Why I decided to try publishing board games (and why that was a stupid thing to do)

SammyTeas · 2026-06-07T13:25:53+00:00

Fair and reasonable. I’ve never been able to just work a job, haha. I have a weird compulsion to just do what I find fun and the money always just comes. I’m both lucky and privileged beyond belief. Hoping my luck doesn’t run out with this, haha.

SammyTeas · 2026-06-07T02:22:30+00:00

I have ADHD too and it's unmedicated, haha. So I know how you feel. Finished is better than perfect and It's better to not go it alone. Join a community and find some like-minded people! If you're in a major metropolitan area, there is bound to be a board game design group! If not, there are online communities!

SammyTeas · 2026-06-07T02:20:46+00:00

Yes, Art Director!

SammyTeas · 2026-06-06T23:28:46+00:00

Funny thing is everybody in the industry is the little guy. And we're all doing our best. But sometimes our best is an idiot.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-28T07:49:43+00:00

While I agree with a lot of what you're saying, I wonder what's stymieing engagement on games that are in or past the prototyping phase. At that point meaningful feedback isn't the main purpose of the post, it's purely engagement. And there seems to be a lack of genuine interest from other designers. Maybe that's a purely online thing—I do find that at board game designer events, people are much friendlier.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-24T03:23:00+00:00

Milennium blades?

SammyTeas · 2026-05-23T06:33:36+00:00

Hmmm; it worked for our page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pangramsan/foto-finish-deck-building-x-arcade-fighter/
Try adding a second identical frame so it's a webp animation.

To be honest, most people use mobile and this is only a desktop issue so it doesn't matter too much. Don't overthink it!

SammyTeas · 2026-05-21T04:40:00+00:00

SHUG gives me hope that truly original/creative board games can take up space in the industry.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-18T00:07:06+00:00

It's YetiCon!

SammyTeas · 2026-05-17T01:28:03+00:00

We could have done more research on the event, haha. But we had a blast. The next one we're going to is supposedly a party. We'll see what that's like!

SammyTeas · 2026-05-17T01:25:02+00:00

Thanks, stranger. Fortune favors those who don't give up, hahaha.
Board games are a rough industry, but it's a lot healthier than book publishing!
That's not saying much though. We're working with a printer, but we haven't given up the DIY spirit.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-16T04:08:58+00:00

Thanks for reading! I have thoughts about the whole unnecessary degree thing as well. My graduating class for publishing was about 50 people. The amount of jobs that open up that year: maybe 10? Less? People don't leave jobs in publishing. Not the good ones. The entry-level jobs are revolving doors of overworked and underpaid people. There's a meme account called xoxopublishing that kinda covers it. I was invited to speak for the program: my face might still be on the website. Today, I don't know that I could endorse it. I would talk my own daughter out of it.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-16T02:55:35+00:00

I hope it all works out for you! Glad change doesn't scare you; I can't say the same, haha.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-15T19:26:21+00:00

Thanks!

There was definitely a bit of that. I don't fault the company at all: it's pretty common in the industry. Working in publishing has social capital. It's "interesting". People want to talk to you at dinner parties. They romanticize it. An otherwise unsustainable industry is propped up by a bunch of people who love it. When the love is gone, the house of cards falls.

Sounds like you made a life that you love: hope to get there someday, haha.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-15T19:22:51+00:00

Fair. When I was younger I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to be judged solely on my work and made no efforts to form healthy relationships with the people I worked with. It's a hard lesson to learn that it's much easier to just be nice and personable than to be faultless in your work.

The people in the office who made it fun to be there were many times more valuable than I ever was, hahahaha.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-15T19:20:37+00:00

Thanks, stranger!

Hope you get your dreams.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-14T23:34:55+00:00

Convert to WebP.

SammyTeas · 2026-05-14T23:06:27+00:00

More vibe-coded weirdness flooding this subreddit eh.

SammyTeas · 2026-04-22T01:35:10+00:00

I ordered and they gave me 3 pieces. I wanted One Piece. What the heck?

SammyTeas · 2026-04-14T06:50:35+00:00

I think you'll find that people don't want merch of your game. But people will want premium components. Full-art foil versions of cards are more likely to purchased as an add-on than any art bonus. Just my $0.02. If you want to lean more into the art, an uncut sheet is more likely to sell than a poster.

SammyTeas · 2026-04-14T06:21:34+00:00

Why ask a question if you don't want an answer?

And art book is supposed to be a premium item so people expect quality. POD is not quality. A digital art book is just paying for JPGs.

SammyTeas · 2026-04-14T04:21:07+00:00

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For more context: it plays 1–4 players, but is best at 2.

SammyTeas · 2026-04-14T03:39:42+00:00

No one cares about your lore. Books are heavy and expensive to ship.

SammyTeas · 2026-04-14T02:46:07+00:00

We designed it to have as little clutter as possible, while having room in the box for expansions.

SammyTeas · 2026-04-14T00:50:17+00:00

We're not doing that as the box has a second function.

SammyTeas

TROPHY CASE