Kickstarter Spotlight: Boss Monster App

By Bill Ivie Features 08/29/2014

Kickstarter has become a great way to find new and exciting items from entrepreneurs around the world. From apps to games to comics and more mainstream items, it’s a bevy of treasure hunting online. The concept is simple, bring your idea to the table with a budget for what it would take to make it a reality. From there, people can pledge money in exchange for varying degrees of rewards based on the amount of money pledged. Reach the fundraising goal and the project becomes reality and everyone gets rewards.

Such begins the story of Brotherwise Games. A company founded by brothers Chris and Johnny O’Neal that set out to bring an independent card game called Boss Monster to the masses. As they got closer to reality, they posted a project to Kickstarter with an ambitious $12,000 goal. By the time the campaign came to a close, the brothers found themselves with 4,689 backers and $215,056 to chase their dream. Kickstarter proved to be the right avenue to bring their card game to reality. Boss Monster was on it’s way to tabletops everywhere.

Not familiar with the Boss Monster game? Here’s a quick video that gives you a good idea of what to expect.

Now, the brothers are back at it. Their next dream? To bring Boss Monster to iOS and Android as an app. The app comes complete with the ability to play against an AI opponent or to play against other players around the world. The game features the original game deck, exclusive digital expansions and the expansion set Tools of a Hero Kind. It gives the brothers some liberty to branch the game into avenues they did not want to with the physical version.

Naturally, Kickstarter seemed like a logical place to get the new idea off the ground. This time, the O’Neal brothers set a much higher goal to ensure that the game they envisioned could become reality. Their goal was set at $85,000 and, following Kickstarter’s rules, they had 30 days to convince the public that they should pledge that much money. To entice people to pledge, they developed their tiers of rewards.

$5 – You’re getting the app
$7 – You’re getting the app plus 11 digital versions of cards from the first Kickstarter
$9 – gets you the above plus 12 more expansion cards
$12 – adds in the digital version of Tools of a Hero Kind
$16 – you get all the digital cards plus 12 cards in hard copy to add to your original Boss Monster game
$40 – everything above plus a copy of the original card game
$45 – you’re adding a physical copy of Tools of a Hero Kind to the stuff above
$46 – you won’t get the original game or expansion in hard copy, but you’ll get double the $16 level and Beta access to the app

Beyond that, there are a few higher dollar amount exclusives that will immortalize you in the game on a card of your own.

With 14 days left in their campaign, Brotherwise Games has raised almost $78,000. The campaign is almost guaranteed to succeed at this point. The app will become a reality and fans will find new ways to engage with a great game.

For those not familiar with Kickstarter, when a campaign becomes fully funded, the people that created it reveal a few “stretch goals”. New rewards will be revealed if the campaign can continue to overachieve. It becomes a feeding frenzy of fans that know they will be contributing to a successful campaign and Kickstarters that want to give more back to the fans.

One of the great feeling about backing Brotherwise Games on Kickstarter is realizing that they back other game makers as well. A quick look at their profile shows that they have provided financial backing for 29 other Kickstarter campaigns since joining the site. Knowing that they are sharing their passion and helping others achieve their goals makes funding their project a little easier to do.

Comic Booked fans have 14 days to drop by the Kickstarter page for the Boss Monster App. The rewards are many and the contribution levels are reasonably priced.

The dungeon awaits.