Gamefound launches a crowdfunding initiative with an intentionally selective guestlist

Gamefound, originally a post-campaign crowdfunding management platform, has published the list of twenty-three games chosen for their inaugural RPG Party. Focused on independent, small, and often solo creators, RPG Party presents the public with a curated selection of crowdfunding projects as opposed to the take-all-comers policy of Zine Quest and its peers. The platform developed the initiative in collaboration with Magpie Games, Chaosium, Loot Tavern, and DriveThruRPG to support the jury-selected projects, and it will offer creators ad dollars, industry mentorship, and campaign consultations with Gamefound.

When Kickstarter launched its first Zine Quest in February 2019, it reshaped – perhaps unintentionally – tabletop crowdfunding for small and mid-sized publishers. The axiom “a rising tide lifts all ships” proved a persuasive argument, and that first successful year led to an annual festival. Creators and designers began to plan their promotions, crowdfunding campaigns, and even their publishing schedule around the expected February boost to funding. This encouraged some strange professional behaviors, including a disconnect between the marketing and publication of a title. Creators were pushed to incentivize the month of crowdfunding, “releasing” large chunks of their project (or, sometimes the full text) in order to convince backers of the project’s viability and draw interest from plugged-in hobbyists. This often came at the expense of a similar promotional push once an RPG is available to the public. Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast, for example, had much of its text out before its 2020 IndieGoGo campaign, and its subsequent 2024 retail release.

While Zine Quest has had its ups and downs — including a scheduling decision in 2022 that forced indie creators to break off and form their own Zine Month promotion — the lasting impact of a crowdfunding platform dedicating a period of time to specifically support tabletop RPGs has reverberated throughout the other major crowdfunding platforms. Backerkit’s collections feature hosted Mothership Month, and Zinetopia is currently collecting games for February 2026. Since 2022, DriveThruRPG has hosted Pocketquest’s annual game jam and packaging promo for creators.