Nuggets of Wisdom: Determine your goal and use that to filter through the endless amount of information out there.
Discussion Question: What is your goal and how are you going to get there?
Once I knew that I wanted to develop Quickdraw my first question was, should I publish it on my own, or should I pitch it to an established publisher? Pitching it to a publisher had been my initial goal, but as I fell in love with the game I saw the advantages of self-publishing. There are so many factors that go into which option is best for you, and as I filtered through them all in my head I kept waffling back and forth. What eventually led me to my decision was not a 200 line pro/con list weighing each factor, it was just answering one question:
What was my goal when it came to game design?
This is a question that you should always ask yourself when taking on a new endeavor to help set expectations and give you a path to meet your goal. I do a lot of endurance sports, and when my wife and I are looking for our next race we set goals to guide our training. Maybe we want to hit a specific time, or strive for a top 3 finish. Or maybe we’re just looking for something fun and a good excuse to get back in an exercise routine. If we’re going to try and be competitive (rarely) that’s a very different training regimen than if we’re just doing a casual race. And vice versa, if we train casually we’re not going to be disappointed if we end up finishing below the top spots. So, what would be my aspirational but achievable goal when it came to my game journey: To make a living designing the types of games I would want to play.
To go a level deeper, I don’t want to just pump out party games that will pay my mortgage. I want to be truly inspired by the unique and innovative games that I publish. I want to push the envelope on what a table top game can bring. To that effect, I do have an idea for such a game, which I’m coining as an “Adventure TCG”. It’s an incredibly ambitious idea and I want to get there by first learning the ropes with Quickdraw, enhancing my skills and followers with subsequent expansions, and then using all that I gained to launch into this TCG.
Deciding on this goal didn’t necessarily make the decision on if I should pitch or publish Quickdraw, but it did give me a lens to filter the options through. My process was:
- Find a reputable source discussing the topic of publishing or pitch.
(The sources I found most useful were Jamey Stegmaier’s blog, the Board Game Design Lab podcast episodes about publishing, and talking to people in person or in online groups about their publishing/pitching experiences). - Note when a key aspect or result is discussed for either option.
- Determine if that aspect would move me closer or farther from my goal.
This might sound super obvious, but it’s really easy to get overwhelmed when ingesting all the internet has to offer, so it’s important to give yourself some stable footing in which to filter out what you’re consuming. Also, you don’t need to have an elaborate goal in place to do this exercise, it works just as well if your goal is to just sell 500 games and walk away happy knowing you touched 500 people with your work. The point is starting with some direction in mind so you know where you are going.
So having said all that, here are the key items I picked up relevant to my situation and how I filtered them into coming to a final decision.
- Designers earn up to 10% royalties. This is probably on the high side, with 10% being for established designers. I’ve seen smaller numbers around, but this is based again on Jamey’s blog where he is kind enough to share his royalty practices. I’m designing an 18-card game. The market is pretty set around $12 for this type of game, so I’m making maybe a dollar per game for direct sales, less if through a distributor. Another way to visualize this, Button Shy is a publisher of 18-card games and they have Kickstarters that roughly average around $50,000. I’m not sure what their designer royalties are like, but assuming 10% on the high end, I’d make $5,000 from the Kickstarter, and residuals there after. That’s not nothing, but I’m in a lucky enough situation where both my wife and I have solid jobs, so that paycheck isn’t too meaningful. Therefore, if I make less/no money self-publishing (which appears likely with first time self-funded Kickstarters) the financial outcome likely has similar impact on my daily life. Looking further down the line, it definitely feels hard to keep churning out and successfully pitching games to the point where I can live off royalties. On the flip side, if I run a publishing company I can scale my revenue by hiring people and selling more games.
- Decision: Short-term, neither pitching nor publishing provides a meaningful paycheck for my first game. Long-term, there is more earning potential in publishing.
- Publishers have more creative control over a game than designers. Because publishers are assuming more costs, hiring artists, and developing a portfolio of products that collectively represent their brand, what they are looking for in a game might be different than your vision. They might want to take your game in a different direction to make it more sellable, and maybe for good reasons – publishers are the experts on their business after all. For Quickdraw I could fathom handing over the design for someone else to tweak and publish, but also I get really excited by doing that myself. I love art in games and the idea of owning the overall look and feel of my game is very appealing to me. Additionally, if I start thinking about expansions and then my TCG, the more I want to control how that is rolled out.
- Decision: Short-term, I would like to have control over my game. Long-term, I feel like I need it.
- Self-publishing has more upfront costs and financial risk. If you want a successful Kickstarter that means you’re going to need to pay for art, graphic design, and probably marketing. Once your Kickstarter funds you’re also on the hook to deliver the product. If you didn’t plan you costs well you might be losing money with each unit, putting you further in the red. This is for sure daunting depending on how much cash you have to throw at this endeavor. My game – 18-cards, a box, rules, no components – is probably the least expensive game to publish. My costs per unit are probably single digit, so my overall risk is pretty low. Additionally, I have some money that I can use for upfront for art and design.
- Decision: Short-term, the cost and risk of self-publishing Quickdraw is acceptable to me. Long-term, this becomes harder but if I use revenue from Quickdraw and expansions to fund the TCG, then it becomes palatable.
- Big, ambitious games require significant buy-in. While this isn’t relevant for Quickdraw I do want to consider this for the adventure TCG I’m planning. TCG’s are a huge commitment, it would be a big ask to have a publisher buy into my idea and execute it in a way that I’d be proud of. On the flip side, if I self-publish, I need a strong following of players who are excited to back the project and support it in the way a TCG needs support. Gaining this following is no small feat, but it does align with my strategy of continuing to develop on Quickdraw through expansions while cultivating an interested player base. So while this is the most daunting item on this list I’d rather build a base slowly over time than betting my goal on the whims of a publisher.
- Decision: Short-term, Quickdraw helps me establish credibility and grow a following. Long-term, that following becomes the foundation for launching my ambitious TCG rather than relying on a publisher’s approval.
- Publishing is hard, but teaches you about the industry. As the publisher you need to care more about costs, manufacturing, shipping, distribution, and a ton of other stuff I don’t know about. If your goal is to just design games then there is no point in learning more about the business side – though it is helpful to know a little so you know how to pitch why your game is sellable. But if your goal is to eventually publish a big, ambitious game, mastering these aspects is crucial. There’s a lot to learn but starting small with a game like Quickdraw allows me to build that knowledge gradually. Instead of diving in all at once, I can get into a groove, refining my process and learning from mistakes on a smaller scale before tackling something larger.
- Decision: Short-term, publishing Quickdraw forces me to learn the business side firsthand. Long-term, this knowledge will be crucial if I want to scale up and launch bigger projects like my Adventure TCG.
At the end of the day, my decision to self-publish wasn’t just about Quickdraw—it was about the future I want to build. This game is my stepping stone, my training ground, and my first step toward something bigger. Could I have pitched it and taken a simpler path? Sure. But by going the self-publishing route, I get to control my vision, grow an audience, and develop the skills I’ll need to bring my most ambitious ideas to life.
No matter where you are in your own game design journey, the key is to know what you want out of it. Are you looking for a one-time passion project? A steady stream of royalties? A full-fledged publishing career? There’s no wrong answer—just the one that aligns with your goals.
For me, I know where I’m headed. Quickdraw is just the beginning, and I’m excited to see where the path leads next.