2 - Publisher or self-publisher?

Before asking yourself this question, a lot should have already happened concerning the board game. Why am I making a blog entry about it so soon? It's good to know what you're getting into when embarking on such a project.

I didn't even consider the question of whether to choose a publisher or self-publishing because I wanted to gain all the experiences that come with self-publishing anyway. However, as more information came to light, I had already spent a great deal of time and, in part, resources that would probably have been simply wasted with a publisher.

I must admit, I hadn't spoken personally with any publisher until a very late stage. However, I've read in many accounts that publishers often make significant changes to board games—for instance, using their own artwork even though investments had already been made for artwork out of one's own pocket. Sometimes, the entire theme of the game is changed if it makes more sense from a marketing perspective. Furthermore, publishers also determine the components, which might be of lower quality than desired (though sometimes better than expected). I read from a Reddit user that one receives between 4-8% royalties from the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). Of course, it also depends on whether a game has already been released and how successful or promoted it might already be.

In self-publishing, as a game designer, you don't just handle game design, playtests, prototypes, and rules but much more. You take care of setting up a company, finances, coordination, and risks needed to bring the game to market. You work with illustrators and graphic designers to give the game atmosphere and life. You gather information and establish contacts with manufacturers regarding materials, print runs, and translations (if multilingual), and organize the production, distribution, and storage needed to sell the game to customers or retailers. And if you haven't already made a name for yourself somewhere: you handle the advertising. If no one knows about a board game, no one will buy it.

As you can clearly see, the portion of work that is actually game design is just one of many steps required to get your board game into the shop around the corner.

If you only want to realize your game idea as a designer and don't want to deal with everything else, work on your prototype and create a cool pitch sheet for publishers. There's not much need to worry about artwork here. Self-publishing involves a lot of effort and learning, but it also builds something more long-term. Having a team makes the process much more pleasant. However, if it's your first project and the team isn't just made up of low-cost friends, it also increases costs. Advertising for such a project, if well-executed, can also benefit future board games.

What has happened since the first Kickstarter attempt (failed in 2021) regarding this topic: At the Spiel 2021 fair in Essen, I had meetings with publishers, including those specializing in localization. The latter primarily handle translating completed games to distribute them in other languages and different countries. Such a partner is generally very interesting both before and after a Kickstarter because it involves larger production and sales volumes.

However, my game must first be interesting to the publisher. If a game’s print run is produced through Kickstarter, the design, components, and price are fixed for the time being. If the design—for example, the cover and box size—does not align with the publisher's pricing expectations, it can be difficult to bring that publisher on board. This combination of first impression and pricing expectation of a game is, of course, also relevant for a Kickstarter, but it is of utmost priority for a publisher. Regarding this, I will definitely conduct further research and possibly make adjustments for the second Kickstarter attempt.

What has happened since the second successful Kickstarter (2022) regarding this topic: At the Spiel 2022 fair, I was promoting a miniature version of my game and managed to catch the attention of a Chinese publisher. They tested the game digitally on Tabletop Simulator and were so impressed that they wanted to localize my game into Chinese. In this process, I spent a lot of time gathering information. The German Game Designers Guild was somewhat helpful, primarily in legal aspects concerning the contract. However, they could provide little information about royalties. Typically, authors receive about 5-8% of the retailer's price (around 50% of the MSRP). After that, it became significantly harder to gather information. I eventually discovered that, as a publisher, as mentioned earlier, it's also 5-8%, but based on the MSRP—meaning double what an author receives. After all, a lot of work has already been done in advance. I then received 7%, and the Chinese publisher handled the translation and distribution entirely in China.

Have you had experiences with game publishers? Would you go with a publisher or self-publishing again? What have you learned from the experience? Are there still any open questions?