My friend and I have been designing a board game for the last 3 years, and we finally have a game that doesn’t suck probably (we’re not sure if our playtesters are lying to us or not, but they say they like it :D). 

We’re at the point where we’ve stopped making major changes and are hoping to move towards a Kickstarter if possible. That’s the problem though, we’ve gotten pretty comfortable designing games, but now we need to transition into promoting our game which is uncharted territory. 

Does anyone have experience with this? 

• What communities should we be getting involved in, both online and in person?
• What steps should we be taking to promote our game without being annoying? 
• What are the most effective ways to promote a board game and what is a waste of time and money? 

Any advice is appreciated!

What do you think about having a stand at a large game convention to advertise for a Kickstarter?

Is it cost effective compared to other forms of advertising?

I have been working on a game I've created for about the past year and a half. Currently I am at the point where I have one playable prototype (thanks to the gamecrafter) and am having my friends and people at my local game shop test play it. Once I have all the kinks worked out I'll be able to finalize the rules. After that I'm stuck, I do not know what the next step is. I want to bring my game to market via publisher but I'm not exactly sure how to do that.

I have made a sales sheet and have looked online at multiple companies submission policies and a lot of them do not accept unsolicited submissions. How to I go about getting them to at least look at my game? I also looked into going to conventions like the ToyFair NY but that seems to be only for people that are already in the toy business. I was fully ready to make the drive to NY in February until I found that out. For anyone who has been to ToyFair NY is this true? Or can I tell them once I show up that I'm there to pitch my board game to who ever will listen, and hope they let me in? Or should I at least email some companies that will be there and try to get them to set up a meeting there with me?

Can anyone who has been through this process already help me out or offer some advice? I greatly appreciate it.

I finished my card game, made the cards with blank note cards and playtested it. I want now to make it a commercial game. Any podcasts or articles that you can recommend to start researching and learning?

Hi guys,

I have made a board game and is interested in getting it into stores in the US. How do people normally go around doing this? I have published the game myself, so I have all rights and control over production, shipping and so on. Any good advise out there? Do's Don'ts Much appreciated. Thanks!

Hello! I hope that this is the right place to post this, or at least a good start.

I few years ago I organized and ran a murder mystery for a friend’s birthday party. It was a pretty big hit and everyone still talks about it and wants to do another. I’m wondering how to get something like this published.

What’s a good place to start with something like this? I appreciate any help, thank you!

...I have a demanding day job, so fulfilling a crowdfunding campaign is unrealistic at this time, and financial stability is not really a motivating factor.

I just want to get two or three of my projects on store shelves and onto people's tables. Breaking even on any prototyping expenses would be great, but honestly I would eat the costs if it means they are not sitting collecting dust.

Is this a realistic expectation, any pro-tips or experience pitching games in bulk, or getting games out quick?

I'm looking for a printer that can provide 2 part card boxes - just the boxes, not the game. Looking around, I only see POD printers for that sort of thing. Assuming I just don't know where to look. Thanks.

I read that one should write sell sheets like it's your game's resume, and to that end it seems fitting to quote how many copies of our game we have sold. Would a publisher like to see this kind of information? It feels wrong to a certain degree because we were doing the job of a publisher.

We attended conventions to show test and sell the game since we were initially expecting to self publish but now we are seeking a publisher. We've sold copies at almost every stage of development from 1.0 to 4.0.

To put it into perspective, we've sold 130~ copies.

Hi folks,

I published a board game a while back that is modular - the base game is great, but we've created many mini-expansions that change the game play. The game can be played with any number or combination of these mini-expansions, and I'm looking for some marketing ideas. To date, the only way to get these mini-expansions is during promotions or at conventions, but I'm wanting to branch out as our collection of mini-expansions grows.

My first question: If we previously had said that our current expansions wouldn't be available at retail, do you think it's passable to have other expansions available at retail? (This was during our Kickstarter campaign, when we had only 3 expansions available for the game).

My second question: How should these mini-expansions show up at retail? We only sell via our website. Do you like the idea of an expansion of the month? Deals for bundles? If you have other thoughts, please share.

My third question: Have you seen any clever marketing campaigns for something similar? Have you personally done anything like this that was successful or unsuccessful?

If you have done something similar, please share your experience. Thanks so much in advance.

Cheers!

I'm trying to create some really distinct poker chips, but most suppliers seem to have the same exact variables/materials available. I imagine most of them are buying from the same exact supplies. Has anyone come across a truly unique custom poker chip maker?

Hey guys, I have a few questions that I have no idea what to do about.

If I'm looking to get a mock-up of my box, what's the best way to go about that?

Should I get a copyright on my game before I start looking for a publisher?

When I go looking for a publisher, what are some typical discussions that go on as far as negotiations?

I feel like there are other questions I should be asking to but I have no idea. This is my first time looking to publish.

Thanks in advance for the help!

I have an idea that I think will be a very popular party game, but I don't know if it is better to take the idea/prototype to a big game publishing company (I live in RI so Hasbro is nearby) or to try and publish it myself through Kickstarter (I have never used the website before). I worry that a company would mean a one-time idea sale and then I lose all rights or input, but also worry that Kickstarter might mean my game isn't as accessible or easy to create/produce.

What have you all done with your games? I sincerely appreciate any advice or personal experiences with either game creation route.

I am sure this questions is asked often, so please feel free to direct me elsewhere.

I am looking for events, services, or online portals where I can get my sell sheet and/or board game in front of publishers.

I've participated in the developer/publisher speed dating event at Gen Con and found it very useful, so I would like to find more opportunities like that, preferably in Southern California and LA.

I'm working on an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, and I'm trying to figure out the best order for some stretch goals, as well as which ones most excite consumers. I am most interested in improving the quality of the components - linen finish on cards, sturdier tiles, wooden dice, etc.

Do you generally like to see a quality upgrade on existing components, or the addition of new components? What are the stretch goals that make you want to share a campaign with everyone you know, in hopes that it reaches that goal?

I'm planning on a few evenings of playtests with a variety of rules changes and need to time each player's turn. I want to collect turn length and game length and I thought a simple app would do the trick.

All I need is the ability to have my laptop open and press the space key to capture and save the current date/time. I would then have the date/time when each turn ended and can do data mining on it.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a Windows app that can grab these times?

(edited for clarity)

Hi, does anyone in the industry know what a large professional game publisher would pay (ie market rate average) to have a well written proof read rulebook for a medium / heavy complex game. Let’s say a game like Great Western Trail, or Terra Mystica for example.

I’m thinking of the written content only rather than what the publisher might pay to have the final copy printed as a finished rulebook. I.e. what would the author’s written work be worth.

I understand there’s lots of variables but I’m looking for a broad brush estimate from someone with experience.

Is it against the rules or something? I couldn't find anything about this.

I know it kind of defies the crowdfunding idea, but seriously, is anyone "cheated" here? Let's say I've got a game, I found a publisher, they found a manufacturer and printer press is already working like crazy. Now they launch a Kickstarter campaign, people pledge whatever they want, a month later campaign finishes, one month later people get their games. Is it safe to just say in the campaing that "the game is already being printed, it's going to hit retail anyway, but you can grab a discount copy here"? Or would such a publisher had to pretend that they will start manufacturing process after the campaign?

I have a bad feeling that doing this is forbidden for some bullshit reason, but google says nothing.

Hi all. Long-time lurker here, hoping to be active in the boardgame subreddits. I've really gotten into boardgames over the past few years and started making one recently, with quite a few more in mind.

Hope I'm on topic, not reposting, following rules, and in the right place with this. :P

I'm wondering about how one chooses a name for their board game without getting into copyright issues. For example, I wanted to call my game "Cosmic Rush" but I see that this is the title for a Sonic video game, and also a more recent Oculus game. For several of the other ideas I had, I also noticed other video games or apps (Galactic Rush, Cosmic Blitz, etc.)

How does one get around this? a) Go forward and hope there won't be complaints or issues. b) Go forward fearlessly because digital/tabletop games are different industries. c) Be more creative until you come up with a better/unique name. d) Other?

Making a game that isn't color deficient friendly doesn't just affect one in ten people, but the people they play with. Given most board games hover around 4 players, and most gamers play with the same regulars in this industry, you can see how the percent drastically increases who is affected by this.

Just food for thought to publishers that view it as a side issue when it really should be in your mind during development. It can really break the momentum of your games initial sales.

Hey friends!

We're working on our trade show setup and are looking for advice regarding standup demo tables. Specifically your advice on where to purchase these or your advice on tables that have worked well for you in the past.

We had in mind those counter-height cardboard square tables that you see used to demo X-wing in game stores however we're having a very hard time finding a place to source those from.

Hi all. I have heard that it's a good idea to start connecting with board game bloggers, reviewers etc... long before you prepare to launch your game. It makes perfect sense that you can't expect them do give you something for nothing. So I want to Immerse myself in their community and engage with them. I just had a few questions because some reviewers and bloggers seem like they'd never respond to an email or chat since they are inundated with thousands of similar requests.

• What communities and reviews would you all recommend to follow?

• How do you recommend I make the connection?

• Has anyone had any success with this approach?

thanks IronKAP

What would be an appropriate contract fee if you were hiring someone for late stage game development (design is "complete")?