Creating home-made content for your favourite board games.

Ever since I’ve played games, I’ve tweaked them, adjusted them, attempted to upgrade them. With varying degrees of success.
In 2024 there are incredible services available which can help you do just that. In this video I’m going to show you how I reworked Reiner Knizia’s legacy game My City to make it endlessly replayable, with a few simple
components manufactured using print on demand service Launch Tabletop, who sponsored this video.
www.launchtabletop.com
Use code ADAMINWALES for a discount.

[@PandoraStratos]

Great video! Now I know what to do with my copy of My City - design an expansion!

[@MNeMoNiCuZ]

Any chance of sharing the cards and tokens to print? It looks like the really would save the game from going in the bin once finished.

[@davidripplinger8904]

Hi Adam. Seeking advice. I started designing games on the side about 3 years ago. I jave a couple of games, one of which is ironed out really well. I don't care much about making money from them, but I would like to extend their reach beyond just a few people i personally introduce the games to. Crowd funding isn't worth the effort, and I'm not an artist. Publishing would be great, but I see conflicting ideas: On one hand, the sell sheet is your first foot in the door. On the other hand, don't give sell sheets or prototypes until they ask for them. It seems the only way I've heard of people building a raport with publishers is by meeting them a lot at the big conventions, which is a ton of time and money. So, my questions: (1) Is it actually ok to cold email certain publishers? (I can research the best ones from the Cardboard Edison database for my games.) (2) Do I have to biye the bullet and meet publishers at the big conversations, or are there other ways of being appropriately introduced? (3) Are there sensible ways (besides posting on Game Crafter) to get just a few copies of my game circulated, if going to regular publishers is too hard?

[@AdaminWales]

Hi David, unfortunately I don’t know of a way to get games into circulation without considerable work and some financial investment. It’s a very competitive market, with MANY designers pitching and self-publishing games. You can certainly “cold-call” a great many publishers. The Cardboard Edison guide is a good starting point. Personally, I would send a PDF sell sheet and 2 minute sizzle reel with that initial email - to generate interest - but I appreciate that some in the industry recommend an initial email to introduce yourself first. Many emails get ignored in this business, so I want to give SOMETHING just to spark a little interest, even if it’s just a couple of lines about the game and a photograph. Make sure your emails are targeted i.e. do your research about what sort of games the company publishes. I’ve had very little success with building relationships with publishers by email. Going to Essen Spiel and meeting loads of publishers has been my most effective approach. Increasingly, because of my family life and my day job, that’s becoming more difficult. So like you, I’m having to consider options which are cheaper and don’t take me away from home for a week. So we’ll see how that goes! You clearly know your options - you mention Cardboard Edison and Game Crafter so really you know the answers to all this stuff. The rest is for you to experiment with and find your own way. One area you may not have considered is a board game agent. There aren’t many, and some are unscrupulous. The only agent which is widely discussed in the designer community is White Castle. They seem respectable, though I haven’t used them myself. They charge a fee to assess your game and advise on development. If they take it on, they will then pitch for you - and take a cut of the royalties. Best of luck!

[@jsrijith]

Any way to get this as a pnp files?

[@mar45mar45]

That would be nice !

[@bobtoad8601]

With friends we made house rules of ludo, with different races each one with different movement rules, rules for tackle, and we changed a very simple game into a mess of unbalance game. It was a fun experience.

[@TisButAScratch666]

Just ordered a prototype using your code! Many thanks!

[@AdaminWales]

Very cool. Let me know how it goes!

[@bruceknight3720]

Super idea! Lovely to see the enthusiasm of an 11 year old combined with the knowledge of a seasoned pro 😉 I wonder if people will start placing orders for this new deck....

[@sirguy6678]

Fun video! Old games gain new life!

[@brandonroberts13]

You're a legend