[bhz]

Also, even though I also think it is irrelevant distinction between miniatures and board games - I'd like to add that Zombicide is not a typical miniatures game. Also, the recent successful Ghostbusters game, which plays very similarly, is not a typical miniatures game. If you look how games like Warhammer are played vs. games like Zombicide, there is a clear distinction in complexity and duration of the game.

In any case, there are more than a few publishers outside of CMON doing well using KS as a vehicle for promotion and pre-orders. Eagle & Gryphon Games and Tasty Minstrel Games are my favorites to watch. A friend of mine actually had a game published by E&G through a Kickstarter, it would likely have never been finished without Kickstarter.

The renaissance is in the fact that we can have great games made by people who like to play great games - and not just rehashed stuff from Milton and Bradley. These are all definitely not games that would have been picked up by large publishers and sold at your local Target. With that said, many of them have been picked up by games stores, B&N, and others. Which I think is fantastic.

[mesozoic]

The distinction isn't irrelevant. Zombicide is a game whereas reaper bones is not a game at all there is no collection of a system of rules to apply using them. It is just miniatures that can be used in other games.

[bhz]

I would consider parts that can be used in board games part of the board games ecosystem and market though. Even people making those dice sets, dice rollers, and such are supporting the board game market. So the distinction is irrelevant.

In any case, even if you left those out, I see many pure board game kickstarters being successful. I would love to see a comparison of the board game kickstarters compared to all of the video game kickstarters.