You can’t possibly miss it because it’s plastered all over the right hand side of every post now… but we just started up our Patreon and BOY AM I ANXIOUS ABOUT IT. This is the first time I’ve ever gone to the community to help fund anything I have ever done – for years and years I have given away everything from Java textbooks I wrote to online text game worlds I have developed. It feels weird and unsettling to be in the position of asking people to help support this venture. I wrote a little bit about why we’re doing that in our two year anniversary post.

What we do here is unique in the tabletop gaming space. We work very hard on the site, every week writing thousands and thousands of words of hot accessibility analysis and just as much in terms of game reviews, special features and editorials. We have sunk literally thousands of pounds into the running of this site, and that’s before you even take into account things like… you know, buying games to actually review.

I’m hoping that the board-game community finds this resource valuable, and that the perception of value translates into support that ensures the site is on a sustainable footing. The truth is – it currently isn’t, really. Not yet. As I mentioned in the anniversary post I could justify the time I was spending on the site when it was generating new research data, but it isn’t any more. In terms of supporting my research interests and agenda I’m not actually getting much out of the site. However, I still passionately believe in the project and I think that it offers a resource that is unmatched anywhere else. Whether people personally benefit from Meeple Like Us I am hoping we all agree that it’s good for the community for it to exist.

There are essentially two goals on the site that really matter to me, and they’re not to do with new or extra content. They’re to do with sustainability. The first is $100 a month which I hope we’re going to hit by the time April is over. That’s the amount that means that I’m no longer losing money in running the site. That keeps the lights on for the short term.

The other goal is $500 a month, and that’s the one that keeps the lights on hopefully for good. That’s when I don’t have to fight the pull of other projects or other work and no longer need to make excuses for the straight-up ludicrous amount of effort that goes into the site. It’s also the point, and this is what’s most important, that I think publishers and designers need to concede there is wide public backing for this project. I don’t know if we can hit that or when we would if we could. That’s the point though where nobody has to worry about the site disappearing. At that point the site is on completely sustainable footing and we can start looking at what we can do more.

If you can pledge $1 a month, or more if you can, to keep this site open as a public good for the community then I would greatly appreciate your support. If you could signal boost the campaign through whatever networks you can, I would be equally grateful. If you can’t afford to support us I completely understand – but if you can and think that accessibility for tabletop gaming is a worthwhile cause you’ll find our Patreon link right there in the sidebar.

Thank you!