Boardgamereviews

A referral network for the tabletop community

Kickstarter· Gamefound· BackerKit· Dicefold· Crowdfundr· Indiegogo· Kickstarter· Gamefound· BackerKit· Dicefold· Crowdfundr· Indiegogo·

We help good games find more tables

Every year, indie studios launch tabletop games that deserve to be at a lot more tables than they end up on. The gap is not the games. It is the reach.

We watch the crowdfunding platforms, partner with the campaigns worth backing, and open their referral rewards to the community that already keeps this hobby alive.

When you share a game we send, every pledge that comes in through you earns you a real cut, and one more good game finds one more table.

Two Doors

You care about where this hobby is going

  • ✦You back campaigns because you want small studios to keep making things
  • ✦You would rather see a great indie game find its audience than pay for another marquee title
  • ✦You are the one who tells your table, cafe or Discord which campaign is worth watching
  • ✦You would like to earn something for the reach you already bring
  • ✦You want to be part of keeping the hobby healthy, not just consuming it

A real cut of every pledge that comes through you

You make games worth backing

  • ✦You are running a crowdfunding campaign, or planning one for the next few months
  • ✦You have a game you believe in, and a campaign you want to reach the right backers
  • ✦You have watched paid ads move the needle less than one honest voice at the right table
  • ✦You want your referral rewards going to people who genuinely love your game, not to a scaled ad network
  • ✦You are ready to grow through word of mouth instead of hoping for it

We do not send anything the community would regret

Before we started sending referrals to enthusiasts, we spent years reviewing crowdfunding tabletop for the community. That has not stopped.

Every game that reaches you here has already been through the same standard as everything we would publish a review on. Played by us. Discussed among us. Judged on whether it earns a place at your table.

Nothing gets sent because it paid to be sent.

How this works

For enthusiasts

  1. 1Say hi and tell us about the games you love
  2. 2We match you with games we have reviewed and would recommend for your table
  3. 3You share it your way with a link tied to you
  4. 4You keep a cut of every pledge that comes through you

For studios

  1. 1Show us your campaign
  2. 2Our reviewers spend real time with the game
  3. 3If it earns our recommendation, we bring it to the enthusiasts most likely to back it
  4. 4Backers pledge through enthusiasts who love the game, and you launch stronger for it

From reviewing games to spreading them

We are Jason and May. We started BoardGameReviews years ago as a review platform, a group of tabletop enthusiasts writing about the crowdfunding campaigns worth watching, for a community that had learned to trust our judgement.

Over time it became clear that reviewing was only half the job. The games we rated highest still struggled to reach the players who would have loved them. So we went to the studios behind those games and asked what we could do about it.

This is what came out of that. A referral network, run by the same reviewers, pointing the same community at the games we would already have recommended. The reviews still get written. The good ones just travel further now.

— Jason Hall & May Coleman

Straight answers

How is this different from a regular referral program?
Regular referral programs will pay you to promote anything. We only send you games we have reviewed and would recommend to the community ourselves. Everything you see from us has already cleared that bar.
What kind of games do you feature?
Indie tabletop games in live crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, Gamefound, BackerKit, Dicefold and similar platforms. Small studios, real design work, games we would put on our own tables and would happily publish a review on.
How do I actually earn?
Every game we send you comes with a referral link tied to you. When someone pledges through your link, you keep a real cut of that pledge. The specifics vary from campaign to campaign, and we share them with you when we send the game.
What if a campaign changes its terms after I have shared it?
They will not, on the campaigns we partner with. Terms are set directly between the studio and you, and we only work with studios who have a track record of honouring what they agree to. Vetting for that before a match is ever made is one of the reasons the list stays small.
Do I have to share every game you send me?
Not at all. Every game we send comes with our review, and it is entirely up to you whether it fits your table. If nothing lands for a while, that is fine too.
Can studios reach out to us directly?
Yes. Studios running or planning a crowdfunding campaign can show us their work through the second door on this page. We reply within a few days.
How long does it take to get on the list?
Usually a few days. We keep the list small on purpose, so getting to know you is a real conversation rather than a form.

Two ways in

I am a board gamer

Say hi and tell us about the games you love. We reply in a day.

I make games worth backing

Show us the campaign and we will spend real time with it. We reply in a day.