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1. What is Giochistarter?

It’s a meeting point between game creators and the community of gamers and game lovers. It’s the first Italian crowdpreordering, crowdfunding, and game auction website! 

2. Who is it for?

Anyone over 18 years old can purchase a game among those offered on this website or propose a game. Giochistarter is open to everyone: game enthusiasts, authors, self-publishers of games, clubs, associations, game rooms, shops, and publishing companies.

3. What kinds of products do we work with?

We promote the development of board games, card games, role-playing games, dice games, and videogames. We do not deal with gambling/games of chance.

4. How does crowdfunding work?

A user, a publisher, or Giochix itself, proposes a project for the development of a game to the community. The project has a goal, i.e. a minimum budget to reach, a deadline before which this budget is to be gathered, a list of rewards representing the different purchase options for the game and expansions, and some stretch goals that could potentially be realized.
The project is presented for a set time on the website. During this period, anyone can support the project by buying one of the proposed rewards. When the time is over, if the project has reached its goal, the project creator will have to produce the game and ship it to all the backers.
The stretch goals are activated if the project surpasses the goal by a set amount and is included in all the boxes of the printed game. Examples of stretch goals include improved game components or expansions for the game itself.

5. How does crowdpreordering work?

The difference between crowdpreordering and crowdfunding is that, in the first case, the project is proposed by a publisher, and it concerns a game that is already going to be printed. The money gathered this way can be used to reach a minimum order quantity for Italy (in this case, there may be a minimum goal to reach) or to improve the game through stretch goals that can be unlocked, in which case the game would be printed in any case (so there would be no set goal).

6. How do auctions work?

A user, a publisher, or Giochix proposes one or more games to the community through an auction. Each auction has a starting price, a “buy it now” price, and a duration. Any user can bid the starting price or more on the object. Doing so, the starting price is updated to the latest bid plus 1 euro. Therefore, a new user will have to bid an amount equal to the new starting price or above.
Each auction also has a “buy it now” price: if a user bids that amount, the auction ends immediately, and the user gets the object. If this doesn’t happen, the auction ends at the end of the set duration, and the highest bidder gets the object.

7. Crowdfunding: what is the goal?

The goal is the amount of money that the creator of a project needs to develop his game. It is determined at the moment of the creation of the project and cannot be changed later. It could be set to any amount. The goal must be reached or surpassed by the set deadline. Otherwise, the project will fail, and the payments will be re-credited to the backers.

8. Crowdfunding: What is the deadline?

The deadline is the latest day by which the project must reach its goal. It is set at the moment of the creation of the project and cannot be changed later. Usually, a project is active for 30 days, and it ends at 17.00 on the day of the set deadline (if a game’s deadline is on April the 12th, it is possible to back the project until 16.59 on April the 12th)

9. Crowdfunding: what are rewards?

The creator of the project sets some rewards for the participants. Usually, there are several rewards in order of price. Each participant in the project chooses which one to purchase. 
For instance, the first reward can be the project's game, plus a special custom die, for 50 euros. The second reward could be the game, the custom dice as in the first reward, plus a mini-expansion which includes special tokens: all for 60 euros. The third reward can be the game, the custom die, the mini-expansion with the special tokens, and some cards with a new scenario, all for 70 euros. A backer can choose to purchase the first, second, or third reward.

10. Crowdfunding: what are stretch goals?

The project creator proposes some improvements that will be applied to his game if a certain target sum above the minimum goal will be reached. For instance, a project can have a minimum goal of 5000 euros; the creator decides that if 7000 euros are collected, he will add to the box a new set of cards, while if the project reaches 9000 euros, he will also add a special set of dice.

11. How do you take part in a project or an auction?

For starters, you need to sign up for the website. After this, you go to the page of the project you’re interested in. You will find the list of the available rewards or the purchase button in case of an auction on the left. If there are several options, pick your favorite and click it. In this way, the game goes into your shopping cart. By clicking on “shipment options”, you will be redirected to the page where you can set the shipment method and then to one to set the payment method.

12. How do I pay?

Users can pay for the games they've purchased in 4 ways: credit card, bank wire transfer, bitcoins, and Paypal. With the first three, the payment is immediate and concurrent with the order. Conversely, with Paypal, only the preauthorization is required, and the payment will be finalized at the end of the project (or the auction).

Regarding the crowdfunding campaigns for Giochix brand products, the option for payment by installment through Paypal may also be present. In this case, the request for preauthorization concerns a set number of installments that depend on the selected project. The first installment will be charged at the end of the project, while the following ones will be charged every 30 days.

 

13. Crowdfunding: if the project doesn’t reach its goal and I backed it, will I get my money back?

Yes, of course. If the project doesn’t reach its goal, the collected money will be given back to the backers within 7 days from the day the project ends. To ensure further protection for the Users, we have created the “GS Guaranteed” program. If the logo below this paragraph is present under the project creator's name, Giochistarter will guarantee the payments made until the minimum goal is reached. Therefore, in the rare event that the creator of a (failed) project doesn’t pay back the sum he’s collected, Giochistarter will do it directly.

14. Crowdfunding: what happens when a project reaches its deadline?

If the goal is reached or surpassed, the collected sum goes to the creator of the project and the contact information of the backers. The project creator will have to get in touch with the backers and keep them updated with the development of the project's object.


15. How long will it take to receive my game?


Check the project or auction description: it states the approximate date on which the game will be available. Get in touch with the project creator for any inquiry about this subject.

16. I saw the Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Spieleschmiede icons. What does it mean?

Some major crowdfunding projects may be presented simultaneously on several crowdfunding websites. The giochistarter page will summarize the combined results achieved on all the platforms.

17. Crowdfunding: what are project updates?

Accessing the project page, the project creator can add updates to an already published project. For instance, they can add videos, pictures, texts, comments, and so on. If you are interested, you can subscribe to the updates, so you can be notified by email when a new one is published. To do so, you need to click the corresponding link under the Rewards list. Updates can also be added after the project deadline.

18. Who can see the amount and sources of the offers?

The total amount collected is visible to everyone on the project page. The names of the backers and the individual offers are known only by Giochistarter and, if the project funds, also by the project's creator. In the case of Auctions, the project creator will only receive the details of the auction winner.

19. Crowdfunding: should I think of the money I pay as an investment? 

No, it is a payment in exchange for goods, in this case, a game. In no way, this payment entitles the buyer to any form of intellectual property or economic partnership in any profit derived to the creator from a subsequent development of his idea in any enterprise.  

20. What are Followers?

Anyone with a giochistarter.it account can specify, in their own Profile page, in the Social section, a Leader of which he becomes a Follower. The Leader will gain the ability to consider 10% of Followers' purchases to determine his Fidelity points.

 
21. What is the Fidelity program?

It’s a system designed to reward our most loyal customers: every time you place an order on giochistarter.it (auction excluded) or on giochix.it, you can gain a permanent discount on all of our websites that you can apply to your following orders.

Basically, it works like this: all the completed orders you placed on all of our platforms in the latest 18 months count. Each order gives you 1 Fidelity point for every 10 euros spent on giochistarter.it and giochix.it. A single order can provide 25 points at maximum.

Fidelity points are converted in percentile points of discount following a progressive table:

up to a 5% discount, every 1% discount requires 3 Fidelity points;
between 5% and 10% every 1% requires 6 Fidelity points;
between 10% and 15% every 1% requires 12 Fidelity points;
between 15% and 20% every 1% requires 24 Fidelity points.

Users can also gain/lose fidelity points by clicking the "Will join" button on the project page (see Section 22 for more info). Each Will join clicking+campain participation done in the last 18 months allows 1 Fidelity point to the user. On the other hand, each "Will join" clicking without real campaign participation in the last 25 months penalizes the User by a 0.5 Fidelity point.

For example, you order the game “Romolo o Remo” on www.giochix.it, spending 45 euros, and the following week you take part in Tiny Epic Kingdoms' campaign on www.giochistarter.it spending 18.95 euros. The amount spent is 63.95 euro for a total of 6 Fidelity points.
You will, therefore, obtain a 3% discount. If you later take part in the following campaign, Tiny Epic Defenders, your reward of choice will cost you 3% less! Let’s say you spend 33 euros: at the end of this campaign, you will earn 3 more points, reaching a total of 9 points, so your discount will be 4% from now on. With this discount, you will be able to participate in a later campaign, or you may buy, for instance, Kanban on www.giochix.it or Dixit on giochistarter.it.

Fidelity points are assigned from a minimum discount of 2% to a maximum discount of 20%. Only orders regularly paid, made in the previous 25 months, are valid for this program, but only after 30 days from the order's date. Orders related to a campaign are calculated only after the campaign's end and after completing the pledge manager phase.

Order placed 25 months and 1 day earlier gives no fidelity points. Therefore, the accumulated discount can decrease if you don’t make new orders. The Fidelity program is only available to private customers and does not apply to retailers, clubs, and distributors. The Fidelity discount cannot be combined with other discounts or used on auctions.

Notice: the acquired discount is worth half if applied to a giochistarter campaign, which is managed by a publisher other than Giochix. You can check the status of your Fidelity points in your Profile at the Orders section.

Important: the validity and the details of this promo can be changed at any time at our sole discretion. Discounts and coupons can’t be used for auctions.

22. What is the “Will join?” button?

It is a button on the right side of the project title in the Project list or at the top of the single project page. The button is only visible before the start of the campaign, and it may also not be present in some campaigns, as the project creator can decide not to enable it.

By clicking the button, you indicate your intention to take part in the campaign. By doing this, you can receive an e-mail when the campaign becomes visible and/or is about to start. This notification function can be enabled or disabled from your Profile page. Furthermore, this indication will be used by the creator of the project for several reasons, depending on the icon next to the button:

  • No icon. By clicking, you’ll help the creator estimate the potential backers to better plan the rewards and stretch-goals for the campaign.
  •  Icon. The campaign is being evaluated. The number of clicks on “Will join?” will determine whether the campaign will or will not actually be activated. For instance, 62/100   means 62 clicks on the “Will join?” button, of 100 required: the campaign will only be done if there will be 38 more clicks. This preliminary evaluation helps us open the giochistarter platform and give a chance even to campaigns that may be more difficult to realize, be it for high costs or unusual production methods.
  •  Icon. If the required number of clicks on the “Will join?” button, a special stretch goal will be awarded to all the users that clicked on the button. For instance, 83/100   mean there have been 83 clicks of 100 required. If there will be at least 17 more clicks, all the users who clicked the button and backed the project will receive a special stretch-goal, such as an exclusive card or token.
  •  Icon. The users that will click the “Will join?” button will gain a coupon for that campaign. The coupon value depends on the number of clicks: for at least 25 clicks, the coupon is worth 2 euros; for at least 200 clicks, it’s 3 euros; for at least 500 clicks, it’s worth 5 euros. For instance, 93   means that everyone who clicked the button will gain a 1 euro coupon. If there will be 7 more clicks, the coupon will be worth 2 euros.

 

Important: the validity and the details of this promo can be changed at any time at our sole discretion. Discounts and coupons can’t be used for auctions.

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