Below are some things that I hope will help you in see how a new board game could get to market (you may have to correct some of the wording as I wrote it quickly!):

The 5 things that I would tell any inventor that you MUST have to succeed in this VERY DIFFICULT industry are: PASSION (you must BELIEVE in your product to KEEP GOING no matter how many times you get “crushed”-and believe me you will as I did!), DETERMINATION, MOTIVATION, TENACITY and MONEY. In addition you must have GREAT idea (not necessary a totally original idea but just rather something with a UNIQUE twist; case in point there a dozens of successful trivia games and each has something unique).

 There are, however, two very different routes you can take to get your game out there…and both have their advantages and disadvantages:

 1. LICENSING: In order to get your game made and out on the shelves…you do have a choice of either LICENSING it to a game company where they will put up all the money, manufacture the games promote the game and get it out there…HOWEVER you would only receive a SMALL percentage in royalties maybe 5-10% of all of the profit. So…you wouldn’t need any money and you’d have no work to do…but you’d only receive a small profit.

2. PRODUCE GAME INDEPENDENTLY: This method is FAR more difficult but you have the opportunity of making a lot more profit in the end!  Firstly you need to INCORPORATE or start a company of your own. Also…in the this route, unfortunately…the most important thing you need is MONEY MONEY MONEY…for manufacturing the games and advertizing. Ideally you need about $70,000.00 to $100,000.00 to put out about 5,000 games and for sufficient advertising. You can however, first make a small run of 500 games for about $15,000.000 and get some FREE advertising (which is VERY hard to get…but the media likes NEW products)…but if you don’t get free ads…you’ll need about $30,000.00 to get started. The best is getting money from friends and family as I did (and they will become SHAREHOLDERS in your company). First get a PROTOTYPE made (about $250.00 each from a graphic designer) and then go to various game stores and see if they’d buy a few and then take those “yes’s” to the people who you ask the money from to show them there is a demand for your product. Then you would need to find a DISTRIBUTOR to MARKET, STORE, DISTRIBUTE and SHIP your games of whom you’d pay about a 30% cut to off of every sale.

My suggestion is to stay independent. It’s a lot of work and you need a lot of money but the rewards are tremendous in the end. And please visit my website at: ww.ifyouhadtochoosegame.com for more inspiration!!

12 Pitfalls You Should Avoid When Creating Your Own Board Game:1. ‘Not having enough money to produce some inventory and have some advertising

2. But being afraid to go ahead because you don’t have enough money

3. ‘Not truly believing in and being very enthusiastic about your game

4. Being afraid to take risks

5. Aiming too high too fast

6. Being overly confident

7. ‘Not being confident enough

8. ‘Not having a “thick skin” and not realizing it’s actually a horrible cut-throat industry/
‘Not willing to plow ahead when you encounter obstacles

9. ‘Not expecting that there will be competition

10. ‘Not doing enough research in your area of what’s out there

11. Trusting everybody

12. ‘Not creating enough advertising/promotion for your product

The Bad News: Well….no deal….they won’t deal with anyone unless you’ve already made substantial profit which is so stupid because why would I be there pitching if I had? Also…they it seemed they had a predisposed opinion about board games even though mine was the first board game to actually have had sales- I’m in Indigo and Zellers, sold 12,000 games, $200,000 revenue to be exact.
 
But they didn’t care….Kevin , the mean one, said he thinks the board game business is “crap” and the fact that even though I had sales, I had yet to make a profit (because I’ve still been paying off the manufacturers who produced the game-growing pains!)….so he said thererfore “that I was just one notch above the crap” so they weren’t interested. Also…I’m kicking myself becaust I did get mixed up with one of my revenue sales figures….but it wouldn’t ahve matterted anyway since I had no proft.
 
I’ve heard though that out of 300 pitches, they only go for about 30 anyway, and  in the end anyway…and afterall it’s a TV show and just all for entertainment.
 
But…yes…they were far tougher than I imagined…even though they seem to love the questions from my game as they kept asking me for more, because I was still having growing pains and therefore had made no profit  they just weren’t interested. It was  far scarier (the really bright lights!!) and tougher (they were pretty mean at the end!) than I had imagined it would be. Honestly, I feel as if I’ve jsut come out of a night-mare from hell- these five judges were sitting on their thrones in these bright lights waiting to decide if I’m “I’m going to hell” and they decided I would…very very surreal….

The good news: good news is that I’m quite sure they’ll air this (as you know they only air 200 out of 300 pitches depending on how entertaining they are for TV) as I think I did amazing…I asked then a bunch of questions from the game and they and everyone else were howling in laughter. Everyone on the set afterwards said “You were fabulous and that was so so funny!.” So the exposure this will get when it airs will be wonderful I’m sure.

If you had to choose… would you rather (A) always be extremely rich but never meet the person of your dreams, or (B) never make more than minimum wage your whole life but find true love?

If you had to choose… would you rather (A) be breathtakingly beautiful but have to go to prison for five years, or (B) always be plain looking but never go to jail?
 

If you had to choose…would you rather (A) always have tons and tons of sex but it’s never better than mediocre (“oh…that again”), or (B) never have sex more than twice a year (once every six months) your entire life but both times are absolutely mind-blowing unbelievable?

If you had to choose…would you rather (A) be famous but die at 58, or (B) always be anonymous but live until 98?

These are just a few sample questions from the party board game I created called If You Had To Choose…? A PARTY GAME THAT MAKES YOU THINK.

If you enjoyed these questions… you will enjoy the game.
You can get your own copy of the game from the website.

 The following is my personal journey of how “If You Had To Choose…? A PARTY GAME THAT MAKES YOU THINK”, came to be:

Creator Susan Morry

Ever since I can remember I’ve had an intuitive sense of a spiritual beauty being the true essence of all things and the extreme need to express this somehow. I’ve always been a dreamer, a romantic idealist full of passion to pursue her creative ideas (and perhaps find true love along the way). But unfortunately, because of societal pressures to take the safe and practical route meaning only pursuing a career for financial security, I found myself often negating these artistic desires. I did dabble in one of my passions, filmmaking (attempting to express a “spiritual state”) but because it was so expensive and realizing that it wasn’t a “practical” way of making a living, I put it aside and spent the next few years obtaining my teaching degree and becoming a full time high-school art and English teacher.

‘Though I loved the students and was hoping my creative spirit was somehow inspiring them, I knew deep down that something was missing, that there was a void, a feeling of emptiness. I realized that there was this passion in me that was screaming to be creative and get in touch with my soul, although I wasn’t exactly sure in what way.
Ironically, I found myself sharing this dilemma in a fun way with my students by giving them a question to ponder for their journal topics. I wrote on the blackboard:
If you had to choose… would you rather (A) pursue your dreams but struggle financially your whole life, or (B) always be working at a job that doesn’t fulfill your soul but be incredibly rich?

I was amazed at the deep discussion it elicited that went on for half an hour. Also, the answer most of the students shouted out to me was, “(A) go after your dreams and never have much money!”, although a few  yelled out, “(B) Are you crazy? Go for the money!!”. I laughed and told them it was hard to know what path would lead to true happiness until they had more experience. They’re young, I thought, and smiled to myself.  Then, to my surprise the students begged me for more questions. Some of the other ones I gave them were:

If you had to choose… would you rather (A) be breathtakingly beautiful but have to go to prison for five years, or (B) always be plain looking but never go to jail?

If you had to choose… would you rather (A) always be extremely wealthy but never meet the person of your dreams, or (B) never make more than minimum wage your whole life but find true love?

If you had to choose…would you rather (A) be famous but die at 58, or (B) always be anonymous but live until 98?

If you had to choose…would you rather be (A) Martin Luther King, or (B) Elvis Presley?
The students went absolutely “crazy” for these questions because they told me that the questions made them think and discover who they really were. But also, they said, the questions made the discovering of their “authentic self” really fun as well because they were written in the style of “fantasy” as if a “fairy godmother” was going to grant them their wish but they had to first make a choice. It was then that the students and I realized that these questions which help them discover what is most important in their lives, would make a great game. It would be a way to think deeply about life but also have fun in the process: a perfect combination for students. And as students often feel a sense of alienation, the game would also allow them to interact and connect with others as well.

So ironically, the very question that I personally had been struggling with my whole life,
“If you had to choose… would you rather (A) pursue your dreams but struggle financially your whole life, or (B) always be working at job that doesn’t really fulfill your soul but be incredibly rich?”  and these wonderful students with their youthful vibrancy, subsequently answered two questions for me: It made me realize that, yes, I would rather go after my dreams and my passion of being creative which would allow me to connect with my soul and get in touch with my “authentic self” as only then would I be happy and secondly, it supplied me with what it was I could pursue to express myself: a game of  thought-provoking soul searching questions that would allow others to also get in touch with their authentic selves as well.

And, as they say, ”the rest is history” ;>). For the next fifteen years after that experience with my students around 1990 or so, I developed the game by writing approximately 700 questions all beginning with “If you had to choose…?” which ask one to choose between priorities in life such as love, money, sex, relationships, health, beauty, honesty, intelligence, freedom, spirituality etc. and then have others predict how their fellow players would answer and subsequently try and change their minds in intense discussions. During that time, I also desperately searched for financial backing. After sheer tenacity, determination, passion and facing a great many obstacles along the way, I launched my game, aptly called “If You Had To Choose…?, A PARTY GAME THAT MAKES YOU THINK” in December 2004. I’ve sold almost 7,000 games and even got the game on Amazon.com! And not only is the game being distributed to retailers but as well to schools, psychological therapy facilities and womens’ shelters. I’ve had several teachers, therapists and counselors contact me asking where they can get the game.

So not only, am I now in touch with my spiritual and authentic self by doggedly pursuing my dream and creating and marketing my game, but I created a tool with which others too can connect with their souls and authentic selves as well which is immensely rewarding and satisfying. I also enjoy visiting schools, shelters etc. in order to inspire people to always go after their dreams and passions and never give up no matter what hurdles they may encounter for only then will they be able to connect with who they are and be truly happy. And, of course, I present the game to them to assist in their self-exploration and provide some fun. Please read the letter below that I recently received from a women’s shelter near Toronto, Canada (under separate cover I will send you the actual letter as well as a copy of my game):
_____________________
Hi Susan:
My name is Tanya Lee and I work at Ernestine’s Women Shelter. Ernestine’s Women Shelter is a shelter for women and children fleeing abusive situations. Our shelter houses 14 Women and 12 children.
I met you a few years ago and bought your game at the Toronto Eaton Center. You had even autographed it for my daughter Dominique. I still have it and it’s my favourite game. My favourite game use to be Clue since my childhood and I don’t even play it anymore. The first chance I get I introduce more people to your game.

The reason for my email is that I introduced If You Had To Choose to the shelter where I now work. It has also become a favourite game of the women who temporarily reside here. I would love it if you could come into our shelter and explain to the women how you came about the inspiration for your game and how you went about making your dream become a reality.

I would love it as well if we could all play a round of your game with you and the women here.
The best time would be on a Thursday night from 7 to 8:30 PM. Thursday’s is our Skills Exchange night. The women would love to see and speak to a woman like you who has gone after her dreams and made them a reality.
Tanya Lee
Skills Exchange Counselor
416-746-3701 #2036
Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter
P.O. Box 141 Station B
Etobicoke, ON
M9W 5K9
__________________________
I did visit Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter and had a great time playing the game with the women and hopefully inspiring them to go after their dreams as well. Some of the women wrote me their thoughts after my visit. Sara (pseudonym) wrote: “Your game helps us to face reality. Having this game does not only help us understand our personal lives but it helps us dream big and try living our dreams, which is better than our lives. Happy are those who dream big, for those who live lies face hardship”.

I feel very lucky, therefore, that I not only connected with my own soul and authentic self by pursuing my passions and dreams but I’m also able to feel great satisfaction that in these somewhat scary times we live in, I succeeded in creating a game where I’m able to help others connect with their souls and true selves as well.

When you get a chance visit the website.