Thank you for your help!
What do you think about the Art for the board?
After reading the rules does the game make sense to you?
I have taken the advice of some of the regulars here, recovered from some bruises and updated the game, hired a pro Graphic Designer and cut everything unnecessary. Please take the time to read the rules and give me any advice and feedback that comes to mind.
Thank You.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1b2vZ1AKe11rlGzJKk6cn0a3xPdm5CFpp
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kYvKZujFd6iYWpQRpVTio0Ly7SEXwWqA
Comments
I'll read the rule over the week-end ... BUT
I had to add that the BOARD looks GREAT! Less busy, I like the City Buildings as spaces too... Adds a "community" feel to the game too! It's sometimes a good idea to take a "step back" and re-evaluate.
But for certain that's a REAL NICE Board. The use of the Blue as a color is very good ... because Blue is associated with "Tranquility" and is seen as a "Neutral" color for the eye. And the Red and Green is still present but toned down a notch. That too makes the board look more "balanced".
If the rules are 50% (Half) as good as the board... I'm sure the game will be really interesting to play (not just read rules). Because we all hate reading rules (no joke). We'd rather watch Tom Vasal do a Playthru Video and BAM ... That's enough information about the game.
However, I will definitely take a read over the week-end... Probably more on Sunday than Saturday ... But maybe Saturday in the Evening ... I may have some free time... Who knows, IF I find time earlier, I'll take a read too.
From what I can see SO FAR... Great job Evan!
Questccg
The rules are still my old design as the new Graphic Designer hasn't created the new rules yet.
Thank you for your time and help. Your advice is appreciated.
it looks good. i quickly read
it looks good. i quickly read the rules and cant see anything obviously wrong.
you have told people how the game ends twice (but you might have fixed that.
the other thing that bothers me is "why $720 for a miracle?" 700 fine, 750 fine. 720 no.
this is a minor and mostly irrelevant gripe that most likely wont bother anyone but why 720? is there a math or theme reason?
I read the rules
I read the rules and I think I understand the game. The rules seem to explain everything clearly.
The game itself seems very bad, but I guess your target audience is non-gamers?
It's roll-and-move, highly random, (the goal is to have the most money and you get money for rolling doubles!?!), with very little decisions.
i saw it as a more
i saw it as a more interesting monopoly. that could be a plus or a minus. personally i like monopoly but a lot of "real" gamers hate it. the usual reason is the roll and move aspect and the lack of real choice which is the main appeal for non gamers. "real" gamers are a really small (and hard to please) community who probably wouldn't look at a novelty Christmas game. this is clearly for you to play with your nan and kids while your waiting for the turkey to cook. from the look of it thats what you've done.
i doubt it will be next christmas' must have gift but if your designing boardgames to get rich, your going to fail. if you want a nice looking (and playable) game you can play at Christmas (and maybe sell/gift a couple of copies) great. have fun.
Good Stuff
I still think this game would be a great holiday niche title. Keep the price point at $20 and it would likely sell great at seasonal bazaars and holiday craft shows. I think of -this- as your target audience, not the hobby game crowd.
The changes you developed for the graphic design of the game board were a wise move. Also, I remember lots of "alternate rules" and other stuff you had added to the game, and it seems like they've been streamlined. If you have any left, you might consider posting them on a website for "hardcore" players.
I hope you do well with this project of yours. Best of success to you! :)
wob wrote:i saw it as a more
i doubt it will be next christmas' must have gift but if your designing boardgames to get rich, your going to fail. if you want a nice looking (and playable) game you can play at Christmas (and maybe sell/gift a couple of copies) great. have fun.
Yeah, it's definitely a "know your audience" situation.
I think Monopoly is a bad game. Lots of people play it and think that's what board games are. Many of those people might potentially buy this title.
So as long as OP focuses on the correct target market, and doesn't waste time thinking that anyone who has a Board Game Geek account is going to want the title, this could be fine.
I struggle with this myself.. my game can be fun for adults, but I have to stop myself from trying to pitch it that way, rather than focusing like a laser on parents with kids.
As has already been said, the
As has already been said, the board is so much more attractive and - in fact - more Christmasy.
Nice one :)
wob
Thank you for reading the rules. Can you explain the game ends twice thing? Did you have any questions you couldn't answer while reading the rules?
As for the Miracles, its 1-36 chance X 2 because its a miracle you rolled it while on that board space X $10 for a total of $720!! hahahaha
nswoll
Thank you for reading the rules. Did any questions come up while reading them that were difficult to answer or left unanswered?
I'm targeting gamers for their expertise on this game, which has made all the difference, but yeah.... I won't be at any game conventions trying to get people to play this!! Maybe I will be in a Hallmark store someday!!
evansmind244 wrote:Thank you
I'm targeting gamers for their expertise on this game, which has made all the difference, but yeah.... I won't be at any game conventions trying to get people to play this!! Maybe I will be in a Hallmark store someday!!
Everything made sense to me.
I think you should change the setup so players don't have to go to another section of the rules to finish setup. (White Elephant)
Your target audience may need clarification on some of your loose rules like giving speeches and drawing stuff.
(What if you draw a light but it looks like an ornament? What if your speech has only one sentence, is that still a speech, etc)
When I play with casual gamers they are sticklers to the absolute letter of the rule. As a designer, I just interpret the rules based on the obvious intent of the designer, but I've noticed my family will refuse anything that's not spelled out explicitly in the rules.
let-off studios wrote:I still
The changes you developed for the graphic design of the game board were a wise move. Also, I remember lots of "alternate rules" and other stuff you had added to the game, and it seems like they've been streamlined. If you have any left, you might consider posting them on a website for "hardcore" players.
I hope you do well with this project of yours. Best of success to you! :)
Thank you Let-off. I appreciate the time you've given me over the years to comment here and there. The last Graphic Designer I had ended up being more of a scam artist but it led to this new Graphic Designer who has renewed my hope for this game!! I've been keeping a list of hardcore rules since you suggested that a couple years ago!!
Tim Edwards wrote:As has
Nice one :)
Its a pleasure to work with a Graphic Designer who is proactive and takes pride in his work!! I'm glad you all like the Art. It's making me feel really good about the investment made.
nswoll wrote:evansmind244
I'm targeting gamers for their expertise on this game, which has made all the difference, but yeah.... I won't be at any game conventions trying to get people to play this!! Maybe I will be in a Hallmark store someday!!
Everything made sense to me.
I think you should change the setup so players don't have to go to another section of the rules to finish setup. (White Elephant)
Your target audience may need clarification on some of your loose rules like giving speeches and drawing stuff.
(What if you draw a light but it looks like an ornament? What if your speech has only one sentence, is that still a speech, etc)
When I play with casual gamers they are sticklers to the absolute letter of the rule. As a designer, I just interpret the rules based on the obvious intent of the designer, but I've noticed my family will refuse anything that's not spelled out explicitly in the rules.
nswoll, I will definitely add clarification for the speeches. Thank you for the feedback.
Oh yeah, the board is much
Oh yeah, the board is much more attractive.
hi. i meant you explain the
hi.
i meant you explain the December calendar/ race to xmas and how that's how you win. you do this in the December calendar bit and the ending the game bit. the wording isn't exactly the same but it seems a bit redundant.
@Evan sent you some Private Messages
When you have the time to take a look. Also please do not "pollute" other members threads with "Questions" or other facts regarding your game unless there is some kind of relationship. I've been known to have an aside here or there... But for the most part I "TRY" not to Hijack threads for my own purposes.
I'll see from your responses, how much I can help you with your game "Holiday Fever". But I think many people (think designers) have already warned you that the game is a "seasonal sale" and to be sold in stores in the months of November and December.
I sent you some information about how to move forwards with your game. Also try to focus on things that WORK, not theories which are not realistic. If it worked, everyone would be doing that. And believe me there is a method to all this Board Game Publishing madness. You don't need to invent your own marketing methods asides from the things that WORK.
Cheers!
questccg wrote:When you have
I'll see from your responses, how much I can help you with your game "Holiday Fever". But I think many people (think designers) have already warned you that the game is a "seasonal sale" and to be sold in stores in the months of November and December.
I sent you some information about how to move forwards with your game. Also try to focus on things that WORK, not theories which are not realistic. If it worked, everyone would be doing that. And believe me there is a method to all this Board Game Publishing madness. You don't need to invent your own marketing methods asides from the things that WORK.
Cheers!
Understood on not polluting other peoples threads. Sorry about that. As for the Marketing and publishing madness.... that's why I'm here, to learn from the Pro's!! Thanks for all your help Questccg.
wob wrote:hi. i meant you
i meant you explain the December calendar/ race to xmas and how that's how you win. you do this in the December calendar bit and the ending the game bit. the wording isn't exactly the same but it seems a bit redundant.
Thank you for the clarification wob. Appreciate your time.
I didn't have time to look at
I didn't have time to look at the rules, but I just wanted to sincerely say thank you for not continuing to give those crooks your money. You and your game deserved better than that. I'm so happy you found a new designer. They did an excellent job. I would actually playtest this game if I saw it at a convention. It's still busy, but in a purposeful way, so it doesn't bother me. The board change alone is just really impressive. Good luck with getting this out there !
This deserves repeating, with additional context
Evan, could you post a link to the original for people to compare the updates to the originals? I now realize how much the previous version wasn't triggering the "This is placement(boardgame equivalent of programmer)art--so ignore it and focus on the gameplay" part of my brain--rather it was triggering the flight impulse.
The blue alone complements and offsets (color theorists--can "cool" be a verb too?) the previously blinding red and green. It's also a color blue--neither sky nor sea that we see much as a major component on board games and it pulls us in, safely. (Or makes us want to watch some Boise State football)
"The fan cools me off" -- of
"The fan cools me off" -- of course "cool" can be a verb :)
Mosker wrote:Fertessa
Evan, could you post a link to the original for people to compare the updates to the originals? I now realize how much the previous version wasn't triggering the "This is placement(boardgame equivalent of programmer)art--so ignore it and focus on the gameplay" part of my brain--rather it was triggering the flight impulse.
The blue alone complements and offsets (color theorists--can "cool" be a verb too?) the previously blinding red and green. It's also a color blue--neither sky nor sea that we see much as a major component on board games and it pulls us in, safely. (Or makes us want to watch some Boise State football)
Mosker, good to hear from you. Thank you for your comments. As requested links to both boards.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kYvKZujFd6iYWpQRpVTio0Ly7SEXwWqA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxg5oSgam3_MalJwMlhQZjMwck1LbEZFRldKdW...
Fertessa wrote:I didn't have
Fertessa, good to hear from you as well. As you can see I took your advice and found a much better Designer. This guy is incredible, and he's half way done with everything in less than 2 months. I feel so grateful.
The situation with the designer (MJS Creations or Board Game Designs and Manufacturing)of the first Board (linked on the post above) degraded very quickly once I brought up my concerns following the slaughter of my game on BGDF, and my subsequent defense to the point of my humiliation!!! I just told him that I wanted to stop moving forward and go back to the drawing table, and he replied
"Please send a check for $8,312.50 to get caught up on payments as of July 12th, 2018. Thank you"!
Keep in mind that our contract was $4500 for everything and $500 off if I manufactured with him. Apparently he was charging me for a lot of stuff he didn't tell me about, even after I told him I wanted detailed cost sheets and updates and that I did not want to exceed the detailed contract.
I brought up that I wanted a partial refund, as you suggested and I haven't heard from him since. I've been unsure how to deal with the situation but for now I've just let it be. Obviously I moved on to find this amazing new designer.....Good always comes after a storm!!
Anyway, I appreciate all that you, and others here helped me to see. My game is way better looking, and I've sliced it up and taken the feedback from this forum and I feel like I have a much better product with working board game mechanics. Thank You.
Do you mind saying what the
Do you mind saying what the hidden charges were? This looks like an important life(game)-lesson to learn from. From the looks of things at BGG, you are not the only one with complaints about them.
By the way, who is your new designer? I am starting to keep an eye-out for any recommended graphic designers.
Cheers :)
Tim
By the way, who is your new designer? I am starting to keep an eye-out for any recommended graphic designers.
Cheers :)
He didn't specify the hidden charges, he just said that all the changes I had made for the last several months were overages from the contract. This guy definitely knew I didn't want to go over budget, and all the changes I had him make were his own mistakes. I literally had to change everything he did. If I had the time to post all the first drafts he sent me it would make you laugh. I just keep going fwd because I thought that was what it took to get to a good design.
The portfolio of games Mike at MJS sends before you sign with him is AWESOME, and he told me that he always wanted to do a Christmas Theme and he'd be great at it. Several times changes were small text errors on board spaces and when he sent back the changes, a board space that was correct before would then be wrong!! I feel like this guy is a scammer, like he was leading me down this long road just trying to get what he could out of me.
I thought for a while that it might be my fault because its my first time at this, but when I started working with Thomas my new Graphic Designer, none of those problems happened. Thomas sent me 3 prototypes for my game which he charged $300 USD for. He sent 2 styles of each Gift, Light, and Christmas Spirit star. They came back in less than a week and it was like looking at a finished product. I didn't think a single thing needed to be changed. We then made a contract and he had the board done in less than a month from there. He even apologized because he got busy with other projects. We may be complete with my game in 3 months at this speed. The total cost will be $3,500 including the first draft stuff. He charges a % of the total as mile stones are complete and he even sends a receipt!! His name is Thomas Hilley and you can find him at
www.thomashilley.com
evansmind244 wrote:Fertessa
Fertessa, good to hear from you as well. As you can see I took your advice and found a much better Designer. This guy is incredible, and he's half way done with everything in less than 2 months. I feel so grateful.
The situation with the designer (MJS Creations or Board Game Designs and Manufacturing)of the first Board (linked on the post above) degraded very quickly once I brought up my concerns following the slaughter of my game on BGDF, and my subsequent defense to the point of my humiliation!!! I just told him that I wanted to stop moving forward and go back to the drawing table, and he replied
"Please send a check for $8,312.50 to get caught up on payments as of July 12th, 2018. Thank you"!
Keep in mind that our contract was $4500 for everything and $500 off if I manufactured with him. Apparently he was charging me for a lot of stuff he didn't tell me about, even after I told him I wanted detailed cost sheets and updates and that I did not want to exceed the detailed contract.
I brought up that I wanted a partial refund, as you suggested and I haven't heard from him since. I've been unsure how to deal with the situation but for now I've just let it be. Obviously I moved on to find this amazing new designer.....Good always comes after a storm!!
Anyway, I appreciate all that you, and others here helped me to see. My game is way better looking, and I've sliced it up and taken the feedback from this forum and I feel like I have a much better product with working board game mechanics. Thank You.
I'm really really happy to hear that. :)
Thanks for the info
Thanks for the info evansmind!
Thanks
Tim and Fertessa, I'm grateful you have shared your time and experience with me. Thank you. That would be great if someone ended up using Thomas for their game. He's awesome to work with!!
evansmind244 wrote: I
I thought for a while that it might be my fault because its my first time at this, but when I started working with Thomas my new Graphic Designer, none of those problems happened. Thomas sent me 3 prototypes for my game which he charged $300 USD for. He sent 2 styles of each Gift, Light, and Christmas Spirit star. They came back in less than a week and it was like looking at a finished product. I didn't think a single thing needed to be changed. We then made a contract and he had the board done in less than a month from there. He even apologized because he got busy with other projects. We may be complete with my game in 3 months at this speed. The total cost will be $3,500 including the first draft stuff. He charges a % of the total as mile stones are complete and he even sends a receipt!! His name is Thomas Hilley and you can find him at
www.thomashilley.com
That sounds much more like.. a real graphic designer.
There are still people who feel like...
If I as a Game Designer break even with a project, everyone is like: "So at least your game is out-there in the public where gamers may be playing it!"
And I've gotten HARSH criticism when I suggested that "artist" could earn a share of the profits instead of being payed up-front. Everyone was like: "It's like getting your car repaired, if you want to drive you need to pay the mechanic to fix it. And you pay once the job is done."
It seems like the "Game Designer" is meant to earn no monies and everyone else gets paid FIRST! This to me is RIDICULOUS. As a Designer, if you make not monies off your projects (sometimes worst, you LOSE money...), how are you supposed to pay rent, food and other expenses?!
I think we are getting the "short-end" of the stick.
So I encourage people to challenge the preconceived notion that Game Designers get paid LAST!!!
How does this related??? Well I feel like being SCAMMED by MJS Creations is like people working under the guise that: "I don't want him to make any money from his game..." That's what I am sensing as a "vibe" from that guy! He didn't really want to help you design a game... He just wanted you to pay him money and so that you would simply lose on your project.
Cheers Evan for finding a REAL "Graphic Designer".
What kinds of Deals
What kind of a deal can be made with a Graphic Designer? I remember talking with a fairly famous artist who was willing to work on my game, but she wanted $1,000 per illustration and would only license her work to me. I think it was 50 years but still.
Graphic Designers typically give you full rights to their work upon final payment right?
Could Graphic Designers write a contract that gives you a time period for the use of their design, and once that time is up you renegotiate the contract? That way if your game made some money, the Graphic Designer could say I need $$$ to renew the contract or pay me $$$ to revitalize the current design and sign a new contract with you.
If my Graphic Designer wanted to take a % of the money earned for the game I would have gladly signed that contract. I feel it puts both the Designer and Graphic Designer with some real skin in the game. It give the Graphic designer some motivation to help build a platform, get people to support the project, market and be apart of the KS, Website and any future marketing promotions. I'd love THAT!!!
questccg wrote:If I as a Game
And I've gotten HARSH criticism when I suggested that "artist" could earn a share of the profits instead of being payed up-front. Everyone was like: "It's like getting your car repaired, if you want to drive you need to pay the mechanic to fix it. And you pay once the job is done."
It seems like the "Game Designer" is meant to earn no monies and everyone else gets paid FIRST! This to me is RIDICULOUS. As a Designer, if you make not monies off your projects (sometimes worst, you LOSE money...), how are you supposed to pay rent, food and other expenses?!
I'd say rather that as an OWNER, you get paid last. If you want to hire contractors to do the part of the job you can't do, you pay them. Then if there are profits in the end, they belong to you.
It's certainly possible to make a deal with an artist to pay at least partially on royalties.. if they feel as passionate about the project as you do. Or simply a team of two.. designer and artist, both unpaid owners. Last week I was talking to the designer of the card game "No Regerts", and his wife is the artist. Team.
It's also possible that a different "owner" would hire a game designer and pay the DESIGNER up front.. but then that's a salary and there's little to no back end.
It comes down to whose project it is. That person does the paying, and the other people collect the paychecks.
evansmind244 wrote:What kind
Graphic Designers typically give you full rights to their work upon final payment right?
Could Graphic Designers write a contract that gives you a time period for the use of their design, and once that time is up you renegotiate the contract? That way if your game made some money, the Graphic Designer could say I need $$$ to renew the contract or pay me $$$ to revitalize the current design and sign a new contract with you.
If my Graphic Designer wanted to take a % of the money earned for the game I would have gladly signed that contract. I feel it puts both the Designer and Graphic Designer with some real skin in the game. It give the Graphic designer some motivation to help build a platform, get people to support the project, market and be apart of the KS, Website and any future marketing promotions. I'd love THAT!!!
You can structure it any way that makes sense. A 50-year license, realistically, probably covers you just fine as long as you can do anything you want with the work within that time, AND transfer the license.
My deal was that I own all the copyrights to the work, but she retains the rights to display the work in her portfolio, or to include it in a (possible) future collection of her work unrelated to games. So it's mine, and I can re-use the art, modify it, etc. Of course, I paid for that :)
I also did a deal that was straightforward and paid an hourly rate, period. $1000 per illustration might make sense if you were buying large illustrations (I paid more than that for my box cover image), but no sense at all if an "illustration" is a picture of a Christmas tree on a playing card.
jay103
For comparison, I had a 600-person email list, plus some paid ads on day 1, and you can see my first few days here:
http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/727578181/heroes-and-treasure-rpg-board...
I hit 100 backers on day 4. Not that many. Nobody gets a very large amount of traffic without a large existing fan base, news stories, or other external buzz..
(Also, I highly recommend posting your KS page link here ahead of time for feedback)
Jay103 I had to bring this thread over here because I raided the other Forum.
Thank you for that epic timeline, and causing a knot to form in my Throat. I will still try to get my game out this year, but I understand that is unlikely.
To answer your questions and get more feedback: What is the best way to approach all my contacts in my email list, to ask them for support, or a shout out from their platform? I definitely haven't been building any kind of real contact list. I've never used social Media in my life. As I look in my contacts I have 16...I guess I need to figure out how to make all the people I communicate with over email "contacts".
Is it possible to run a KS and Website and never use Social Media?
I have refrained from creating a FB page or anything else because my game is really just now getting to the finished point, especially with the art. This is my first post without MAJOR problems about the Mechanics or Art. I now feel ready to start contacting friends and family but where to begin?
I say that I will have a lot of traffic to my KS because I do have a large friends/associate's email contact list, a very large family and I have several friends that are definitely going to push my game through their large 5000+ follower networks. Is there some kind of a percentage of people that will actually back you up?
I forgot to mention I've got a couple friends on BGDF that will at the very least tell their Mom's about my cool Christmas game!!!! WINK
Quote:What is the best way to
I'd just be direct, but don't make that the only reason you're reaching out.
Provide information about the project, timeline, etc., and then close saying that you'd appreciate them sharing the information with people they think might be interested. Obviously you should have it in facebook-post form, or whatever, so it's easy to share.
I'll be curious to see how much traffic you get :) There's a large gap between traffic and support, however, especially if your target audience doesn't already have a KS account.
Jay103 wrote:Quote:What is
I'd just be direct, but don't make that the only reason you're reaching out.
Provide information about the project, timeline, etc., and then close saying that you'd appreciate them sharing the information with people they think might be interested. Obviously you should have it in facebook-post form, or whatever, so it's easy to share.
I'll be curious to see how much traffic you get :) There's a large gap between traffic and support, however, especially if your target audience doesn't already have a KS account.
Wow, that is a good point I didn't think about either. You got to have a KS account to donate and support someone. Yes Yes Yes.
I do recall WOB saying maybe skip the KS and go for direct sales from a website etc.... Here's one thought that keeps coming up for me.
Right now with 1 quote for HF 2000 units at 4.76 per game. So $9,520.... What about getting the games manufactured and shipped to me by September or October. Get them Art by the end of May. Now I have games on hand....then run a Kick Starter in November as people are starting to think about Christmas. Send out Games as they donate to the KS??? Is that even possible or ethical to run a KS when you already have the game Manufactured? For me, it won't completely destroy my financial situation to do it this way. Any thoughts?????
If you can fund printing up front...
It might just be better to save the hours and cash (including KS's cut) from the campaign and use it for non-hardcore gamer marketing. Christmas is big business, has stores devoted to it all year long (in fact, there was--maybe it's still open--a shop walking distance from Gary Gygax's house.) Your game is steeped in nostalgia but not drowning in it to the point where it won't find buyers younger than [redacted because I might be above that range].
The first printing might lead to partnerships, maybe a KS for an app. Certainly a non-traditional(unintentional) path.
Mosker
I go down the list on KS and there is absolutely nothing on there like my game. Perhaps around Christmas time, people may pop in to my KS campaign (Tis the season) maybe....... but I don't like the idea of depending on the KS to try and pay for manufacturing. I do like the idea of putting up a KS in November with a very very low goal as a form of advertising just to see what happens.
Can you cut off a KS if it reaches its funding goal or are you required to let it run for 30 days?
I will definitely be sending a sell sheet to the several Christmas stores that open all year. Hopefully a few of them will order a few copy's to see how they do. I also like the idea of door to door sales!! I'm a nice guy, I don't look too scary, and if I did print 2000 copies (1000 ideally) I could give away the game to people that aren't interested and ask them to give it to someone who is.
Maybe they'll wrap it up and give it as a gift. Perfect advertising. I wouldn't be the first one to give away products for free for some solid marketing!! hahahahahah
I can say that you are hitting the nail on the head from my perspective. Many of the norms for the Hobby game market won't be the norm for me. I will be marketing to people who really don't even play board games, Mom's, Grandma's, College kids just looking for a gag gift, and people who like the idea of playing a Christmas themed board game around Christmas Time!! I have had about 20 college kids play HF and it was actually well received.
KS is not a great advertising
KS is not a great advertising platform.
Door-to-door selling is perhaps.. not an ideal way to go.