Backers (Should) Come First

I didn't back the Stonetop Kickstarter. In fact, I didn't even know the game existed until I watched Quinns' review. Before even completing the video, I'd already decided I was buying it. I ordered the physical books right away and downloaded the PDFs so I could start reading while I waited.

A few weeks later, after spending more time with the PDFs, I ordered a second set of books. Those were part of the second printing, so I knew they would take quite a bit longer to arrive. I was completely fine with that. There were crowdfunders ahead of me, there were other preorders ahead of both my orders, and I expected to wait.

That was the proper order.

What Changed My Mind

While I was waiting, I learned that physical copies of Stonetop were being sold at conventions while many crowdfunders were still waiting for the books they had backed years earlier. It didn't change my place in line, and it didn't cost me anything personally.

When I placed my orders, I assumed every crowdfunder would receive their copy before mine. If that meant waiting another six months, I was perfectly happy to do it.

What bothered me was that someone could stumble into a convention, discover Stonetop for the first time, buy a copy, and take it home while people who had backed the game years earlier were still waiting.

That wasn't the proper order.

Why I Think This Matters

This wasn't the first time I'd seen something like this. Another crowdfunding project I backed had done something similar, selling copies at Gen Con before many backers had received their copy. I remember thinking at the time how unacceptable that seemed, and I hoped this wouldn't become normal.

Then I saw it happen again.

And again.

Then it happened with Stonetop.

I've never looked at crowdfunding as just another preorder. You're asking people to put money into something that doesn't exist yet. They accept the risk that the project might be delayed, change along the way, or even fail completely. Without those people, many of these games wouldn't exist at all.

To me, the people who helped fund the project should get their copies before the finished product is sold to the public. I never thought that would be a particularly controversial position.

I understand why publishers make different decisions. Convention sales bring in revenue, and shipping is rarely simple. I think it's a short-term business decision made at the expense of the trust that crowdfunding depends on.

Crowdfunding only works because people are willing to support a project before it exists. Once that trust is lost, it's difficult to earn back.

Looking for Another Perspective

I reached out to Quinns. His review is the reason I bought Stonetop, so I wanted to know how he saw the situation. We talked about it, and he thought the publisher's decision was reasonable. I didn't. Neither of us changed the other's mind, and that's okay. We disagreed, but I'm glad to have heard his thoughts.

That conversation reminded me of something from my own career.

That's one reason I wasn't persuaded by Quinns' view. He looked at the situation primarily through the needs of the publisher. I looked at it through the expectations of the backers.

It's not surprising we reached different conclusions.

My Decision

In the end, I canceled both of my physical orders. To Plus One Exp's credit, they processed the refunds quickly and professionally and I don't have any complaints about how they handled me as a customer. My disagreement wasn't about customer service, it was about the decision that led me to ask for the refund in the first place. If I continue buying from publishers after they prioritize retail sales over crowdfunder fulfillment, then I'm telling the industry that I'm okay with that. I'm not.

Since my refund included everything except the cost of the PDFs, I eventually printed personal copies through Lulu for my own table.

Why I'm Writing This

I'm not writing this because I expect everyone to agree with me. I know plenty of people will look at the same situation and come to a different conclusion. I'm writing it because I think this is one of those things that changes slowly. One publisher does it, then another, and eventually people start saying, "That's just how crowdfunding works."

I don't think it should work that way.

Crowdfunding exists because people are willing to believe in a project before there's a product. Someone buying a finished product at a convention takes none of that risk. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the backers to come first.

I believe that if a publisher wants to sell copies to the public as soon as they're available, there's already a well-established traditional model for that: fund the print run themselves and sell the finished product at retail.

If they choose crowdfunding instead and ask other people to take the financial risk to make their product a reality, I think that comes with an obligation in return. The people who funded the project should get what they paid for before those same books are offered to customers who took no risk at all.

To me, that's the proper order.

One Last Thing

I love Stonetop.

I believe it's one of the finest tabletop RPGs ever written, and I don't make that statement lightly. The village, the setting, the mechanics, and the way the game encourages long-term, collaborative play come together in a way I've never found in another RPG.

I've spent countless hours reading it, playing it, making resources for it, researching Iron Age Britain because of it, and eventually building this website around it.

None of that has changed.

My disagreement was never with the game itself. It was with a decision about how it was delivered to the people who made it possible.