With our recent big batch of new games only on the market for a month, it's time to look forward again to the next lot. The experience of producing the recent six latest games taught a few lessons I will apply for future publishing.
Having pre-order options and supporters who took up the discounted price was certainly a great indicator people like our games. A few delays and unforeseen hiccups arise in any large production but all in all it was a success. I'm still packing the last of the 48,000 dice!
Two new games that are nearing the playtest stage are Cycling and Gridiron. I've had a few responses on the Gridiron vs American Football issue, and which would be the better name. I'm leaning towards Gridiron as we already have Pocket Sports Football and Pocket Footy. There's certainly no need for further debate about which football should be 'Football'.
I'm also considering a Kickstarter campaign for these two games. The reason for this is to reach a wider audience as well as our pre-order supporters. With Kickstarter being deeply entrenched in the European and Nth American markets, Pocket Sports may finally start the summit towards being a recognized games publisher with a successful campaign.......if I can garner enough support!
What would I need to raise to produce these two titles? Approximately USD$5000 would cover the bare hard costs (dice, screens, plates, rules, counters, bags, packing).
Being an independent publisher, stumping up the money for production is one thing. Waiting for that to come back in sales is a grind which halts new games going into production. This is another reason Kickstarter helps support independent designers.
The con is obviously not reaching the funding goal. Kickstarter only release funds when the goal target is met. Anything less and all money supporters have pledged will not be charged to them.
This is the question. Can Pocket Sports reach a wider audience? Will friends and family support us? Will previous buyers support us? More importantly....will complete strangers support us?? We'll have to wait and see I guess.
*Both Cycling and Gridiron have beta rules and dice maps up on the website. These will give you a good idea on gameplay. If you can work with some plain dice and follow the rules, you'll be able to play through a sample game.
Comments
Good luck and
Good luck and congratulations! You deserve a wider audience, and I really think that you can get one. Remember with your KS to include tiers for retailers and make sure to target businesses that are not your typical hobby outlets. These games have such great potential as impulse buys at the front counters of sporting good stores, pro shops, and other sports venues. Promoting a retail rack could go a long way toward growing your market.
Soulfinger wrote:Good luck
Thanks SF - have you ever run a KS campaign yourself? I think you'd be a great project manager to have onboard.....just sayin'
Thank you. I am working on
Thank you. I am working on preparing my first KS project. The birth of our medically fragile daughter coincided with the launch of Kickstarter, so excited as I was to do something back then, it wasn't until this past year or so that I could devote time to something like this.
Please don't kickstart with a
Please don't kickstart with a 5000 USD goal.
You'd be forgetting to include shipping and Kickstarter and payment fees into your budget.
Good call. I want it to be
Good call. I want it to be achievable but you're right....
KS Primer
HPS75,
First, I want to wish you the best of luck on your campaign, as it appears as though you have an established gaming community. That will go a long way in seeing a successful KS project.
Second, as someone who has run two successful KS projects, the advice you've received thus far is quite sound, and I'll simply add my thoughts on the matter. Definitely read the blogs and threads by James Mathe (check out the Kickstarter page over at KS: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/718136/succeeding-kickstarter (includes other posts and threads) and those of Jamey Stegmaier (http://stonemaiergames.com/the-compelling-power-of-solo-play-for-tableto...), both of whom have written extensively on the subject.
Third, as to funding...you definitely want to ensure that you have an adequate budgetary buffer...adding about 15-20% to the Goal is completely reasonable, as delays and additional fees could mean that you're having to dig deeper into your own reserves to pay for the KS. Don't get me wrong...every KS project creator should definitely have some "skin in the game" but you shouldn't feel as though you're being skinned alive.
Finally, timing...as the famous axiom goes, "better to under-promise and over deliver." To that end, once you've carefully calculated and planned the time-frame for all of the various components to come together, add about 2-3 months. Less than 50% of KS projects deliver on time, so why be one of them...stand out and get your items to your Backers ahead of schedule.
Hope that helps...if you care to chat, PM me.
Cheers,
Joe
More Resources
Piggybacking on what the Prof is saying...
In addition to Jamey and James, check out John @ Genius Games (http://gotgeniusgames.com/kickstarter-stats-101-a-little-about-the-data/ for starters) Apparently you have to have a J name to do that kind of work. :)
I have read most of Jamey's insights more than once, and keep referring back to them as I gear up for my first launch as well. There is so much more involved than what appears on the surface, as well as a community that has come to expect a certain caliber of project.
Good luck with your project!
danieledeming wrote:In
Thanks so much for posting this. Most of it seemed intuitive, but I was shocked to see how dead wrong I've been about the importance of backing other projects. Good to know that a $10 or $20 investment gives you KS street cred, almost like buying a bunch of dollar items to build up an eBay feedback score.
danieledeming
In addition to Jamey and James, check out John @ Genius Games (http://gotgeniusgames.com/kickstarter-stats-101-a-little-about-the-data/ for starters) Apparently you have to have a J name to do that kind of work. :)
Good luck with your project!
I'm going to parrot Soulfinger on this, but that article is amazing. Like a lot of people here I am gearing up for my first Kickstarter, and I felt a little in the weeds. That series of articles really helped me focus, and answered some questions I had.
Awesome comments, superb
Awesome comments, superb links and humble thanks for such gestures.
Some reading and planning will be done. I'm attending the Toy & Fair Expo in Melbourne, March 2-6. This will be a good litmus test as an independent designer / publisher mixing it up with the big brands of the industry.
I hope I can rattle the cage and get some exposure!