Ideas for board games

[Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady]

Anyone ever had an idea for a new board game?

Anyone know how you would go about getting a prototype developed, and selling it to retailers?

It's actually an idea my DD came up with but it sounds better to me than most of the crap board games they have these days.

Suppose I need an aibu....

YABU - Don't waste your time, no one wants to play anything other than monopoly or cluedo

YANBU - Go for it

Having the idea is a very small part of getting the game to market. If you do get a games developer interested, expect to get only a tiny amount of the proceeds. It feels unfair, but the amount of work they have to do is enormous.

My ex dealt with Loncraine and Broxton, now part of The Lagoon Group. The reason he isn't in wiki as the inventor of some world beating game is that he turned down the 5% offered and tried to manufacture and market his designs himself.

That's really interesting thank you!

So would that be step 1? Getting intouch with a games developer?

Find a playtester group, there should be one near you on Meetup

A friend of a friend developed a board game through kickstarter, so that could be something to look into. I love a good board game!

Kickstarter,! If you do not receive the funds via people backing the idea then you don't have to go on to develop the game, but of course if you do then you have the monetary boost you need to get started. Money doesn't leave backers accounts until the amount needed is reached, and the commitment to go forward with producing it is given.

The first step is to research your market, see what is out there and find out about how games are made. You can also check to see if some has already made a game with the same or similar premise.

This website is a great place for all those things and the forum is active with a game developers part of that community.

boardgamegeek.com/

I have no connection to this site btw just know of it and think it's worth a look

A lot seem to be coming through kickstarter at the moment

The trouble with kickstarter is that you're going it alone, you're sorting the manufacture and doing all the marketing. But you'll keep more of the profits. Depends where your skills are, really.

It's actually an idea my DD came up with but it sounds better to me than most of the crap board games they have these days.
Are you familiar with the market? Board games seems to be having a bit of a renaissance in recent years. There are a couple of dedicated board game stores near me, with 100s of games I'd never heard of. I do know someone who got a game published, but it didnt take off.

Pretty good overview here:

facadegames.com/blogs/news/how-to-publish-a-board-game

Look into going to a Board Game cafe (when we're allowed) to start researching the market.

The board game world is massive in its niche and there's definitely more out there than Monopoly and Cleudo! You'll also find people who might be interested in testing your game/more knowledgable about game development.

If you think most of the board games available nowadays then you're obviously not actually a board game player. I'm a collector; currently have 47 board games in our game room. We tend to trade the ones we disnt enjoy or wont play much but we have family game night a couple times a week and most of the games out now are not crap.

Check out boardgamegeek and maybe watch TableTop with Will Wheeton.

You can go it alone by using kickstarter.

Red Raven Games is basically just Ryan Laukat. He designs the games, kickstarts the funds and then brings them to market. But it is a hell of a lot of work.

Or you can approach some developers, however the developers who take on wee indepdents tend to go after games which have been quietly brought to market in one area and did well, or they've been seen at game expos.

Santorini was originally sold by the designer as a very plain game, but it was great and was picked up by a developer and they then gave it a theme etc. Didnt change the game mechanics; just made it marketable. Pirate's Cove was originally made and sold by the designer, I think in Germany, and then it was picked up by Days of Wonder after one of the game publishers played it and thought it was great.

So you can go it alone and stay alone, like Red Raven games or you can go it alone and then be picked up by a game publisher or you can approach publishers yourself or try going to an expo when things like that start back up.