This is the 5th and final part in the blog series: So you’ve designed a game… now what?  If you’ve not yet done so, please read Part 1: What’s your motivation?, Part 2: Testing and development, Part 3: Pitch or Publish and Part 4: How to Find a Publisher.  Though I’ve run three successful (small) Kickstarter campaigns and self-published many games, I’m certainly not an expert in making self-publishing ventures commercially viable. My aim, through this article, is just to provide a basic checklist of questions to ask yourself when embarking on publishing your own game ..read more

This is Part 4 in the blog series: So you’ve designed a game… now what?  If you’ve not yet done so, please read Part 1: What’s your motivation?, Part 2: Testing and development and Part 3: Pitch or Publish. A link to the final part will appear in due course. In the last article, I will cover: First steps in self-publishing Using Board Game Geek Researching publishers can be time consuming, but it’s a crucial step that can’t be avoided. Even if you are immersed in the world of board games, they’ll be publishers that aren’t on your radar and some of them may be a perfect match fo ..read more

This is Part 3 in the blog series: So you’ve designed a game… now what?  If you’ve not yet done so, please read Part 1: What’s your motivation? and Part 2: Testing and development. Links to future parts will appear here over the coming weeks. In those posts, I will cover: How to find a publisher First steps in self-publishing So you’ve designed a game and you’re keen to see it come to life, but which road should you follow: Pitch your game to established publishers? Or self publish it?  To help you decide – and for a bit of fun – I’ve written job descriptions of these two ..read more

This is Part 2 in the blog series: So you’ve designed a game… now what?  If you’ve not yet done so, please read Part 1: What’s your motivation? Links to future parts will appear here over the coming weeks. In those posts, I will cover: To find or to be a publisher? How to find a publisher First steps in self-publishing The enthusiastic cook Imagine, for a moment, an enthusiastic cook. This is someone who enjoys cooking, who can follow recipes, possibly with simple twists and produce dishes that please the family. But now they have decided to start from scratch ..read more

This is Part 1 in the blog series: So you’ve designed a game… now what? Links to future parts will appear here over the coming weeks. In those posts, I will cover: Testing and development To find or to be a publisher? How to find a publisher First steps in self-publishing Why am I writing this? I provide an initial free 30-minute meeting to anyone who is thinking about board game consultancy. 80% of people I speak to on these calls have just designed their first game and now want some help with next steps. I have found myself saying the same thing so many times, that I thought it would b ..read more

I have a theory that we are ‘dumbing down’ family games for adults, rather than children. I think that a child’s ability to cope with complexity far outweighs a parent’s ability to learn and teach the game. Reading a rulebook seems to be the real hurdle in making a more complex game that has mass market appeal.  I realised this was a problem when several adults (not regular gamers) said they didn’t play my coaster games because they didn’t want to read the rules. The rules are on the back of the coaster and obviously very short. It’s a problem. I wonder if the drive towards language ..read more

In traditional style, in this post I’m reflecting on the last year and looking forward to the next. Top highlights from 2023 Winning the inaugural Hasbro Women Innovators of Play challenge.  Signing 8 games to publishers: Laurence King Publishing x 2, Ginger Fox x 2, Quarto, Outset Media, Mindware and Gamewright. The Dark Imp Blog being named as the Cardboard Edison Board Game Design Blog of the Year 2023.  Receiving copies of Hire Me from Clarendon Games (co-designed with Mandela F-G) and Spare Strike Steal from Ginger Fox.  Doing development and consultancy work on multip ..read more

If you’re not getting rejections, you’re not pitching. Even if your game is the most innovative and brilliant design the world has ever seen, You will still get rejections. Here are a non-exhaustive list of reasons why publishers might reject your game (that’s nothing to do with how good it is): It’s too similar to one of their current or upcoming games. It’s too different from other games they publish.  The components are too expensive or won’t fit into their standard box size. It’s too complex or not complex enough for their audience. They’ve published a game with similar mec ..read more

Collector is a strategic pen and paper game for 2 players by Walter Joris.  How to Play Draw a 6 x 6 grid on a piece of paper and randomly decide which player will start. Each player will need a different colour pen. On your turn, mark one box with a dot of your colour, then fill in a box that is adjacent to the box you just marked. The box that is filled in is eliminated from play and creates a barrier. You may fill in a box that is diagonally or orthogonally adjacent to your marked box.  Play continues in this manner, with players alternating turns – until there are no more leg ..read more

When listening to an interview with Obi Felton, who used to work at Google X, she described the moment when someone said to her: “You are just in the wrong job for you because there’s some people who are scuba divers, they love to go deep, and there’s some people who are snorkelers, who love to go across a whole bunch of things. And you’re a scuba diver in a snorkelling job.”  Let me grab my snorkel  This immediately resonated with me. Work-wise, I’m a snorkeller. I love having lots of projects on the go at the same time. In fact, I’ve been snorkelling through my work-life and f ..read more