Last spring, my friends at Dwarven Forge launched their first Kickstarter drive to produce a new set of their famous Game Tiles molded from a new plastic formula they called Dwarvenite. Although they were asking for $50,000, the drive smashed all expectations and brought in a staggering $1.9 million.
They worked hard to bring that money in, establishing all sorts of new stretch goals as they went. This made backing the drive a no-brainer for serious gamers who love their tabletop terrain. If you put in enough backing for two sets of tiles, you got almost 150 pieces.
They worked just as hard to put their plans into production, and they managed to ship out their orders on time. Given how many different pieces they had to push out the door at once, that’s a impressive achievement.
Today, at 11 AM Eastern Time on March 11, Dwarven Forge launches its second Kickstarter. This time around, they’re producing Dwarvenite cavern tiles for the tabletop. These work a lot like the original Dwarvenite tiles and are fully compatible with them. They just look and feel more like natural caverns rather than dungeons carved from stone.
The Dwarvenite is tough stuff, and there’s no need to be gentle with it. You’d need go at it with a drill or a saw to do serious damage to it. You can pick it up unpainted (if you want to do the honors yourself—or just leave it plain) or painted (for a bit more).
A single set will set you back $75 (unpainted) or $110 (painted). If you can afford it, though, the free stretch goals kick in if you go for at least two sets, which come to $145 unpainted or $205 prepainted. That’s when the backing levels become a massive bargain, especially as the campaign rolls on.
Back it early if you can, but be sure to keep a close eye on it either way. If it takes off like the last one did, you should see some fantastic new pieces and add-ons available for it soon.
Disclaimer: I’ve known Stefan Pokorny and Jeff Martin—the people behind Dwarven Forge—for years and love their stuff. Jeff also runs the True Dungeon at Gen Con too, which you should check out for sure.Â
I got three unpainted sets of the dungeon tiles last time, and two sets are still unpainted…I think I might go for two painted sets of the caverns(and maybe also get a few add-ons, which I skipped last go round).
Wow, you sucked me in. The stretch goals have been pretty amazing so far. You guys should really do an interview with Stefan, the guy is an amazing artist.
Now, John, have you already forgotten about Quitstarter? 🙂
I haven’t done any NEW Kickstarter’s since backing DF, but I’ve upped my pledge about 10 times!
Oh wait…I just remembered Mercs Recon, Super Dungeon Explore, Penny Portrait, and Fantasy Coins….
FYI – I just heard that Griffen Tamer Studios will be having a kickstarter for their miniature sculptures. They’re new to me, but those doors look amazing.
https://www.facebook.com/GriffinTamerStudio
They expect to launch the KS next month. More doom for your wallet.
Griffin Tamer Studios’ Kickstarter is in full swing. It’s called Enter the Dungeon and has numerous doors, cave entrances, etc that compliment the Dwarven Forge Kickstarters nicely. Lots of free stretch goal items too.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2129581159/enter-the-dungeon-miniature-terrain-by-griffin-tam
Here’s the unlocked freebies:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/002/062/959/e41ff89b5324ca9500869a1ac7c91e78_large.JPG?1401219094