i need to sell the rights to my board game and trading cards.

Hello Richard,

The old BGDF site had a FAQ of sorts that addressed your exact situation. Unfortunately, I can't find that FAQ right now (If another BGDF-er knows where it is, please point at it in a post? Thanks!), so the best I can offer is the following advice:

If you want to sell the rights to your game, I recommend:

1) Play test the heck out of it. First with your family and friends, then with people you don't know. The first few times you play with people you don't know, stay there to coach them through it and to make notes of what works and what needs to be fixed. Do this until you think it's perfect, then hand the entire game (rules, pieces, etc.) to more people you don't know and see if they can play it and have fun without you helping them through it. Take additional notes and fix whatever they had problems with. Repeat this process until you can give it to new players and they can play it correctly, efficiently, and have fun with it.

2) Now it's time to find a potential publisher. Look for publishers who are currently accepting unsolicited submissions. (Again, the old BGDF site had a list of these, but I'm not sure where it is now. Can another BGDF-er point us at it?) When you find one, check their product lines. If the games they produce are similar to your game, follow their submission guidelines and send them what they're asking for. Typically, they'll request a proposal letter. They may also request a release form. If so, be sure to print it out and sign it.

3) Writing a proposal letter: Your proposal letter has several purposes. It introduces you to your potential publisher and it should inspire them to buy or license your game from you. To do this, ensure that you use impeccable vocabulary, syntax, grammar, punctuation, etc.. I recommend opening with something like:
"Dear [Name of contact],
"I have designed a game that would fit well with [Name of company]'s product line and would like to submit it to you for consideration for publication. The following paragraphs describe the game in detail."

...and ending with something like:
"The game has complete rules and content that have been copy-edited and play-tested, but I bring more than just games to [Name of company]. [Write two or three sentences about why it's advantageous for the company to do business with you. Cite your experience in the subject, the traffic to your website, your design skills, existing publicity for your game, or somesuch.]
"A self-addressed, stamped postcard is enclosed. If you could please drop it in the mail to indicate you have received this packet, I would appreciate it. I am happy to send you prototypes of any games you note on the postcard.
"Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you,
'[Your full name]
"[Your address]
"[More of your address]
"[Your email address]"
(512) 736-0139

In the middle, outline the theme, play experience, qualities, and merits of your game. An example follows, bracketed by lines of asterisks. (Incidentally, this is an exceptionally long example that was part of a multi-game submission. Typically, you'll want your submission to be about 25% shorter.):

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Non-Collectible Card Game Proposal: Cthulbeque

What is it?: Those Iron Chef guys were wimps. Their ingredients never fought back, and only the giant squid had a chance of driving them insane. But you’re not wimps. Oh no. You’re up to the challenge of non-Euclidean food preparation for two to five chefs. Cthulbeque is appropriate for ages 13+. Cthulbeque takes about five minutes to learn and set up and about 60 minutes for four first-time players to complete a game.

Basic play overview:
You start with a pool of Cooking dice and a pool of Sanity dice. On your turn, draw cards or rest, play a card, then cast a spell and/or take an action. This is usually an attempt to cook a monster, but you can also equip with an item, hire a sous-chef, or challenge another player to a cook-off. During the course of the game, you’ll lose sanity and take wounds, swap recipes, destroy unruly dishes, and possibly even read from that tome of tasty forbidden lore: The Necrocookbookicon!

When you have three or more different dishes ready, you can declare that you’re ready to serve your meal. Everyone (including you) gets one last turn, then the game ends. The player with the tastiest dishes at the end of the game wins.

What makes Cthulbeque special?
• Easy to produce – It's 54 cards in a box with rules. Players need to supply six-sided dice and tokens.
• Quick to set up – Cthulbeque takes about 5 minutes to set up and start playing.
• Funny and Chthonic – Funny is always good for selling games, and Cthulhu has a large fan base in the hobby game community.
• Plays well with others – Cthulbeque targets the same market as products that Atlas Games already publishes: Gloom, Let’s Kill, Cthulhu 500, and Cults Across America.
• Interactive – You can play any card (good or bad) on any player. This encourages meddling (with nasty cards) and deal-making (with beneficial cards): “I’ll give you a Voorish Rolling Pin if you Banish the Nightgaunt in the kitchen. Deal?”
• Strategic – As you play, you tread a fine line between being too cautious and falling behind or overextending yourself and going insane. Should you cook the Gug in your hand, or send it after your opponent? Should you recuperate or draw a card? Every turn offers you several important strategic decisions.
• Innovative Rules – One example is multi-use cards. Every monster can be played against an opponent (to hinder them), on you (to give you points), or on a monster of the same type (as a recipe to make it easier to cook).
• Easy to demo – You can demo a 4-player game of Cthulbeque on a 3-foot diameter table. The basic mechanics take about 3 minutes to teach.
• Already has fans – Cthulbeque was our free Game of The Month for October 2004. It’s been downloaded many (420+) times and already has “buzz” on Board Game Geek. It has also been translated into Russian and Spanish. The version I’m offering you has been edited, streamlined, and is significantly better than the free version on the web.
• Thoroughly play-tested and edited. Just say the word, and I'll promptly send a playable prototype to you.

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4) Send your cover letter and game proposal to the address indicated. If they requested a release form, include that too.

5) Wait two weeks or longer. If your SASE has not returned and the company has not contacted you, you should ping them with another letter, an email, or a polite phone call to confirm that they received your letter.

6) ...Well, I'm hungry and tired now, and the next steps are challenging to outline. Basically, just be patient, polite, and professional. If your first pick doesn't bite, repeat the process with other companies.

I wish you the best of luck in marketing your game,

Jonathan

In addition to the good advice already mentioned, there is still no replacement for old-fashioned personal contact with publishers. This usually only takes place at gaming conventions. Check out the ones in your area, contact the publishers ahead of time for appointments to show your prototype, or go to the "Game Designers Convention" in Germany, usually in June every year. There, you can meet other designers and representatives from every German publisher and a few foreign ones.

I wrote about attending this convention twice on boardgamenews.com:

http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/boardgamenews/comments/postcards_...

http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/boardgamenews/comments/postcards_...

You can also read boardgamenews.com regularly to get a feel for which publishers are producing games similar to yours.