Designer with an 'almost' ready product

Firstly now that you have a GAME and not a "Game Idea" and that you've fleshed it out seriously with blind playtesting and I am assuming playtesting with various play groups ... You have to make some "tough" decisions.

#1> Will you be planning to self-publish?

or

#2> Are you looking to find a Publisher?

Now that you've done all the work, this is a REAL SERIOUS question. Why? Because #1 implies that you will be handling all the finances and manufacturing of your game in China. Sure there are resources and you can reach out to various companies with a ask for an RFQ (Request For Quote) and figure out with not too much variability the format of the components of your game. And this includes all of the nomenclature of the printing world and knowing that in the US it's mostly "Inches" while China it's "Centimeters" or "Millimeters".

There is a lot to research including paper types lbs or pts, colors 4/0 or 4/4, cardstock gsm, varnishes versus poker oil, component sizes and bleeds, wooden components, plastic components, etc.

All that is an adventure in itself. And look, I'll be the first one to tell you that I am going the Self-Publish route for "Quest Adventure Cards(tm)" - The Reboot which is a revival of a 15 year old game in a new format with streamlined rules.

BUT... before you make a decision...

Finding a Publisher means they would handle all the details and you would probably get 4% of the MSRP so if your game is $60 USD you would get $2.40 USD per game sold. However the upside is you don't have to invest any more of your money and the Publisher will handle manufacturing, freight, taxes and levies (basically anything related to financials regarding production) and house the pallets of games "somewhere" in the USA.

That's another concern in the Self-Publish route: do you have sufficient space to house pallets of your game???

Getting back to Publishers ... They also take the role and responsibility of pitching and selling your game to distributors around the world that they deal with. With about 42% of the Board Game Market being in North America ... This means the USA and Canada (I doubt you make many sales in Mexico...!)

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So there is a few reasons to TRY to find a Publisher. But heck I looked into it and the closest I got was one publisher who was intrigued by my game but it did NOT fit into their catalog. Everyone else either said NO or there was no response after a few follow-ups.

Finding a Publisher is hard to do nowadays many of them are booked 3-Years in advance with a Queue of games... (Imagine that 3-Years...!)

And the major problem that I see with the complexity of your game is MAKING it is going to be expensive... In the $20k USD for 1,000 units price point. There are a lot of component and you have to factor in the size of the BOX and so I'm saying $20k USD landed in the USA (that's my gut!)

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Now I said, I am planning to Self-Publish myself. But there is an upside to my approach is that my game costs me $1.75 USD to make maybe $3.00 USD landed. There's a bit difference between risking under $3,000 USD than risking $20,000+ USD... See my point??? Can you afford it? Maybe. But do you want to risk it??? Is another question.

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Therefore you have a DECISION to ponder. What "financially" makes sense to you? Do you have the stomach to learn printing lingo and terms to invest your hard earned OWN money into production and can you warehouse it someplace where the price is reasonably inexpensive (like a garage or basement)???

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Reaching out to reviewers is another matter. But that I can help you with. Since you offered our community some BGG links, here are some you can look into with your Game:

https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Board_Game_Reviewers

That should give you a good idea of people you can approach. Start with finding the RIGHT people for your game and maybe see if you can find Global contacts which can spread word about your good game through-out the Internet.

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I think what you need to think about is having a Kickstarter if you want to go the Self-Publish route. This will advance you the FUNDS for making an initial Print Run of maybe a 1,000+ games and you can maybe pocket some money for a 2nd Print Run after the KS fulfillment is done.

But it is highly conditional on how WELL your game does with the KS crowd. I took a quick look at the rulebook and while I did not read any specific rules, I get your game is for a more SERIOUS Gamer crowd (as compared to mine which is for kids 9+ in age). So your 20-Something game could do WELL on KS... Provided you have the talent to make more presentation material, reviewer videos, unboxing videos, KS preview videos, how to play video, etc. And maybe a KS video to present your game (something flashy!)

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Then after a successful KS ... You'll have some extra monies to see if you can find anyone who is willing to SELL your game. Successful KS-ing always helps because it shifts the PROVING your game is good vs. 1,000+ Backers who are happily playing your game. Then that is a talk for another day.

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That's the MARKETING you should look into ... And once you get some reviews, you can join a bunch of Facebook Groups that are for sharing future KS campaigns, new games in the market, and all kinds of TableTop Gaming Groups.

Share video reviews of your game on FB and get word out that you are planning a KS campaign. With the KS Campaign there is a bit of a learning curve and you'll need to spread word about your game BEFORE Launch.

You can advertise your KS if it is ready to potential players (Upcoming Projects) maybe give yourself like 30-Days advance to build up a crowd through TableTop Gaming FB Groups and KS dedicated Groups on FB...

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I wouldn't ATM invest in large conventions because it can be very costly and not very productive. This is why you see SO MANY KS campaigns each and every day: people know it's the best way to TRY and see what sticks!

You'd be wise if you have the financials to have an Advertising Company make you a KS Video for your campaign ... But steer away from any advertising companies that promise views and such.

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On a more personal side: get a KS Banner for your campaign on BGDF.com! It costs $20 USD/month (30 days)... If you are looking for inexpensive marketing, well we've got that covered. You can maybe even advertise for 2 or 3 Slots (impressions) and it will cost you $40 to $60 USD for 30 days.

We get over 25,000+ unique visitors per month (and no they are not bots... bots fall into another category and yes we do get those too!) This has almost doubled between 2022 and 2023... We may be a small community but people enjoy reading what our community is up to and doing...

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So I've given you somethings to consider and know what your options are and how you can move forwards. If you have more questions or need more guidance, feel free to ask away, it'll be my pleasure to help in any way I can.

And maybe there are other members who may join the conversation and offer their insights and experience towards what may or may not work...

Thank you for visiting BGDF.com again...

And wishing you the best of success!

There is probably people on BGG willing to review your game. But I don't know what is the best timing. Is it better to review prototypes before release, or after release?

Finding publishers is the easiest publishing method, but you might not get published in the end.

Else you could kickstart, but like QuestCCG said, you will have to handle all the logistic yourself.

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A random idea that came to my mind: Is a digital implementation more expansive to produce than a physical implementation? Sure you will need art and other assets you would pay for in the paper board game.

No worries... I try to justify my thoughts and what I write with REALITY. And comparing games ... Yours might actually be more complex than TradeWorlds but we had over 500+ Cards in the game as it is a Deck Builder. But still you have a lot going on with a bunch of different components. My gut tells me it will no doubt cost the same amount or near it.

The idea is to make the KS early and give yourself time to advertise and generate a CROWD. But Kickstarter allows you to publish an "Up and Coming" Page with a short blurb and an image... You can easily interest people by having such a page... But it requires that your KS be configured and confirmed by the KS Staff. What this means is that your KS must be READY to run and if you post it 30-Days ... You have 30-Days to market it and gain people interested... It will TELL YOU how many people have signed on to be notified of the LAUNCH.

Well sometimes you can find a smaller publisher which is more reliant on having a NEAR FINISHED product and only capable of making minor edits like the Box Cover or the Rulebook, etc. Those kind of small publishers would be the best for your game and some might even want to KS for you... That's also an avenue.

But it's hard to find a needle in a haystack when everyone is searching for the same thing. You need to figure out if your obsession is with preserving the game as is and make no dent into the future sales of the game or allowing a publisher to make changes as they see fit and you just need to await the finished product by their standards.

Look I'm not going to tell you that the entire game will be different ... That's a falsehood of the Game Industry. Like I said, they'll probably rename the game, make a new box cover and redo the rulebook. That's what I've seen with people who FOUND a publisher and I know of a couple of them.

They can't afford to CHANGE the "mechanics" because that would BREAK the game. It took you "thousands" of hours to make it as it is... Trust me, a Publisher will not MODIFY it knowing that their changes will BREAK the game and make it useless (not sellable).

But Name, Box and Rulebook... Are definitely areas that they would tweak and change. If you can live with that... Well then I suggest you FIND that Publisher and start getting the game into the player's hands ASAP.

OK... But a Publisher would do that for you and they will MAKE & SELL the game for you. Again trust me when I say that a Publisher will NOT CHANGE the GAME. If they do... They are NOT fools and risk breaking everything that you made. Again it won't happen (mechanics will stay the same)... Art ... Unless your art is not up to their level ... They could make SOME changes to card templates, etc. I have found this better even with my PAST Publisher. Mike re-did all the cards and that was over 500+ cards. But they looked much more commercially produced than anything that I had done (which was nice but simpler).

I've already given you some people you can contact to get some VIDEOS about your game to be made. Those videos can be used on your KS Campaign and you can even use some of them on Facebook Board Game Groups... Like maybe a component listing video or Unboxing video to show what comes with the game.

And then you have the preview videos which present the "good stuff" of the game...

All that will help BOTH MARKET (on FB) and SELL (on KS) the game and it's good virtues. Personally I think YOUR game will do WELL on KS. It appeals to an older crowd (20+ Years) and the level of complexity yields well to the strategy required to play your game.

But you are right about ONE THING: you need to get word out BEFORE the KS LAUNCH... The "Up Coming" Project page is important and I would start marketing ONCE that page is up and ready. That would have the greatest impact on the potential of your game.

Keeping it all real. I don't have all the answers... BUT I've gone through the process with "TradeWorlds". I've done it once (with a Publisher) and know their input and efforts and I applaud them for their well done execution. The final product is much more that I could have produced and achieved.

Don't be so worried about "they're going to change everything"... Like I explained NO ... That will not happen. What could happen I've also explained and that I have experience BOTH personal and through other designers that I've known in the past. I have over 12+ Years of experience designing games. And I've discussed matters with a lot of designers too. Giving them my opinion and trying to squash RUMORS. I speak simply from FACT.

Look at it this way: do you know why Publishers exist???

They exist because they DON'T have the TIME and EFFORT to DESIGN GAMES. They'd rather have a finished or NEAR finished product where they can make some tweaks and START SELLING. They're all about finances and making money. They get involved with products that should sell.

They may put their own personal TOUCH on the game (as I explained above too!) and that's something you need to figure out if you are so enamored with your game that you don't want the name to change or the box to be different or even your rules re-written NOT re-designed.

Again they don't have time to BREAK and FIX a game. Like I said, maybe some art could change but again the Publishers want to LIMIT their changes to things which will improve the design NOT BREAK IT. And so most changes are usually cosmetic like I've explained.

Don't be a control freak if you want to get your game out there.

But if you want it to stay AS-IT-IS... KS is your best approach. And remember some smaller Publishers will KS for you... That's how some operate especially the smaller ones.

Again don't be worried about "changes". Trust me Publishers are smart people. They have to be to be in business. Their goal is to MAKE & SELL... NOT RE-DESIGN.

Hoping this make some sense to you!

Cheers mate!

Take a look at the Publisher's Version (Left) and my own Version (Right):

You can see how Mike (RIP) did an impressive job to TRANSFORM what I had and make it better on a presentation level.

Again don't worry about them ruining YOUR game. Think that together they will make a game which is BETTER than you can may on your own.

Sincerely.

Note #1: The final version of the mission cards uses "Credits" and not "quickSilver" (qS). Another minor change we made because it made more sense. So yeah there are things that changed between my version and the final version in the game!

Note #2: How does this related to YOUR game... Well looking in the Rulebook your "Breaking News" cards could be improved, the "Series Highlights" cards could be better (they seem similar to the Breaking News cards), the Automa cards (look a bit weird with the clovers)... In general I think the Iconography can be unified and improved upon...

I'm not trying to be a JERK or anything (I know you've put in a lot of effort and work). I'm just saying these are some of the things that stick out a bit.

It's an excellent product ... But there is always someone better with better skills than your own (and I'm not saying they are bad...) I'm just explaining they probably can be IMPROVED upon.

Don't be insulted or anything. I'm just explaining areas in which the product on other components looks better than these few (the ones I mentioned).

And I'm pretty sure they would change the NAME because you already have a BGG entry saying "Self-Published". You can't be "Self-Published" and be looking for a Publisher... It's ONE or the OTHER. I've already mentioned this and it depends on how YOU want to move forwards with this game.

I spoke with the owners of the FLGS (Friendly-Local-Game-Store). The store owner is really interested in Racing Car games. He's published several games in that category which include:

• "Neon Knights" in 2018
• "Street Kings" in 2015
• "CarmaRace" in 2012

He was immediately stoked about the "idea" and it was in his wheelhouse of known games and design experience.

His first question was: "What kind of Race game is it? Formula1, IndyCar, street racing, etc." And I was unsure what to tell him. So I told him he can VISIT the BGG page for the game. He saw the page and looked and some of the images and he told me: "The Graphic Design is average and would need an overhaul from logos to icons being more standard."

He said AS-IS ... He would NOT "Preview" this game ... Because (I know you worked a lot at it... But this is someone who knows about Car Racing Games) the Graphic Design has a lot to be desired.

So what you are saying about a "Publisher" wanting to make "changes" to the GAME well I strongly doubt that unless there are strange rules. But from a Graphic Design perspective there is some work that needs to be done to UNIFY the design.

Like I said, when I told him about the "Racing Game" he was very excited but when he took a look at the BGG page, he says there is STILL work to be done. And yeah we figure some art/images are AI Generated and he says that you can see that. So he's being honest with his appraisal. From a Graphic Design perspective there are a lot of details to "fix" or "improve" upon.

We didn't go into the Rules ... Just took a look at the rulebook itself and some of his remarks is that the "road area" doesn't look like "roads"... Again minor details that he says make a difference when comparing a product which is MARKET-READY and one which still needs some work.

Again, I know you've spent countless hours working on this game... But like in the example I SHARED above with the two (2) "Space Pirates!" cards... You can visibly see the difference between average and improved look. A professional Graphic Designer will do this for you.

Anyhow ... I don't want to disappoint you and I know we are being "critical" but this is the plain fact of the matter. I'm sorry if both he and I feel the same way. I know what it is like working on something "on your own" with the skills and abilities that we each have. Some of us are stronger Game Designers others are better Graphic Designers (presentation).

I don't want you to be mad or anything like that. But the store owner said that Board To Death.TV would not "Preview" this game as-is. It would be incomplete and they would not want to suggest that they are "recommending" this game which they feel is still incomplete.

Again sorry to be so brutally honest... It is what it is... Take it with a Grain of Salt and figure out what you feel like doing with this Game.

Cheers!