City of Games February update: Convention season
Happy February, I hope your year has been going well so far!
It has been nearly 2 years since I attended a convention because of the global pandemic but I am happy to say that this year I plan to attend several events. Currently I have organised a booth for both Gen Con in the USA and UKGE in the UK and I am in the process of looking at which other shows I will be attending.
As we get closer to the shows I will share more information but I am excited to finally be able to see some of you again in person.
If you plan on attending either Gen Con or UKGE and would like to help demo games, then look out for the next update where I will let you know how to volunteer.
Demographic survey 2022
Thank you to everyone who filled in the survey last month, the winners of the gift vouchers have been contacted and you can see the results of the survey here.
Product update
The fulfillment of last years Kickstarter for the new expansions for The Isle of Cats, accessories, and Explore & Draw will be starting next month and are still on track to enter retail in April.
Alongside this there will also be a restock of The Isle of Cats in Canada which I know a lot of you are waiting on.
The City of Kings survey
Recently I have been doing a lot of research around The City of Kings and have created a survey for people wishing to provide feedback on the game.
The survey is aimed at anyone who has played the game at least once and I would love to hear your thoughts as they will influence future games I design.
Publisher lessons
This month in publisher lessons I discussed the following topics:
- Designing the perfect box part 1: The cover
- It is time to define your game catalogue
- My current approach to Kickstarter fulfillment
- Demographic survey results for The City of Games 2022
- Board game manufacturers – How to choose one?
- Building excitement, my 3-week announcement process
- Where do Kickstarter backers come from?
- 10 tips for the perfect Kickstarter update (funded)
An update on Frank
I played 14 different games in January including 10 new games, my favourites were Nova Luna, Kabuto Sumo, and Now Boarding. I’ve also made a lot of progress on a new black box game I’ve been designing for a while and it is looking more and more likely this will be ready to talk about next year. It’s very exciting to be so far along with another big box game!
Until next time
I hope you have a fantastic February and I look forward to being able to see some of you in person again later this year.
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Frank West
Frank West is a gamer and designer based in Bristol, UK. He published his first board game, The City of Kings, in 2018 and now works on other games and organising events in the local area. His goal? To design and publish games focusing on immersive themes, fun mechanics and beautiful components. If you have any questions or would just like a chat, feel free to get in touch at any time!