How To Pitch Your Board Game To Publishers

[@RyanandBethany]

Thanks for the info! I'm getting ready for my first pitch over Zoom, and this was very helpful!

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Nice!! Good luck, you got this! 🙌

[@bengamingames5002]

How did it go!?

[@williamangus7229]

looking to pitch for the first time shortly, this was very helpful.

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for watching and good luck 🙌

[@serenequeenl0v3]

Thank you SO MUCH you are AMAZING & I am so happy I came across your channel because I am currently doing a bachelors degree and this was an assignment and I was struggling with how to do a pitch because we needed to include a script but you have given me some incredible insights and I will definitely thank you in my references ❤️ sending much love from Australia 🇦🇺

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Wow thank you for the kind words! I’m so glad this was helpful for you, best of luck with your assignment 🙌

[@doubleante]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! What valuable incite. Your pep talk is appreciated 🤠

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful for you 🙌

[@ddobrien1]

This is my 3rd time watching because I'm prepping for PAX-West this Saturday.🤓 I think my biggest worry is that when I'm nervous, I talk too fast and I seem to skip whole sentences when I'm able to monologue for 2-3 minutes. Plus, when I've ever met a game publisher that I was a fan of, I felt like a little kid. So I'm practicing being professional. Thanks for this video, btw!

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

I know it can be stressful! I also still get nervous too. But remembering they are just humans like the rest of us helps calm my nerves. And keeping expectations low! Best of luck, you got this 🙌

[@ddobrien1]

@@PamWallsGameDesign Thank you!!!

[@greigashfield4714]

Thanks so much for this Pam. A very informative video that taught me a great deal.

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Thanks Greig! I’m glad you enjoyed it :)

[@emmanuelukachu_lups]

Glad to have this tutorial

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Thanks Emmanuel!

[@Butitstrue110]

Love the info! Earned a Sub

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Thanks Leroy!

[@s.digital_games]

Thanks for the tips. It sounds like a lot of similarities with job interviews

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Ha that’s true! Being prepared but personable, clear and concise, thinking about what questions they might ask and always following up!

[@kimcarlsenGD]

Great tips, thanks :)

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Thanks Kim! 🙌

[@BucketRace-ws4zc]

Super helpful info!

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

I’m glad it was helpful for you! Thanks for watching 🙌

[@ryanbanwart5547]

Great info! I'll be pitching 3 games this summer at a couple conventions. Each is very different so I hope to be able match more publishers. Do you think it is a good idea to ask a publisher if there is a type of game they are looking for? Also a side question if I may, did you make the connections you have with publishers at conventions?

[@ryanbanwart5547]

Ahhh...i just learned more on your "Journey" video. 😁

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

If you’re going up to a publisher’s booth at a convention to pitch your game, definitely do your research ahead of time to figure out which publisher might be interested in that type of game. If you do a speed pitch event and you’re not sure which of your games you should show to each publisher, tell them you have 3 games you’re working on and a very quick one line about each and ask them which one they’d like to hear more about. Good luck!

[@joshuarose9010]

Great video, thank you! Question: I like to design medium/heavy euros with a lot of meeples and other standard bits and chits. To make my prototype, it cost me around $60 just for the components. How can I send prototypes more cheaply to send to publishers? My only thought is to have paper cut outs instead of meeples, but I feel like it would be really fiddly. Thanks

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Hi there! I would re use bits from other games (legacy or escape games or games from thrift stores) or just use wooden cubes in place of meeples that are super cheap from the dollar store. Def don’t spend any money creating custom meeples for your prototype, if a publisher wants to make your game, they’ll make their own meeples/minis. You could include one as an example of how you envision the final product, as a reference. I made a video a couple weeks ago about how to make prototypes fast and cheap, so check that out, it’s called 10 Tips for Prototyping Board Games.

[@crait]

Let's say I got an appointment with a company to pitch my game to a few of them. How long should that pitch meeting be? 1 hour? I would imagine I could do a 30 min pitch and leave 30 mins for questions.

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Most pitch meetings, in my experience, are no longer than 30 minutes. Publishers expect a pitch to be no longer than 5 minutes with the rest of the time left for questions from the publisher. So if you only have 1 game to pitch, then 30 minutes is more than enough time for the meeting.

[@anzaeria]

Very informative. I guess if a publisher is interested in your game, they will usually ask you to send them a physical prototype? The tricky thing with my game is that it takes quite a bit of time to produce the playing pieces. And if I had to make multiple prototypes, it would take an enormous amount of time and work to make up all those playing pieces (16 of them for one game.) It's not so much about cost. They're fairly cheap to produce. But they are labour intensive unfortunately.

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Yes if the publisher is interested, they will usually ask for a physical prototype to be mailed to them, which can definitely be time consuming! But that's just how it goes, if you want to get your game published. If you can find a way to create a basic version of your prototype that clearly communicates how it plays, that would be ideal. It doesn't have to be professional quality pieces.

[@anzaeria]

@@PamWallsGameDesign Oh yea mine is certainly a basic version of a prototype and certainly not high end professional. But still, it takes me quite a while just to produce one playing piece and I need 16 of them just for one game! I guess I could try and find an alternative way of making them that is quicker but still looks presentable.

[@koalasquare2145]

Hi, I had a question. After agreeing to go with a certain publisher, generally speaking, would the designer then be committed to working a certain number of hours for a certain amount of time? eg. would the expectation be that the designer would need to spend around 8 hours a week for the 4 months of development? If I have other upcoming commitments like work or university, should I be cautious of my time? Thanks,

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Great question! Each publisher and situation is different, but normally when you pitch a game it is a fairly final concept and when you sign a contract with a publisher to produce it, there won’t be a ton of work left to do on the game for you, unless the publisher had some issues with certain things that they want you to fix or work on. On the other hand, some publishers like to be involved from the concept stage and work very closely with you after signing a contract to develop the game. Either way, there is never usually an hourly expectation but instead they will give you deadlines like “Let’s talk in a month and see where we’re at” sort of thing. The amount of time you put in will greatly vary and will depend on how much testing and updating you need to do. It will take up time though so having good time management is important especially if you are also in school or working.

[@jcjjones]

How do you determine which publishers align with your game?

[@PamWallsGameDesign]

Look at who published any games that are similar to your game, get into the habit at looking at the publisher logo on any games in the same genre as your game. I like to go to board game stores/cafes and just look at who published the different games so I am familiar with who could be interested in one of my games. And if you go to a convention, or are participating in a speed pitch event, and there are publishers there who you’re not familiar with, be sure to look them up to see if they publish games similar to yours.

[@jcjjones]

@@PamWallsGameDesign Thank you for making time to respond! Very helpful. Cheers!

[@draftdaydice3656]

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