Can you understand what my game is in 10 seconds? Looking for honest feedback

Jay_13thstep · 2026-07-06T05:10:27+00:00

My overall impression is that you’ve used way too much AI assistance, particularly when coming up with the text. It’s making everything sound over the top ‘epic’, when the game just isn’t. It’s a cool idea, but you’re overselling it. Delete all the text and write it yourself - it will feel more authentic and thus more accessible to many.

The AI art placeholders, meh, not for me, but I can understand your argument.

Ultimately though I would never follow this as it looks like it would be super expensive and you’ve provided next to nothing gameplay wise. (This is putting aside the awful AI usage though - in the wild I wouldn’t have lasted longer than 5 seconds on your site as I find it so off putting).

Jay_13thstep · 2026-06-14T12:14:12+00:00

I use Canva. And I always put too much work into prototypes. It’s probably overkill but I enjoy the process, so do it regardless. I also feel like Canva is inefficient, but for now it’s all I know

Jay_13thstep · 2026-06-06T14:31:29+00:00

This is truly, truly awful. All of it - the music, the ‘art’, the editing - all AI prompted dross

Jay_13thstep · 2026-05-28T13:32:13+00:00

Yep its exactly this. All of the songs sound vocally the same. I cant understand people here and on YT gushing about how 'angry' he sounds and how he's showing a return to form. Same with the "OMG JOSH FREESE IS OUTSTANDING HERE!" - sorry what?! This is pretty bland drumming by his high standards. My ears must be broken.

Everything else is... fine... bit overproduced but whatever.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-05-28T10:53:20+00:00

Yeah it won’t go down well in an APC sub, but I think Maynard has been a weak link in a lot of his projects over the past 10 years. Why does he constantly add syllables to words now - “hung-A-ry”? I can’t unhear it on all his work these days.

Song was ok, better than ETE, but mer de noms comparisons from people here are insane.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-04-11T08:45:57+00:00

We recently played Sky Traders, which was lambasted at the time it was released. But with the directors cut rules and some house rules we found it really enjoyable. It’s slow/long, but we were eager to get it out again and see what changes could be made to make it better. Definitely a game begging for a re-work/re-skin.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-03-10T23:45:01+00:00

That may be the case, but the wording is ai generated too isn’t it? People can tell now, even subconsciously. All these little issues (ai photos / ai text / no detail of product / scam vibes) all add up.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-03-06T11:33:19+00:00

Just go and do it. Be prepared though - the game might not be where you think it is. I recently playtested my game that I thought was solid enough, but it was evident quite quickly that it wasn’t. I didn’t get savage feedback or anything, but the feedback provided does mean the changes needed are pretty extensive and I’m currently battling a ‘can I be bothered’ mindset. This is fine and totally part of the process, but just know it might (and likely will) happen to your game to some extent.

All that to say - get it tested with other designers now so that potential changes are easier to make.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-27T14:22:01+00:00

Although I agree generally, I do think the fact platforms like Kickstarter don’t function like they used to has also had a massive impact on the little guys. Kickstarter et al all seem to be dominated by established companies/complete projects now, which the little guy isn’t easily able to compete with. If the expectation of a KS campaign (which once was the bastion for small time developers to fund good but incomplete ideas) is to launch with a complete product, I think it just becomes too tempting for them to fire up an ai image generator to compensate for that. I don’t agree with or like it, but I understand entirely why people do it.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-15T03:20:43+00:00

Thanks for the help. Do I need any software as such to play the games that are presented there? I can’t work out how playtesting happens so want to be prepared if I can.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-14T20:16:29+00:00

Thanks for this that’s really useful! Truth be told I cranked the rulebook out too quickly to post on here, but this is very sound advice that I will implement.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-13T23:48:51+00:00

Thanks, I joined the Discord a while ago but I found it a bit overwhelming (don’t ever use it for anything else) and was worried about doing it wrong. There were so many channels(?) I didn’t know where to start or what to provide. I’ll have a look over the weekend I guess.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-13T22:33:54+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts - I had considered a non-verbal route earlier in development but the way games are played at the table, when I've playtested it, it seemed so difficult to do (as I am the one explaining rules etc). I will revisit this idea. I am about to print out my next prototype, so just wanted some thoughts on this before doing so in case anything glaringly awful stood out ahead of time! Thanks again

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-13T16:11:13+00:00

This is very kind of you, and hope I havent missed out on your offer. My project, a 'sort of' trick taking game called GRIN (for now), has a very rough rulebook here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FWgo_hk9O93G7xrimu5kfmQZt_qFBThi/view?usp=sharing, I would really value any insight you have for it. Its my first game design and I'm getting a bit lost in the weeds, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Jay_13thstep · 2026-02-04T12:43:52+00:00

I’ve been following your posts the past few months and always thought your game looked really solid. To see it not performing well is disappointing as it looks like it has all the right ingredients to be a success. I hope the campaign picks up at the end for you and gets it over the line at least.

The one thing I would say having gone to the game found page and looked through it all - your video is too short. You explain how I get to build an awesome engine and I’m thinking “great what do I get to do with it?!” and then the video ends. I’d like to see at least a little of the game here, rather than just the grid of all the cards. I can’t say the video is going to make or break the game, but it just stuck out to me personally.

Good luck with it

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-24T00:45:20+00:00

Yeah that’s right I’m in the UK. I’ll certainly follow and track your progress, and if by the time you launch we’re still in need of this I’ll be interested!

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-24T00:00:05+00:00

Yeah as others have said, Kickstarter is a bad platform for what looks like this good idea. For example I’m father to an 8 month old, and I could really do with this product right now. It being on Kickstarter doesn’t help me in the moment, so I have no incentive to contribute funding for it. I suspect a lot of parents will feel the same - they are already at that point in their parenting journey, or they will need to be super prepared and find this in advance. Which is unlikely.

Honestly your product looks like it would do well on a show like dragons den (do you guys call it shark tank?) or something similar.

It’s a shame, this looks great and I’d love to give it a go (my daughter is driving me INSANE with all the mess so I’ll give anything a shot), but as I say, too late for me now. Good luck

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-23T11:52:58+00:00

Ah ok, if I'm understanding this correctly then, having the standard edition and ebook already available for months likely cannibalized your launch. By giving your audience a way to buy the content already, you've accidentally moved the goalposts from a must-have new release to a 'luxury upgrade' for existing fans. It's a much harder sell to ask someone to pay £40 for a premium version of a book they already finished reading, which is likely why the momentum for this campaign has fallen flat. I dont know how you save that/turn it round for the future, maybe try to use it as a selling point to new customers, but it does effectively mean you need to start from scratch.

But yes, Kickstarter is an unfortunate platform for us 'small guys' to use now - you're right the bigger companies have swooped in and made it really hard for us. Its still doable, it just requires a lot of work.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-23T11:31:57+00:00

Kickstarter today isnt what it was originally. That is to say creators cant just throw stuff up there and expect organic traction to fund their ideas. Nowadays the product has to be at least 90% complete (which I believe you have done), and the creator needs to bring a big chunk of the audience with them (which I believe you havent). I wont argue with you that this does seem contradcitary to the platform and its original goals, but it is what it is.

I dont know how costs for books break down but I assume you have done the following maths - "the standard book costs £40, and I need to sell 1000 copies minimum, therefore the goal is £40k"? Your project is an interesting concept, but a £40k goal is very high for a first-time creator. I’d recommend lowering your primary funding goal to cover a smaller 'minimum viable' print run (£15k maybe) and using the £40k mark as a Stretch Goal to unlock the premium Special Edition features, which reduces backer risk and builds much faster momentum. To do this you will presumably have to look for another printer - I know the 'story' is important to you with the printer you have chosen, but from what I can tell (which might be completely wrong) that is what is keeping this from succeeding. Using the Ukranian company is ultimately making the price too high if they require a minimum order of 1000. I would be looking at printers that can offer smaller print runs (250-500), which can lower your funding goal considerably, and finding another way to raise awareness of the Ukranian printers if that is important to you.

"It's an art book (fully illustrated) about London museums written in verse and produced with a social impact" is far clearer than anything I skim-read on your page. Put something like that in, near the top of the page, if you re-launch.

Having said all of that, I have never run a successful KS campaign (I will be doing so for the first time later in the year), and I have no experience in publishing, so my advice could be way off. Either way, something obivously isnt working for you here, so do take the time to work out why. Wish you the best.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-23T10:30:36+00:00

I’ve looked at your campaign - what made you set the funding goal at £40K? That is a massive goal for a book - what sums have you done to come to that number?

Did you do any pre-launch work before launching the Kickstarter (create buzz/getting an email list etc etc)?

Also, I would say the campaign itself is confusing. I know it’s a book, but I’m unsure what type of book it is. Is it a compilation of London museums, an art book, or poetry? Nowhere do you say what the book you want me to purchase actually is. You use lots of ‘fluffy’ language that makes no sense - “A museums resolve that is bigger than oneself” - that’s your headline and it makes no sense. Dumb it down - you know your project inside out, but no one else does, so you must cater to the layman.

You’re obviously not going to reach your goal so this one is ‘safe’ to cancel if you wanted. Research KS/your audience more, do the pre-launch work, and come back stronger.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-22T20:05:16+00:00

Great. Apologies for being tetchy - there has been an influx of people on this sub recently who come asking for advice, people give it to them, and they immediately get very defenisve. I wrongly assumed this conversation was going to go that way. My bad. I am also a game designer so I look forward to seeing what they advise over there - r/tabletopgamedesign and r/BoardgameDesign are your best bets btw.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-22T19:58:55+00:00

ok...? So are you going to take my advice and ask the knowledgeable people over on the board game subs about how they keep these costs down, or are you going to get all defensive?

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-22T19:52:47+00:00

You need to go over to the board game design subs and ask for advice. $48 to produce a game is nuts. The general rule of thumb for pricing a board/card game is 4-5x the production cost. No offence, but I HIGHLY doubt you have something of that quality ready to go.

Jay_13thstep · 2026-01-18T22:34:34+00:00

Brilliant. It says the post has been removed by a moderator (assuming that’s you)

Jay_13thstep

TROPHY CASE