From Idea to Shelves: Get Your Board Game Published with Insider Tips from a Published Designer

I get a lot of emails from new designers who are struggling to get their board games published. In this video, I’m going back to basics to see if I can offer any help and advice.

[@sjinzaar]

That trip through history was a real eye-opener...

[@ThomasReesbeck]

Yes, really well done.

[@sweetgoodswithdora1796]

God bless you soo much for sharing all this information for free!... you're truly helping many people get their games out and giving them tips for free which is just wonderful of you and i cant thank you enough

[@AdaminWales]

You’re welcome. Glad it’s helpful :)

[@ParlorPunch]

Just wonderful, thank you!! So glad you spent some time discussing abstract strategy games. A game I'm working on is one of those. It gets a funny response from some folks, "Eeww, abstract strategy? Nope!" Sounds like i have my work cut out for me, but really nice to hear that that response is at least not entirely unexpected.

[@sjinzaar]

Thank you so much for your information... Really appreciate it..

[@craigpriestley7990]

Amazing guidance! I am only making things for friends and family, but I still want to give the best I can!

[@joerihessels8230]

Thanks for all the tips! Off to do more research ;)

[@tinerusc6101]

Love the history lesson, thanks for sharing your experience

[@AdaminWales]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

[@DejanOfRadic]

Clear and practical advice.....much obliged:)

[@AdaminWales]

Glad it was helpful! :)

[@TisButAScratch666]

Great advice as usual. Many thanks

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks for watching :)

[@jaredblunk1]

Thanks for the encouraging video!!!

[@joshuasiegal]

These videos are excellent

[@nathanmaber1276]

What a great vid mate!! Got a lot from this.

[@AdaminWales]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bruceknight3720]

You look like you're enjoying having the opportunity to do some role play / acting. Funny and informative

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks! 😄

[@tommyvz84]

brutally honest, thanks

[@shawns3911]

Adam in wales!!! Bore da!! I’ve been chomping at the bit for a new game design video as I’m developing my first prototype almost ready for testing!! Diolch!!

[@AdaminWales]

Bore da! Pob lwc I ti.

[@angerock49]

Dynamic format! Nice

[@AdaminWales]

Yes, it was a bit of an experiment but I think it worked out! I knew that I wouldn't be able to use much game footage with this topic and wanted to still make it visually interesting.

[@chahalele]

Yes the most important one was playing new board games and genres , see whats newly released and what stuff people are buying

[@keithparker1346]

I think simply playing a LOT of different games will reveal that you idea or hook or clever thing has been done before and you are probably re-inventing the wheel. As an example I thought about having a traditional card tricking taking game where the trump suit is like rock - scissors - paper - Spades trumps Hearts, which trump Diamonds which trump Spades and Clubs as a sort of no trump suit. I expect someone MUST have already thought of that idea - I'd be super surprised if they havent Though to contradict what Ive just said its amazing how some games are just simply subtle variants of traditional games - for some reason I think its popular to do some variation on President - nothing wrong in that as its a great card shedding game

[@kevinjohnson7631]

Thank you. Subscribed and will be delving deeper into your channel for more insights. I currently have 3 abstract card games I am trying to push. Any suggested vids?

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Kevin - hopefully you’ll find plenty to watch on the channel. If you take a look at the board game design playlist, there are loads of topics on there.

[@EyesOfTheFather]

Been enjoying these so far. I'm wondering if you've ever tackled the question of trying to pitch variants or extensions of existing games to their publishers (e.g. If I've designed a unique variant of Ticket to Ride or an extension of Jabba's Palace Love Letter)?

[@AdaminWales]

I haven’t covered it :) From what I’ve seen, it’s VERY rare that this happens. In most instances, if a publisher wanted to expand a game or make a new edition, they would commission the original designer to make it. Sometimes they invite a new designer to make it instead if the original designer is not available. Examples: Bruno Cathala making 7 Wonders Duel with 7 Wonders designer Antoine Bauza; Tom Lehmann working on Pandemic expansions. But these are very well established designers, and I would guess that they were invited to work on the games rather than making unsolicited pitches.

[@Tanjutsu4420]

Thanks This exactly what I needed to know (if someone created a game for the sake of making a game it’s not going to be good because there’s no creativity) that being said am I not in danger of losing my game to the publishers that don’t have their own ideas?

[@AdaminWales]

Here’s my video on that topic :) Scared of Copycats? How to Protect Your Board Game Idea kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYXFeal6l513fsk

[@SapphireBones]

This was such a helpful video, thank you so much. I am now currently looking into finding the right publisher for my first ever game. I do have one question, though, and it's very specific. So in this video, you mentioned how the prototype needs to have very basic art, and that I shouldn't commission an artist. This worries me, as my partner on this game is an artist, and the art is being worked on as we speak. Is that going to pose an issue? Will publishers refuse my game if they can't choose the art for it? Or will they be okay with publishing the game (provided they want to publish it anyway) with its current art, the one that has been made by my game partner?

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks for watching. It’s a good question. Truthfully, having pre-established art for the game will hinder its chances of getting published, unless you are willing to let the publisher change the art should they wish. Publishers have very specific requirements for their range and they might like your gameplay but the look (or theme) of your game might not fit well with the rest of their catalogue. Most publishers want control over that. However… I have known designers who have had their games published with the art already in place. The art was of a high standard and the publishers were presumably happy with the look. It may even have been a bonus for the publisher - one less job for them to do. I suspect that this is the exception rather than the most common scenario though. As always there is no absolute black and white rule, and you may very well still be successful, but I do think your job will be harder with the art already in place. Sorry.

[@joshuanichoson7323]

Thank you for acknowledging the landlords game 🙂 Hasbro refuse to acknowledge or admit Elizabeth magie

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Joshua. I wasn't aware that Hasbro doesn't acknowledge the origins of Monopoly. I knew that there was a lot of sneaky behaviour back in the 1930s when Parker Brothers first brought Monopoly to market. Always good to highlight the original designers and ensure that they (or their estate) are properly rewarded.

[@joshuanichoson7323]

@@AdaminWales yes, I addressed it to them and they avoided the question. This was a red flag for me.

[@keithparker1346]

In the 1970s Pong was basically the ONLY video game. Im old enough to remember being wowed by it when I first played. I would argue that roll and move and player elimination are not bad, I think its just the context they are used It seems like getting a game published is like having a hit single in the charts 1000s of wannabes Some great advice in there. I think the biggest problem is that people create something but the only feedback they get at the start is through friends and family and they are rarely that brutally honest with you - they tell you what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear. This applies to pretty much every creative endeavour

[@badfem]

Maybe this has been asked before, but what are your thoughts on self publishing a game first and then looking for a publisher? Is this frowned upon? Or could it help if you have some evidence of interest in your game? Not sure if this kind of thing is normally done in the game market, I have seen it done with books before though.

[@ryanbarker5217]

say you get a 5% royalty, where are they taking that out of? net or gross sales to a retailer? the MSRP (highly doubtful, but needs to be asked)? out of their profit margin?

[@AdaminWales]

Could be any of those, but most commonly it would be 5% of the sale price to a distributor. I cover it in a lot more detail in this video: Getting Paid | Board Game Contracts Explained: Part 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIbXln55oLx6rsU

[@ryanbarker5217]

@@AdaminWales i'll have to check that one out, thanks. :)

[@angry_karakuri]

you tell us to play newer gamrs but ive only played games from the 1500s i thought its normal to put the loser in the dungeon and make the winner the new king jokes aside, thank you

[@keithparker1346]

I would not just restrict game play to just new games - Im kind of shocked that modern board gamers have not played stuff like Bridge or Whist or President and seem to think some new game that is basically a variant of them is super innovative. Play a LOT and play different types of games

[@MyFunnyVids888]

How do you think a dinosaur king themed game would go XD

[@sujatasagar3628]

I have invented the game and I am from India