Gloomhaven publisher leaves Kickstarter for Backerkit over blockchain

Backerkit is the back-end trusted by crowdfunding companies. It handles logistics and shipping for campaigns like Kickstarter. The company, based in San Francisco, is now building its own crowdfunding platform to compete with Kickstarter. Crowdfunding by Backerkit emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday, and one of its first live campaigns will be run by one of its competitor’s biggest success stories: Cephalofair Games, creator of the critically-acclaimed board game Gloomhaven.

Cephalofair Games, which has raised $17.9M on Kickstarter in 2015, has now reached more than $17.9M. Cephalofair Games’ most recent crowdfunding campaign for “The Game” was launched in May 2016. Frosthaven, is the single largest tabletop campaign in Kickstarter’s history, and the fourth most highly funded project on that platform. Cephalofair founder Isaac Childres says he’s had enough of Kickstarter, however, and the straw that broke the camel’s back was Kickstarter’s recent push into blockchain technology.

“We didn’t agree” with the decision to court blockchain, Childres wrote in his company’s newsletter on Tuesday. “So we made sure to clarify that our upcoming project would be crowdfunded, but not necessarily be a Kickstarter project. And we started seriously pursuing other options.”

Kickstarter declared unilaterally that in December 2021 it would switch to blockchain technology. Quickly, the backlash was received by its community. Kickstarter has since pumped the brakes, slowing but not stopping its transition to a novel protocol built on cryptographic “proof of stake” technology. It’s also in the market for a new chief executive.

“Kickstarter has made clear to us that they want to be at the forefront of a transition to Web3,” Childres wrote, “and Cephalofair Games just isn’t about that. The Kickstarter announcement has been delayed by 7 months. They have not yet provided any examples that show how the blockchain could make crowdfunding easier for backers or creators. We’ve only seen rampant fraud and theft in this space. We are quite hesitant to move in any way that would associate ourselves with or enable any of that.”

Reached for comment, Kate Bernyk, Kickstarter’s senior director of communications, pointed Polygon to her company’s announcement, also made on Tuesday, that it has finalized the formation of its planned Community Advisory Council. It will be tasked with helping “orient” Kickstarter’s “roadmap for future development,” the announcement stated.

“Creators need to choose the platform that fits them best,” Bernyk added. “Kickstarter is a project-based platform, and we get that what works for one project might be different than another. We are focused on our mission and not market share. We are focused on ensuring our platform best serves the thousands of creators who use it to bring their work to life.”

Backerkit has traditionally handled creators’ post-Kickstarter campaigns, assisting in organizing shipping, add-on products, community management, and all the sorts of bells and whistles that accompany modern board game campaigns. Childres cited this flexibility and tenacity in support of its clients as the main reason they made the switch.

“We knew they were the right people to do this, because they are constantly innovating,” Childres wrote. “They are always paying attention, scrutinizing everything in the crowdfunding space to determine how to make their service as useful and streamlined as possible.”

It’s a sentiment that appears to be reinforced by Backerkit’s own statement of its goals and processes.

“We are continually amazed by the workarounds creators invent to engage with their existing backers and connect with new ones,” Backerkit wrote in its announcement. “Creators deserve a platform that embraces these strategies, encourages explorations, and builds tools that help creators adopt new techniques that prove effective. That’s why we believe in working closely with creators, observing how they work, and listening to their feedback. We aim to ensure that your experience with Crowdfunding by BackerKit will be better every time.”

Crowdfunding with Backerkit includes many other tabletop companies. On its landing page, you will find a forthcoming project from Leder Games and Exalted Funeral.Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile), Tuesday Knight Games (Mothership), and Greater Than Games (Sentinels in the Multiverse(, among other things).

Backerkit’s quest for tabletop crowdfunding dollars isn’t unique. Serial entrepreneur Marcin Świerkot, founder of board game publisher Awaken Realms, recently brought his crowdfunding platform Gamefound out of beta. Its goal this year is 25% of Kickstarter’s tabletop earnings for 2022, or $67.5 million, earned for tabletop campaigns in 2023.