Blue Dungeon Tiles on Kickstarter

I have to admit that while I like to check out the myriad of projects on Kickstarter, I spend more time making fun of them than anything else. I've backed a few here and there, but mostly I look for the big losers for cheap entertainment.

Since this blog isn't about general stupidity I thought I should point out a "good" Kickstarter that fits in well with the Frugal GM philosophy.

Blue Dungeon Tiles is already funded and the creator, Kevin Scott (of Red Kobold Games), has been pretty cool about tossing free stuff up on his website. We've shared a couple of emails regarding a cool solo dungeon generator he is working on that I can't wait to link to the final product on some Monday.

Now the last time I recall publicly backing a Kickstarter project it was for a metric butt-load of Reaper Minis. That was a pretty good deal and I think Blue Dungeon Tiles is as well and here is essentially why:

• For $30 you get a set of 48 tiles, which is cheaper than a similar number of tiles from those companies currently making this sort of thing. This is a little harder to quantify since you can sometimes find good deals on the other guy's stuff, but.....
• These are generic tiles. I've yet to see generic tiles on the market and even if you can get the full-color specific area tiles for $5 they are still specific tiles you don't get to pull out often.
• As a GM who has to often travel to games, not to mention going to cons cross-country, these pack so much better than the equivalent size of battle-mats. Don't get me wrong, I love me some battle mats, but having to fold my big mat to get it on the plane sucks.
• With tiles you can pre-draw your dungeon, saving a bit of time and a pain in-game. Nothing I hate more than having to stop the action in a tournament to draw out a map on the battlemat. It feels like trying to do math in public.
• Buy what you want and then toss another $5 in the kitty for the files on PDF! If you've ever had to run multiple tables of a tournament you could use the PDF to print off as many customized copies of the map you need for your tables. The GMs can write on them and then toss after the game. Where was this when I needed it years ago?

The stretch goals for this KS aren't readily apparent, which has been confusing to some. The stretch goals are currently $13,000; $16,500; and $20,000. You have to go into the FAQ to find that out.

I'm excited by this project and can't wait until payday so I can set aside some money to chip in towards my own set and help reach some stretch goals. My suggestion is that you check this out and see about joining me!