I already have the board game. I need help on how to publish it

No you need a competition that is for "Abstract Games" ... not Strategy Games or Light Euros.

Your game is an "Abstract Game".

I don't know where to find a contest for "Abstract Games". You should also look for Publishers that are looking for "Abstract Games" too...

I have been researching BGG (Board Game Geek) and it would start by you submitting your game as a 2018 game... Self-Published and then you need to research when you can SUBMIT your game for the "Golden Geek Awards" for 2018...

My guess is that the results will be in February 2019. From what I have seen they operate and compute results in the next year.

So you may still be able to submit your game...

I'm looking into the matter further... I will post you the response I get from BGG... But you have some research to do too...

Well how different is up to Ronald. The point I was trying to make is IF it can be made to work on a normal chess board, that would improve the odds of having people BUY the "pieces" and rulebook in order to play the game...

You could even have people buy it BECAUSE they can play regular Chess or Galaxi on their existing wooden game boards (used by Chess sets).

I don't know if it would be possible... But IF it was, that's another way of lowering the price for being able to play the game.

Anyway I'm trying to help out as best as possible. BGG "Golden Geek Awards" is what you want to try... Then Spiel des Jahres ... For Best Abstract Game in 2018...

If that was his goal.. which I don't think it is.

Well Ronald, it looks like the "Abstract" Game Category in BGG's Golden Geek Awards is cancelled. From the admin, he says people just were not interested in voting for that category... My suspicion is that there were not sufficient entries into that category.

That's why I was looking to find if there was still such a "competition". You would have had the ONLY good game for 2018 and would have probably won pretty easily.

I've checked around and I could not find any other "Designer" competition using "Abstract" Games.

Sorry to disappoint, but the category is rather limited... And there seems to be very few people interested in those types of game. Unless they are the staples like Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Go, etc.

Maybe my searching capabilities are not sufficient, but I can't find any contests for "Abstract" Games... Sorry you waited so long, 5 years ago you would have had the "Golden Geek Awards", but now it doesn't seem like there are any contests for this category.

Best of luck with your game...

Ronald sorry for leaving you on a "lurch" ... But I tried to reach out to Nestor from "Nestorgames" (https://nestorgames.com) ... without any success. Other BGG members told me to reach out to him, but no success.

Sorry, I can't help any more... Perhaps you could reach out to him in SPANISH... Maybe if you guys can connect, that might be better. IDK.

Here is his link: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/nestorgames

Maybe you can try to contact him and see if he is more "forth-coming". From my e-mail he did not seem to be very "cooperative", so maybe if you speak with him in Spanish, that might be better...

Best of luck with your game (again)!

@Ronald, check your Private Messages (PMs), I sent you a link/e-mail of someone who has more experience and is familiar with the process of publishing Abstract Games. You can start by communicating with him and ask whatever questions you like.

You say that you want to self-publish, but I don't think you understand how difficult that is to do.

Perhaps partnering with a Publisher might be a possibility. Then again there is a LOT of work to bring your game to market. There's manufacturing in China, managing and designing a professional Kickstarter, fulfillment of backer copies should you get a high volume of backers, etc.

Anyway discuss all this with the person that I have sent your their e-mail. Like I said he should be able to help you, in ways that I cannot.

Cheers!

Note: From the brief chat that I had with him, he suggested working a "theme" into your game... And his idea was "Colliding Stars"... And he thinks the name of "Galaxy Chess" is better too.

He's a cool dude... With some good ideas. I'm sure he will be able to help you find what works best to making YOUR game a reality.

BTW just as a quick FYI, I did a BGG search and found "Galaxy Chess"... So you can't use that name since a game already exists with that name. This is just a brief follow-up. Too bad, that name sounded real cool...

Anyway maybe you can find a more "International" name... with Peter's help.

Cheers!

I just messaged Peter to see if he "spoke" with you. He says he did and that you are still interested in Self-Publishing. A fair warning, I have done BOTH: Self-Publish and Publisher.

For my Self-Publishing, I lost a lot of money because I invested in the production of the game. It's not that the game was all bad, it's just that you need to understand how BUSINESS is done in various countries. For Canada, products that come from the USA are then re-sold in Canada. I did not know this, even though the Canadian consumer spends a lot of time consuming US products and content (media).

I won't give you an exact figure, but I invested over $10k in making the product, only to have no market to sell to.

You say that you don't know how to "interact" with BGG and I'm saying that you need to learn... All games that are on the market in some way, shape or form are on BGG and we search for them there. This is just one example.

For my 2nd game, I did a mixture between BOTH: Self-Publish and Publisher.

Basically I produced an Early Access version of the game on "The Game Crafter" (TGC) and had a crowd sale. I made $800+ from that sale...

Still not finished with the sale of the game, I searched for a Publisher. I was lucky enough to find people "interested" in my design. And they took the product to the "next level"... What this means is designing and managing a very professional Kickstarter. Handling the quotes, price points and relations with the manufacturer. Make arrangements for fulfillment and shipping (including freight from China)... etc. The list is very long for what the Publisher has done to bring this game to life.

So kudos to them and my sincerest thanks for their help in making the game a reality.

Having done BOTH, my personal advice is FIND a publisher. Don't think about money and shares and stuff... Think that gamers will have a game people enjoy playing and that is recognizable by more than your family members.

But it's your game and project... So best of luck(!?) to you.

I would in your particular case choose to find a Publisher. Why? There are many reasons. Firstly they can have a Graphic Designer who will make the KS page "Stunning" with artwork, separators (for sections), make it futuristic looking (Sci-Fi/Space feel) which will make the KS much more professional.

Next they will take care of quotes and manufacturing for you. You don't have to worry about "getting the best deal". In addition they will cover freight, fulfillment and shipping to backers... That can be a win/lose situation because those costs are HIGH and expensive. If you don't PLAN correctly, you will be short of monies.

They can HELP you write your "rulebook". Giving you a template from one of their games to help you with yours. That will still probably be one of your requirements: the Publisher will want YOU to write the rulebook and "how to play" this game of yours. But they may give you a "guide" about how to do that. You can say that this is a Family game and that you would need help writing the rules for an "abstract" game.

You should START HERE:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1009/abstract-strategy#linke...

This linked items has 794 pages with 10 items EACH. So 7,940 games that are considered "Abstract Strategy".

There is a LOT to "sift" through. Almost 8,000 games. EACH game has a Publisher... It's your job to MATCH the publisher and your game with maybe some kind of "similarity" but are NOT "Self-Published"...

It's a long and difficult TASK. BUT... The good news NOW is that there are potentially 8,000 publishers. Less because some have published MULTIPLE games.

IF you "Sort" by "Year Published" and "Category" by "Abstract Strategy" ... this will give you the MOST RECENT publications. Then you search through the page and RIGHT-CLICK on any game and select "Open in new Tab".

This will open up the game and you will be able to SEE the "Publisher(s)".

It's a LONG list of games. But IF you cover 2018 and 2017... That might be a good start. That's 50 pages so 500 game entries you can check and see the publishers, get their link or Google for their Website, etc. If you don't find their website, they are probably too small and therefore move on to the next publisher...

You said you didn't know how to USE BGG... We'll I'm telling you ALL the information YOU need is on BGG. 500 game entries to check and see what publisher made the game.

I would ask Peter if he can help you with a "SELL SHEET" for the Publisher... And ask him to help "formulate" an e-mail introducing you and your game to them. That would also be good too.

Cheers!

Update: Also IGNORE entries with "The Game Crafter LLC" that is the SAME as being "Self-Published"...

"Feel the guy out"... See if he's giving you a fair deal... Would he be interested in a KS or not. Maybe he knows of other Publishers who might be interested...

The point I am trying to make is DON'T find ONE (1) Publisher and make a deal... Talk with several and be honest in the e-mail, you can say that you are contacting multiple Publishers because you "seriously" want to have your game "Published".

They will understand and take that into consideration too.

But definitely get Peter to help you with the "Sell Sheet" and "Intro e-mail". You'll want to seem as PROFESSIONAL as possible in that first contact.

Best of luck(!?) with your game...