As the authors say:
We could’ve published the game without crowdfunding, but that implied numerous compromises which we didn’t want to agree to. We believe in this product, and we want to make sure that Odbudowa Warszawy will be of thehighest standard. (…) it’s thanks to your help that this title will be prepared as it deserves to be prepared.
Crowdfunding turned out to be a great success: the project received over 32 thousand złoty – over 60% above initial expectations. The project was sponsored by Fundacja Niepodległości (the Independence Foundation) and ROST, a wholesaler of board games.
Co-founder of Fabryka Gier Historycznych, Michał Sieńko, said that this fundraiser was one of the most difficult projects carried out by the press so far:
Each campaign shows us that there is no single way to conduct crowdfunding. In case of Odbudowa Warszawy 1945-1980 we wanted to (…) leave the decision regarding the final look of the game to its supporters. Many used this occasion and helped us to solve our dilemmas.
Warsaw Rising Up 1945-1980 is a board game where players become architects, engineers and city planners, whose aim is to rebuild the ruined city and to recreate its pre-war brilliance. Challenges that the players will encounter include constructing new buildings, subway and bridges; they will decide where to build the Central Railway Station and where to place the Palace of Culture and Science. The game will also feature a mobile application that uses AR, which will allows viewing of some of the game’s elements in 3D.
Two versions of the game will be released: one for families and another for the more advanced players. The final version of the game will be co-created by historians who specialise in the history of the capital’s rebuilding.
The fundraiser for Warsaw Rising Up 1945-1980 is one of FGH’s biggest successes in terms of crowdfunding in Poland. Their previous fundraisers gathered over 120 thousand dollars via Kickstarter to publish a mythological card game, Theomachy.