The Publishers: Q&A With Stephen Buonocore of Stronghold Games

In this installment of The Publishers, we speak with Stephen Buonocore of Stronghold Games about breaking into the industry, identifying great games, working with big-name designers, overseas partnerships and more. This interview was conducted at Metatopia 2015. It has been edited for clarity and length.

Stronghold Games got a foothold in the industry by doing reprints and by licensing games from outside of North America. Do publishers need some kind of angle to break into the industry?

It certainly was the way that we did it. Once we got past that beginning phase, we then said, OK, now we've established ourselves, now we'll go out and start looking for other things.

Do companies now need a hook? I think companies now need to bring out great games. I'll mention Kickstarter. Now you have a vehicle there so you can get the publicity that is invaluable. Not only can you get the capital that's invaluable--and let me tell you, that's really important--but you get publicity that's invaluable too.

Everybody really needs to be bringing out games that excel in some way. There are just too many games coming out--and I'm as responsible as anybody! But we need to focus on what are truly great games, and if you're bringing out great games, the gamers will find you, especially with a vehicle with a built-in marketing capability like Kickstarter.

How can a publisher identify a great game?

That's the secret sauce. I always ask any designer who pitches me a game, or when I'm evaluating an already-published game from overseas, why should this game be published? What's the game doing in our space that sets it apart? And if there's not something new going on here, if you're just turning red cubes into green cubes and putting them on the other side of the board, that sounds like something that's been done a few times, or a few hundred times. So you need to find games that have a uniqueness to them.

Beyond that, it's gut feel. There's no way of throwing the ingredients into a pot and then boom, there's your great game. You're going to need to use your experience as a gamer, then test it with gamers and get feedback.

How does it excel in one of three ways: thematically, mechanically or, my own word, funtastically? If you can say this game does it better or more uniquely than anything else in one of those categories, then we've got something we can start talking about.

How big a factor is it for a designer to have a reputation in the industry, if they're looking to build relationships with a publisher? Is it a big deal from a publisher's perspective to get a "name" designer?

I think the answer's going to change depending on who you speak to, but for me it is. It is a big deal. I think that games by known designers have an automatic sell. You're going to get the BoardGameGeek crowd to immediately latch onto a Stefan Feld game.

Having said that, that's the catch-22. You need experience to get a job, but you can't get a job unless you have experience, right? How do you do it?

A designer should try to crack in any way he can and get that first published game. But even if you can't do that, make as many relationships as you can because this industry, as much or more than any other, is about relationships. You get to know publishers, you get to network with them at conventions, people get to know you, so yeah, I think it is very important. Getting over that first hurdle of getting a game published is always going to be hard, but getting known in general in the industry is certainly going to serve you very well.

You've been striking up partnerships with a lot of other publishers, especially from overseas. How did you get into that approach?

I'm a relationship kind of guy. There was an opportunity to look toward these publishers out in Europe that just don't have distribution--they just distribute in Europe--and to meet up with them when we're in Essen or when we're at The Gathering of Friends, strike up a relationship, make them want to work with you. I want to strike up those relationships, because relationships are what make business grow. Doing that, going out and then looking at their lineup, certainly their new stuff and saying, hey, I'll get it out to a bigger audience--and for the most part most publishers want to see that happen. All publishers want to see their games find a bigger audience, and of course they get some extra money when that happens as well.

If a small publisher wanted to form those kinds of relationships, what piece of advice that would you have for them?

It's similar to finding designers to work with. Put yourself in a position to meet those other publishers. So for European or Japanese publishers, you should be at Essen. And you need to make appointments with them beforehand. Nobody takes a meeting if you just walk up and say, hey Asmodee, I want to take a meeting with you. It's not happening. You have to tell them what you're about beforehand and then try to get the meeting there. Having a catalog behind you, having a certain amount of sales behind you, is going to help. They better know who you are or they might not do that.

Again, it's a catch-22. You have to get a catalog, you have to get known a little bit. I wasn't taking these meetings from day one, but two years into this I could meet with almost anybody in the industry. So keep working on it, keep building your catalog, building your relationships, bringing out great games, and that effect, hopefully if you're doing it right, will snowball into bigger things for you.

Stronghold Games' 2017 release schedule features title including The Dragon & Flagon, Terraforming Mars, Great Western Trail, La Granja: The Dice Game - No Siesta!, Sola Fide: The Reformation and Fabled Fruit.

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The Publishers: Q&A With Michael Coe of Gamelyn Games

In this installment of The Publishers, we speak with Michael Coe of Gamelyn Games about building a franchise, going full-time as a publisher, popular themes and more.

The Tiny Epic series of games has become something of a calling card for Gamelyn Games. How did you settle on this, and what goes into identifying a potential franchise in the gaming industry?

I fell in love… with Tiny Epic. Initially with Tiny Epic Kingdoms, but I quickly saw that there was more to explore there. That Tiny Epic wasn’t just a great name but also a platform. It can expand along an "X" axis with new titles varying greatly in theme and mechanics, and then each game within the series can expand along a "Y" axis with new content. All while staying true to the mantra of “Tiny Epic.” That was very attractive to me as a game producer. I also felt, and recognized in gamers, a desire for short (30-to-60 minute) meaningful games and a lack of said games in the market. And, as a small business, it makes a lot of sense to produce small games. ;)

It was a magical phone call with the designer of Tiny Epic Kingdoms, Scott Almes, that set it all in motion. He didn’t just share my vision, he was simultaneously originating the same aspirations before I called. We both knew at that time that it was inevitable; we were going to make the best series of short meaningful games ever, or die trying!

Tiny Epic Kingdoms

You work on Gamelyn full-time, and the company has its first employee, Nathan Hatfield. What has it taken to reach these milestones, and what have you learned about the process of growing a publishing company?

It has taken a lot to get here, and yet we’ve only just begun. To start, it took three years of investing time and effort as if working an every-time job for free; while still making a living at a full-time job. You know, there’s part-time jobs, full-time jobs… and every-time jobs. Meaning every time you have any time, you’re working. After three years, I was able to begin taking a salary. At 3.5 years I was able to hire my best friend.

It has taken a lot of networking. Attending conventions on my dime to meet manufactures, distributors, sales reps, game reviewers, play testers, etc.

It has also taken genuine talent, and therefore many talent searches. I constantly feel like the director of a talent agency, actually. Without the remarkable writings of Scott Almes, and the beautiful art from all the artists who’ve contributed to the series, namely Bill Bricker, Darrell Louder, Ben Shulman and Adam McIver, I’d still be managing a restaurant.

Additionally, a lot of effort has been spent on understanding tax procedures, legalities, royalties, licenses, etc.

Building a publishing company has taught me many things, too many to list, but I will say this: You are only as good as your latest work. So keep refining your process, find ways to improve, don’t settle for average, never say yes to the first offer, and never say never.

Dungeon Heroes

Gamelyn's catalog has a strong emphasis on fantasy-themed games, though your upcoming titles display a wider range of themes. How important is theme to Gamelyn specifically, and to games more generally?

Personally, I’m a sucker for fantasy themes. That’s why you see as much of it as you do in Gamelyn Games. I have to be really passionate about something to publish it, and fantasy seems to get me there a little easier. That’s not to say that other themes don’t excite me, and regardless of theme, a great game engine trumps it all.

A lot of what I just said also applies to gamers and the games they buy. If someone has a preferred theme, and clearly most people do and it is either sci-fi or fantasy, they are more inclined to buy games of that theme, as they trust it will be easier for them to get in the spirit of the game. While they may be intrigued by other, more niche, themes, it’s just not as immersive to them unless the game is exceptionally well-written. Hence it’s a riskier buy. Hence sci-fi and fantasy games continue to sell like hotcakes and niche-themed games tend to struggle. But the gaming world would be quite boring without niche-themed games, so Jan. 11, 2016, we launched a Kickstarter for the impeccably well-written Tiny Epic Western!

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The Publishers: Q&A With Shari Spiro of Ad Magic & Breaking Games

In this installment of The Publishers, we speak with Shari Spiro of Ad Magic and Breaking Games about manufacturing vs. publishing, promotion, changing direction, partnering with designers and more.

Between Ad Magic and Breaking Games, your businesses straddle the line between manufacturing and publishing. Tell us about how you reached that decision and how you approach those dual roles.

The only reason I started Breaking Games was because clients basically asked us to. Once I played the prototype of Letter Tycoon I knew I had to publish the game. Same thing with POOP, once people kept asking about the little game in the clever brown box over and over I knew I had to publish and promote the game. It was a natural extension of our business model--since we were already attending trade shows--to sell our clients’ games with them.

My dual roles are an interesting question. While I am the manufacturer for some very big games--which I handle personally--I also need to take the time to review and play the games of new designers with staff and oversee the agreements for how we will interact with each designer. Like the rest of my life in general, it is all about balance. I do my best to maintain it.

You've given designers working with Breaking Games booth space at conventions to promote their games, to a greater degree than most other publishers. How does promotion fit into your publishing model?

To me, the designers are rock stars and the games are their songs. The booth is simply the stage we set up for them to play on and demo their masterpieces. We get grassroots feedback and interest for the games, and this helps with the real-world job of educating people about and promoting the games.

Ad Magic focused on making promotional items before expanding into board and card games. How did this transition happen, and what have you learned about pivoting a business into a new line?

The transition happened when, for some unexpected reason, I fell in love with making playing cards and poker chips. Businesses are driven by what people are passionate about. Circles and rectangles were easy to design for, and I loved the simplicity. I came from a world of complex shapes and constantly changing print requirements for different mediums. Our jingle stated things like "from Toilet paper to the Taj Mahal, we can print your logo on it all, paper plastic vinyl leather brass and stone, and even magnetics, glass and rubber and foam, that means we can print your logo on anything..."

So I rebuilt the website to reflect custom playing cards, and suddenly we were number one in Google for "custom playing cards"! The website was awful, but the guys from Cards Against Humanity called and had us print their little Kickstarter :) and that started us down the Kickstarter manufacturing path, which led to card and board games.

What I have learned about pivoting the business is that you never truly pivot all the way; you take your previous skills with you. And it’s a good thing too, what with making oatmeal packs with cards in them, popsicles and cereal packs with cards in them, bullshit in a box--all of these capabilities came from our background in promotional products. Ironically the items and games are WAY more complicated now. Besides the crazy CAH and Exploding Kittens things, the strategy games and Euro games we are making include all kinds of materials: custom wooden parts, mini and metal pieces and even electronic components. So the effort to make things simpler only went so far, and in the end we are making items that are more complex than ever! Just look at Moonquake Escape, Kings Abbey and Fujian Trader, to name a few!

What do you look for when partnering with designers? Do the requirements change depending on the type of arrangement you make?

I look for equal parts great game and great person. All of our arrangements are custom, just like our products. We are trying to standardize a few things, but for the most part all designers have different needs, and we try to accommodate them as best we can.

Some games are in different stages of development when they come to us.  Some are ready to go, they just need a little assistance in bringing the game to cons. Some need a lot more assistance, full art development, rules need to be redeveloped, etc. That is what I mean by custom development.

As far as deals go, the deal is based on the mutual agreement between Breaking Games and the artist in direct relation to what each side brings to the table.

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SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, John du Bois, Richard Durham, Matthew O’Malley, Isaias Vallejo

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The Publishers: Q&A With Chris Kirkman of Dice Hate Me Games

We’re proud to launch a new feature on the Cardboard Edison blog: The Publishers, in which we talk with board game publishers about the tabletop gaming industry and their role in it.

For the first installment, we spoke with Chris Kirkman of Dice Hate Me Games about scouting new games, building a company’s brand, the importance of theme, growing a business, and more…

More than any other publisher, Dice Hate Me Games is associated with the Unpub program for unpublished games. Most of your games were signed at Unpub events. How long do you plan on maintaining that approach? Is it sustainable in the long run, or do you plan to expand beyond it? Will the rise of public playtesting events like Unpub give other publishers access to a pipeline of new designs?

I have always supported the Unpub program, and I will continue to do so until it either folds or transitions into something else. I believe that approaching designers within the Unpub network is an invaluable way to not only see designs as they progress, but also help to shape the scope of them through the process. Basically, for a publisher, it’s almost like a shortcut to internal playtesting. By sitting down, playing a game and getting feedback, you’re helping those designers make better games–games that I may want to sign later!

I do believe that as more playtesting events occur, more and more publishers will realize the value of the system. Already in the past three years at Unpub, we’ve seen more and more publishers send representatives to scope out the best and brightest. I think that will continue to grow.

How do your personal preferences inform your decisions as a publisher? Where’s the boundary between Chris Kirkman and Dice Hate Me Games, and will that boundary move as your company grows?

That’s a really tough question to qualify. I know in my gut what I’m looking for as a publisher, and so when I sit down and something just clicks, I know I want it. That happened with Brew Crafters. Not only had designer Ben Rosset put together a solid and fun game, but he had also built it from the ground up with theme in mind. That leans a bit more toward my design philosophy and what lends Dice Hate Me Games a certain atmosphere. Of course, the fact that the theme was beer certainly didn’t hurt!

As far as a boundary between myself and the company–I don’t see that changing as we grow. I’ve stuck to my guns on what I’m looking for and it has worked, so far. That’s not to say that I won’t be challenging myself to branch out a bit in the future. We have a lot of big things planned, and it may surprise some people.

Dice Hate Me titles typically share a design aesthetic that you’ve called “retro Americana.” But occasionally you’ll publish a game that diverges from that aesthetic, such as Belle of the Ball with its fictional setting or New Bedford with its historical setting. How do you decide when to stray from your company’s thematic signature?

Well, Belle of the Ball was certainly an aberration for the company, but I felt like it was a good one. By Kickstarting a smaller game with a slightly quirkier theme, we could test the waters on marketability and how far to stretch the brand. Even though Belle was set on a fictional Victorian island, the game still maintained that certain unique aesthetic that we go for. Trying out some new things from time to time–like Belle of the Ball and Isle of Trains–helps us to get people accustomed to seeing more from the company. But it has to be done carefully to maintain the integrity of the brand.

As for New Bedford, I think it fits directly into the Dice Hate Me Games aesthetic. All of our games that are part of the “retro Americana” style are set in a particular time period. VivaJava is the ‘50s coffee culture, Compounded reaches back a bit to the late ’60s, The Great Heartland Hauling Co. is set during the hayday of trucking in the ‘70s. Carnival stretched back to about the '20s and '30s, and so when New Bedford came along I felt that going back even further might be cool. The theme is certainly a big part of American history, so it just fit.

When is retheming appropriate for a publisher with a particular thematic approach?

When it comes to retheming from a publishing standpoint, it really comes down to whether that particular company’s brand has a specific scope. In regards to Dice Hate Me Games, I really haven’t had to do a lot of retheming to fit our brand because the themes of the games I’ve chosen have already been integrated pretty tightly and work well.

Some games need some tweaks along the way, of course. The Great Heartland Hauling Co. was originally known as Over the Road, and it had a much more modern urban feel to it. The original graphic design was more akin to trucks delivering around a city, and, while attractive, just didn’t seem to fit our aesthetic. So we decided to draw on a lot of the open road appeal of the Midwest and channel the 1970s when trucking was truly king. After some deliberation, the name was changed to reflect that Americana vibe that runs through most of our titles, and the graphic design took on a much brighter tone with lots of maps, classic iconography, and town references that evoked the time period.

Some publishers may find that a game’s theme needs to be completely reworked, but with DHMG, it’s more often the case of fine-tuning the visual aesthetic so that our games seem to live in the same universe.

Your background in graphic design lets you do much of your company’s graphic design work yourself. Do you plan to continue that or will you bring on more help as your company grows? How long should small publishers take a “do it yourself” approach, and how can they know when it’s time to delegate?

As the company has grown, I have found my time for graphic design duties a bit stretched. It becomes harder and harder to stay on schedule when I have so many other logistics to manage. I will continue to do a lot of the graphic design for our games, but I’m also branching out. Darrell Louder has been immensely helpful in taking care of all of the design for his game, Compounded, and has lent a hand for art for VivaJava and Brew Crafters, as well as tackling a couple of the Rabbits series of card games.

One way that I think we’re branching out with more and more in order to save me some time is in hiring outside artists. I can still manage and art direct from the captain’s chair, and we can draft the skills of some great artists like Jacqui Davis, Adam McIver, Benjamin Raynal, and more as we grow.

I do think small publishers should be heavily involved in doing it themselves, provided they have the time and skills. I will say, however, that if you’re not good at graphic design, don’t skimp–it can make a huge difference in your end product!

Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon

• SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, Richard Durham, Matthew O'Malley, Isaias Vallejo
  
• JUNIOR INVENTORS: Stephen B Davies, Luis Lara, Behrooz Shahriari, Aidan Short, Jay Treat
• ASSOCIATES: Zachery Cook, Doug Levandowski, Nathan Miller, Marcel Perro
  
• APPRENTICE: Brad Price