How to Make and Sell a Boardgame - According to an Average Joe

Disclaimer

I've received several requests from people interested in making and selling their own tabletop game. They want to know how to do it. Like me, they are curious if it's worth the investment. This is my humble attempt to answer common initial questions I receive from aspiring game designers. I don't pretend to be an expert. If you want expert advice, I recommend checking out Jamey Stegmaier's blogs through Stonemaier Games or the various content put out by The Crowdfunding Nerds. I am just a regular dude, a physical therapist of all things, who happened to pick up game design and start self-publishing. That is why I am tagging this blog, "According to an Average Joe," which happens to be an inside joke you will get if you've ever played our fantasy speed card game, Escape Master. Therefore, I recommend only taking the numbers and facts I share in this article as if you heard them in a friendly conversation. I am always open to correction. That said, I believe you will still find value in this article for the very reason I am having to write this disclaimer. You may also be an Average Joe, and this is your chance to hear the perspective of someone who started out ignorant but gained many valuable lessons along the way. I am happy to share what I have learned. For you Star Wars fans out there, I say with a good laugh, "Many Bothans died to bring you this information."

Introduction

When I first started out in game design, I was dying to find someone who would shoot me straight and tell me the basics from beginning to end. How much would it cost? Should I self-publish or try to sell to a publisher? Should I do a Kickstarter? Do I need a business? Where can I manufacture my game? How can I find an artist? I had all of these questions with too many in-depth answers available online that just made my head swim. Was there anyone I could just talk to that wasn't interested in using my desperation to take my money? I didn't have time to read every detailed article about the specifics of crowdfunding, starting a business, or even about how to design the best game possible. I just wanted to know one thing: is it worth it? Is doing this thing even possible for me? If that's you, I have great sympathy for you. That is why I am writing this article to informally answer your big questions. Let's have that conversation you've been dying to have...

What are your Goals?

You have to start there. What are your goals? There are 3 main camps that people tend to fall into. 1) I just want to design a game for fun, have it look moderately nice, and be able to play it with my friends. 2) I want to design a game and sell it, but I am not interested in doing it full time or starting a business. 3) I want to create, sell, and publish my own games. There is a 4th camp that can worm its way in between, before, and after the lines of all three of these camps. I like to call it completely unrealistic expectations (which I have been guilty of many times). Let's talk briefly about each of these three different, excuse me... four different camps, what direction you may want to take based on what camp you fall under, and how you can avoid having completely unrealistic expectations.

Camp 1

Let's talk about the first camp. You just want to make a game for fun (and if it happens to be good, you enjoy the thought of possibly making some money on it). This is a great goal to start out with. However, the biggest issue I see with people in this category is they can't seem to find the time or motivation to actually do anything about their idea beyond think and talk about it. Other barriers may be they don't know how to begin building a prototype, or they may feel intimidated about trying to get people to playtest their game. All of these barriers can be overcome. This article is not going to go in depth about solutions, but I will provide quick tips along the way. If this is you, get plugged in with online and/or in person game design groups. Having other people to encourage you and learn from is a powerful way to take steps toward achieving your goal. If making a game for fun is truly your motivation, just start doing stuff. The delight of making your own game will slowly start to fuel the process! Now let's talk about unrealistic expectations in this camp. I think their are two main ones.

1) People can have too high of expectations of what they want their game to look like. Unless you are independently wealthy or are a talented artist/graphic designer yourself, your game will not look professional. You just have to accept that, but don't let that stop you. If you can make it look professional, you don't belong in this camp anyway. If you truly are just making your game for fun, you will likely have to make it yourself. Recycle old game parts, use crafting materials, and if you want to get extra fancy, try out a 3-D printer or learn how to do some graphic design and print on some nice card stock. You'd be surprised what you can make!

2) Don't expect to be satisfied with your rough prototype. This is what happened to me. I thought I just wanted to make a fun prototype and that would be it, but once the idea took hold of me and I realized people were actually enjoying what I made, I couldn't stop there. I wanted to get to a point where my game looked professional and get it into the hands of more people. However, I didn't understand the investment it would take, and once you start investing... it's hard to not start thinking about defecting to camp 2 or 3, SO be careful.

Camp 2

If you want to sell your game but don't want to self-publish or have the project consume all of your time, you still have your work cut out for you. The only real option is to try and sell your game to a publisher. Learning to pitch a game well to a publisher is a skill, and it is very difficult to actually land a deal. It's a competitive arena. No matter how good your game is, it simply may not be the right time or right fit. Additionally, if a publisher is interested, they may want to change some things about your game. These changes could be actual improvements or perhaps things you don't like, but you may not have a choice in the matter. These challenges are the reasons why many people often opt to self publish. However, despite the challenges, I believe selling to a publisher is underrated. There are a lot of publishers out there of various sizes and something could materialize, especially if you don't give up. You will likely face a lot of rejection, but keep trying. Use the disappointment and the extra time you gain while facing rejection to keep making your game better. You may never land a deal for a long time, but if you do, you could make some passive income. Taking this path also gives you the freedom to just create games and not have to worry about the business side of things. For many, that is a breath of fresh air. However, let's dive into the unrealistic expectations in this camp.

1) Don't assume someone will want to buy your idea. I used to think I could sell my ideas, and in some arenas, that might still be true, but after going through the process of publishing my own game, I understand why that is not the case in game design. Coming up with a good idea is relatively easy. Turning it into something real is the hard part. Don't pitch an idea that you have barely tested to a publisher. You want to pitch a nearly finished product that you could instantly sell or self-publish if you had the time or resources to do so. Think complete rule book with graphics, game title, box description, target age, a well tested play duration, card spread sheets, marketing ad copy, etc. You will likely have to invest in your game ten times more than you think you will to make it attractive to publishers. If you don't do graphic design, you may have to consider hiring a graphic designer or bribing an artsy friend to make your board, cards, rules, etc. look more visually appealing. These extra steps may not always be necessary, but they certainly help! Check out this article from Stonemaier Games as a helpful guideline for what publishers may be looking for.

2) Don't assume playtesting your game with a few friends is enough to get your game to the caliber it needs to be to sell. Have as many people review your rules and give feedback as possible. Playtest your game hundreds of times. Go to game conventions. Have blind play testers if possible. Get feedback from strangers. Build an online version of your game on a platform like Tabletop Simulator (TTS), so that people can playtest your game from anywhere. TTS costs some money, but there are other free versions like Tabletopia.

3) If the publishers aren't biting, don't assume you won't be tempted to self-publish. If you are eager to create your game, it can be hard to resist the urge to self-publish, SO be careful.

Camp 3

So at last you have decided to consider self-publishing. The idea has become too tantalizing to resist. I will include crowdfunding as an individual (without an associated business) in this category because many of the same requirements exist. That brings up an interesting question, though. Do you need a business, such as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), to sell your game? This is not professional advice, but from what I have observed, plenty of people crowdfund their games without having an LLC. Anyone can do a Kickstarter, raise money, and fulfill it to backers. However, I did not choose that route because I already knew I would likely want to try to create and sell more games. Long term, having an LLC is helpful to increase your credibility and reduce the risk of people going after your personal assets if something goes wrong. I can't make that decision for you. You will have to do your research and determine what is best for you. However, starting a business will ultimately take more work and cost more money on the front end. Let's go ahead and talk about the unrealistic expectations of self-publishing.

1) It will cost way more than you think it will. The exact numbers will fluctuate greatly depending on the size and scope of your game, but even a tiny card game will require a significant investment. This is why most first-time publishers choose crowdfunding.

2) Don't assume crowdfunding will help you pay to create your game. Crowdfunding will simply help you purchase your first batch of games from your manufacturer after it has already been created. You will have to find a way completely create your game on your own. It could be through savings, a loan, investors, or some other means, but there is almost no escaping the need to invest on the front end.

3) Do not assume people will want to back your project on Kickstarter because it is a good idea that they want to help you create. Backers, at large, are drawn to support complete and professional looking products. You will be competing against large companies with large budgets, so you have to find ways to stand out.

4) Don't assume success is a guarantee. About 60% of all Kickstarter fail. However, many Kickstarters that fail are often successful on a re-launch, so don't let the thought of failure stop you from trying. I was 100% certain our Kickstarter would fail at least three separate times, but we pulled through in the end.

5) Don't over estimate what success means. If you do an outstanding job, you may end up in the small percentage of folks who end up with a surplus after their crowdfunding campaign, but don't count on it. Crowdfunding campaigns that raise hundred of thousands of dollars often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. A campaign that raises 500 dollars and comes out on top 50 dollars is arguably more successful than a campaign that raised 1 million dollars that ultimately came out in debt.

6) Don't underestimate the cost to create your game, and DO NOT neglect to budget for marketing. I will give you some rough estimates related to the cost of preparing your game for crowdfunding based on an imaginary game.

Let's say example game X is a card game with 100 cards that requires 50 unique illustrations and 20 unique icons. Let's break down the cost from beginning to end using very rough (non-exhaustive) estimates. The goal of providing these estimates is not to provide with what the actual cost might be. Rather it is meant to help you think more clearly regarding what you could have to invest in order to self-publish a game if you want to do it well.

Game Costs:

• Cost per illustration = 30-300

• Cost per icon = 10-75

• Cost of card graphic design = 1k-5k

• Cost of box art = 100-1k

• Cost of box graphic design = 100-500

• Cost of rule book graphic design = 100-500

• Cost to order 10 prototypes from a manufacturer = 500-1k

• Cost to do safety testing based on the countries you plan to sell in = 500-2k

• Other unforeseen costs = ?

Marketing Costs:

• Cost to hire a professional marketing company for 2 months = 3k-8k

• Cost of daily ad spend at 20 dollars a day for 2 months = 1.2k

• Cost of setting up your own website = 0-400

• Cost to hire a website designer = 500-3k

• Cost to create graphics for your Kickstarter page = 300-1k

• Cost to create a Kickstarter trailer = 500-3k

• Cost of email marketing services per month for 2 months = 0-700

• Cost to have a micro influencer review your game = 250-800

• Cost to run a podcast ad = 250-2k

• Other unforeseen costs = ?

Business Costs:

• Cost to register a copyright = 65-600

• Cost to register a trademark = 350-1k

• Other unrelated business costs = ?

Let's add it up. The very low end of the spectrum, excluding unforeseen costs and unrelated business costs, lands at about $10,415. The upper end of the spectrum lands at about $48,200. Realistically, I would estimate this project to land somewhere in the middle around 20-30k. Keep in mind, we are talking about upfront investment before ever tasting money from your crowdfunding campaign. However, the more you are able to do yourself in the arena of art, graphic design, marketing, website building, and video production, the more of the cost you will be able to shave off.

The next three sections will focus on more tips regarding self-publishing since this is what I believe most people have in mind when they think of creating and selling their own game.

Crowdfunding

There are mountains of content out there regarding crowdfunding. I will spare you to details here. However, I will share one golden tip I learned from someone early on in my journey that benefitted me immensely. Kickstarter, and other crowdfunding platforms like it (Gamefound, Indiegogo, etc.), are primarily a platform to bring your crowd to. They do not supply the crowd. it is essential to do pre-launch marketing to build a large crowd of enthusiasts before you ever click that launch button. The faster you fund (ideally within the first 3 days of launch), the more favorably the platform's algorithm will treat your project, which will increase the likelihood of rocketing your campaign into further success. Build your crowd before you launch and prep your crowd to back you on day one. It's that simple.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is a huge topic that really drives the financial aspect of creating and selling a game. For example, let's say the example game X costs 5 dollars per unit to manufacture. If we we order a batch of 1500, the order will cost 7.5k! This is why so many creators choose to do crowdfunding. If a creator could manufacture 15 games at the cost of 5 dollars each, they wouldn't need to work so hard to build a crowd and market their game. They could create and sell their game in small batches and let awareness of their game grow organically while still making a profit. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works.

Before going too deep into your game design by investing in art and graphic design, I recommend getting quotes from at least 4 different manufacturers. Include at least 2 domestic manufacturers and 2 international manufacturers in your search. Many of the best manufacturers are overseas but they often have a minimum order requirement of 1000-1500 copies. Many domestic manufacturers have very small minimum order requirements, or none at all, which is helpful for prototyping, but they tend to be more expensive and lower quality. Regardless of what manufacturer you use, the fewer games you order, the more expensive each unit will be. This is why you really have to go all in if you want to make a profit. If you buy a small batch, you will likely have to sell the games for way more than what people are willing to buy. Only ordering 15 copies of the example game X could cost you 40 bucks per game with a domestic manufacturer. Whereas ordering 1500 copies from the same manufacturer could drop the price to 5 bucks per game. However, if you use an international manufacturer, the cost could drop below 3 bucks per game. A difference of a few dollars can save you thousands of dollars when ordering in large quantities, which is why so many publishers opt to use international manufacturers. However, tariffs and the cost to freight large pallets to the US can also cost thousands of dollars. Therefore, you have to do your research to make the best choice based on the numbers and quotes you receive.

Finding an Artist

Always keep your eye out for artists, but I don't recommend actually investing in art until your game is thoroughly tested and at a low risk for revision. If you have to change the art drastically because you thought of a major improvement to your game after most of the art is finished, it will cost you. How much you pay for art is probably one of the most variable expenses you will have. It could range from 30 dollars to 400 dollars per illustration, or even up to 800 or 900 for larger box illustrations. It all depends on the experience and skill of your artist. An art student or friend may charge you considerably less than a career artist. Contrary to popular belief, using digital artists and AI can still cost you a pretty penny, but it may be more affordable overall, which is one reason why we opted to use a digital artist and AI for our first game. However, in retrospect, we learned that a large portion of people in the gaming community do not appreciate AI. Therefore, I recommend avoiding AI for your final product simply because of the biases and opinions that will likely exist among many people in your target market. If cowboys don't like to wear pink chaps, that is a good enough reason not to try and sell them pink chaps.

That brings me to my next point regarding finding an artist. It is super important to identify your target market and select an artist with an art style that will appeal to your target market. As a real life example, we learned retrospectively that the visual aesthetic of Escape Master tends to appeal to middle aged males. However, the game mechanics tend to appeal to young females. That is the kind of art and target market mismatch that can lead to disaster. Thankfully, it has turned out okay for us so far, but that is something we definitely hope to avoid in future games we create. The less mismatch between your art and target market, the more naturally you will attract an audience who loves your game.

As for finding an artist, there are many platforms online where you can hire artists. You could hire a freelance artist on something like Fiverr, subscribe to a service like Design Pickle, or go through an illustration agency like Illustration X or Lemonade where artists are represented by and agent. You could also reach out to an artist after reviewing their social media or personal website. The options are endless. Similar to choosing a manufacturer, you will want to get quotes from several different artists with portfolios you like. Lastly, determine what you can afford based on the quotes and numbers you receive.

Conclusion

I hope this high level view gives you a realistic perspective on what you may need to do to create and sell a boardgame game. I wish I learned these lessons sooner, but God took me on this journey, and perhaps it was so I could be of some help you. Be bold and be wise. Count the cost, but don't be afraid to take risks!

Luke 14:28-29:

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'"