Hello,
Now that the new year is in full swing, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on where Kolossal is and where it’s going. We committed to change in 2020 and wanted to review those changes and some of the lessons learned along the way.
For those of you who may be new to the family, we posted in May of 2020 about the mistakes Kolossal Games had made in the past, why they happened, and how we planned to move forward as a company.
We’re still a small team of board game enthusiasts who are trying our best to create and deliver great board games for people around the world to enjoy this hobby.
#About game design & quality
Our focus on game design hasn’t wavered. Our team spends hours upon hours every day and week playtesting and hashing out rules and systems. Our goal is simple, to find what the most exciting system is for the players. Sometimes this means rebuilding things we loved from the ground up, or spending a late night or two re-writing rulebooks and going over every card. We want systems that get people excited to be at the table and playing games. Western Legends was rebuilt time and time again until it was able to capture that feeling of creating your own story of being a legend in the old west. If you haven’t already, you should take a look at Reload which focuses on quick and intuitive gameplay to capture the feeling of shooters and the battle royale experience.
The design of the game is only one side of the coin though. While the piece you hold in your hand is supposed to be an outlaw or a mythic creature you’re sending to battle, we need to make sure that the component is of good quality. Not only in feel, but that the text, art, and graphic design all allow you to slip into the world of the game.
Kolossal has been allocating more resources to improving the components and pieces of our games. Card and punch board quality has improved across the board. Additionally game inserts are being designed for most games. Additionally, we reached out to the Blood Money community for review and approval of our All-In rulebook and they delivered in a big way posting 100’s of comments. Backers spotted issues and made great suggestions all to make sure that we delivered the best version possible, we spent weeks going over every single comment and making sure each concern was addressed.
#Customer service MADE FOR YOU
Our ticketing system is better than ever and allows us to address concerns from all over the world much more quickly and efficiently than ever before.
In order to keep improving ourselves and answering even more quickly to all of your customers’ requests, we have decided to hire additional staff this year to join the Kolossal family. This person will be there to help you and answer your concerns in the best way possible. Additionally, we’ll be focusing some much needed attention on our social media accounts and direct interactions. We want to hear your voice and feedback so we can continue to improve.
#Less is more
For its first 2 years, Kolossal was running campaigns at breakneck speed. We had a larger team and wanted to focus on establishing a name for ourselves. Unfortunately, we ran ourselves ragged trying to keep up with so many projects. In 2020 we slowed the pace and that will continue into 2021, running only a few campaigns a year with a much greater focus on detail in the games and listening to fan requests. This slow down has been great not only for our products but for the team’s sanity.
THE GORILLA TODAY
#Proud of our latest games
Since we last spoke we’ve had some great new games hitting the market.
Totemic – Delivered early! Designed by our very own Chris Hamm, this small box game with less than 100 cards packs all of the punch of a full-sized game.
Almanac – Delivered early! From esteemed designer Scott Almes, this game about the extraordinary lives of traveling merchants in a fantasy world has quickly become a fan favorite.
→ A Dice Tower Seal of Excellence
→ Great reviews such as this new one from GeekDad
→ Already available in other countries with our quality partners: SD distribuciones (ES) and Hobby Japan (JP)
Hunt the Ravager – Delivered early! From first-time designer Clinton Morris, this hidden movement game features artwork from the well known board game artist Andrew Bosley.
Ruination – Ahead of schedule! Fulfillment has already begun in Asia and we’re on track to deliver 2 months early. Our latest BIG BOX game from Kolossal’s own Travis Chance and artwork from Roland MacDonald. This game of hordes in a post-apocalyptic future will be the next big hit once it reaches the backers in the coming months.
#Ambassador Program
Crowdfunding has always been tricky in that customers don’t get to experience a game before agreeing to purchase it. Thats why Kolossal has launched an Ambassador program so that gamers around the world can learn and play Kolossal’s catalog virtually, and make sure they’re happy before pledging. We plan to expand our available titles over the next year and make this a cornerstone of future projects.
Summary
At the time of posting this, Kolossal has 3 unfulfilled projects, with one of those three already fulfilling in Asia. In total, we have already delivered 16 games, and will soon deliver our 17th. On average, we improved our delivery time from 12 months after a Kickstarter campaign to 10 months.
CHART OF DELIVERED PROJECTS
*C to F: Campaign to Fulfillment (months)
| # | Campaign | C to F | Launch Month | Promised Fulfillment | Actual 95% fulfillment | Actual vs Promised |
| 1 | Western Legends | 11 | January 2018 | August 2018 | December 2018 | Late 4 Months |
| 2 | Kami Sama | 10 | February 2018 | October 2018 | December 2018 | Late 2 Months |
| 3 | Imperius | 9 | March 2018 | September 2018 | December 2018 | Late 1 Month |
| 4 | Omen Saga | 8 | May 2018 | October 2018 | March 2019 | Late 5 Months |
| 5 | Combo Fighter | 9 | June 2018 | December 2018 | March 2019 | Late 3 Months |
| 6 | Terrors of London | 12 | July 2018 | February 2019 | July 2019 | Late 5 Months |
| 7 | All Manor of Evil | 11 | October 2018 | July 2019 | September 2019 | Late 2 Months |
| 8 | Mezo | 14 | October 2018 | June 2019 | December 2019 | Late 7 Months |
| 9 | Ante Up | 10 | January 2019 | November 2019 | November 2019 | ON TIME! |
| 10 | Clowdus Collection | 9 | February 2019 | November 2019 | November 2019 | ON TIME! |
| 11 | Consumption | 11 | February 2019 | January 2020 | January 2020 | ON TIME! |
| 12 | Papillon | 6 | June 2019 | February 2020 | December 2019 | 2 Months Early! |
| 13 | Omen HttD | 6 | September 2019 | April 2020 | April 2020 | ON TIME! |
| 14 | Totemic | 7 | December 2019 | August 2020 | July 2020 | 1 Month Early! |
| 15 | Almanac | 10 | January 2020 | February 2021 | November 2020 | 3 Month Early! |
| 16 | Hunt the Ravager | 9 | February 2020 | March 2021 | November 2020 | 4 Month Early! |
| 17 | Ruination | 12 | March 2020 | May 2021 | March 2021 | 2 months ahead of schedule * |
| 18 | Blood Money | ? | August 2020 | July 2021 | TBD | ?? |
| 19 | B Movies | ? | November 2020 | July 2021 | TBD | ?? |
*Project fulfillment is still underway
#We have new and exciting projects coming soon
We kicked 2021 off with Reload which is live right now!
Later this year, we have some returning designers such as the Pye Brothers with Lost Empires, and Scott Almes with Almanac: Crystal Peaks.
Additionally, we plan to launch a Western Legends big box campaign as demanded by our fans. More details will come soon.
There are other projects that we’re excited about and want to get out the doors, but as mentioned earlier, we need to slow things down and focus on the games immediately in front of us. We want to make sure they’re as ready as they can be when we put them on Kickstarter and that we can take care of the backers.
#2021 together
Together let’s make 2021 a new and better year for Kolossal Games. We love our fans, we love this industry and more than anything we love improving ourselves and our games with the community. That is what crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter are all about. Stay with us, keep sharing with us and let’s have fun together in 2021!
Kolossal Games