in the Kickstarter comments about the price and structure of the complete collection. After looking at some of these conversations on and off of Kickstarter, I have to wonder: Is it possible that Starling Games priced it too low?
After seeing a number of needlessly inflated prices on Kickstarter over the last year–often to the detriment of the creator–I’m always happy to see an appealing reward price. My hope is that whenever a project offers a fantastic value, backers celebrate that decision and clearly delineate other criticisms.
Yes, you might have a twinge of buyer’s remorse if you already spent $300 on Everdell bling. But as Dante Davalos says in the comments of this video (speaking in second person about his own experience), “Yes, you paid more, but you already have the game, you’re already enjoying the game and making fun memories. Those experiences are definitively worth the premium you paid (to most) and it’s still going to be a year+ before everyone else getting this deal is going to get the game.”
So to the question about a price being too good, my overall answer is no. The per-unit profit margins on Kickstarter games are incredibly high, and I think both creators and backers benefit when reward prices are instantly appealing.
However, there are related concerns that tie into value, fairness, and loyalty. Around this time last year, I wrote this about anniversary editions of games: “The biggest factor for me is respecting fans who have already invested in the original game (and expansions/accessories), especially if tens of thousands of copies of that game are in circulation.”
That’s the difficult part, right? In welcoming new customers to your brand, you risk alienating your current tribe. Unless a customer literally just bought your product yesterday for $50 and now you’re offering it for $40, I don’t think you owe a special discount to previous customers. Hopefully they’ve gotten way more than $10 of value from the product over the months and years they’ve owned it.
But accessibility is a different matter. If I bought A, B, and C for $50 each and now you’re selling A, B, C, and D for $99 and that’s the only way I can get D, that’s a quick way to lose a loyal customer. As GambitsEnd describes in the quote below (again from this video), that appears to be the case with Everdell:
“For those users sort of “stuck” in the middle of having a few Everdell items but not everything, they’ll need the two new expansions but also some of the older ones. Starling is not offering older expansions as part of the campaign so you need to find it at their Amazon store or through retailers. This makes it unduly more expensive to get a “complete” collection. This is assuming the person is lucky enough to find a copy of that expansion as Everdell’s expansions are notorious for being is short supply (this issue is even worse in other regions). Finding Collector’s upgrade packs are not only near impossible, but also very expensive. This leaves the campaign’s “Complete Collection” tier still the best option in terms of price, but now you have to buy a ton of extra product you already own.”
Addressing the needs of a variety of customers for a successful ongoing brand is logistically very difficult. Consider even the simplified example I mentioned before and the types of customers it relates to:
- Some customers have nothing and want everything
- Some customers have nothing and only want some things
- Some customers just have A (the core game)
- Some customers have A and B
- Some customers have A and C
- Some customers have A, B, and C
A broadly simplified solution–one that I try to implement at Stonemaier Games–is to simply offer everything separately, all the time. You don’t ever need to worry or wait for a Scythe Complete Edition, because it’s not going to happen. If you want Scythe and the metal coins but not the realistic resources, you can get exactly that right now. If you want Scythe and 2 of the expansions but not the other expansion, you can get exactly that right now. And so on for all Scythe products.
Starling Games could have done that for Everdell. But I also understand the appeal of the complete collection, as it reduces a lot of potential waste (you just need to make 1 box, not 6 boxes). A hybrid solution was probably necessary.
Ultimately, though, going back to the main topic, I’d be hard-pressed to suggest that there is such a thing as a price that’s too good. But when you offer a price that good, it’s really important to address the other elements in play, especially when you have a significant number of loyal customers who love your product and want to get some things but not other things.
I understand that this is a heated topic right now, so while I’m very curious to hear your thoughts in the comments, please keep it civil and on topic, and provide context for criticisms.
If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content!
84 Comments on “Everdell: Is There Such Thing as a Price That’s Too Good?”
Leave a Comment
If you ask a question about a specific card or ability, please type the exact text in your comment to help facilitate a speedy and precise answer.
Your comment may take a few minutes to publish. Antagonistic, rude, or degrading comments will be removed. Thank you.
if one buys excess content through the big box they can sell their duplicate expansions online. given that the expansions are hard to find like you mentioned they should sell very easily.
with that said some people aren’t as comfortable selling stuff online – but can’t make everyone happy unfortunately. thanks for your transparency always!
[…] + 여기서 자세히 보기 […]
[…] wouldn’t be fair to them to suddenly change our minds and offer an all-in big box bundle deal. Here’s a case study of this happening in 2021 for Everdell. For this reason alone, we definitely will not make all-in […]
Thanks for all you do for the board gaming community. I finally was able to pick up the last of the things I wanted to complete my Scythe collection. The legendary box and the metal mechs, albeit 4 sets. But now it’s complete. I waited patiently and now can rest easy.
I did back the Everdell All in bundle but with all the extras I missed on the previous campaigns, it woundup being much more that $200 (try $350).
A similar situation with The Pursuit of Happiness All in Bundle Kickstarter campaign. With all of the previous content you missed plus any promos or not included expansions, and a large box to keep it all in, it’s nearly $250 or more.
Western Legends just had a big box campaign fire up and you can easily get the things you may have missed, promos, play mats, etc. Or just go all in and get the lot. It’s add ons that helps.
If I can get them a la carte, it’s more helpful for fans or newbies
Cheers!.
Thank you for your thoughts on this topic, and I appreciate you capping off your Scythe collection with the metal mechs!
Little late to the party 😅
Before the Everdell campaign, Petrichor had a similar deal for all-in. Having supported all previous campaigns I only needed the new stuff. But I did end up backing the all-in, because the price difference between the new stuff and the all-in was less than what I would get if I sold my old copy, so I did just that. Sure I’ve paid more (in total) than people new to the game. But for me it was a known quantity so it’s far less of a gamble to go for the profitable all-in price. And I’ve enjoyed the game over the past few years, so that has it’s own value.
I did pledge for the Everdell Complete Collection, even though I haven’t played the game yet. Spending $200 on a game you never played is a gamble, but since the total package was such a good deal I’m confident I can sell on the game with minimal loss should I not enjoy it. Chances are that getting the base game and selling it would net a larger loss. (Note: would the complete package have cost $250 I would be less confident since I would also need to account for shipping and taxes.)
So I’ve been on both sides of the coin. If you’re willing to sell your old copy, I don’t think it’s that bad. You even get a new fresh copy and you’ve helped a new player get the game. That’s a win-win.
Disappointed that those of us who have been “all in” from the beginning to help make this game as popular as it has become are being tossed aside like yesterday’s news…..which is how it feels when people new to the game can pay $199 & get what I paid substantially more for over the years…..and this is how you DON’T reward loyalty!
While I’m not interested in Everdell (having not done any research whatsoever about it), there are a couple of games that came up on my radar pretty recently that I do have feelings about.
Firstly, Root, which I have played in the past, but don’t own, where I would have been interested in an “all-in” pledge in the recent expansion Kickstarter, but there wasn’t one to pledge for, so I still don’t own Root.
The other one is Ultimate Railroads – I’ve owned Russian Railroads in the past, and wouldn’t mind owning it again, but the exclusive expansion, Asian Railroads, makes me hesitant to commit to buying it when it lands – it makes me worry about whether or not there’s going to be a fourth expansion released in a few years, that will only be available by rebuying everything rather than it being possible to buy a separate upgrade pack.
Ultimately, it comes down to trust – if I trust the company to consider existing customers in future business decisions, then I’m happy to see discounted bundles and throw money their way; if I don’t trust them, then I’m reluctant to invest in anything from them, knowing that I’m likely to face a choice between dropping out of future content or getting a (comparatively) bad deal.
I was excited when this campaign launched but after looking at the options after already investing in Everdell products, I decided not to back this Kickstarter. I understand the value of having enjoyed this product for years before the complete collection will be shipped however I appreciate what was done during the Robinson Crusoe crowd funding more. They offered an upgrade pack for people that already owned the game allowing those people to end up with the same final product as people who are new to the game. They also allowed the flexibility to adjust what content you wanted and that made the decision to back their project way easier.
Good read, as usual.
Just wanted to drop in and let you know I’m “GambitsEnd” on Youtube! Imagine my surprise when I find myself quoted here, very neat!
Thanks for sharing! I really appreciate the way you worded your comment on that video.
Great article, it was interesting to read your opinion.
Actually, as far as I’ve seen, the main complaint isn’t the fantastic deal for newcomers, but the missing optimized option for those who have been supporting Starling games during previous KS and already own everything.
The previous expansion KS only offered the collectors edition, but instead in this KS, the retail editions are offered. If someone doesn’t want the big box (at the end, it doesn’t contain gameplay value), they still would have to pay 39$ to get the collectors item, the 6 point metal coins, which are basically locked behind the big box. if not, they will have the 1 and 3 point metal coins but 6 point cardboard tokens.
The other group are the previous backers who want the new content and the big box to store everything, but therefor must get items which will go directly into the trash: individual box and insert of the two expansion, rulebooks of the two expansions (big box comes with complete rulebook), and cardboard tiles and tokens which have an upgrade (like the 6 point tiles which are replaced by 6 point coins). The 99$ pledge could be cheaper, offering the expansion content inside the big box during the KS. That actually also should lower shipping, as volume and weight are reduced.
So the main problem is that Starling Games has centered the KS campaign around newcomers and retail items, not creating the pledges which would be interesting in content ans value for previous backers.
Besides that, for those who don’t own everything, there isn’t any option to buy the missing items. I understand it would be complex logistically, but at least Starling Games should make sure to have stock of all the items on Amazon, and currently that’s not the case.
There’s is gonna be an issue for retailers around the Christmas period and the beginning of 2022, Starling games is creating this. Marketplace will be flooded with second hand games. I don’t think we will see a lot of re-stock in store during that period. I own the base game + two expansions all retail edition. When i saw the campaign the decision was easy… I went all-in. In order to complete what is missing in my Everdell collection i still need Bellefaire ($45 USD) + 2 new Exp ($99 USD) if i add $55 more I can get everything ever produced. It is simple math. I will be able to resale my games that are in great condition and cover a bit the pledge of $199 usd +Shipping.
I understand the frustrated backers who went all-in in previous campaigns. When Dante Davalos said “Making fun memories” I don’t think those backers are seeing the same way as he is. If it was me who went all-in in previous campaigns i’ll be outraged to see that campaign but at the same time playing board games is a hobby, i am a consumer and Starling games is a game publisher. Do they have to be loyal to their backers? i can’t answer that. As you pointed out (Un menu à la carte) would have been great like you guys did with Scythe. I bought Scythe for Cyber Monday with the modular board and all promo cards. It is exactly what i needed.
Everdell is a top 5 for me. Only thing I don’t own of Everdell thus far is the wooden tree. I have all the rest. (A,B,C,D, etc. just not one component that I rarely use anyways with the game.)
My main wants of this Kickstarter is for everything to fit in one box as Everdell has mainly gone the RoF way and in most expansions are modules or variety that you can pepper into your game to customize it how you like. Want a little more strategy get Spirecrest with the weather cards. If you want more players get Bellefaire, etc. I have a struggle throwing away expansion boxes though when companies come out with a “Big Box / Legendary box”. So for me it was an easy decision on what I would back once I did some research and realized everything ever produced comes in the complete collection package.
It was the math. If I back at the Complete Collection price of $200 I will receive everything ever produced for the game. $200-$25(Wooden Tree I don’t currently own)-$99(price for both expansions and the big box)= $76 So if I can find a person willing to buy everything I have for Everdell currently and in slightly used condition as we have strict rules at our gaming table. I need to sell it all for $76 minimum to cover my expenses of going all in. Granted over the years I have probably paid closer to that $350 mark for it all, but had I known an all in price would be $200 I still would have got everything for the $350+shipping of the past three Kickstarters, because I joined the Everdell world in Kickstarter #2 and have enjoyed numerous plays.
So this is a win/win for both me and the person I sell my previous collection to once my Kickstarter has arrived. (Probably a friend or on Facebook… who knows, it’s a year+ away!) I win because I get everything brand new and all in one box. They win because if they were to piece all that I have together it will cost well over the $76 I am looking to get back to recoup my cost for going all in.
This aligns perfectly with how I see this situation, and like I said in my comment below is how I’m currently looking at Russian Railroads and Great Western Trails new editions that are coming shortly. I think it’s the ideal way to see this.
I wanted to get in on Everdell about a year ago, but I saw somewhere that a big box option was coming on their next KS so I decided to wait. I’m glad I did…
On the subject of pricing…
I must have spent more than 700$ on Scythe already.
I own :
– 4 Sets of Metal Mechs
– All Promo Cards
– All Expansion
– Board Extension
– Legendary Box
– Realistic Ressources
– Metal Coins
– Promo Metal Coins that replace metal coins I already had
– Modular Board
– Hardcover Rules
– Springbound Rules
– Extra combat wheels
The only missing official component I don’t have is the playmat (which I really want) because that would mean I give up on the board extension… which my brain wont let me…
And I started out with just the original game, and came into it AFTER all Scythe Related KS were done, so I sought out each and every part separately.
However, if you came out tomorrow with a new Kickstarter with a “Scythe Complete Edition” with all upgrades, a new Big Box with an insert and everything else and it was a lot cheaper than what I paid, I would be glad and happy for new gamers.
Might even consider selling my collection and buying the new stuff to get the erratas, reprints, insert and such.
Which is what I ended up doing with Russian Railroads (after overpaying insane amounts to get German and American Railroads). I just sold them in advance waiting for Ultimate Railroads. (Same scenario for Great Western Trails seems likely)
Board game collecting is a hobby, and for me the collection part is as important as the playing part.
I will almost always buy everything I can for a game because of FOMO and my love of deluxified components.
So yeah just wanted to put that out there, I appreciate the points you make in this article, and as always your wisdom shines. But for real, no one should be complaining because a newer, more complete version is out there for cheaper.
I don’t think many of the returning backers are really complaining about the cost of new all-in. That’s why this is all so silly. Everyone is arguing a strawman.
I’ll post what I put in the KS comments earlier:
Oh I don’t care about new backers getting a good price, they should! We older backers have gotten some sweet deals too in the past. But, some things don’t add up and I personally feel cheated as a loyal backer.
For example, if we were to get everything in the BIG EVERYTHING BOX, we wouldn’t have a value of 350$ like the campaign suggests, but (yes, I’ve calculated this), 463$. I do have to mention, that we did pay 292$ for that. So we did get a nice discount over the years, but it just doesn’t compare. And that last price doesn’t even include taxes or extra shipping costs, the latter I gladly paid extra to have enjoyed this game for the last couple of years.
Then comes the fact that they aren’t providing any older add-ons in the PM. We can get it on some Amazons, they say. Well, those Amazons 9/10 times don’t ship to my country and I hear several people say there is no stock. Whereas new people get their upgrade packs and wooden Evertree in the BIG EVERYTHING BOX, no questions asked.
It feels like we don’t matter, the way they don’t even listen to us. The backers who made their first campaigns a success. And as much as I want the whole world to enjoy Everdell, I feel like they don’t appreciate the backers who were there to start this amazing journey with them.
And that is what stings.
I realize this is an older thread, but I just came across it.
My thoughts, having just bought the base game:
1. Videogames do this all the time. If you want something immediately, you pay full price. A few years, later the cost is half that and keeps going down. That is the model and everyone understands that. The Witcher 3 is currently on sale on Steam for $10 and it originally cost $60. At this point, backing a major boardgame on Kickstarter is not a risk in the way backing a startup or an independent film is, so you are simply paying for the privilege of having it first.
2. Expansions: don’t make them–or at least don’t do it without a very compelling reason (aside from just making money).
While I have purchased several expansions for games, I am actually getting fed up with this model. Make a great game that stands the test of time and then leave it alone. One of my favorite games is Brass Birmingham. There is no expansion; the base game is all there is. It does not need anything else. I suppose you could argue that by reworking Lancashire it is doing the same thing, but somehow it feels different. Both are complete games in and of themselves.
This model particular frustrates me when an expansion includes stuff that should have been in the core game from the get go.
In the case of Everdell–if it was possible to make this a 6 player game, why not include that from the get go? Why did this only get included in the Bellfaire expansion?
To be fair, I think Everdell’s other expansions do seem to add a very different experience that is very much optional, but Bellfaire really looks as though it should have been in the base box.
I say this as someone who just got into Everdell and thinks it is an absolutely brilliant game, but who also goes to game nights where we routinely have 5-6 players.
With the pricing of the rewards put to one side, I think one of the challenges here is this edge case use of Kickstarter which is becoming ever more popular. By this I mean launching expansions via a campaign.
When you launch a game on KS, it can be very easy to keep just 1, 2 or 3 reward tiers, a very manageable amount that doesn’t overwhelm potential backers.
As you start to add new expansions with old content, the number of variations can quickly escalate, I imagine Everdell could have hundreds of unique reward combinations if they chose to, which would be overwhelming.
KS has recently launched their addon tool, which can help manage this but it is still less effective than having the items built into rewards, and where perhaps Gamefound functionality would be better suited for this type of campaign.
Personally I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing the reward tier options I would have created if I was running the campaign, and with the limitations of the platform the 3 they offered were perhaps the best option when looking at the average requirements of a backer. That would then leave the expansions individually available via “add-on” only.
I’m curious, I know you no longer use KS for your games, but if you were to put a deluxe Wingspan box on Kickstarter along with a new expansion, would you:
– Keep it limited to just the new content (like root has)
– Offer the base game and old expansions as well in an all in-option (like everdell)
– Breakdown multiple reward tier combinations
– or something else?
Frank: Thanks for chiming in on our thoughts about this. I completely agree about the logistical nightmare of combinations, especially when you’re trying your best to make redundant boxes.
In the hypothetical you mentioned, given that I’d have the other Wingspan stuff in stock on our webstore, I would go with the Root method (and then possibly let backers add products from our webstore via the pledge manager when the rewards have almost arrived at fulfillment centers). If I’m able to do that–allowing customers to buy exactly what they want ala carte–I may also add an option of all existing stuff in the big box, given the waste we could save by not printing the boxes for each individual product.
Funnily enough I see this issue as very close to that of Early Bird offers on Kickstarters, in that it creates winners and losers within a game’s community. It doesn’t really matter if its $10 or $100, it has created a situation where there is a needling between one half of the community and the other. At least when someone gets the game for money off with an Early Bird people can say that they were at least there from the first moments of the campaign and it sort of makes a sense to people, having a similar break where the part of the community that gets the money off are latecomers just seems twice as embittering to the rest of the community. If the previous items in the bundle can profitably be sold for less than they were originally, doesn’t that mean there’s an option to sell them for the same price and sell the new elements for considerably less? Wouldn’t that mean the newcomers get the package for the same price but that loyal customers wouldn’t feel as though they were losing out?
I feel similarly of early bird offers. I have absolutely not pledged games where I missed an early bird and felt I wasn’t getting the best price. I have also pledged games where I missed the early bird, too, but it has left a mildly sour taste in my mouth.
I am the same way. I looked at Stellaris Infinite Legacy yesterday. The first graphic said something about an Early Bird. I left the page. I went back now to check, and there are 3 days left on the Early Bird, so I could still get it. But just seeing there was one, made me leave the page on my first look.
I also came across one where I left because there was an early bird, even though there were 20 left. I came back a few days later and there were 50 left. Turns out they were bumping it up every time it got under 50 remaining. I reported it, but was told it was not a violation of Kickstarter’s terms.
For completeness here is a current campaign using a revolving early bird special. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloudpunchergames/project-ironwood-a-399-swedish-design-board-game-table?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=cloud
Glenn: My take on early bird rewards on Kickstarter projects is that it creates winners and losers *within the backer community that is bringing the game to life.* The product doesn’t exist yet, so why would someone who happens to hear about it on hour 2 pay less than someone who hears about it on hour 49 of the same campaign? However, I think that’s distinctly different than looking at prices between campaigns or on the same webstore for products that already exist.
I don’t want to be too negative, but I think expectations come into it too. I don’t really trust Starling Games. They don’t have a great history, particularly before they were “Starling Games”, if you follow their history of brand changes. I still backed, because I want the game, but in a way, I know what I’m getting into. This is very different to how I feel when I pre-order a Stonemaier product. When I order Stonemaier, I know I’ll be taken care of. The same goes for Fantasia Games, who quickly established trust and credibility in the Endless Winter Kickstarter. They proved they care about their customers. This doesn’t mean Starling Games are bad, or anything extreme like that, you just have to recognise that they’re not going to be as loyal to their customers as the truly great publishers, accept that, and know it could backfire.
It is really nice to see your reasoning, Jamey. For me fomo is a big thing and I don’t like to wait for games so the Stonemaier way is a lot better. With kickstarters it is always like if I miss it I might not get all the stuff later.
I first bought Everdell in a local store so it is worth it to support their business, then I backed the last kickstarter all in and when I got it I traded my previous copy away for Spirit Island. Now I am backing for the two expansions and the big box and the extra containers but am considering wether to get the new all in instead because it is such a good price. None of the options feel really good because I don’t want to throw my nice boxes away and I don’t want to sell all the stuff later with needing to be extra careful with it now.
I did not back the Root kickstarter because I will be able to buy all of the new stuff when it comes out and it is so much simpler and they don’t add a bunch of promos that I will never get. I am very annoyed that I don’t have the double sided big board for Outlive that was only available as an add-on.
I really like Architects of the West Kingdom and I am planning that someday get the whole series so right now I don’t want to buy anything for it until the final Kickstarter when I can get it all.
Though it is strange to see people feeling so entitled. It is really annoying. I had to leave the Dice Throne facebook page because there was so much complaining. It is like people think that the companies should all cater to specifically their needs and also that everyone else needs to be bothered with their negative comments. Anyway their new kickstarter seems really succesful so hopefully they can use the money and experience from this to make really good games in the future.
Now I am waiting eagerly to get the Wingspan european expansion in Swedish. I have most games in english so it is really nice to have a big game in swedish with birds I know. Would be less fun to have to learn the birds names in english. I just got the double sided playmat and it is really nice.
Also I might get Red rising earlier than expected and the third book is thicker than the second so I might not be ready in time :)
My main issue with this campaign, as previously mentioned by many people, myself included here and in the Kickstarter comments section. It’s the way returning backers and long time supporters of Everdell are treated. We have to pay 99$ + 35$ shipping (in my case) + VAT. And the newcomers get everything + a wooden tree for 199$ + 36$ for shipping +VAT (that’s just 1$ more for a lot more weight).
The real issue here as I’m really happy and always am that customers get a good deal, is that the ones that invested previously, sometimes more than once (my case again), get to pay half the price for less than one third of the content & no wooden tree. I really find it shows a lack of appreciation for long time investors and Starling Games never gave any thoughts on this matter.
Now, I have found the replies I got for my legitimate questions, very dishonest to say the least. I have read most messages and no one, or very few are complaining about the deal for new comers, but addressing the lack of appreciation for old timers.
I’m really annoyed by the lack of intellectual honesty in this debate, people telling that we are hating on people having a good deal, when our loyalty is just not being considered.
Well I have backed numerous games on Kickstarter and it’s the 3rd Everdell campaign I participate in and the third Kickstarter campaign that makes me unhappy to buy a product I love, a truly rare feeling.
I’ve been stung in a similar way twice recently; Alhambra, where I own the previous Big Box, but Queen Games declined to provide a way to obtain the final expansion other than dipping in for the new big box (or selling my house to fund the incredibly remote chance of one coming up on ebay); and Catacombs, where I only have the base game – an upgrade pack exists, but isn’t being included in the KS, but there is a massive ‘all in’ option, which would require me to move my current copy on.
I think Jamey has hit the nail on the head with making sure existing customers can get just he material they need, the price is less of an issue for me. Perhaps manufacturers could look at more flexible was of providing older content – i.e. no box, just the components, if that makes the print run more feasible
Slugfest Games has done wonderfully in this respect with each of their Red Dragon Inn kickstarters after the release of the Character Trove (RDI 5). They offered an ‘eco pledge’ that was all of the new content shrinkwrapped to a cardboard ‘plate’ that they then boxed and shipped to backers who planned to just roll it into their existing ‘big box’.
Are Starling going to sell a ton of the complete collection. Yep for sure. That is just good business. If the money made goes into making great games then even better. What is the average spend of a board game enthusiast. How many would have the money to buy all box sets right now? I have to justify my purchases. I need positive reviews before parting with my hard earned cash. I would have bought the originals at full cost because I was in a position to do so and probably couldnt contain my excitement.
A lot of these now can be bought second hand and I’m sure many will recoup money by selling off their original collection. This puts the collection at the PERFECT price. It feels affordable to your average consumer. It worries me that a company would charge more just to keep original buyers happy. In these covid times when revenue is tight it seems like a great gesture. I have looked at the current expansions and thought they are too expensive for the amount of content. I could buy cheaper online but I dont trust second hand. So this would be a great deal. Starling are business. It is all about increasing the world of Everdell fans. It’s a beautiful game.
This is also how the free market works. If you don’t want to overpay for a board game, do your research, WAIT and then buy. I often pricewatch games for months to a year until I buy (often during Black Friday, christmas sales or 2nd-hand). I pledge on Kickstarter once a year, if it is something I REALLY want, not for every small thing. I also rather update my collection with upgrades etc than buying new things. I’ve managed to get very good deals on all of my games, getting the best deal is half of the fun for me. I’ve also had failures in paying too much: mainly from Kickstarters, that have come to the stores a few months later a lot cheaper than what I paid for them. For example: Isle of cats (the expansion to add more players was sold out when i made my late pledge, so i had to buy it later and pay shipping 2x+the game in the stores was cheaper than my late pledge quite soon) or Tang Garden (also missed the Kickstarter start and didn’t get the Golden Ages expansion and had to order it later and pay shipping. Again the main game is now cheaper in stores than what I paid for it).
I’ve avoided Everdell because I didn’t like the game after trying out 3x. The theme is exactly up my alley, but I hated that the font on the cards was so tiny and you’re sort of supposed to read what your opponents are doing). I’ve also often found it a)sold out b) priced ridiculously high. For a worker placement with many expansions 200 seems the right price and definitely not too high. The game was simply overpriced in stores until now with covid making the restocks difficult and the expansions scarce.
I’ve enjoyed my copy of Viticulture a lot more than Everdell. For a worker placement it has been better priced and there aren’t that many big expansions (I know one is coming!). Would I join if Viticulture had a similar campaign with 4 expansions? Nah, probably not, I’m much too attached to my own copy (with inserts and self made metal coins…). I’d still try to get the expansions separately. But I wouldn’t be happy about that either.
I don’t know if anyone mentioned, but there is a certain thing in their KSs called VAT that they charge right away. So of I am in Serbia and want complete collection its +20% on that 199 usd + 20 shipping. While I have no problem with the shipping, I have with double taxing, as our authorities will add 20% on that value so i would need to pay 20% on 240(game+vat+shipping) usd so that is actually 62 extra usd on VAT and would need to add extra 10% customs cost. So it would end up at 342 usd, because of double taxing…
Your authorities shouldn‘t add VAT if Starling already did in advance. So it‘s 20% of ($199 + $20) = $262,80 🙂
Hi Jovan,
While we do collect and remit VAT for countries in the EU, we do not for countries in Europe but outside the EU other than those listed on the taxes section of the page (Norway). So we would not collect for a country like Serbia if it’s outside of the EU, avoiding the double taxation issue you describe.
Seems like to forget or not notice that the complete addition is one box and not all the boxes for 1 price.
This is a huge difference that impact several major things.
In terms of price it’s cheaper for them to produce and in turn cost less.
But for the consumer it also means that they need to bring everything out each time they want to play even only part of the expansions or just the base game.
Especially an hassle when going to play at a friend’s house or a gathering.
It’s heavy and takes a lot of space even if you only play part of the expansions and never play the others.
If they would have sold all of them separately for that price then the complaints would have been much more reasonable.
I think separate boxes are a big deal.
And I think that people who will buy the complete addition and sell their old boxes might get disappointed realizing this.
Hi Jamie,
I’m surprised to hear that the view of returning backers is that it was priced too low and should have been higher. Maybe i missed that but from what I have read, that strawman comes from a reframing of the issue by others. My understanding has always been that returning backers see new backers getting preferential treatment with little consideration of them. The complaint was about the relationship between Starling and their long term backers and not resentment towards new backers getting a deal.
I have bought this game through a mix of KS and retail. I’m ok with the $60 pledge to complete my collection. I’m most disappointed by some of my fellow gamers and how fast they turned on what is a legitimate question of the value Starling delivered to loyal customers. It’s as if many of them wanted to shut it down before Starling could even answer. This is a perhaps just a symptom of the world we live in but it was like a dogpile with constant comments based on a false narrative. Just nuts because you would have thought questioning return backers were kicking a dog instead of asking real questions of a business owned by adults.
So, I’m one of the frustrated people. I’m about $175 into Everdell (base, pearlbrook, collectors bellfaire, and collectors spirecrest). The cost for the two new expansions and the big box doesn’t bother me. I think $100 is actually a decent deal for that.
But $200 for everything puts a real sour taste in my mouth. So much so that I’m really considering not backing this campaign and leaving my Everdell collection incomplete (and moreso, not supporting Starling ever again). To have to spend $100 more to end up in the same place gameplay wise as a new buyer is a real feel bad moment.
Some people have told me that I could just sell my current stuff and get the new all in. But I think it’s obvious that I won’t get back what I’ve put into my current collection. So my options are 1) spend significantly more to have all the gameplay or 2) spend slightly less significantly more *and* have to go through the trouble of selling my current stuff on the secondary market. Neither of those are good solutions.
And also, I would like to say that I completely don’t buy the argument that me being able to play the game now justifies the price difference. Like, I’m paying for a game. I’m not paying for memories.
I think it’s the same with everything.
If you’ll wait enough time in the future you’ll probably be able to find a deal or buy it cheaper when the value drops.
Cars, video games, board games, and almost every product can be bought later for cheaper if you wait.
You can get a PS5 for full price, for higher then that in the second hand market or wait several years and buy it for cheaper.
We picked up a retail copy of the base game of Everdell shortly after it came out and it quickly become one of our most played games. And that’s without owning any of the expansions. I’ve looked into purchasing retail copies of the existing three expansions but none of them really seem to change the game in any significant way for how pricey they can be. Now with this latest campaign I jumped in at the $60 level to get the two new expansions as they seem pretty different and 30 each is a great deal. But now I’m toying with the idea of bumping up to the $200 level to get everything and just gifting away our original copy. I guess our situation is pretty different from most people as we’ve been thoroughly enjoying the game without any of the expansions. And to be perfectly honest the base game is solid enough on it’s own that you don’t really need any expansions at all.
Wow – a good variety of well-thought, constructive comments on this one…
As someone who got in during the Pearlbrook campaign, and backed the next campaign (and currently this one as well), the changes in price don’t really bother me – mostly for the reasons others have already mentioned. I must say I also have assumed part of the reason the price was consistently going down was because the publisher could start reasonable assuming larger numbers of copies would sell and therefore the economies of scale would make it more viable for them to sell at consistently lower price points.
To piggyback on Adam’s point some, I do wonder if this could hinder it’s possibility to truly evergreen. Everdell should be a title a small publisher dreams of and allows them the flexibility to grow and take calculated risks with future projects; hopefully they didn’t mess that up.
I have a few thoughts here because I think there is some additional context that I feel is getting overlooked or maybe not being given any consideration in the comments.
1. The pricing structure has scaled nicely as Starling Games has gone from expansion to expansion. The base game was originally $65. Pearlbrook’s all-in price was $104. Spirecrest and Bellfaire all-in price was $168 and now the latest expansion all-in is $199. The curve from $65, $104, $168 and $199 is honestly not that severe as people’s reactions would suggest.
2. The latest content/all or nothing approach is completely on par for every past Everdell KS so I don’t really understand why people are suddenly surprised that you can either get only the new content or only everything all together. The last KS only allowed either the two new expansions or the two new expansions and everything. This isn’t exactly a surprise.
3. After the initial success of the first Everdell KS, Starling Games did offer a retailer level with the Pearlbrook expansion that offered either 6x Pearlbrook or 6x Pearlbrook/Collector’s Edition Everdell. It had an impressive … 22 orders (combined). The lack of interest lead to no retailer level on any future Kickstarters. I’d be curious to get Jayme’s thoughts because it feels like if the expectation is that a publisher level will offered. There is an equal expecation on the publisher’s end that retailers will actually order the game.
4. Lastly, if I add up all of the expansions (sans shipping) for all of the expansions (including the latest) I’ll have paid a difference of $69. Sixty nine whopping dollars for a game that I’ve played countless times over the past TWO years and have more than gotten my moneys worth.
I understand the frustration for folks who just went all-in on the last KS, but I genuinely don’t understand the criticism from gamers who’ve backed since day one. The cost discrepancy isn’t nearly as severe as people are making it out to be (IMO).
The grammar and spelling mistakes I’ve made will haunt me until the day I die.
#2 is not true though. During the Spirecrest campaign you could get Everdell CE for $65 and Pearlbrook CE for $39 as add-ons. I believe a lot of the complaints this time round stemmed from the fact that the CE version of previous expansions and the base game or the corresponding upgrade packs weren’t available to be added.
So as Jamey has said, the ones who are hurt the most are the folks who have some parts of the game but not everything that’s currently available. And that’s quite a number given the popularity of the game and the lack of availability of the collector’s editions.
Technically the CE bundle was only for the German and French versions. Unless I’m missing something, or it was a pledge manager add-on (which I honestly can’t remember), the only bundles they had in English were for only new expansions or all-in.
kickstarter.com/projects/starlinggames/everdell-spirecrest-and-bellfaire/description
Yes it seemed to be a pledge manager add on. Scroll down.
That’s not right. I only backed with the last Kickstarter and was able to get all the CE expansions as add ons, including extra resource tokens, wooden tree, are prints, enamel pins, etc a la carte if you will. I think if this was offered again everyone would not have any problems
Thanks for confirming. I couldn’t recall if they were available as add-one after the fact so I was basing it on the campaign tiers.
Totally agree.
I’m guttered that I didn’t know about this Kickstarter coming until about a month ago!
The only place to order any Collector’s Edition Everdell games/expansions etc has been from Amazon. Shipping to New Zealand has been expensive but I thought that’s what I had to do to get these items. Over the past 8 months I have ordered CE base game, CE Spirecrest (still on a ship on its way here – ordered it in December), CE Pearlbrook and the wooden tree. In 8 months, I have spent $481NZD (including shipping) for this stuff. And now it looks like I either spend another $280NZD to get the $99USD pledge or I go with the all-in pledge and spend a further $139 NZD on top of that. At the cheapest, to complete my set (without the book or the deluxe resources), I’m looking at having paid $761 for my Everdell set. OMG! This is crazy *reconsiders backing the Kickstarter*
People are arguing about $60 or so :( I wish that was all it was for me!
I 100% feel for you! In a perfect world all publishers could give us a road map for upcoming releases (one of the reasons I love SM). I asked Starling after the last expansions if a “big box” was coming to keep everything together and there wasn’t a lot of detail they could provide :(
Sorry, I think there is some missing information that is important.
1) All-in bundles existed in early KS but there was never a discount applied. This is the first KS with the discount, so yeah, blowback.
2) I think the issue is that this is the last KS when typically you can pick up missing items
3)The retail pledge was 6x copies at 6x the KS price. No bulk discount, so of course the retail sales would be lacking.
4) $69 is the last two expansion + $9. its not an insignificant savings.
5) Time with the product is not value add provided to backers by Starling. Everyone had the same opportunity so it wasn’t exclusive. What it does show is how the early backers funded and supported the Everdell product line over the years.
Appreciate this reply. You definitely made some points that made me rethink my stance a bit.
1. Whether a true discount or not, Starling Games had the bundle of the last KS valued at $289 and offered the bundle for $168. So while we may not like them offering the latest all-in at $199 there was definitely a discount applied on the last bundle.
2. Totally get that.
3. Costs on MM, Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc. are all higher than the KS price with a suggested retail of $50-$70. If the retailer is already getting a discount off the MSRP it’s still a good deal even without a bulk discount.
4. I consider the $69 well spent. Especially considering I’ve been able to spread the cost over 2.5 years. I understand that is a decent amount of money but again, I think it’s worth it.
5. I disagree. It wasn’t exclusive at the time but it kinda is now. For better or worse the KS model creates a scarcity if games aren’t going to retail. I’m sure you’ve seen at least a few posts from new people getting into the hobby that say “OMG, I played Everdell and it is so great. Where can I get a copy without paying out the nose?!?” That exclusivity may be fleeting but at the moment it certainly exists. The KS should change that but folks still have to wait a year+
Thanks for reading my reply. Just a little more discussion.
1) What I meant was that in previous Everdell KS, the all-in price was the same as the combined price of purchasing the individual copies in the previous KS. E.g. in the last KS the all-in was $168 which was the exact same as if you had bought each item as it became available in previous KS. This is the first KS where Starling discounted the price such that the all-in was lower for a new backer than a returning backer who pledged for new material in each KS or at the all-in level of the last one. That is not really the issue though, the issue is what Starling did or did not do for returning backers in this KS.
3) Most projects have a retailer KS pledge level that is lower per copy than the individual KS pledge level. This provides room for the retailer to improve their margin and keep the price within a decent range of the KS. Starling did not do that and that is probably why the Pearlbrook retailer level failed. The retail pledge was the same as pledging for one copy and adding more copies at the same price, not really a retail level, more of a multiple pledge level.
4) I think the interpretation of price and whether it is acceptable is an individual decision so I understand your position
5) The point is that there has always been an equal opportunity to buy-in at previous KS. So while the time played is a value to a past backer, it was not a value given by Starling as a reward to backers. If the question at hand is whether Starling is rewarding loyalty, this one doesn’t count in that capacity. But it is a value that backers gave themselves so they could use it to justify their decision to back which many agree with.
I think there is one important thing that people are missing.
It is not a bundle.
It’s a big box with everything in it instead of a bundle of all of the products separately.
It’s a huge difference.
That difference also impact the price.
Jamey, would love your thoughts on whether this actually is aimed at someone who doesn’t even own the base game. For instance, how often does someone buy Scythe or Wingspan + all expansions in one go, having never owned anything before. Dovetailed on to that is how a robust secondary market affects this. For instance, I would think that this is aimed at people who own A+B. They can buy C+D for $100. Or, they can buy everything for $200 and sell A+B for $100 – and you come out even or maybe ahead and get a nice shiny complete big box while you are at it. It still feels not great since it is putting an onus on existing consumers, but it makes more sense to me than “maybe someone wants to pay $200 for a a game + 3 expansions all at once.” The flip side is, if someone wanted to put together a “complete Scythe” from your webstore, could/would you offer a bundle price (including legendary box) – so somewhat of a hybrid solution?
David: Thanks for that question. I’m not the type of gamer who goes all-in on a game I’ve never played or barely played–I like the incremental approach.
You touch upon a solution I like, which is to offer bundled or upsold options. If you add Scythe products to your cart on our webstore, you’re prompted with options to add related products to your cart at a discount.
And I far prefer your business model.
My budget for games is exceedingly limited, as is my storage space for them. We are enjoying Wingspan and I expect the expansions will be bought eventually, but in all probability at an average of 18 month intervals.
We also got one of the really nice wooden dice towers via Etsy. It’s so nice that it counts as an ornament, rather than a game, under the storage space budget, and though Wingspan focused, it can be used to stop dice rolling right off the table in any game that needs them. This is an excelent way to handle upgrades: there is no way Stonemaier Games could offer the range of entirely optional extras now available. The key word there is optional.
I bought the deluxe set of Snowdonia via KS and the fact that it included all the expansions so far was an influencing factor. It was expensive, but I’m happy with the value I got for my money. I will probably buy further expansions if sensibly priced, such as the recent Isle of Man one. There is absolutly no way I will buy the whole game again just to get an expansion or two and I suspect that any attempt to make me do so would disconnect me from the game’s support environment.
Thanks for writing about this Jamie. It’s a sensitive topic right now but important to discuss. I’m one who backed their last Kickstarter and got everything. It was $187 (not including shipping or tax because those can fluctuate). So now I only need the two new expansions and the big box; this will cost me an additional $99 (again minus shipping and tax). This now will be a total of $286 for everything.
I am super happy they’re offering the complete collection for such a low price to get more people to enjoy the world of Everdell, typically a pretty expensive game to get. My issue is they didn’t respect or value their long time fans; their pricing shows this. Only their longest fans will be backing the new expansion/big box tier ($99). So $99 for 2 expansions and the box or $199 for Base, 5 expansions, the big box and the wooden tree. The value for your money is just not the same.
Their pricing model is basically saying, these two new expansions and the box is worth 50% of the complete collection. I really find that hard to believe and it’s just a big bummer for their biggest fans. Some people are saying, well you’re paying for two additional boxes and inserts. We done need them; everything’s going in the big box!
The other issue with Everdell is you should never play all the expansions together; they even state this in the rules. I tried it once with the current three and the game is just way too bloated! I can only imagine if there were two more. It’s a strange game, you need to pick and choose what expansions you play with so I’m really debating on backing this.
All in all, I do think they didn’t respect their current fans and they’ve lost a fan with me.
This, you said it best. It isnt that the new deal is too good, is that the offer to the long-time backers is crappy by comparison.
I have all the prior stuff and have had the satisfaction of playing with it for literally years. I’m not bothered by the super good price for the big buy at all – in fact, I’m happy that more people will have access to an excellent game that I love to play.
(Note to self – tell friends about the price)
“I’m happy that more people will have access to an excellent game that I love to play.”
I really like that sentiment, Adam!
^This! A thousand times this! I struggle with FOMO and a collector’s impulse (as I imagine many in this community do) and I hate to be left out of stuff. I want people to have easy access to fun games at reasonable prices and not have to go on some wild goose chase for limited editions, promos, or all of that stuff. “Hey, this game we just played that we all had fun with? Sure, of course you can buy it.”
I am hoping the expansions will hit the secondary market cheaper now that some will sell them off to get the all in on KS.
I’m one of those who couldn’t fit it into the budget during previous campaigns, and had made other games a priority since. I think the point about folks who’ve been playing the game for years is a valid one. Compare it to video games that people buy at $50-60 on release, and a couple of years later can often be had for <$15. You wouldn't think to complain about that, so the level of outrage I've been seeing seems excessive. I imagine that there will still be many people who won't be able to drop $200 on a game, and imagine that the base game, at the least, should still be in demand at retail, maybe more so as those people are infected with the excitement that this campaign will dredge up for it again.
This is a good point. This happens all the time in the video game world. You buy something on Steam, then you buy DLC on Steam, and then at some point they come out with a “complete edition” bundle with the base game and all DLC for a ridiculously cheap price…especially when the Steam sales come around. I’ve never heard video gamers complain when that happens, I guess they are more used to it.
Exactly this. A lot of triple AAA videogames go on discount after two years.Even for free at times. And some of the triple AAA games have reallyy high budgets.
Starling Games didn’t price this too low. They just priced it too high initially. Back in the day they were charging hundreds of dolars for taxes and shipping, because “each box is shipped individually”.
I backed one of the previous expansions and added an “Upgrade pack” for my base game in the pledge manager. The final price was more expensive than their “All In” pledge (taxes & shipping included). No one wanted to comment on that despide my hundreds of attempts to communicate.
Their upgrade pack price was insane. If you want to order the boxes individually, you had to pay hundreds of dolars for taxes and shipping, which was triple compared to the price of the “All In” back then.
That, in addition to the zero transparency about anything resulted in a riot by backers. I still keep a folder with screenshotted hundreds of comments from backers that were quickly deleted or at least ignored.
This is by far the worst company I have ever encountered in board gaming. Their customer-relations are absurd, they were lying so much.
They promised an update for the upset backers and then disappeared for weeks accidentaly. After that they released the expansions which were currently in KS in huge amounts on Essen and were selling it for WAY BETTER PRICES than what KS backers get …
Shortly after that Brenna left them silently.
Gosh, they’re awful.
I totally agree, the practice of locking gameplay content in the Collectors editions and then charging a fortune for the upgrade packs always left a sour taste for me. The Pearlbrook retail edition was missing about half the content of the collectors edition, and the upgrade pack for the base game cost me the same price as the entire Pearlbrook collectors edition in that second KS. Ok no one forced me to purchase it, but I still felt a bit ripped off. I had also totally forgotten about the Essen situation. I didn’t mind too much that people could get the games a few months early but the difference in price when you accounted for shipping and tax really stung and again the only way for most people to get that collectors edition was through the KS as that wasn’t coming to retail at all.
I wouldn’t go near Starling Games again after the way they have treated Everdell. I understand they are a business and want to make a profit, but every turn feels like another cash grab to get as much money off backers as possible.
So I just recently played the game for the first time a little over a month ago with the pearl expansion( cant remember the full name of the expansion). I enjoyed the game and decided I would buy it at some time but didn’t care for that particular expansion. didn’t see that it added any real game value for me. But when I say this Kickstarter I decided to back it because it was actually a good price, more reasonable than many Kickstarter. I am okay with not getting it for awhile, have other new games I need to get to the table including my pre-order for Red Rising. that is after I read the book because I feel like its part of the whole game experience. Keep it real folks and just keep playing those games, no matter where you get them.
I’m in the camp of having everything already (except wooden tree, but that’s fine). The frustration I have is that buying the new stuff (2 expansions and box) is 50% the cost of buying everything. Seems really disproportionate. So I’m skipping the box and buying some other product. Another concern is that Starling has a history of selling units in conventions months before the KS is delivered (happened with last Everdell KS). If they have a limited preproduction, they should open to convention KS pick-ups. Doesn’t make financial sense, of course, but show loyalty to your backers, Starling.
If they sell something at a very low price and I bought it in the past at a high price, I have to ask if they ripped me off. Was the value of the product really that much higher when I bought it? Because it’s clear that the manufacturer thinks it’s worth a lot less now. I would feel cheated as I am whenever someone takes a giant advantage of supply and demand to get a premium price on something that is not otherwise worth what they are asking for it.
It is to the detriment of the manufacturer that they are selling the complete collection at such a low price. I would never buy something new from them knowing I could get an enormous discount if I wait a while. maybe a too-good price is bad for their business because it makes people wait to buy or it makes people just hate them. Anytime you piss off customers, it’s a bad thing.
Also, how many people will chose to buy that Everdell big box set instead of one of your games? I wonder if it feels to you like they are dumping product on the market for some nefarious purpose. Probably not, but it’s got to suck seeing someone sell stuff at what might be at or below their cost.
Thanks for sharing, David. There’s always a pretty significant gap between the manufacturing cost of a game and the publisher’s price (and even moreso for the retailer price), as it’s those margins that are required for businesses to survive and thrive. Starling is definitely not selling anything below cost–far from it.
I don’t run Stonemaier Games thinking about how many non-Stonemaier games people are buying instead of our games. If someone is really excited about Everdell, I hope they buy it. In the meantime, I’ll keep trying to make other products that people might get excited about.
My wife has mentioned this game for a few months now and all of our usual Canadian online game stores are sold out. We’ve kept an eye on Facebook marketplace to see if someone is selling it at a good price. Amazon here were charging around $120CAD when I last checked and the complete collection is around $253CAD. We have browsed and pledged several times on Kickstarter since November and she came across Everdell last night and couldn’t believe the deal – so we pledged: for us it’s a crazy good price and while it’s still expensive for us it’s too good to say no! When she mentioned it first I thought maybe we can get a copy of the base game if we pledge for the new expansions, but everything was such a good price.
However, I can understand the pain of those who have invested lots of money into Everdell! I know if some games did that I would be very annoyed!
In our case, the publisher got a new, happy customer who now has to wait a year to play!
Hey Jamie, one thing you haven’t mentioned is the impact this is having/will have on retailers.
As the owner of a small game store in the UK, I have watched the Everdell KS with dismay in all honesty. There is nothing in the KS for retailers at all. And the pricing structure you mention means that now, the second hand market here is literally flooded now with people selling their copies so they can go all in on The Complete Edition. It very much seems like they are trying to get as much money now because their sales are going to be dead in the futuew, simply because so many of those who would have bought A & C or A & B are now getting it from the second hand market they created.
We have been waiting for a restock of the game, but now we’re wondering whether we should even bother. My wife loved the look of Everdell when we first got it in and we would have had a copy ourselves if it hadn’t sold so quickly. She would have been an all in for everything person in the same was as I have gone all in for Scythe but now she is saying that she doesn’t want anything to do with the game, which is a real shame as the game looks great and we had been looking forward to playing our friends copy.
Thank you for sharing the retailer perspective, Adam! This is really important for the longevity of the game.
The real issue for me with the Everdell campaign is (as you have pointed out), I have some things but not everything. I have copies of the base game plus all expansions (but not all of them are the Collections edition with the upgraded components). In order to get the various upgraded components (in their Australian Amazon store) I need to pay $180AUD (the retail prices), then another $184 for the Big Box and 2 new expansions via Kickstarter for a total of $364AUD. The Complete Collection with everything will cost me $334AUD which is $30 cheaper.
In effect, I am being ‘forced’ to buy everything again. Sure I get another copy of the base game plus the 3 previous expansions, but Starling Games really should have made it easier for their existing customers. Personally I am very disappointed in the way Starling Games is handling their Kickstarter, and rightly or wrongly, I feel this kickstarter is a cash grab with no loyalty given to their existing customers.
Count me in the “frustrated” camp. It goes back to what you said, there’s value in having things before other people, making memories, etc, but I bought all-in on the last campaign for $195 shipped so to now see an entire collection with additional expansions, big box AND wood tree for literally $4 more irks me quite a bit. I haven’t even had my Everdell stuff from the past campaign for a whole year yet so the sting is greater. I very much would’ve preferred a la carte items (as per the Scythe route).
Seriously debating whether to support this campaign or not, even though I love Everdell.
Thanks for your insights Jamey!
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I own Base & one expansion of Everdell, and the best way to get all of it is to go all in on the collectors box. But I also don’t want to re-buy the content I already own. I was hoping when this campaign dropped there would be the option to buy the new content and the content I do not have. I’m happy that more people are getting to experience the game though because I love it!
Like you mentioned when I bought Scythe liked it and then wanted more it was very easy to acquire it all. And for Viticulture as well. So I like this approach when it comes to expanding games. It also puts less pressure on the consumer to buy everything all at once (other than the pressure they put on themselves)
Mindclash did a similar approach to. Everdell with the Anachrony infinity box. But it was very friendly to previous campaign backers, or people like me who bough the essential edition Anachrony. The infinity box itself might be harder to find later though.
Side note: Looking forward to Red Rising. The preorder was such a good value that I got one for me and one as a gift for my brother!
I originally was kinda upset. I had purchased the core game for my birthday last year, and my wife had got me the 3 expansions that were out for Christmas. I saw the $200 price point and my jaw hit the floor. But then it dawned on me how good of a deal it is, even though I already own everything. It does sting a bit to have paid so much beforehand…but I got a lot of good plays and memories out of it, so that extra cost is worth it to me.
I plan on buying the all in, and gifting the stuff I already have to a friend who wants everdell but cannot currently afford it.
That’s a really cool thing to do. A lot of people are struggling right now and could use a little joy. y’know?
I have nothing and the price is too good to pass up on everything. I put A, B, and C in my Amazon cart and it was already $180. A friend already has the game and I can play his copy now until my complete copy arrives. I can see how he might be frustrated, but again we already have the game and are already playing it, creating game nights and memories. Can’t put a price on that.
He only needs the 2 new expansions and the complete box, and there is a tier for that at least.