One staple of a Weird Giraffe Games Kickstarter is the mini-expansion. We’ve done one so far for Super Hack Override*, Fire in the Library, Dreams of Tomorrow, Big Easy Busking, Tumble Town, and Studies in Sorcery. The only game that didn’t have a mini-expansion so far was Stellar Leap, though that had the Frontiers expansion which was part of the Kickstarter, and backers also got an exclusive promo card.
Now, what is a mini-expansion? For us, it’s a set of cards or bits that have rules and can be added to the main game much like any other expansion, only smaller. For Dreams of Tomorrow, the mini-expansion was 9 cards (8 new Dreams and 1 rules card). For Fire in the Library, the mini-expansion was four cubes and a rules card. They’re small, but can add a new mechanic or two, if players want a game that’s just a bit more complex.
*Note: the mini-expansion for Super Hack Override is bundled with the game, not a separate purchase
Mini-Expansion Positives
So there’s a number of reasons you might want to make a mini-expansion! I really like them; giving them free to backers means that there’s a definite reason you should back the Kickstarter instead of waiting for the game to hit retail. While I do really appreciate retail sales, the more people I can get to join the Kickstarter, the better the Kickstarter will do and the more Kickstarter will promote the campaign. Plus, the game will never go into retail if the Kickstarter doesn’t do well enough.
Mini-expansions also tend to be relatively cheap, sometimes even free! If you have extra cards on the sheet when you’re printing the game, you can print both the mini-expansion and base game at the same time and you might only need to pay for freight. And as it should be relatively small, this cost shouldn’t be all that much! They also most likely won’t require a ton extra on graphic design or illustration. I tend to actually do the graphic design on the mini-expansions myself, so the upfront cost is also very inexpensive.
Plus, once you get the mini-expansion, it’s a great upsell at conventions and a fantastic promo item for retailers. At conventions, if someone is already excited to buy your game, they’ll most likely also be willing to pay a few dollars for a mini-expansion. These little additions can really add up! For us, the sales of the mini-expansions typically pay for the food for our trip, which is really a plus. As for retailers, they’re humans just like us, and some of them love getting freebies! If giving a retailer a bunch of mini-expansions helps them remember to order some copies of the base game, I’m all in for that.
Mini-Expansion Ideas
Now, where do I get the ideas for the mini-expansions? Well, by the time I get close to getting a game to Kickstarter, I’ve probably already stripped out something from the game to make it more accessible. I could have also had an idea that just wasn’t strictly needed in the game. I take these ideas and they become the mini-expansion! The best part is that they’re usually already playtested, so not much is needed to get them ready.
The mini-expansion for Big Easy Busking was an additional few ability songs. While I was playtesting ability cards, I tested out at least double the abilities that made it into the final game. Some of the abilities were too mean, some weren’t good enough, and some were a bit too complicated for new players. It was the ones that were voted to be for more advanced players that became the mini-expansion.
I focus on trying to make a player’s first experience with a game the best it can be, so I tend to strip out a lot of abilities and rules that add a bit too much overhead for new players. Sometimes these are perfect for players that are really into the game, though, so they make perfect mini-expansions.
If you keep good playtesting notes on all your different iterations, you’ll hopefully have a ton of options and design space to explore for your mini-expansions.
Here’s some more mini-expansion ideas:
- Asymmetric player powers
- Events that occur each round
- Cards that are more swing-y (for example, ones that have high points and little-to-no use or ones that are very powerful, but grant negative points)
- Hidden objectives
- Global goals
Downsides of Mini-Expansions
Mini-expansions can be really great! However, you don’t want them to take too much time, effort, or cost. You also want to make sure you still have ideas for full-fledged expansions, in case your game does really well.
Another aspect to think about is the picking fee of shipping out the mini-expansion. Depending on how you’re fulfilling your campaign, it might cost money to add a mini-expansion to every shipment. This could be a $.25 fee per backer, but it could also be a $2 fee per backer. Make sure you know what the fee will be before you make a mini-expansion stretch goal, as you don’t want to have your business ruined by not thinking things through.
While some retailers definitely like the small add-ons, not all of them do. None of my mini-expansions have gone to retail, which means that I have to sell the rest of them on my own. This can be a positive in that you can entice some hardcore buyers to buy directly from you, but it also means you’ll have to handle the shipping for all of them. Getting games into distribution can be fantastic, and mini-expansions aren’t really needed in distribution unless your game gets super popular.
You should definitely test out the mini-expansions and make sure they work well in your game. This takes time and energy, and you never want the mini-expansion to be the reason why the project is late. You also don’t want it to get too out of hand and become a full-fledged expansion. If you’re really good at keeping the mini-expansion small, you’ll hopefully be able to get a lot of benefit from it.
Final Note
I suggest not calling mini-expansions “Kickstarter exclusives”, as then you shouldn’t sell them after the Kickstarter campaign. It’s really nice to have the option to sell them or give them away. Keeping yourself open is always a great way to handle future choices!
Did you enjoy this entry? Have you ever made mini-expansions for your games? Please let me know! I’d love to hear what you think and what kind of things you’d like to see from this blog. Feel free to send me an email or comment with your thoughts!
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