One aspect of astroturfing raises my hackles enough to write this post; the “astroturfed review.” A review implies some level of honesty and integrity and the proliferation of bogus, manipulated, quid pro quo (cash or product) or “sponsored” reviews on the internet makes it that much harder to discern good product from bad.

Since it is very difficult to prove a review is bogus and slinging accusations is a fast way into a libel lawsuit, I will not link to reviews I believe to be manufactured by a marketing geek. I will instead provide a few tips to help spot a review that is questionable. After that, determining the veracity and value of a review is up to you. Remember that legitimate reviews can also have some of these characteristics, but rarely all. One or two is possible, but if you are over 75% of this list, think very hard about the value of the review.

The LivingDice.com Astroturfed Review Spotting Guide

1. The Exhortation: On any review, skip to the end and check for an “exhortation to action.” Typical exhortations include, “Visit site fakesite.com for a free gift!” or “See More Preview Images Here!” It is marketing speak for “make the visitor do something.” It is like a holy mantra to marketers and nearly always appears as the last thing you read. Watch any TV commercial and see it in action.

2. The Love-Fest: Too good to be true usually means it is and some clumsy marketers really oversell the product. “This vegetable slicer CURES cancer and will make you look like a SUPER-MODEL in three weeks!” This type of review is a rare thing since most marketers learned a new word; subtlety.

3. Cloning: Pick a sentence in the review. I often use the exhortations identified from step 1, but any reasonably unique sentence in the suspicious review works. Paste it into a Google search window, enclose the sentence in quotation marks and run a search. Quotation marks force an exact match in the search engine’s database. If 10 sites have exactly the same line in the same review, check out a couple. Make sure they are not just re-posting the review or aggregators like Digg.com. However, if every site has the same review, or more commonly, partially original reviews with key paragraphs, links (the description, not just the same link), exhortations or phrases common between them, be warned.

4. Language Check: Marketers working on a budget often hire international help to post bogus reviews, comments and forum posts. For my English speaking audience, look for  strange sentence grammar. However, because this is such an unreliable indicator of astroturfing, I suggest you use it as a secondary method, in combination with other methods.

5. The Blitz: Ten notable refrigerator magnet blogs, podcasts and news sites suddenly post reviews of an exciting new magnet available next week…within 48 hours of each other. Staggered out a bit, but still within a very small time window. A bit hard to spot unless you stay on top of your community or hobby, but often it takes just a little research to make this connection. Google is your friend.

6. Keyword Overload: Keywords are lifeblood for marketers. Links from reviews filled with relevant keywords enhance your own site’ search rankings. Additionally, if the search engine sends an interested searcher to the review, it helpfully links to your site as well. Either way it is a marketing win! Spotting a keyword-packed review is really a matter of practice. Look for strange word groupings that are correct but seem forced. For our fridge magnet example, rather than saying “the new magnet,” the review says the “new powerful square magnet widget.” While grammatically correct, the second sounds odd and is clearly designed to boost keyword relevancy on the review. However reviews from experienced content creators/bloggers/webmasters often employ some degree of keyword optimization, so really look for flagrant abuses here.

These tools, plus some common sense will help sort the wheat from the chaff reviews. Doubt everything you read on the Internet. Be skeptical and critical in your thinking.

After ranting about reviews in this post, I really should discuss the approach I take to reviewing products on Livingdice.com, lest I be called hypocrite. First, companies sometimes send me free product (usually RPGs or board games.) I review it and get to keep it. Whenever this occurs, I will clearly disclose this in the review. Once that product is in my hands, I am free to state my opinion without reservation. I do not accept any product that comes with strings attached. I also implement keyword optimization on a limited basis. I write for people first, but if I can work in some relevant keywords, so be it. Although I do not operate Livingdice.com for profit, I do run it with the intent that as many gamers read it as possible. Reasonable keyword optimization aids in that goal.  Some of my reviews even have exhortations at the end, even on items I purchased myself. Sometimes I like a product enough to urge you to do more research.

Ethical issues aside, reviews are opinions and opinions draw their power from the value others place in their source. My goal from the very start of this site it to remain an ethical, entertaining and useful source of information for gamers. This promise and my record to date are all the evidence I have that I am not a reviewer for sale. Judge the evidence as you will and grant my reviews whatever value you deem appropriate.

Finally, let me be very clear on this issue; if a company would like to submit an astroturfed review to Livingdice.com, regardless of the incentives offered,  this is the only answer they will receive.

“Get lost.”

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

After a quick break, we started “Pandemic” from Z-Man Games and tried to save the world from several vicious plagues.

A cooperative game that pits all players against a randomly (and rapidly) spreading miasma of foul disease across the globe, “Pandemic” is a friendly game since everyone has the same goal. No back-biting here! The rules are not complex and mostly involve moving around the board, creating research labs and gathering resources (ie cards) to defeat the plagues. Sadly, the plagues reproduce at an astonishing rate, so this is harder than it appears. We won our game relatively easily and the other players said it was the easiest game they had ever played. Apparently we got lucky on card draws and managed to keep the plagues in check. I had a good time with this one and look forward to trying it again.

The final game I did not play, but picked up because the store owner gave me a great pitch on it for the humor value. It is “Obama Nation” from Twisted Rules. A quick read of the rules indicates this is an “Old Maid/Go Fish” hybrid. The goal is to make pairs of Pork cards and spend all the nations money. Nothing particularly ground-breaking, but the art and humor were clever so I will play this with some politically active buddies for a laugh one night.

Here are two of the more entertaining cards. The Bernie Made-Off card is the game’s “Old Maid.”

We now return to our regularly scheduled RPG commentary.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Battlestar Galactica Board Game Box

Normally I stick with role-playing games on this blog, but I have to come out of the closet; I play board games too. With that in mind Haaldaar picked up a copy of the “Battlestar Galactica Board Game” from Fantasy Flight Games and rounded up 6 players for a full game last Saturday. I hesitate to call this a review. A session report is more accurate, but liberally scattered throughout are my thoughts about the game.

Fantasy Flight is noted for their high production values and BSG is no exception. Every component is well made and durable. The link above has a complete parts lists, but basically the box contains multiple card decks, some miniatures for combat and the game board. Right out of the gate, this thing looked complicated. Haaldaar had the foresight to have several of us read the manual before game day. While not psychotically complicated, the game requires study. Here is a shot of the game board a couple of turns in to the game.

Battlestar Galactica Board Game During Play

The point of the game is simple, but the execution is quite complicated. Each player chooses a character from the BSG universe and performs actions with them in various location aboard Galactica. These actions further the sole goal of the game (for most players): to save humanity by escaping the Cylons and reach Kobol. Escape before you run out of food, fuel, morale or population. There is a small problem with this goal. Some of the players are Cylons working towards failure…and they can be anyone!

At the game’s beginning, cards are passed out to determine you human/cylon status. This information is kept secret and the game turns proceed. The game primarily hinges on random events that the human players have to overcome. A common obstacle is a Cylon basestar and raiders attacking the fleet. The human players work together to defeat the basestar and/or jump to safety. Each character has different skill sets that make them better at certain activities. I was Galen, the engineer, so I spent a lot of time fixing vipers that were damaged by the basestar. The players with Adama and Tom Zarek spent the game playing politics and Starbuck was very good at shooting down raiders. That is not to say that I was stuck in that role. The game allows players to take positions, like president or admiral, by “bidding” in a secret auction. This secret auction forms the heart of the game. Since auctions allow only specific card colors to count for a specific auction and other colors subtract from the total (there is a target number), then players can sabotage activities without revealing their Cylon/human status by putting the wrong cards into an auction. Assuming you succeed in overcoming the obstacles you “spin up the FTL drive” and jump to a new location, hopefully closer to Kobol. This is an incredibly abbreviated summary. There is a lot going on each game turn.

Negative results from battles and other random events reduce your fuel, food, morale and population. Sometimes even being success consumes resources, ie burning fuel during a jump. When any one of these indicators hits zero, the human race dies. For the record, the human race died in our game. Bummer.

Now for the really bad news. As a board game, BSG is really sub-standard. At 3 hours or more for a game, it took too long to get through each turn, even after we were comfortable with the rules. There are also tremendous game balance issues. The humans get clobbered practically every round with some new nightmare and the cylons never have a setback. At one point we ran out of raider miniatures because we kept drawing the “launch more raiders” card. The pilot characters spent more time in sick bay after getting shot down than doing anything useful. Sick bay is similar to “going to jail” in monopoly. You character cannot die, but it is tedious to get back in the game and you do not get as many cards to bid on various activities. Frustrating.

The final item is the “secret cylon” aspect of the game. We had miserable luck and the Adama and the President were both cylons! By the time we got the admiral out of office, he proclaimed his “cylon pride” and went to the other side. His damage was mostly over, but the president continued to do…nothing. The player in question really hated the fact that his best move as a cylon was to sit on his hands and not help. Honestly, I think his inactivity did more damage than the cylon admiral. The player wasted cards or simply did not use his abilities and generally seemed bored.

I was particularly frustrated by the overwhelming hopelessness of the game. The humans faired poorly right out of the gate and never caught up. At no point during the game did I feel it was “winnable” by the humans. Considering the time invested (about 4 hours), I felt as though I wasted my time.

We finished the game and went home, somewhat disappointed. It was on the way home that I had an epiphany. Battlestar Galactica is a miserable board game, but it is a great role-playing game. In fact, I would go so far as to call it an “episode simulator.” Board games are about winning and BSG is so weighted against humanity that it destroys any kind of game balance. Check out “Puerto Rico” for an example of a fun, balanced board game.

That said, if you reject notions of winners and losers and play the characters on the board as the show characters, then you will have fun. Haaldaar enjoyed himself immensely as Tom Zarek whenever he made a move for the presidency. The fellow playing Starbuck rightly spent his time in sick bay, after repeated suicidal attacks against a superior force. I just was too busy trying to win the game to notice.

When we play it again, I think everyone will have  much more fun with the BSG role-playing game than with BSG the board game. I look forward to frakking a few toasters at the next session.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

COLLINS EPIC WARGAMES

game published, as well as some great advice and resources from someone that successfully published their own board game creation.

Normally I do not re-post material from elsewhere on the web, but I thought this article had so much useful “crunch” in it for aspiring board game publishers that I asked Byron for permission to reprint it. Read on for his thoughts and warnings about publishing your own game.

You can also read my interview with Byron about his company  at this link:

Interview with Byron Collins of “Collins Epic Wargames”

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

This post is intended to document some things that I have learned along the way as we near the release of our first game, Frontline General: Italian Campaign Introduction, and approach Gen Con, our first major convention to promote the game and its introductory version. By reading this, you’ll see some of the steps that I had to take in order to be taken seriously and in order to get a product out into the market. Hopefully there is some information in this post that you can use as a prospective designer or self-publisher. It is a mixture of advice, good practices, and lessons-learned that should prove useful if you are serious about developing and selling a finished game product in this competitive industry. Rather than taking our game to a publisher, we are the publisher, and we will also be selling online and conducting some face-to-face sales at trade shows- so that is the angle of this post. Publishing and all that is required is something I am constantly learning more about- so I do not pretend to be an expert in the field (or any field for that matter). Attempting to self-publish has allowed me to learn more about what is required of the game industry. The post is written from the point of view of a designer and publisher in the United States. I do not receive any kick-backs for recommending particular sites or products.

The post is broken into several sections beginning with Finances & Expenses, Setting up a Business, and then progressing to Game Design, Play testing, Web Site Development, Advertising & Promotion, Copyright & IP Protection, Self-Publishing, Support Structure, and finally, Release & Sale. At the bottom of the post is a list of links to resources and even supply sources that may prove useful.

Finances & Expenses
You WILL spend money. Be prepared for that. The amount you spend is dependant on the design and how far you take the design. If you are trying to sell to a publisher, you will spend less than if you are trying to produce a run of games for sale yourself. Structure your business / development finances separate from your personal finances. Use a BUSINESS checking account, not your personal checking account. This is good practice to ensure that you can track all that you have put into your designs financially. When it comes time to file taxes, keeping your business finances separate from your personal finances will benefit you greatly and help you stay organized (and help you claim deductions for expenses). Keep all receipts, purchase orders, and invoices. Track and manage your inventory. And as with most things, the more that you can do yourself, the cheaper things will be- but keep in mind, you are not just spending money- you are also spending time, which is more valuable. For instance, if you know nothing about web design, it may be more cost effective to pay someone to develop and manage a web site for you. This may be more expensive in cash spent, but cheaper in time spent. Carefully consider the things you must do throughout the design and decide with each whether it’s best for you to do it- or to pay someone else to do so. Learn and use appropriate software to track your finances and very carefully consider against taking on much debt in any early stage. I highly recommend learning and using Quickbooks Pro or even Quicken Deluxe, etc. A link to the Intuit web site is provided in the resources section.

Setting up a Business
I recommend that if you sell your game or designs or produce them or pitch them to another company in any way, you have a business structure to sell through including a business name. If you are in the United States, check your state and local government’s web sites for helpful information on setting up a business. From the simplest of business structures to the most complex, learn about each and decide what is best for you. Sole Proprietorships are the simplest, but offer less flexibility if you need to raise money for your business. SPs also offer limited protection of your assets compared to other structures. Limited Liability Corporations are more complex and require SCC filings (and annual fees with the state) but they offer better separation between Personal and Business finances and matters, and better protection due to the limited liability nature of the company. A company such as this exists as its own entity. Incorporated businesses have higher costs, are much more complex, and require annual meetings, SCC filings, and more.

Business License. You will need a business license. This is typically granted through your locality. If you operate out of your home, be prepared to go through a home inspection process, and be prepared for locality restrictions and conditions placed on your ability to conduct business due to having a residential address. Localities typically are very scared of constant delivery trucks and shipments (traffic) from your home which others could complain about. A home-based business, esp. for the prospective game designer, is the cheapest option versus renting office space and is typically best for designers working by themselves or with a small team. Most localities require you to renew your business license annually (with a fee).

Fictitious Name. If you want to operate under a different name, such as in our case “Collins Epic Wargames”, you’ll most likely have to file (and pay) for the right to conduct business using a fictitious name through your local court. All that is required is typically a form and a small fee. You may then use your company name on all correspondence, products, web sites, accounts with others, etc.

Federal EIN. Get a federal EIN (Employer Identification Number) in the name of your company even if you will not be immediately employing anyone. This is used on many application forms including business checking services, merchant account services (accepting credit cards), etc. A link for more information on EINs is provided in the resources section.

Sales Tax. Make sure that if you plan to sell your game as a retail item to other residents in your state that you register with your state to collect sales tax. Rates vary and some require application fees- some don’t. Sales tax is always passed on to the consumer and listed separate on all receipts. You will then have to file monthly with the state to document your sales (and pay the sales tax on them). If you sell and ship items out of state, those who buy them are not subject to the sales tax of your state. Keep in mind that if you go to an out-of-state trade show (such as Gen Con), you must register to collect sales tax in the state of the show and report any earnings after the show.

Game Design
You most likely have several game design ideas or even partially or fully completed designs and so I cannot tell you how to design a game- that is up to you- but I can pass on some resources I used along the way regarding the next steps. Whatever your personal level of experience and/or skill with design, I’ve found that innovation goes a long way. Time spent on the rules and mechanics and components is time WELL SPENT. I’ve also found that if something doesn’t work, fix it now- don’t wait for 10 other people to tell you it doesn’t work. Test EVERYTHING. Test it well. And if you get stuck, look to the advice of others, don’t just give up. Bounce rules or component graphics off of people you trust. Meet graphic designers, and ask them for help in critiquing your design for readability and aesthetics. It’s been my experience that many will do this for free. The Geek offers a great mixture of people and resources and many of us will help you out. There are also other sites specifically dedicated to game design. So don’t be afraid to approach a more well-known designer or other users and ask advice on something. In fact, the more connections you make now, the better off you are in the long run for questions that will inherently arise. I routinely ask (but not to the point of annoyance) a well-known game company’s owner different industry-related questions. This has been extremely helpful for me to know someone who is already in the industry and can offer industry-specific advice.

Software. An investment in graphic design software (if you are planning to design professional-looking components yourself) is money well spent. I spent a lot of money on the standard version of Adobe Creative Suite CS2 which includes Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, and Photoshop CS2. These programs may seem daunting to learn at first- but there are training books and resources out there, good help files, and other users in the Adobe community who can help you out. If you want your design to really stand out- use professional software. And if your design goes to press in any form, you will be glad you did. Most printers work with this and similar software and are generally pleased to hear it when you say you’re working in Adobe Illustrator, etc. They know the software well and can also help you tailor your component designs to be ready for printing when the time comes. This software also allows conversion of component sheets, rules, etc., to PDF which is extremely helpful if you plan to sell or offer your game for download via the web. I use Illustrator extensively for Component design and layout, InDesign for Rules and a game newsletter that I produce, and Photoshop occasionally for other graphics. Check out adobe’s website for more information on their software (link in resources section).

Help and talent of others. Look to the talent of others. If your final game will include a map and associated map artwork- consider hiring an artist to accomplish the creation of that map based on your sketches or ideas. (However, use your sketches or ideas to ensure the game works before you hire an artist). You will either pay an artist up front for this work or you’ll pay them royalties on sales- but typically, one-time fees are preferred by artists—in case there are no sales. I’m not speaking for all artists certainly- some prefer royalties. There are plenty of accomplished artists on The Geek. The map artwork for my game(s) is done by Mark Mahaffey, whom I found on BGG. His work is incredible and I don’t mind plugging his abilities in this thread. A link to his page is listed in the resources.

As you refine your design and create a nice looking prototype, don’t be afraid to change your design after you think you are done. This is just something that must be done in most cases, and usually is required after some extensive play testing. My particular game Frontline General went through FOUR complete re-designs over a number of years before I was happy with it enough to have non-in-house play tests and promotions.

The main point of advice I can provide is be CONFIDENT and DEDICATED in your design work. If you have a passion for this (and most designers do), it will be apparent in your finished products.

Play testing
There are many ways to play test your game. Start in house. Consider expanding to a local game shop on ‘open gaming nights’. They welcome the traffic to their store (generally) and you’ll also usually find some enthusiastic players interested in trying something new. Later, as things are more refined, consider ‘calling for play testers’, screening them based on a list of questions you ask them, and offer them incentives to test your game. Send it to them for free. For my company, play testers get a free game, a lifetime discount on any future purchases with us, a special “Play tester” title in our game forums, and recognition/credit in the rules, all for playing the game, returning a survey, and looking for bugs/broken aspects. Personally, once they see the rules, it is my policy that they are not ‘proofreading’- in other words, I’ve already had other people who are not play testing proofread my rules for grammar and spelling errors. I feel that once you get this far, your rules should not have any glaring typos and you should already have caught any major grammar mistakes. Not having to proofread & play test will also allow play testers to focus more on the task at hand- testing the game and its rules- rather than looking for minor things that you can easily find with a thorough proofing. After the play test process is complete, or even prior, you may want to consider hiring a professional editor to ‘trim’ the areas that need trimming (if you can stomach it and afford it).

Web Site Development
Web sites level the playing field. What I mean by this is that YOUR website can be as elaborate as ‘the big guys’ if you choose. You can spend a lot or a little money on web site development. You can do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. Rather than starting with the design or design software, start with finding a host. Consider a variety of companies for business web site hosting and go with the one that suits your needs the best. Go with a host that offers free trials, free website statistics, and/or free domain name registration or search engine listings, etc. As you increase features, cost per month also increases.

Web Hosting. I’d caution you to figure out what your needs are up front- and also- go with a business hosting solution- not free personal hosting. In fact, most personal hosting sites will not allow business websites to be placed on their servers. Often, free personal and free business hosting services are plagued with limitations (such as lack of PHP support) and advertisements that you really don’t want appearing on your front page. Another word on hosting—ALWAYS read the fine print. Ensure that you know all costs up front and that you are ready to launch a site. In my company’s particular case, I used the website that I developed for about 2 years without a shopping cart or other features that I didn’t need and successfully used the site (and still do) to promote Frontline General and host game-preview newsletters during product refinement.

Traffic Statistics. Statistics are very important. As traffic flows to your site (by your promotion means) you’ll want to see what pages are being viewed and what pages are not, as well as how referrals are working for you (what sites are sending the most traffic your way?). Statistics also give you a good indication of how many people are really interested in your designs. Pay attention to the numbers and use them to your advantage.

Web Design Software. Often, business web hosts will provide you with straightforward, mostly-visual, web design software (such as NetObjects Fusion, for example) for free or very little cost.

Advertising & Promotion
The biggest challenge aside from creation of the game is getting word out to potential players about your game. One of the best avenues to do this is through your game or company’s website, through ON-TOPIC forums on general gaming sites (BGG, for example), through gaming news websites using press releases (see resources), and if you are willing to purchase ad space- through banner ads on gaming-related sites or ads in magazines, e-zines, etc. Advertising is very important if you intend to sell your game yourself. Form a budget for advertising up front and use free-routes initially and then just prior to release, purchase ad space that you can afford, and even consider attending conventions such as Gen Con, Historicon, Origins, Little Wars, etc. Announce your attendance at these conventions and be prepared to be engaging. Consider offering an ad-exchange on your own site. Word of mouth and in-person promotions such as at a local game shop or trade show are great for making contacts and for getting feedback on your promotion efforts and your product. The contacts you make may be future customers, future play testers, or future retailers of your game. Find out who plays at your local shops and what they play. Offer to demonstrate your game to them if they are interested or arrive ready to set up and play on open gaming nights. Be prepared to answer questions and be prepared if people do not like your game. Smile and acknowledge their gaming preferences and then politely move on.

Business Cards. Very important at trade shows and useful at local game stores. You may print your own or you may want to have them professionally printed. There are a variety of websites that specifically provide this service and produce incredible results- typically better than you can produce at home and on higher quality paper. I’ve listed a few in the resources section. Use a two-sided business card design. The front is fairly typical with contact information, web address, etc., but uses the back to advertise. When recipients flip the card over, they should see some quick concise text and/or graphics that promote your services or products. For more information on two-sided business card design, visit the GreatFX website listed in the resources section.

Newsletter. Consider releasing a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly newsletter or e-zine with previews of your games. With Frontline General, I spend a LOT of time writing historical articles based on WWII research, tying those articles to my game, and then offering the newsletter for free. I also provide content such as interviews with veterans, game combat examples, rules previews, component previews, and more. This was (and is) VERY time consuming. But worth it. I provide newsletter subscribers the new editions first, via e-mail, before wide release on the web. After about a week or so, I send out a press release to various game news sites with a link to the PDF. This has proven highly successful. After twelve editions of the newsletter, Frontline General News, has driven approximately 40,000 visitors to my website and helped get the word out about the upcoming game. Writing the newsletter and receiving so much positive feedback is also a huge motivational factor and has not just driven interest in my game up, but has also driven me to complete the design.

Copyright & IP Protection
Though it’s not very easy to protect a game design, most people out there designing games are not in the business of stealing designs- esp. the big names. Your / their reputation is on the line. If you are self-publishing (via web or otherwise), consider registering the copyright on your rules and game components. You have copyright on your intellectual property upon the moment of creation, but registering that copyright allows you greater protection in a court of law in cases of infringement. Typically registration requires 1 copy of the game to be sent to the Library of Congress if published, along with an application fee. This has inherent advantages and does not cost an unreasonable amount- just the fee. For more information, read about copyrighting games in the US on the official government copyright office website.

Self-Publishing
For this section, I am assuming the game is a game with printed components. If you are considering self-publishing your game via the web or otherwise, I highly recommend the method I am using for this, but this is certainly not the only way- just one way. First offer a free version of the game (an introduction) to see how well the game is received. Offer it for download from your site via PDF for Print & Play. See how it goes. If you need to make any changes after this wide release, make them before producing a large print run. Just prior to the release, consider registering the full game for registered copyright protection. Tailor the game for home printing and offer a printing / trimming guide for players. Specify which papers and techniques you recommend and support any printing issues that arise. Ask for feedback from players who are playing the intro version. Take the feedback into account prior to a large print run.

Small Print Run. If you want to produce a small run, you will most likely have a hard time finding printers who work in small quantities (without astronomical charges). Printing is expensive. But in the modern world of desktop publishing and cheap home office printers with excellent quality, you may consider doing a home-based print run of, say, 100 games or so. This can be just right for trade shows where you want to demo the game and offer some for sale as well. My advice- choose a home office printer wisely. Look at total ownership cost, cost of ink, cost of maintenance, cost of paper, and buy in bulk whenever possible. This goes not just for paper, but for dice, storage bags, etc. Everything that you include in your game- buy bulk and save money whenever possible. And make sure that if it’s a supplied item like dice- that you shop around and consider several suppliers. The web is the best resource in the world for this- you can find virtually anything you need by doing a little research. I’ve provided a couple links for dice and bags.

Preorder System? If things go well, offer the ‘full version’ for sale as a preorder at a slightly discounted rate over full retail price (this will encourage preorders). Take enough preorders to cover the cost of a print run (some companies typically set this mark at 500 preorders). Once the preorders are at the mark you set, you should have enough money to execute the print run. Sub out the printing to an experienced printer who will meet your needs and requirements (determine all of this up front). You’ve now sold 500 games and made enough money to afford printing of about 1000 or more depending on your preorder price and production costs, without going into substantial (if any) business debt. Now promote and sell the remaining 500 games. If you do a preorder system, be sure that you follow applicable laws for sales and product delivery. Generally, it’s best to only take payment on an order once the order ships. This can keep you or your company from getting in trouble otherwise. In other words, don’t take anyone’s money until you are sure you can deliver a product to them in six weeks or less. After the initial run, if another run is warranted, and demand is high, go for it.

Packaging considerations. Think about everything you’re going to include in the game and find sources for it all. You’ll most likely need: Components, a board (mounted?), dice, a box, box art, storage such as plastic bags or inserts, and whatever else your design calls for. Find a box manufacturer who can meet your needs. Since this is a game and considered a toy, be sure that you meet all government safety requirements- esp. if it is intended for children. Label as such if you have small parts, and list a suggested age on the box.

GGIC. The Greater Games Industry Catalog is the standard list of game products available on the market today. This catalog is sent to distributors and retailers who are looking to stock their shelves. This catalog is full of advertisements for new and existing games, and contains a wealth of listings and retail prices for just about everything available that’s gaming related. The GGIC also maintains a standard list of manufacturers. To get a manufacturer’s code, make sure you have a product that you’re actually making, and request a code be assigned by them for your company. This, in addition to some non-descriptive digits after the code, can become your game’s ‘part number’. You can list your game(s) in the GGIC for free I believe, though for better exposure for a new game, you may wish to purchase a full or half-page ad to get noticed.

Bar coding. Ever wonder how to obtain a bar code for your products? Standard international GS1 bar codes are most often required by distributors if you will be selling through distribution (and not just direct selling on your site). The link to the organization that controls all GS1 barcodes is provided in the resources section below. This carries an expensive initial cost and a renewal cost each year. Just to set up and be assigned a company code costs over $700- and that’s just for 1-100 bar codes. Creating the bar code after registration is accomplished using the software tools they provide. Digital versions which can be placed on your individual products are then most-easily created by third party companies who specialize in this work and cost around $10 each. Make SURE that you need bar-coding before you go this route. If you are selling your games by yourself, or just via the web, you may not need a bar code for your products. If you are self publishing and selling through distribution, you will most likely need bar-coding capability. However, if you sell your game to a publisher, they will most likely apply their own barcode to your product.

Box Art. Your packaging will make or break sales. A game presented in a zip lock bag with no box or box art is not going to sell as well as a game in a nice box that can be reused for storage. Work with the box manufacturer for templates for the lid and bottom of the box wraps. Typically, these templates are provided compatible with the software you use, such as Illustrator. Simply create your box art within the template (or pay an artist to do so), send to the manufacturer, and they will use specialized machinery to glue/fuse the wraps to the lid or box bottom. Very cool stuff. You receive the finished boxes which you may then package your game components in. Consider shrink-wrapping after all packaging is complete for a finished look.

Supplies. Check the resources section for some links to suppliers of bags, dice, boxes, etc. I do not list printers- there are too many out there who provide printing services. Do a search and you’ll be amazed. For selecting a printer, do consider what they normally print- some printers out there specialize in printing games and game cards or boards.

Support Structure
Once your game is available in any form and people are playing it- make sure that you have an adequate support structure in place for the inevitable rules questions and general inquiries. A web forum for your game is a great place to start. Free forum software is available from a variety of software designers and companies, and then there’s the professional software, with many more features. I personally went with professional software by vBulletin and have been very pleased in all respects with their product. Others exist though- so shop around. Installing the forum can be challenging but once it’s up and running, it’s fairly easy to manage. Forums can be a great way to support the community playing your game(s). Otherwise, e-mail support and posting of FAQ’s are quite useful as well. Bottom line- if you release a game but don’t support it- what does that say about your dedication to your designs? Create the support structure up front because trust me, you will have plenty more to occupy your time near release. If you do not want to create your own forums, you may want to consider asking a game site (such as Consimworld) to host a forum for your particular game.

Release & Sale
You may be selling through a web store, through distribution, through a retail store, or face-to-face sales at trade shows. Whatever the method, talk up the release. Advertise that your game is about to hit the market. Stand behind it and back it up on all levels and answer any questions that you are asked- especially from potential customers and players. When it’s finally available, take a deep breath, send out the press release, and be prepared to support the game.

Credit Card Processing. If you do not process credit cards, think of how much business you will be losing. This is perhaps the most convenient way for your customers to pay you- so I highly recommend considering the capability to process cards. Look into credit card processing and all associated expenses of a merchant services account prior to wide release of your product. Services abound and they typically carry monthly charges, transaction charges, and fees to purchase a terminal (though some provide a terminal for free). Consider a wireless terminal that may be taken to trade shows. The up front cost may be worth the convenience. Once you choose to process cards, make sure that you do it securely. Web Stores (shopping carts, etc.) can provide this service built in. Check with different service providers up front and read the fine print to get a true sense of the total cost. If you don’t want to open a merchant services account, you may want to consider other routes such as PayPal or even E-bay auctions for sales. A lot of this will depend on the volume of sales you expect to generate.

Shipping. Commercial carriers like UPS and FedEx offer convenience for shipping. In fact, if you use the business software that I mentioned, printing out labels and tracking shipping is integrated right in the software through your choice of either carrier. Consider your location, the supplies you’ll need to package and ship your products, and the cost associated with shipping. Typically, shipping costs are passed on to the customer and vary greatly with their location. Web Store shopping carts will generally calculate all of this for you before you receive payment from a customer.

If you’ve made it to release and you are assembling the game’s contents or even manufacturing it yourself, then this is an exciting time. Celebrate and enjoy it. Take pictures and document the process. Pass on what you’ve learned to others. You’ve brought a game into a competitive market.

Good luck!

Resources and links

Financial software – Quickbooks Pro
http://www.quickbooks.com

Business Structures – IRS Website
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98359,00.h…

Federal EIN – IRS Website
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.h…

Board Game Design – Board Game Design Forum
http://bgdf.com/tiki-custom_home.php

Professional Graphics and document creation – Adobe Creative Suite
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/

Map Design & Artwork – Mark Mahaffey
http://www.west2productions.com/Mapology/_NEW/index.htm
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/West2

Business Web Hosting
http://www.earthlink.net/hosting/index.faces
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/
*Do a search for ‘Business Web Hosting’ in any search engine for more

Web Traffic Statistics
http://www.google.com/urchin/index.html

Website Design Software
Netobjects Fusion http://www.netobjects.com
Dreamweaver by Adobe http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/?promoid=BONSG

Business Cards
http://www.greatfxbusinesscards.com/
http://www.vistaprint.com/

Copyright and IP protection
US Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/
Fact sheet on Games http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html

Bar Coding
http://www.gs1.org/

Game Manufacturer’s Association- Great Resources
http://www.gama.org/resources-and-aid

Supplies – Boxes, shipping supplies, bags, packaging
http://www.uline.com/
http://www.prestarpackaging.com

Supplies – Dice
http://koplowgames.com/
http://chessex.com/

Credit Card Processing
http://www.quickbooksmerchantservice.com/

Game News Sites
www.consimworld.com
www.wargamer.com
www.tabletopgamingnews.com
www.purplepawn.com
www.gamingreport.com

Trade Shows and Conventions
http://www.originsgamefair.com/
http://www.gencon.com
http://www.historicon.org/

My Games
http://www.frontlinegeneral.com
Frontline General: Italian Campaign Introduction
Frontline General