Hi everyone! Nice to be here!
I've always loved playing board and card games. Some years ago i designed a fun board game that was strictly for adults. It had an inappropriate vocabulary and that was the fun of it. I made all the tests with lots of different groups of people and everyone found it funny, juicy and revolutionary idea. They even talked about it the days after. Then, i found a Greek company to publish it (the only one in Greece that could accept such a topic), they liked all of it, but later on they changed their mind, they thought it would be difficult to sell it in every shops ('cause of the limited target group).
So, nowdays i am redesigning it, getting rid of the inappropriate vocabulary, adding some strategy, for adults again, and making it a card game istead of board, to save some publishing money. I thought to publish it myself, to sell it on the streets here in Greece (in the flea market), but i'm not sure about that.
I am stuck with a few questions.
1. wheather i should register it worldwide or not...
2. if i should look for a german or american publisher to give it to...
3. or maybe i should go for the cheapass.com...
4. and...do board games still make any money? do they still sell?
Thanx for your time, and looking forward to meet game minded people! :)
Hi from Greece!
Don't bother registering / patenting anything. It's expensive and it remains to be seen whether it actually protects anything. Lawyers are expensive you know.
Obviously there is money to be made in the board game industry. Mass market games like Risk, Clue, Monopoly, still sell. There's a sizable hobby market as well, where smaller games for the connaisseur are sold. Don't expect to become an overnight millionaire with a board game though. You can make money, but it's hard work, just like in basically any other industry. Other people will also have an idea for the next big thing and are competing for your market share.
You can continue looking for a publisher for your game. It can never hurt and at the least you will get valuable feedback.
Whether you want to go the route of self-publishing is up to you. You should be aware that it is a lot of work, you will need to make a certain monetary investment, and you might not make it back. Things that a publisher does:
* Doing the art or hiring someone to do it
* Do all the graphic layouts or hiring someone to do it
* Contract a manufacturer / printer
* Communicate with manufacturer / printer (can be tricky if they are from China or India and you need to get all the little details right, about formatting, pricing, what if they make a mistake, etc)
* Writing / proofreading manual and other texts
* Distributing the game
* Marketing the game
* Attending conventions
* Paying bills, taxes, etc
* A lot more stuff that I'm probably forgetting
Why did you decide to change the essence of your game? Just because that company decided to change their mind, doesn't mean the game sucks. You clearly had interested test players and the company must have liked it to accept it in the first place.
Yes, it's a shame if you can't sell it in Greece, but there's a whole planet out there and I'm sure there are countries where this would sell like hot cakes. Sell your next game in Greece...
I, too, have an adult variation of my game system which is in many instances simply a re-theming of a similar activity in the "normal" game.
Even if this were not a viable strategy for you, I would stick with your original game concept, as other posters have suggested.
Your adult theme may not have wide appeal initially, but it can help you to establish your product brand and create a reputation for yourself as a designer.
Is there any chance we can have a closer look?
I, too, have an adult variation of my game system which is in many instances simply a re-theming of a similar activity in the "normal" game.
Even if this were not a viable strategy for you, I would stick with your original game concept, as other posters have suggested.
Your adult theme may not have wide appeal initially, but it can help you to establish your product brand and create a reputation for yourself as a designer.
Is there any chance we can have a closer look?
I think my game was lucking of some strategy. It was just a board where you were following steps. Also there was a step where nothing was happening wheather you were picking a good or bad card. It was just a laugh. As a board game player myself, i knew that it was not a big deal the way it was played, and that the thing about it was the theme.
Now that i've rejected the board, i am working on a main strategy card game idea, but at the same time i have 3 more simple fun playing ideas that are much more balanced and exciting than the original old one. So, i'll develop them all slowly slowly, and maybe i'll end up with a game where it can be played with different way and rules. But i'm not sure if this is an advantage. Otherwise, i will have 3-4 different games with the same theme! And if the fun of it was the vocabulary (i will discover that after my new tests to players), i can always put it back, or make extra packet cards for the spicy ones.
And finally, i don't mind selling it anywhere in the world, Greek market is going down now anyway!:)
Thanx everyone for your concern and info!!! :) I really enjoy this and i think i'll learn a lot here :)
Acctually i was planning to publish it myself by selling it hand by hand, as a handmade craft. Nowdays in Greece is really difficult to create a company!
So, if i don't register/patent it, how do i protect it? As i researched, not all publishers are accepting a non-disclosure agreement.
PS. Should we do this discussion in another forum topic?