27th April 2023 0
Transforming a design concept into a great game often requires multiple iterations. To streamline the game development process, I suggest that all game designers consider asking themselves these five critical questions.
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The City of Games
Publishing lessons
Board games & crowdfunding
25th April 2023 0
I have been waiting for nearly a decade for Diablo 4 to be released, and I couldn't be more excited to see that it is finally here. There has been a lot to learn from watching the creators of one of the most successful games of all time return with the next iteration of the game.
20th April 2023 2
At the heart of the board gaming industry lies a community of passionate gamers and your company's reputation will often determine how they talk about you.
18th April 2023 4
Once in a while, I come across the solution to a problem and wonder how well-known the answer is. It’s very possible that I’ve been living under a rock and everyone else already knows, or perhaps it’s not common knowledge, and today’s lesson will help someone else who is looking to print shipping labels at home.
13th April 2023 2
Running a successful company requires you to be efficient and part of that is using the right tool for the job. Over the years I have found myself settling on a number of tools which help me achieve my goals and today I would like to share them with you.
11th April 2023 2
Should board games offer multiple modes of play, or is it the job of the designer to define the best way for the game to be experienced? This weekend I had the pleasure of trying Path of Exile's new Ruthless mode and it was a joy!
6th April 2023 4
We are about to enter the Easter weekend which in the UK means 4 entire days devoted to eating chocolate, and I hope regardless of whether Easter is a holiday you celebrate, that you get to enjoy a tasty treat this weekend as well!
The plans for 2023
I have always wanted to keep all my games, expansions, and accessories available for anyone around the world but this has been tricky over the past couple of years. The costs of shipping skyrocketed which meant I had to be a bit more careful on restocking older games.
The good news is prices of freight shipping have come back down and I’m now working hard to restock just about everything The City of Games has ever made. I’m hoping by the end of 2023 that the days of out of stock games will be behind us and I appreciate your patience with this.
There will also be some new surprises later this year and while Race to the Raft will be the big new game hitting stores, I’m hopeful we’ll see a few other items releasing this year as well.
I can’t say too much just yet but I think for the first time in a long time I can say there will be something for everyone and I am very excited about it!
Publisher lessons
This month in publisher lessons I discussed the following topics:
- How to make a meeple
- Difficulty in cooperative games
- Can a first-time creator succeed on Kickstarter?
- The cost of a mistake
- Joyful moments
- Starting small in distribution
- What happens if I die?
- Should I be a promo card?
- Choosing fulfillment partners
- Do I need a team?
An update on Frank
I have managed to play a lot of new to me games recently including 7 Wonders Duel, Skulls of Sedlec, Beyond the Sun and Colourful, which I really enjoyed. I also managed to sit down with Sara and watch The Whale which turned out to be a fantastic movie that I highly recommend watching.
Until next time
I’m currently working on a lot of small projects which I’m looking forward to revealing later this year but for now my priority continues to be getting Race to the Raft made and into your hands.
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6th April 2023 0
When it comes to board game publishing there are many examples of companies that have grown to a considerable size with just 1 person behind the wheel, and there are others that have gone ahead as a team. Whether you need a team depends on a number of factors.
4th April 2023 0
After what was likely a lengthy process of designing, crowdfunding, and manufacturing a game, you have one step left – Get the game to your backers hands. Picking the right fulfilment partner is crucial as in this case cheaper isn’t always better.
30th March 2023 5
It’s November 10th 2021 and an email arrives, how would you feel about us featuring The Isle of Cats in our game? It’s not the first time I’ve received such an email, but this time it was a little different...