Crowdfunding saves wooden tabletop gaming company after it laid off all workers
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A Massachusetts manufacturer of wooden gaming tables is responsible for one of 2020's most successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns.
 
Wyrmwood Gaming's Modular Gaming Table - crafted from a choice of cherry, maple, black walnut, padauk, wenge, or purpleheart - is the second-most funded tabletop gaming item of the year and it's on track to be the fifth-most funded item among all categories. More than $8.4 million has been raised from a goal of just $1 million.
 
Wyrmwood launched the Kickstarter campaign shortly after laying off all of its employees back in March, due to COVID social distancing requirements. Co-founder Douglas Costello filmed himself telling employees in the first episode of its Wyrmlife YouTube series, which documents the company's journey through COVID. The next episode shows how Costello used a skeleton crew to keep projects moving in remote, personal workshops around the state.
 
Wyrmwood's table made from purpleheart
Since the campaign, the company has received more than 7,700 pre-orders for its modular tables, according to Polygon. Totally customizable, each table ranges in price from $300 to $10,000. Wait times are well into 2022.
 
It's been able to hire back all 70 of its employees, as well as acquire Keystone Collections, a Pennsylvania-based custom furniture maker. The acquisition will greatly assist Wyrmwood in manufacturing. 
 
Wyrmwood's attention for quality and its reputation and fame within the tabletop gaming community played a role in the success of its crowdfunding campaign. Wyrmwood puts a lot of effort into its social media presence, amassing 133,000 Instagram followers and millions of YouTube views. Multiple nicely-edited videos are uploaded to YouTube every week, each quickly garnering tens of thousands of views. 
 
Wyrmwood's modular table - its signature product - features solid wood, dovetail joinery, a spill-resistant magnetic rail system, wireless charging, USB slots, and a screen for laptop and tablet connection. Some of the company's other products include dice vaults, dice towers, and other high-end gaming tables. 
 
 
 
 
 

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About the author
Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].