In need of a gaming design consultant

Sounds like a full-time position..? I agree this needs a lot more detail :)

I know this:
The company is Curational (https://www.curational.com/). They are looking for a designer to work under contracted-hours with their team to design a game (as described in original post). The commitment would be roughly equivalent to slightly less than a full-time job for the length of the contract.

You know what would be GREAT for this "company"??? I don't know if you've ever done those "personality tests" where they ask you a bunch of questions and at the end they say "which Super Heroe" you are, etc.

It's like those subscription boxes, if the subscribers took a monthly TEST that would determine the content of their box that month.

Doesn't have to be super long... Like under 2 to 3 minutes of questions. That's a lot when you're talking about multiple choice questions.

But would make the boxes even MORE "personalized" with parameters which are configurable...

(Another example is which House you belong to in the Harry Potter world)

Update: I imagine the HARD part about being this box company is finding sufficient content each and every month. Would make more sense to have all that content and divide it into several different "versions" which could be matched by the buyer using a personality test.

This would make the content of those subscription boxes even more unique because it would be pretty interesting if YOUR box was different from your friend's box simply based on a simple questionnaire that determined what would be the most appropriate content for you.

I'm in awe of the epic derailment of this potentially-positive thread.

You say participation, I say patience. But whatever. The ship has sailed.

I'm not convinced you heard me, at all.

Like I said: whatever. The ship has sailed and it's very likely they won't return.

Let-off studios is making a good point, as is QuestCCG. I know more because I asked her, which I did because I know that in order to get a notification on a forum you either need to actively subscribe (new user wouldn't know that), or you get a PM. I did the latter.

I shared that tidbit I learned to help users at least identify the company and let people reach out for more info.

QuestCCG, I agree that the presentation could have been better up front to instil confidence that the company is serious and knows what they're doing. This is their first 'game' that they want to add to their line. They have over 230 different items they include in various boxes, depending on the client.

They are a Business-to-Business entity, meaning they partner with other brands, curate boxes with their input, and handle all the design and logistics. The partner brand handles all the marketing/promotions. All of that is on their website.

Leslie (OP) is looking for a game design that could be re-used month-to-month (ongoing story, for instance), centred around clue-finding or puzzle-solving. For instance, a decoder wheel like in most escape room tabletop games.

I agree with Let-off that this thread took more a turn to "how the OP should have approached us" and (paraphrased) "look how sketchy this site is" as opposed to seeking out more through PMs. The shipped has likely sailed, as Let-off said, or you could find out by PMing.

This is frustrating to see.

The same thing happened with the Fulfillrite rep here. The same thing happened with the Bicycle Playing Card Company here, when they posted their contest announcement. That Chinese company's game contest wasn't put together so well when they announced it some time ago, but it could have been salvaged with a little positive communication.

It's now highly unlikely any of those people will be back to continue posting any future announcements or developments because the initial knee-jerk reaction was suspicious, borderline-hostile, and defensive. There was potential of some significant progress both for the forum and its users had these relationships been nurtured instead of swatted down.

Ten minutes of Internet research would have prevented the dog-pile that ensued in this thread(as well as a little bit of patience for richdurham to exercise his due diligence). I just wish people in general had a little more patience (or emotional intelligence, or Internet savvy, whatever you want to call it), instead of automatically assuming that every potential business-like proposal on this forum is a fiendish scam ready to take advantage of everyone here. Just how welcome do you expect anyone to be in such a climate?

If all you want is an echo chamber, then keep it up. But there are others who expect more out of a forum with a name as broad, interesting, and inclusive as "Board Game Designers Forum".

I'd like to suggest this thread be locked and that it's never mentioned again.

It really wasn't derailed. Several of us asked for more information. Several days passed with no answer from the OP (who signed up to make this post and apparently didn't check back on their own thread).

QuestCCG started giving some ideas for, well, I think what the OP was looking for, namely the sorts of box-content ideas a consultant would be expected to provide.

Then it derailed a bit after that, but again, it wasn't really on the rails without the OP posting more. I don't think anyone's flamed anyone.

I'll be honest, when y'all go crazy crucifying the legitimacy of "Dubious" posters it just makes it easier for me. :P

You guys need to understand that many people seeking a designer are not designers. Probably not even gamers. They don't know our customs, our expectations, or how our forums work.

Usually people with this request aren't entirely sure WHAT they need and that's exactly why they're looking for a professional.

- Sparse sites due to new incomplete brands
- Missing information because they didn't know to ask
- Sparse sites due to corporate requirements to keep it on the down-low.

They are a million logical reasons that things can seem out of the ordinary. If you reach out to them and ask you can learn more and decide whether the story is complete enough that you'd trust doing business with them. (If not, walk the **** away)

I was talking to one woman the other day that is a fairly successful online marketer. She was looking to branch out into new products, including board games. She was nearly driven out of this market by the forum response on BGG. She stopped responding because she felt like she stepped on a landmine.

Your responses are ALL to these situations are all on you. How you present yourself to potential clients is important.

Even if Rich puts up "Assistance for legitimate businesses" it's likely to be missed by a casual passer-by that is posting a request for hire on 5-10 forums in a day and we'll be in this exactly same situation.

The only common point across all cases will be you guys and how you choose to approach the situation.

and say that it's pretty cool to see an actual job opening in our industry :)

For me, board game design will always be a hobby or side gig. Anyone who does well in the position she's offering deserves a gold star and 10 victory points.