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Starmork Knocks Off Wyrmwood's Gaming Table Designs
Unsurprisingly, Kickstarter backers would rather pay $300 than $2,800
This is a tricky one to write about.
Wyrmwood Gaming is a company whose designs I admired. The Massachusetts-based company designs and builds innovative gaming tables, which transforms from dining table to gaming configurations laden with modular accessories. The company launched over 20 successful Kickstarter campaigns for their products, landing millions in funding.
In 2023, io9 released an investigative report on Wyrmwood, containing allegations of a sexual assualt cover-up and malfeasances ranging from misogyny to dangerous working conditions. No charges were filed, but an online backlash ensued.
Today the company still exists, selling gaming tables that start around $2,800; larger models with exotic woods can approach $8,000. However, while they've managed to weather their scandals, a Kickstarter from an overseas competitor provides a larger existential threat.
A startup called Starmork has copied key features of Wyrmwood's designs. Starmork's Multi-Mission Game Table boasts the same accessory rail and modular attachments, and adds LED lighting and power outlets.
Here's the kicker: Starmork's table is being offered on Kickstarter for as low as $300. It's practically 90% less than Wyrmwood's entry-level design, and eager backers have propelled Starmork's Kickstarter to five times their funding goal.
Starmork manufactures overseas (Wyrmwood employs American workers at a plant in Pennsylvania) and uses Rubberwood, a tropical hardwood common in Southeast Asia. Rubberwood is cheap to come by; the trees are grown in rubber plantations and produce latex, and when their yields grow low, the trees are felled and burned as waste. In contrast, the woods Wyrmwood uses—Cherry, Maple, Elm, Walnut, etc.—are valued and pricey.
Following io9's report, it's difficult to feel sorry for a company alleged to have a toxic workplace culture. That said, companies are not a monolith, and the allegations against Wyrmwood were leveled at the company brass, not the workers. If Starmork drinks Wyrmwood's milkshake, it's the men and women on the production line who will suffer.
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Comments
It does sound wonderful, doesn't it? I just want to mention that if you go to the KS campaign and read the comments, there are so many people pointing out the similarities between this project and the Toyzzo Board Game Table Campaign. That one ended up being a scam... They raised over $400k and then ghosted. KS finally acknowledged it was a scam.
Losing your money is right. When I first got on the internet, I found Kickstarter, and found something really interesting. Too good to be true. The internet is so wonderful.