MY TIPS FOR CREATING/INVENTING A BOARD GAME
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
Latest News | admin | October 9, 2009
hello,
Thank you for the great quality of your blog, each time i come here, i’m amazed.
black hattitude.
Hi there…thanks SO much for your lovely comment….it really uplifted me on a Monday morning! So who are you? Actually…I went to you site but it’s all in French…which I don’t speak…oh well. What is your site about?
And if you don’t mind…if I may ask….what have you been so “amazed” about?
Susan
emobisuzakipo…
Anna Loos …
ytihagiluluc…
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Patrick Levis …