'I'm not dead yet'

Despite my eulogy for the game last week, it seems that HeroClix is not dead yet.

Catalyst Game Labs has made a bid for the game, plus several other properties that WizKids Games managed before it met its untimely demise. Also in the bidding war is Piñata Games, a newly formed company comprised of former WizKids staffers. Catalyst is familiar with certain WizKids properties, which is a plus for them; Piñata is waging a respectable grassroots campaign that many HeroClix fans are supporting.

I applaud Piñata for thinking big, but I cannot endorse the Save HeroClix campaign it's spearheading. The upstart is asking HeroClix supporters -- many of them barely old enough to carry a driver's license let alone a credit card -- to blindly donate to the cause.

Suspicious in concept and execution, the campaign makes no promises as to what exactly the money goes toward. Does it bankroll Piñata? Will it be used to buy the HeroClix franchise, in the event Piñata wins the bidding war? But what happens if Piñata loses the bidding war? Does it pay the mortgage of the guy who ran the collection effort?

While it's obvious to me that the money is lost if the startup fails, I fear too many people are donating to the cause without thinking this through. So, seriously people, engage the brain before you hit the "donate" button. If you have $10 to spare and want to sink it into Save HeroClix, fine. But if Piñata folds next month and you suddenly regret your donation, don't come crying to me. Because you're only going to get a big "I told you so."