…and the one reason why we’re not giving up 🤫
So, one question I’m asked a LOT is: "Any advice for someone starting a board game publishing company?"
It's a broad question, and in reality, there's a lot of insight I can share. Recently however, my go-to advice has been short:
"Don't do it!"
You’d be forgiven for thinking I’m just being over-competitive. In reality, the board game industry is not one with a lot of direct competition, and over the past few years I’ve built many close friendships with people who might be my sworn enemy in any other market.
So why do I care?
Rather than stop people starting competing businesses so I can keep all the customers to myself, I want to give word to the wise about the perils of turning your hobby into a job.
Reason #1: The Competition
…wait a minute, didn’t I just say I don’t care if more people start board game publishers?
Well I don’t – and it’s a good thing too, because more people are doing it than ever before, and more money is being raised for tabletop games every year on Kickstarter.
However, an increasing portion of this is represented by $500k+ projects – big, attractive games by established publishers that offer more value for risk-averse backers, but soak up a lot of the potential funding for newer entrants to the industry.
Simply put, it costs more than ever to stand out, and success for big publishers is not necessarily translating into success for new publishers.
Reason #2: The Rabbit Hole
Despite the array of resources available to new publishers, the investment (and the temptation to over-invest, especially in a passion-project) can be murky and expansive.
From the moment you launch your first project until it’s fully manufactured and fulfilled, every big scary invoice that lands on your desk is yours to deal with, whether you saw it coming or not – and beyond that there’s the matter of making it all make sense to the tax man.
This isn’t just a matter of financial investment, either – the mental stress of managing and maintaining our initial success was a 24/7 burden. We saw less and less of family and friends as we worked to try and keep the momentum. Every new milestone for our burgeoning company presented new challenges, new expenses, and a new enemy to contend with: the Ever-Expanding Remit!
Reason #3: The Ever-Expanding Remit
If you’re like me, you want to be in this industry because you like games! So you will understand the dread, nay, the horror, of successfully designing a game only to find out you now need to become a financial planner, production manager, logistics expert and marketing guru as well!
Determined to not lose sight of what I enjoyed, I was quick to ask for help, and bring on a team of people who knew what they were doing. But suffice it to say, having employees (whether freelance or in-house) and paying them fairly does not magically make stress or financial strain disappear! Rather, it merely added “team manager” to the list of jobs I now had to try my hand at.
Reason #4: Taking Fun Seriously
The appeal of designing games, fixing all the problems you see in other titles, and playing them with people who share your passion can be attractive to inspired hobbyists.
But while it’s maybe a lesser problem than those stated above, the reality of making games can be less than glamorous. Making a game fun often means playing it a hundred times while it isn’t fun – occasionally crushingly so! – ideally with independent testers who won’t hesitate to reward your hours of work with a bulleted list of new problems to fix.
The tendency for professionalism to suck the fun out of a creative outlet is well-documented, to put it lightly, but it’s one that’s presented a challenge to our growth all the same.
Why we’re not stopping
We got into this industry to fulfil a dream we had, but what’s fuelled our success in the intervening years has been the dreams of those we’ve chosen to work with.
Indeed, passion and collaboration is the fuel that this industry runs on, and we are just one of many publishers who rely on the passion of others to keep going.
Whether you’re a genius solo game designer; you’ve read a thousand rulebooks; or you know how to use CAD software to make game-changing inserts, there are a myriad of publishers who want your skills – even if they don’t know it yet!
The juggling act of being a publisher can create plenty of opportunities for people who want to get involved in the industry. Indeed, some of the most rewarding things I’ve been able to do recently have been giving opportunities to passionate, talented people who want to make the games they love as good as they can be, and get paid for the privilege.
There’s never been a better time to get involved in the industry – you just don’t need to do it alone.
What we’re doing next
Our last campaign didn’t do so well – and while it’s not quite our last resort just yet, we need your help to make our next attempt to launch Last Resort reach orbit!
Want to get involved?