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Horseman's Chess is live on TGC

10 replies [Last post]
Tue, 01/19/2021 - 22:03
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
Horseman's Chess rulebook cover

I have an update for a game idea that I discussed here a while ago, Horseman's Chess.

It's been a long time coming, but I was able to commission some good artwork and put together a print-and-play package to make it into a sellable game. I submitted it to The Game Crafter and PNP Arcade. TGC's system is basically automated, so it's available there. PNP Arcade has a manual system, and I'm still waiting to hear back.

Horseman's Chess PnP on The Game Crafter

(Edit: had to update the URL)

Since this is a chess variant, I went the extra mile to give it some credibility. I posted a bare-bones version of the rules on ChessVariants.com and worked as fast as I could to get a presence on Board Game Geek and Twitter.

I'm not sure how much of that was necessary, but it was enough to convince people that the game exists (and was cheaper than hosting a website).

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Tue, 01/19/2021 - 22:47
#1
questccg
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Wow ... looks very nice

That looks like an AWESOME Variant of Chess! Jumper and Charger, two (2) different types of mounts and affect ALL of the pieces.

Q: "What do I get for $2.99 at TGC?"

It's got nothing to do with the price. But do I get cut-outs that I can assemble to make both the Charging and Jumper mounts??? For that price I guess probably NOT... Hmm...

Exactly what do I get for $2.99... I mean it seems real inexpensive. If it's a booklet ... Probably would cost more... Maybe a couple Pages of Paper for Game Rules (only)?!

Like I said, you could have cut-outs and a nice booklet ... And then charge maybe $12.99 for that kind of KIT...! Just a friendly suggestion.

I think it's a GREAT IDEA... A Chess variant with MOUNTING: impressive!

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Tue, 01/19/2021 - 22:59
#2
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
Q & A

questccg wrote:
That looks like an AWESOME Variant of Chess! Jumper and Charger, two (2) different types of mounts and affect ALL of the pieces.

Q: "What do I get for $2.99 at TGC?"

Thanks for the kind words!

The PnP comes with a rulebook that's a cover, 18 pages of rules, and two pages of those cut-outs you mentioned (one Black, one White). If you use decent paper, you don't even need tape for them to stand up.

The reason the rules cover 18 pages is because chess movement illustrations are big. And did I mention I really like how the artwork turned out? :)

The second document has the same cut-outs in ten other colors that match all of the chess-army colors available on TGC, plus gray, plus tan and brown in an attempt to match wood pieces.

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Wed, 01/20/2021 - 00:54
#3
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
Next steps

questccg wrote:
Like I said, you could have cut-outs and a nice booklet ... And then charge maybe $12.99 for that kind of KIT...! Just a friendly suggestion.

I think it's a GREAT IDEA... A Chess variant with MOUNTING: impressive!

I do need to make a decision about next steps, but that belongs in the design parts of the forum. Stay tuned :)

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Wed, 01/20/2021 - 11:53
#4
let-off studios
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Sold!

Just picked up a copy earlier this morning.

I saw your budding discussion about production of the custom pieces and all that in another thread. It sounds like a massive undertaking... and it has the potential to be great! I'm wishing you success, FrankM. :)

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Wed, 01/20/2021 - 12:04
#5
Jay103
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Joined: 01/23/2018
Just curious, but if you sell

Just curious, but if you sell a PnP-only item through TGC, how big a cut do they take?

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Wed, 01/20/2021 - 12:34
#6
The Game Crafter
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Between 15% and 30% depending

Between 15% and 30% depending upon your volume of sales / purchases. https://help.thegamecrafter.com/article/126-designer-rewards

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Wed, 01/20/2021 - 13:00
#7
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
let-off studios wrote:Just

let-off studios wrote:
Just picked up a copy earlier this morning.

I’m rich! I can quit my day job!

Okay, not even close, but I do appreciate the vote of confidence :)

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Wed, 01/20/2021 - 13:06
#8
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
Margins

Jay103 wrote:
Just curious, but if you sell a PnP-only item through TGC, how big a cut do they take?

The link above has all the details, but they treat it like any other game... it just happens to have a production cost of $0.

The only difference from the designer side is that you aren’t required to buy a prototype at cost to validate everything. It would be a sale for $0 cluttering up their transaction database.

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Thu, 03/11/2021 - 19:25
#9
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
Made a rookie mistake

Oops. I just found out the hard way that changing the display name on TGC also changes the URL of your product page.

For anyone interested, it's now at http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/horseman-s-chess-print-and-play

Explicitly calling it PnP will let me offer future versions without worrying about name collisions.

TGC does offer a permalink feature, but I didn't use it. (facepalm)

(Edit: fixed a typo. It's "now" available rather than "not" available.)

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Thu, 03/11/2021 - 19:47
#10
FrankM
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Joined: 01/27/2017
Base and Deluxe editions now on sale

Excited that all three versions are now real things.

Horseman's Chess Deluxe on The Game Crafter

Horseman's Chess on The Game Crafter

Horseman's Chess PnP on The Game Crafter

The print-and-play version is the one everyone already knows. For $2.99 and a lot of careful scissor work, you can print out the illustrated rulebook for Horseman's Chess and make standees for the Chargers and Jumpers to convert a standard chess set.

With the base version, for $27.99 you get the printed booklet of rules and chipboard mounts to convert a standard chess set.

With the Deluxe version, for $87.99 you get everything in one place. The printed booklet mentioned above, a folding chessboard, laser-cut acrylic pieces (with an extra Queen on each side for promotions), and laser-cut acrylic bases.

As an extra bonus, somehow TGC cuts all of those holes through the acrylic pieces without losing the bits. Not guaranteed, but you'll probably end up with dozens of little acrylic pieces that are almost quarter-inch cubes.

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