{"id":23920,"date":"2024-05-30T09:58:07","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T16:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/?p=23920"},"modified":"2024-09-25T10:33:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T17:33:03","slug":"munchkin-big-box-backerkit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/munchkin-big-box-backerkit","title":{"rendered":"Inside Steve Jackson Games\u2019 Record-Breaking Munchkin Big Box Campaign on BackerKit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Jackson Games<\/a> has been publishing games, game books, and magazines for more than 40 years. They\u2019re also one of the most prolific game creators in crowdfunding, having launched 90+ campaigns. They are perhaps best known for Munchkin<\/em>, the top-selling fantasy card game in which players compete to kill monsters and steal treasure.<\/p>\n

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of this iconic game, which has many expansions and spin-offs and won numerous awards since its release, the Steve Jackson Games team has created the Munchkin Big Box<\/em><\/a> \u2014 an ultimate collector\u2019s edition of Munchkin<\/em> jam-packed with an obscene amount of goodies. Dice, bookmarks, an enamel pin, new boards, standies, 650+ cards \u2013 you name it, the Munchkin Big Box<\/em> has it. They launched the crowdfunding campaign for their Big Box<\/em> on BackerKit<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d expect a fan favorite like Munchkin<\/em> to have a wildly successful campaign. But the Munchkin Big Box<\/em> was not only a success, it also shattered Steve Jackson Games crowdfunding records, raising $1,313,127 with 9,197 backers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Big Box, Big Wins<\/h2>\n

Steve Jackson Games made their crowdfunding debut in 2012 with the Ogre Designer’s Edition<\/em>, a follow-up to a popular line of miniature wargaming tanks. The campaign raised $923,680 with 5,512 backers and was their highest-funded campaign before the Munchkin Big Box<\/em>. After being a longtime user of the BackerKit Pledge Manager<\/strong><\/a>, they launched their first crowdfunding campaign on BackerKit \u2013 Ogre Miniature Set 4<\/em> \u2013 in January. That campaign far surpassed its $5k funding goal, raising $87,071 with 1,091 backers.<\/p>\n

On the heels of that success, Steve Jackson Games launched the Munchkin Big Box<\/em>. As the name would suggest, the Big Box<\/em> is the biggest edition of Munchkin<\/em> ever, and the game\u2019s legions of fans showed up early to celebrate its release and support the project. As a result, Steve Jackson Games had the biggest Day-1 of any of their 90+ campaigns, raising over half a million dollars in 24 hours on BackerKit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the 24-hour mark, Steve Jackson posted an update speculating about the future of this campaign, saying that at that point, the Big Box was already the third highest-grossing crowdfunding campaign his team had run!<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you folks beat Ogre<\/em>,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI will be delighted and flabbergasted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, the Munchkin Big Box<\/em> did beat Ogre<\/em>, and by the end of the campaign, it had:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Become their most funded crowdfunding campaign to date, out of 90+ campaigns<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Raised nearly 30% more funds than their most successful campaign<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Gathered 40% more backers than any previous campaign they\u2019ve ever run<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Become the #7 most-funded project on BackerKit<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Unlocked all of their planned stretch goals (and a few they hadn\u2019t planned)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    We love repeat success and want to help facilitate that for all creators. BackerKit has specifically designed our crowdfunding platform and services to help creators scale and launch campaigns that are better every time. It has been thrilling to see Steve Jackson Games\u2019 continued success over the years, and we couldn\u2019t have been more excited to see the Munchkin Big Box<\/em> launch on BackerKit and reach so many impressive milestones.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI ultimately made the call to bring Munchkin Big Box<\/em><\/strong> to BackerKit to see how well they could handle such a beloved title. I knew they would be able to reach fans of past campaigns, but what was equally important was finding \u2013 and bringing aboard \u2013 fans who were new to backing our campaigns. BackerKit scored a critical hit with this!”<\/p>\n

    \u2013 Meredith Placko, CEO of Steve Jackson Games<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Ready to launch your next crowdfunding project?<\/strong> Sign up today >><\/a><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

    Engaging the Community<\/h2>\n

    The campaign was a win for the whole fanbase. The Steve Jackson Games team was great at taking their community along for the ride, engaging with them, and asking for their input throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n

    Collaborating with backers through polls<\/h4>\n

    After quickly unlocking so many stretch goals, the team reached out to their backers for ideas and collected their input through comments and polls on BackerKit.<\/p>\n

    In an update posted 20 hours before the campaign ended, Jackson joked:<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe backer base (i.e., YOU) represents a huge source of ideas. Some of them, I won’t lie, are absolutely terrible, and some of the neatest ones are financially unfeasible, at least within the timeline. But a lot of them are great. \u2018All of us together are smarter than any one of us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Munchkin<\/p>\n

    In this way, the backers helped shape the project, and the entire campaign became a collaboration between the team and their supporters.<\/p>\n

    They also used polls to stir up conversation and get a pulse on their audience with general Munchkin<\/em> chat and poll questions like \u201cDo you ever create your own cards for Munchkin<\/em>?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

    Building excitement through livestreams<\/h4>\n

    The Steve Jackson Games team used BackerKit to host a pre-launch livestream<\/a> a week before the campaign. They spent the stream hyping up the launch, answering viewer questions, and giving a peek into what backers could expect from the Big Box<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    They also did several other streams throughout the campaign<\/a>, including a Launch Party<\/a><\/strong> where they shared updates on the first few hours of the campaign, answered campaign questions, shared fan-submitted stories about their experiences playing Munchkin<\/em> over the years, interviewed artist John Kovalic, and unveiled their initial stretch goals.<\/p>\n