How does the board game industry work for job seekers?

Very few game publishers have internal designers. Off the top of my head Fantasy Flight Games and Hasbro are the only two I can think of. The rest of the hobby games market is populated with independent game designers who design games and then find publishers who think that publishing their game will be a profitable exercise.

Johannes, only very few companies have inhouse designers. Most board games are developed by professional freelancers (such as Reiner Knizia), or by those whose hobby it is to design board games (like most of the people on this forum).

Also, suppose 999 Games (or Phalanx games, more likely) had an opening for an inhouse game designer. You and I and Corne van Moorsel would apply. Who would get the job you think? Me, with only one published game to my name? You with, as far as I know, no published designs, or Corne van Moorsel who has designed and self-published a dozen of games? I would place my bets on Corne van Moorsel :)

Moral of the story, try and build up a name and a portfolio, and then you can start daydreaming about becoming an inhouse designer, maybe, some day!

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/lost_vermeer_self_portrait_baron_rolin/v...

I don't understand the direction this thread has gone. I'm with the original poster... what's the joke? The original question seemed sincere and doesn't deserve mockery.

To clarify, there is a world of difference between aspirations to be a video game designer and a board game designer. It seemed your original question was about board game design, so that steered the nature of the responses you have received.

Your board game does in fact look unique, and that is certainly important if you are selling to the hobby market. A game that is almost a clone of another established game will certainly generate little interest. However, I would almost argue that polished rules, balanced gameplay and "fun" factor are more important than uniqueness. A successful game needs to offer something unique, this is true, but it need not be utterly groundbreaking if all other aspects are great. And making a one-of-a-kind game means nothing if it doesn't play well.

Questions about your game:

Is it an abstract?

Is there a reason it plays on a sphere besides the "coolness" of it? Could the game be converted to a flat board without substantially changing anything else? (Consider how Pandemic plays on a Globe with wrapping around the board.) Producing a game on a large sphere will be expensive for many reasons, and hobbyists will dismiss it as a gimmick unless it provides a novel experience in the gameplay.

Here's what I did and how it's worked out:

*** Work a day job. Continue working your day job throughout this process.

1) Make one game in one month.
2) Post the game online for free print-and-play download.
3) Repeat steps (1) to (2) 99 times.
*** Note: The first seven iterations will be difficult, but it will get easier after that.
*** You will probably have more than 100 games after step (3). This is a good thing.
5) Politely submit game proposals to any company that accepts unsolicited submissions. Respond to requests for prototypes with prototypes. Remember to follow up.
6) Attend game industry trade shows. Pitch to any company that will listen to you. Respond to requests for prototypes with prototypes. Remember to follow up.

At this point, I've licensed two games to one company. I've designed one game on spec for another company, and have been asked to work up another. I declined an offer to work another spec job. I have a bunch of prototypes and proposals at different companies in different states of development.

Your goal is to become an in-house board game designer. I think that this is a tough goal to meet. Unfortunately, the board game industry works with much smaller budgets than the video game industry. Also, board game companies fall in two categories: small and large. Small companies almost invariably consist of designers who formed the company so they could publish their games. Generally they are not large enough to support any in-house designers beyond the ones who started the company. Large companies tend to be very conservative. They're looking for reliable designers with a proven track record. Your odds of getting hired by a big company are dramatically improved if you have multiple published designs with a track record of success. Having a portfolio of designs helps too.

I'm not saying that you have to do what I've done, 'cause there are lots of people who have not and are more successful than I am. To hit your goal quickly, I recommend designing another 20 to 30 games of different types. This builds up your portfolio, showcases your design style and strengths, and implies that you're able to produce on demand. Try to get some published, and start building connections and contacts at big game companies. Attend trade shows. Make friends in the industry. Look into getting a game agent to represent you to those companies.

I wish you the best of luck in your quest. I hope you get what you're hoping for.

Jonathan L.

Ok I think I've pieced together what happened here.

1. Luckybastard writes a long post, and at the end of it, mentions that his name is Johannes.

2. René writes back to him referring to him as Johannes.

3. End Of Time Games (who didn't notice the part in the original post where Johannes shared his name with us) sees this, looks at luckybastard's picture, sees a resemblance to a Dutch painter, and thinks René has seen the same resemblance and is making a joke.

4. Much confusion ensues. I'm pretty sure that E.O.T.G. still hasn't noticed that luckybastard gave us his name in the original post, and that he thinks people are messing with him for finding René's "joke" funny.

....Am I right? Do I win a prize?

~Josh

and to add to the confusion ... I thought it was the word "very" that was the joke.

luckybastard ... if you want to get some experience in game design try the GDS.

Good luck with the spere, it looks interesting!