Prototyping a Game: 8 Steps From Paper Scraps to a Kickstarter-Ready Board Game
How to go from a pile of paper scraps to a playable, Kickstarter-ready board game prototype, with the playtest rhythm, art timing and real examples that get you there.
Case studies, crowdfunding guides, and game-specific strategies from the team behind $200M+ in campaign launches.
How to go from a pile of paper scraps to a playable, Kickstarter-ready board game prototype, with the playtest rhythm, art timing and real examples that get you there.
The Kickstarter advertising system we use to launch successful crowdfunding campaigns: the CPR and MER targets that tell you when to spend more, benchmarks for every phase, and an MER floor for live ads.
Gaelle Wormus made a board game to teach her sons resilience. Here's how pushing back her launch, trusting Facebook ads and one surprise piece helped it raise $108,077 on Kickstarter.
Tortuga had sold travel backpacks since 2010 before its first Kickstarter. Here's how a $1 VIP prelaunch and one simple idea brought in $451,494 in pre-sales.
Jan Marsol and Josep Hernandez spent years perfecting a graphite bike lube. Here's how patience, patents, and honest ads turned it into €113K on Kickstarter for The CHA.
Your Kickstarter funded, so what's next? TurnKey Product Management's Jeff and Jenna Lieber break down the 5-step framework for turning campaign momentum into a scalable Amazon business.
Avoid costly Kickstarter mistakes with Konstantinos Manos, CEO of HIVE Interactive and an experienced crowdfunding creator, sharing expert advice on shipping, SKUs, backer surveys, fulfillment, and support.
Learn LaunchBoom's proven 7-step framework for Kickstarter success, from product positioning to the exact launch-day email sequence that drives day-one funding.
Protect your board game’s IP before launch. Learn how trademarks, copyrights, patents, and contracts can safeguard your game and brand.
Learn how to launch and grow a board game on Amazon after Kickstarter, from listing optimization and reviews to ads, margins, compliance, and launch timing.
Finding the right manufacturer can make or break your product launch. Learn the 7-step process experts use to source reliable manufacturing partners.
Discover the 5 most common 3D product render mistakes and expert tips to create realistic visuals that boost crowdfunding conversions.
Discover how Distil Union's 10th Kickstarter campaign generated $60K on day one using a two-week pre-launch strategy after 14 years of hard-earned lessons.
How Keith Phillips took SomniBuds, the battery-free sleep earbuds he designed after years of motorcycle road noise, to $265K on Kickstarter.
Discover how iXi raised €860K on Indiegogo with a data-driven pre-launch strategy, $50 reservations, and a 15x return on ad spend.
How Glasshouse Games raised over $150,000 on Kickstarter for Whisker Wars with humor-led marketing and no advertising experience between the three of them.
From sketches on a napkin to a fully funded Kickstarter campaign that raised over $80,000 in 30 days, including roughly $20,000 on launch day alone. The product, created, designed and eventually manufactured from scratch became the Drop Pillow, which Whit describes as "the weighted blanket for your brain."
That spark eventually became Blisstil, a hardware company focused entirely on products that block out noise in a comfortable way while you sleep. And their latest product, the Serenade, just pre-sold over $1 million on Kickstarter.
Adam Ostroff had been an industrial designer for almost 20 years. He'd flown to China countless times to oversee production and worked with major companies, taking products from concept to market. But when it came to launching his own product, he almost made an expensive mistake.
A few months back, Landon McCoy watched his second Kickstarter campaign cross the finish line at $320,893. That's more than double what his first successful campaign raised back in 2022.
The idea grew into the Dialed Camp Kitchen. A modular system that puts your entire camp kitchen in one box. No more forgotten utensils, no more digging through bags. Just grab the case and go. The market agreed. Dana's Kickstarter campaign raised over $161,000 on day one and finished at nearly $300,000 in just 21 days.
Want to know the actual difference between Indiegogo & Kickstarter? Then click here. This is the most in-depth guide on the Internet.
When Andrew Mueller got laid off from AWS during the 2022 tech layoffs, he didn't panic. Instead, he went to his dad's tool shop in Missouri and built a solution to a problem that had been driving him crazy: his dachshund Willie wouldn't stop climbing all over him during Zoom meetings. That prototype became SeatMate. The viral pet furniture brand that's generated over a billion organic views and raised nearly $500,000 on their first Kickstarter campaign.
Emily gave herself a year to build Pink Hawk Games into a real business, or go back to corporate life. Her first product? A strategy board game called Pirates of the High Teas about whimsical pirate crews competing in a tea party.
FLIPP hit $100K in three hours and was headed for $135K...until shocking manufacturing quotes arrived days before the campaign closed.
Dive into the science behind board game art that converts through concrete steps, tips, tricks, and real life examples. Learn how to use art in marketing, work with artists and freelancers, and bring your idea to life.
Reward tiers are one of the most underestimated parts of a board game crowdfunding campaign. Most creators pour their energy into gameplay, art, and campaign pages. Then they open the reward tiers section and suddenly feel stuck. How many tiers should there be? Should there be multiple editions? Do you offer bundles, expansions, or an all-in option?
This Kickstarter course covers everything you need to know to launch a successful campaign. From positioning your product to creating marketing assets, attracting backers, and managing costs. Think of it as a roadmap from complete beginner to confident campaign creator.
At LaunchBoom, we’ve helped over 250 game creators prepare, test, and successfully launch their tabletop projects over the past 3 years. And while we specialize in marketing, we’ve seen how project-management challenges in game development lead to scattered assets and disjointed tools that slow teams down well before the marketing phase. That’s exactly the problem Boardssey set out to solve and why we’re so excited to officially partner with them.
Dusty and Amy Droz launched 9 board games, with their last Kickstarter raising over $1M. They ship to 68 countries. They have mass retail placements at Barnes & Noble. This case study isn't just another success story. It's a blueprint for building a lean, profitable, creatively fulfilling business in one of the most competitive industries on the planet.
Your complete guide to understanding fulfillment costs, how to choose the right fulfillment center, planning timelines, and delivering smoothly to your backers.
Crowdfunding is revolutionizing the game for business startups. But..what are the best platforms to launch on? And how do you actually go about getting funded?
Learn how to launch your product successfully in 2026 with this simple 5-step framework.
How to navigate the world of board game production, whether you’re creating your first prototype or scaling to mass production. We’ll cover the top tabletop game production companies and how to evaluate board game packaging solutions for a professional finish. If you're ready to launch your tabletop game, this guide gives you the tools to succeed.
Discover everything you need to know about board game 3D rendering: from how to visualize board game prototypes to the best rendering tools for tabletop games.
A closer look at Kickstarter’s pledge manager and how staying on-platform streamlines fulfillment, supports tax compliance, and helps creators manage shipping, tracking, and post-campaign upsells more efficiently.
Learn how to design, playtest, and launch your board game with this step-by-step guide on mechanics, art, marketing, and crowdfunding.
Choosing the right crowdfunding fulfillment service provider can make or break your campaign. This in-depth guide will help you choose the best one for you.
Choosing the right crowdfunding marketing agency isn't black or white. But this guide makes it easy.
Master 2025 Kickstarter shipping with tips on tariffs, landed costs, and fulfillment to keep campaigns profitable and backers happy.
Learn how to protect your idea in this in-depth guide on how to patent your product.
Step-by-step guide to creating a campaign page that converts on Kickstarter. Learn testing, visuals, and messaging strategies to win backers.
Learn how LaunchBoom helped Piper relaunch on Kickstarter and raise nearly $245,000.
How to find and hire a board game artist: where to look, what an illustrator does versus a graphic designer, what to prepare, what it costs, and when to hire.
These 7 steps will teach you how to create, design, and manufacture a product from scratch.
Master How to Prototype Your Board Game (Without Wasting Money) and create playable versions using low cost design strategies and testing techniques.
We break down Kickstarter video production and a 5-step system for creating a high-converting crowdfunding video.
Learn how UNA Watch worked with LaunchBoom to raise over £250K on Kickstarter.
Learn how to think like a Kickstarter expert and launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Learn how to use Kickstarter crowdfunding to launch a successful product.
How Aaron Smith turned a failed Gamefound launch into $672,720 on Kickstarter, and the advertising strategy behind the relaunch, step by step.
Learn exactly how much Kickstarter charges to launch – this guide includes all the hidden fees you must know about!
We break down exactly how much it costs to publish a board game on Kickstarter in 2025.
Learn how LaunchBoom helped Chillshark raise $439K+ on Kickstarter.
Learn how LaunchBoom helped XNote raised $259,394 on Kickstarter.
Want to create the best pre-launch landing page? Check out the top 8 pre-launch landing page examples of 2025.
How we helped Loka Chai Maker make over $626K with their Kickstarter campaign.
Here's how the Legends of Avantris team was able to quit their job after their record-breaking Kickstarter.
How we helped Leonie Grundler launch her game Biome on Kickstarter and raise over $400K.
How to make your Kickstarter campaign successful and launch through crowdfunding in 2025 using my 17 proven steps around marketing, imagery, advertising and more
17 realistic tips on how to get backers on Kickstarter and bring your crowdfunding campaign to life
Where should you launch your tabletop game this year? Kickstarter, Gamefound or BackerKit? Find out in this extremely in-depth guide.
Here are 5 reasons why you shouldn't delay your Kickstarter or crowdfunding campaign because of US tariffs.
Learn how to crowdfund a hotel in this guide written by the team behind the most funded hotel crowdfunding campaigns in history.
Tariffs are making crowdfunding harder. This in-depth guide aims to make them easier to navigate.
When is the best time to launch a Kickstarter campaign? Discover the exact best day, time, and month for your Kickstarter launch in 2025 to maximize backer engagement and funding success.
Learn the 7 proven steps to promote your Kickstarter campaign in 2025 – includes real insights from our 200+ recent campaigns.
Discover what a Kickstarter really costs: from product photos to videos, page design, ads, and management—with real $450K+ campaign examples.
What are Kickstarter Secret Rewards? How do you use them? We answer those questions and more by also sharing the top Secret Reward strategy.
Learning Lab is a free video course from Kickstarter and LaunchBoom: how to launch, set a realistic goal, and attract backers so your campaign funds on day one.
What's the psychology behind a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2025? Understand this and launch a successful product this year.
Find the best product launch customer support providers and tools to deliver an exceptional customer experience and drive long-term business success.
Learn why successful crowdfunding requires a strategic prelaunch. Discover the proven timeline that maximizes your campaign's funding potential.
How Gamal Jadue Zalaquett launched Kosmos on Indiegogo with the help of the team at LaunchBoom and raised $1,916,447.
How Grant Mielke launched Veil of the Eternal Night on Kickstarter with the help of the team at LaunchBoom and raised $454,638.
We uncover 4 infamous Kickstarter scams. Learn to spot red flags, and protect yourself from crowdfunding fraud.
Whether it's your first board game convention or fiftieth, here are the top board game convention tips I wish I knew sooner.
How Scott Salzman launched Desk Nest on Kickstarter with the help of the team at LaunchBoom and raised $468,628 in 30 days.
Let's address concerns about the $1 reservation strategy head-on. We explain why the $1 reservation is good for both backers and creators.
You need to set your funding goal before you launch your crowdfunding project. We'll walk you through how to figure that number out.
Mark Pecota on cutting the agency services that were 70% of LaunchBoom's revenue: the layoffs, the pivot to tech-enabled consulting, and what that bet returned.
Learn how Tyler Bushnell launched Polycade Sente on Kickstarter and raised over $1,000,000 in 24 hours.
Learn how Alex and Trevor, the founders of Xebec, use Kickstarter and crowdfunding to not just launch products, but build a business.
Learn how Amy & Dustin from Dux Somnium Games raised $105,965 for Botany in the first 24 hours on Kickstarter.
Understand the importance of quick product testing and validation. LaunchBoom explains why it's crucial for success. Click to learn more.
The story of how Carissa launched Wildelore and had a wildly successful launch on Kickstarter.
The story of how Dominic from Subminimal launched NanoFoamer PRO and had a wildly successful launch on Kickstarter.
Discover the secret to Alpha Clash's success on Kickstarter! Learn how they raised $481,959 in just 6 months with 2 campaigns. Get inspired and find out what strategies they used to achieve such outstanding results.
Discover valuable insights and tips from successful CEOs on Kickstarter! Learn about their experiences and best practices for successful crowdfunding campaigns and leadership in this curated collection of observations and wisdom.
Stay updated on the latest developments at LaunchBoom as we continue to grow and evolve. Learn about our plans for the future and how we are dedicated to providing exceptional services and support for your crowdfunding and product launch needs.
Remove the risk from your pre-campaign advertising and even EARN money by using LaunchBoom's proprietary reservation funnel.
Learn how we helped XION CyberX launch on Indiegogo and raise over $1M.
eWheels v2 raised more than $230k in the first day. Find out how we did it in this in-depth case study.