by Bullseye71
As a fan of the great PnP games created by [user=amiral][/user]supporting D-Day Dice was a no brainer. I jumped on the L4L as soon as I could, knowing what a great game DDD was and the offer for all of the expansions was way too good to be true. The components by Valley Games, Inc. are top notch, and the value way more than expected.
Now onto AiyP. I've already bought a custom Artscow deck (or four) and have little to gain from supporting the KS project-- I can already play the game, have 4 decks for variety, and plenty of scenarios, Special Ops, weapons, and the Drop zone mini game. Of course, my Artscow decks are never going to measure up to the quality that Rik and Emmanuel are putting out, but it's serviceable. Spending $70 to get all 4 decks again, and the extra swag isn't much of a deal for me. But one thing that my Artscow decks doesn't offer, are the extra locations that come in each KS set (16 in each!) and the additional components (dial, figure, tuckboxes, etc). I'd have to order additional components from Artscow, trim those location cards to size, print out some tuck boxes, make a dial, and find a suitable miniature just to keep up with the series. I might as well pay a little more for the quality upgrade from the KS.
As it stands, I've limited myself to the $35 level. Mainly to support Rik and Emmanuel, and IMHO, it's a good value for the 2 decks, and extra components. I'd love to get all of the extras, but it doesn't seem to be a great value, as I have a feeling there's some redundancy with my existing copy.
In the end, the $35 was an automatic buy for me just so these talented designers and publishers will continue to create great games and expansions. I want to continue supporting Rik, Emmanuel, and Valley Games and their endeavors. The restraint on buying $70 and above levels is artificial, because it's me just being cheap. So support the game as you see fit, but it is a great game, even if the value of components doesn't measure up to the lovefest that was DDD.