Stretch goals

Stretch goals are upgrades unlocked when the campaign passes funding milestones beyond the goal: at 150 percent the meeples get custom shapes, at 200 percent the cards get linen finish, and so on. They exist to keep momentum alive in the long middle of a campaign, giving existing backers a reason to share the project and fence-sitters a reason to pledge now rather than later. Backers have come to expect them in tabletop campaigns.

The safe stretch goals improve what is already in the box: thicker card stock, upgraded wooden pieces, a better insert, extra cards, improved box finish like spot UV or embossing. Their cost per unit is known in advance, they do not add new components to design, and they do not change the box size or weight in ways that blow up your freight math. The dangerous ones add entirely new content, especially miniatures, expansions, or anything that increases box weight, because every added gram is multiplied across thousands of units of ocean freight and last-mile shipping.

Cost every stretch goal before the campaign, not during it. Ask your manufacturer for pricing on each upgrade at several quantities, and check the effect on box weight and dimensions against your fulfillment quotes. A classic failure pattern: a campaign overfunds, the creator adds crowd-pleasing stretch goals in the excitement of week one, and the extra weight and components quietly consume the entire margin. Some famous campaigns delivered games that lost money on every copy because of stretch goals announced mid-campaign.

Fewer, better goals beat a ladder of trinkets. Space them so early milestones are reachable within days, keep the visuals consistent with your pledge graphics, and never promise anything you have not priced. It is completely acceptable, and increasingly common, to run a campaign with few or no stretch goals and simply put the best version of the game in the box from the start.