The boardgame industry has not been spared the crowdfunding phenomenon known as Kickstarter.

With a well-honed and nicely packaged idea or concept, you could theoretically have a hot product in your hands. Of course, provided you get the necessary amount of funding.

It’s a simple enough premise, and I’ve highlighted the very interesting and more successful games on Kickstarter.

Now, like any “hit” product, what can wow over backers may not translate to equally awesome reviews, as some may have found out.

I was very nearly taken in by one particular card game (non-collectible): its awesome illustrations no doubt had a major effect in nearly extricating some hard-earned moolah from my dear wallet.

Nevertheless, I quickly forgot about it. Months later, I would revisit its Boardgamegeek.com entry, and it seems that my act of sitting back, proved to be wise in hindsight.

The game looks great, but the gameplay, and most importantly, the quality of the finished product, seemed to be a recurring issue for a number of the game’s owners. Phew!

Oh well, the usual caveat emptor phrase is going to be especially true for Kickstarter products: hey, if anyone and everyone can produce something, you just gotta temper down your expectations and do your research.

Again, I have to say that nothing beats community-based reviews, and this is where I have to also say that, it does often pay to wait. Finally, it might also mean that there’ll always be a reason why the bigger and more established gaming companies will often have an edge here: you can’t beat them in terms of product finishing (most of the time anyways).

Anyone had any experience with Kickstarter games yet? Do tweet me at www.twitter.com/arcturus_mengsk or leave me feedback below.