Conan [Monolith Boardgame] - KS over and funded

[axabrax]

I think it's fairly unlikely that they will sell the miniatures without the board game, and I really wouldn't expect them to do it. I don't remember ever having seen a boardgame sold that way. Is it really such a hardship to get the game as well?if the kickstarter takes off you'll get such a good deal anyway that having the game shouldn't be too much of a burden, and even if you totally factor out the game, you'll probably get a decent deal on the miniatures regardless. 

[Cubs]

Is it really such a hardship to get the game as well?

Is it a hardship to pay extra money to get things I don't want? Yes. Please read and try to understand my previous post ... it is not any kind of 'deal' to spend money on that which you don't need or want, no matter what the saving may be.

Have I bought miniatures in the past from games without the board game included? Yes, albeit from eBay - Heroquest and Space Hulk. I have also seen a few board games that sold separate (metal) miniatures for their games that weren't included in the box set. So the concept is hardly revolutionary.

I'm not saying anyone's done it before in exactly the same way, but then I don't remember any board game that had miniatures of this quality, or had this amount of publicity during the development stage, or that requested so much feedback before it was even open to pledges.

I'm a potential customer, I'm giving feedback. I'm perplexed as to why it bothers anyone else one way or the other.

[FramFramson]

Put more simply, if you need new tires you don't buy a whole new car, even if the dealer is offering a $3000 discount off the car.

[robh]

104 figures at even a small discount over "retail" are still going to cost you more than the KS price for the box set anyway.
 
Even assuming these Conan figures are only priced at the Reaper Bones level for a 28mm figure: $2.50 ish (probably too low as the basic Bones models are pretty poor material) you have over $250.
Probably for a hard plastic character model of the quality expected from these you are looking at more like $5-$6 per figure, making your set cost you at least $500.

At that price I am sure those of us intending to back this as a boardgame would love to see your pledges rolling in.

[FramFramson]

But you're just repeating the same mistake, where you assume that what Cubs or I want is what you want.

I'm sure you'd be grateful for the rest of us to subsidize the Kickstarter, but I'd actually be quite happy with an option to pay $40 + $10 shipping for 4 figures and I daresay the game makers would still profit by such a purchase, probably by a better margin than the full game.

[Dr Mathias]

I think it's fairly unlikely that they will sell the miniatures without the board game, and I really wouldn't expect them to do it. I don't remember ever having seen a boardgame sold that way.

The Cthulhu Wars game (late, via Kickstarter) has figures released as singles, through an arrangement with Fenris. If I'd known that was going to happen I really don't think I'd have backed the game.

Looking forward to this one, overall the sculpts look great.

I think that the ideal Hyborean aesthetic is different for everyone, and difficult to capture precisely. Sort of like the power armor in Starship Troopers. Hundreds of designs out there but none quite look like what I picture upon reading it.

[Cubs]

104 figures at even a small discount over "retail" are still going to cost you more than the KS price for the box set anyway.

What Fram said ... I don't want 104 figures, I don't want a board, I don't want a set of rules or a box. I probably want half a dozen of those models, tops, because I think they're really nice. I suspect a lot of miniature collectors will feel the same.

How are people not getting this?

[Centaur_Seducer]

I am sure we can arrange that someone gets the extra tat and sends the minis your way when the KS is on

[Cubs]

I am sure we can arrange that someone gets the extra tat and sends the minis your way when the KS is on

So long as they don't mind parting with a Conan!

[Centaur_Seducer]

So long as they don't mind parting with a Conan!

Don't look at me. I won't get involved in any dealing of such kind!

[FramFramson]

Eithriall is at least right that it's worth contacting the campaign runners directly. There is never any harm in asking and these operations are much more personally run that trying to get through the bureaucracy of some large corporation where making changes is like trying to shift the ship of state.

[Cubs]

Eithriall is at least right that it's worth contacting the campaign runners directly.

Yeah, it was good advice so I left a message on their FB page.

[Varangian]

For some people $170 and $250 are equally unaffordable for a single board game. I understand the game has high development costs, but ignorning the high cost of entry seems foolishly optimistic. It seems like it would have been a smart move for them to offer a wider range of options - that would give greater returns, not lesser ones by opening up the project to far more customers which as of now are being cut out entirely.

It worked quite well for Cthulhu Wars to the point of $1.4 Million US. It's quite possible that Conan will be as big, if not bigger, a draw than Cthulhu.

[Varangian]

The Cthulhu Wars game (late, via Kickstarter) has figures released as singles, through an arrangement with Fenris. If I'd known that was going to happen I really don't think I'd have backed the game.

That was said from the very beginning. It's a bummer you missed it, it could have saved you a bit.

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This company's business model (making a game) is VERY different from a company like Fenris who sells individual models. For a company like this to deal with individual models very well might not be worth it to them. Most of the problems with Kickstarters I've seen is when they offer too many options, it often just crashes the entire effort.

The idea that in order for them to successful would be to offer models without the game isn't entirely solid. There aren't a lot of game companies that deal in plastics that sell individuals because it's such a pain. They often find that it's just not worth the effort and expense.

[FramFramson]

If the minis are already made, and are being produced in plastic with high-volume capable moulds, it's really just an infrastructure problem. I have worked retail, worked supply chain, all sorts of things and I've never heard of a problem like that being even halfway close to unsolvable.

Now, maybe paying a couple of fellows to pack and fill individual orders adds to your costs. But that's why you get out your calculator and figure out what miniatures price will cover these costs. Of course if you only expect a few dozen hours work, one of the existing employees can probably take it on as a secondary duty. You would only hire an extra stockman if you expected hundreds of hours worth of work.

As robh's math above shows, the expected per-miniature price if you buy the whole game is between $2.50 and $6. That's plenty of leeway to pay for labour to cover increased sales. Something on the order of $8-10/mini for KS backers and $10-$13 at retail ought to be more than enough. I mean, you sell five or six minis and that covers labour for one person for one hour (yes, that seems high, but don't forget company employee costs over and above pay).