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Pitch Perfect: The Ultimate Guide to Pitching Your Board Game Prototype to Publishers
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2020
- This is a guide to pitching to Board Game publishers, from Adam Porter - who has pitched hundreds of times to publishers all around the world.
As a fellow board game designer, I would say that Adam has done a fantastic job of summarising the pitching process!
Thanks - glad it rings true!
I think it's unlikely I'll ever design a game....yet I still find all of Adam's videos fascinating.
Thanks Bruce!
Such fantastic information in this video. Thanks Adam. I'm hoping to have a board game design out there someday. So far I've got a game that doesn't fall flat on its face after the first few turns! Just got to make it fun to play now...
This is extremely informative with many useful tips. I've recently designed a board game which is certainly an improvement over my previous game. Ive found that it's more fun too. Though I think it will be a very long time before I approach publishers with my game. I'm still doing internal play testing and have not done any blind play testing as yet. Here in Australia, those kinds of game conventions that you mention are extremely rare so I would likely use the e-mail / zoom / skype approach.
Sounds good - hope it goes well for you.
Best of luck with your game. I suppose you could always pack up and move to Europe :)
LOL I'm a working actor as well... I hope you know how helpful your videos are. As a first-time board game designer, there are things in this video I never even considered. You really make people like me feel welcome - which at times has felt like the biggest hurdle. So thank you.
You’re very welcome. Keep at it.
You have been so helpful -- throughout the process of designing my first game, whenever I've Googled a question, more often than not one of your videos pops up to answer it thoroughly, expertly and candidly. So thank you! And a thought: I'd love to watch a fly-on-the-wall video where folks can see your entire journey from inception to an actual published game.
Thanks for the feedback! I’m trying to do what you describe: have a ready made video to answer each and every question someone might ask about design :)
I know I have commented on this video before but your videos are so meaty I tend to watch them multiple times...
Thank you again for sharing your real-world pitching experience. In a previous life i was a French horn player in various symphonies. Pitching seems very akin to auditioning with one critical difference. Feedback. Auditions would either say "congratulations you got the job" or they would say nothing at all. That lack of feedback was always tough to swallow.
I pitched a game at a PAX unplugged feeling every but as anxious as at an audition. But very quickly i realized this was a different experience. Publishers were always polite and usually very friendly. I was pushy and annoying. Still, feedback was always positive even when it was critical. All my pitches were rejected, but all the feedback gave me so much to think about.
In the symphony world i learned that success is sugar, but failure is beef and broccoli. In the boardgame world I'm leaning failure is beef and broccoli with gravy and butter😊.
Yes, I agree. I was an actor and always hated auditions. So many nerves & never felt that I did my best. Such a power imbalance too between the casting panel and the actor.
Pitching boardgames is a different thing entirely. You have a product which has value. If they don’t take it, someone else probably will (though it can take some time to find the right company). And it’s not my day job - so the mortgage isn’t dependent on it. I’m actually pretty relaxed in pitch meetings! :)
@@AdaminWales I'm working on the relaxed part... Good point on not feeling like you do your best in auditions!!, "...but it sounded so much better in the practice room". With board games I get to perfect the experience before I show up and make my pitch, I don't have to worry that it's suddenly going to be something else at the worst possible moment.
But I still have to worry about being annoying. It's not quite stage fright, but there are similarities when I get in the heat of the moment, i lose perspective. In many ways it was easier hiding behind the French horn. Pitching board game seems to reveal too much about myself for me to feel comfortable. Working on it...
I agree, Adams videos are a fantastic resource. I'm not sure how many times I've watched this particular one, but slowly and surely the info provided is seeping into my conscious (as my memory isn't always the best hence the multiple views!)
Great information! I'm watching this video again as a review for some possible pitching tomorrow.
Good luck!
This video was very helpful for me and I took notes. Hyperbole is incredibly dangerous and overused, which is why it's hard to take serious when it gets used. It should be used sparingly. I am actually wanting to get my game into the VR space. I think that's a great place for it but I hope that's not putting a damper on traditional board games but becoming another fun option.
I'm really glad you found the video useful. I hope it helps you in any upcoming pitches. I don't know much about VR, but I'm sure there are huge opportunities in that space with it being a relatively new technology.
Love your content man! Thanks so much :)
I just watched another video (GDC) which described the environment for getting a game published very difficult as literally 1000s of boardgames are published each year. The year before covid hit i pitched my game at a few conventions and sent sell sheets out to dozens of publishers i thought would be interested. I got so many rejections i began to think THAT was the game, you know, collect then all! Then covid hit, conventions locked up, tabletop game clubs in my area shut down. Since then I've designed 3 more games but in the back of my mind are all those 1000s of games already getting published... Uhg... I think about moving on to something else but then i wake up with another idea for great game and plough back into it.
Long winded - sorry...
I wish there was a business where you could practice pitching your game and they (having already had games published, like yourself) would charge a fee for this service, helping you prepare your game for pitching. Like piano lessons but for pitching games.
Yeah, it is tough getting stuff published. These days I usually design with a publisher in mind from the outset. That publisher might not pick up the game, but it keeps me focused on something that might actually get made one day! If my intended publisher doesn't take the game, another similar publisher might. If I try and design something which just takes my fancy with no thought to commercial viability, then it is always an uphill struggle to get it made - though not impossible.
When I started out designing, I didn't think this way - I just made the games I wanted to make with no thought to the viability of the product. That meant I managed to make really weird, wonderful projects like Pikoko and Thrown - but it wasn't easy to find a publisher who was willing to take on something so odd.
Don't worry about the 1000s of games being published - if you have a great game then the other games are irrelevant. Someone will want your game.
But you have to be honest with yourself at every stage (which is tough). If a game is truly great, I don't believe that a lacklustre pitch, or hastily thrown together sell sheet will stop it getting published. I've had many, many rejections over the years. I had one yesterday from a major company. I don't think a single one of my rejections could have been avoided with a better pitch. The truth is that one of two things happened - either the game wasn't good enough OR I was showing it to the wrong publisher/at the wrong time.
@@AdaminWales Wow what a wonderful response and thank you for these thoughtful videos. I literally just closed down my business of 20 years so i could devote full time to board game design. Madness. But if i fail, it won't be for lack of brilliant instructional content such a yours.
I am totally designing my games according to my own whims. I figure I've a lot to learn and it's unlikely i have anything worth pitching. Yet. But starting now i will start asking boardgame companies/publishers what they are looking for and start steering my ship in those directions.
Thank you again for that advice.
BTW, my wife and i (we're here in the U.S.) used to bring our kids to North Wales every couple of years. Criccieth. Best memories ever.
Cheers.
Great video - some excellent advice!
Hi Adam, big fan of your videos, thanks for the content!
I'd like to present my game to publishers, but don't think i can make an expo. Is it much worse to just do it online via mail etc.?
I don’t think it’s worse - it just puts you at a slight disadvantage. Relationships are important in this small industry, and it’s harder to build those online.
But certainly the industry has moved a lot of aspects online, including pitching, so it should still be possible.
Just think carefully about your initial approach. Plan it well - brief email; short video; and a sell sheet. Have a rules PDF ready in case they ask for it. And be prepared to send a prototype if required.
Good luck!
Thanks for the video. Sadly it arrived 3 days after the Pegasus Spiele Designer Day.
Ah! Shame I hadn’t realised that! I’d have posted it last week. How did it go?
@@AdaminWales We'll see. But either way keep doing this videos. Keep up the great work
Hi Adam - Great video and really appreciate your insight into this complex process. Would you ever try to pitch your game to publishers remotely (e.g., by email, Zoom, etc.)? I have a very niche game that I'll be pitching to publishers this year, but I can't afford the travel costs to some of the big conferences and festivals this year. Thanks so much for your video and for sharing your experience here!
Hi, yes I absolutely would. They will probably want to play by Tabletop Simulator or Tabletopia, so it’s worth getting up to speed on those platforms and making a playable digital version (if that’s possible with your game) before pitching. Even if you were able to send a physical prototype, publishers are struggling to get playtest groups together because of COVID, so they tend to prefer digital versions.
Great video again! Do you mention to a publisher that your are pitching the same game to others? I guess maybe they assume it, but how do handle it several show interest at the same time? (a good problem to have, for sure)
And more a technical detail: what software do you use for prototype artwork, assets / print files, etc?
Really good questions - I might make a video to address the first questions.
With regards to software, I use Pages on Mac for layouts, and Gimp for artwork. It’s not ideal, but I’m very familiar with both. I send files as PDFs. I am trying to learn Affinity Designer and Publisher because my frequent collaborator Rob Fisher uses these - and they are clearly capable of more than Pages - but it’s taking me a while to get to grips with them.
Hi Juan, I've made a video to answer your questions about pitching to multiple publishers, and choosing between them. Thanks for the question! ruclips.net/video/8FD-pvD6VBI/видео.html
Great Video Adam. I'm planning to go to some board games conventions in the UK in 2022. Could you recommend which ones are the best ones? Could you mention three of them?
And are you aware of any board game convention taking place in Northern Ireland? Or Wales?
I am designing a Card Game.
I'm based in Dublin Ireland.
Thank you very much! Keep up the good work you've doing.
Hi! The only board game convention I’ve attended in the UK is the UK Games Expo, which is great. I do also attend the London Toy Fair, but that’s a trade fair - so you can’t buy anything. And it has very few board game stands - but you can learn a lot about the mass toy/game market from that show if that’s of interest to you. Sorry I don’t really know much about any others!
The UK Games Expo. That will do! Thanks Adam.
Question! When it comes to artwork, what route do you take? Do you hire an artist straight away once your concept is confirmed to put something together to show? Do you get some art publicly available online with maybe a commercial license? Do you do your own rough art or not art at all? I'm thinking of going the Kickstarter route and using assets publicly available from an artist I found online who offers commercial licensing, however if I did go that route would it be a waste of effort and money if I later find a publisher who wouldn't want to use those assets anyways, or would it better my chances as they will have a good visual representation of the idea of the final product?
The approach is different depending on whether you are using Kickstarter or licensing to a publisher. If you are planning to self-publish via Kickstarter, then the artwork is one of your upfront costs. You are going to need to find the capital to pay an artist to produce images for your game. Of course, you may not to complete every component before the Kickstarter is completed - but if you are going to be sharing copies with reviewers/previewers during the campaign, you are probably going to need a pretty finished product.
If you are planning to license to a publisher, then just use place-holder art. This is art that can be found for free on the internet (clip art, Creative Commons etc.) or draw your own. Keep it neat and functional. I sometimes show publishers a mood board to give them an idea of the sort of look I think might work for the game. Take a look at my video on aesthetics where I discuss this more:
ruclips.net/video/NXYxHmfxxJk/видео.html
Regardless of whether using Kickstarter or licensing to publishers, DON'T spend any money on artwork until you have completed play testing and the gameplay is finalised. You need to be willing to throw that art away and completely revise your game between playtest versions. Purchasing art is a sure way of becoming attached to your game - which will make you resistant to making necessary revisions during the design process.
@@AdaminWales Thank you!! That's all great advice and gives me a good idea on how to proceed
Thank you so much for your insights into this process! I'm a first-time board game designer and really just starting to explore how in-depth the process is. I look forward to watching more of your videos! Is there a good resource for identifying different publishers, and is there an easy way of quickly identifying whether or not your game would fit within their brand? For example, my game is conversation-based, so if there's a publisher that only publishes war-based strategy games, I'm guessing I won't be a good fit. Do any resources provide the 'type' of games the company typically publishes to narrow down the list a bit further? Hopefully that makes sense, and thank you for your help in advance!
Hi Kathryn, unfortunately no - I think it’s a case of doing web research as well as speaking in person at conventions (when possible). If you look up a publisher on Boardgamegeek website, you can see all the games they’ve published in the past. It’s not necessarily and accurate indicator of what they’re doing for the future but it’s a good starting point.
If your game is conversation based, my immediate thought is “is it playable via Zoom?” I’m sure that many publishers are looking for party-type games which can be played in a virtual environment right now.
@@AdaminWales no worries, I really appreciate your response! I just joined Boardgamegeek last week so I'll certainly have a lot of exploring to do there. It's great to know I can look up the publishers on their site. You also made a great point about Zoom. I'll definitely focus my efforts this year on building the game in a digital-friendly format. Thank you again for taking the time to respond!
Adam did a video a few months back that I stumbled on the other day which might help. its a website which at abotu 5 minutes into the video Adam explains about a 'publisher directory'. I think you need to subscribe to that particular website to get access to it but Im guessing you could just subscribe for one month and then cancel? Ps jsut so you know I am in no way affiliated with that website lol the video is here.....
ruclips.net/video/gxmBUTptOJU/видео.html
@Kathryn Taccone Hi Kathryn, I'm in the very early stages of planning a novel style of game. Yours also sounds sociable and atypical (and very interesting!) and while I don't have much to contribute in terms of research I've done on how to bring it to consumers, perhaps we could connect and share some notes (and moral support). :) You can find me on LinkedIn or Instagram
Adam, what tips do you have to keep your idea protected before pitching? Thanks
Hi, I cover this topic in the following video :) ruclips.net/video/oTbHvDb8DHg/видео.html
Do these pitches ONLY happen during convemsions? Thats what it sounds like...
Not only conventions, but that is the most common route. I make all my initial pitches via email, and I have sometimes pitched by Zoom or Skype, but the vast majority happen at conventions and trade fairs (or rarely specific pitching events). In a few days at a fair I can arrange 20-30 meetings - which I couldn’t possibly do any other way.
I talk a little more about this in this video “Getting Published” ruclips.net/video/i_fjx1xVy3g/видео.html
@@AdaminWales Thank you for the reply =] I appreciate you
Hello! I really like your videos! I am a new graduate and am thinking to create a business for language card games. Would it be possible I can have a chance to share my ideas with you? Thanks!
Hi Iris, you're welcome to send me an email. Visit my website www.adamportergames.com
hello there is it at all possible to chat privately somewhere at all I have a idea about a dragonball z based game and was wondering if you could give me some information about the process I may have to go through
Hi Craig - I think it would be incredibly difficult to produce a game based around such a big license. Games with such well-established intellectual properties tend to be made by large companies with in-house designers (or they commission established designers when they gain access to the IP). I’m afraid I don’t have enough time to chat one-to-one with designers. But you’ll find answers to most designer questions in the videos on my channel. If you have specific questions you’re welcome to email me. You can find my email address on my website adamportergames.com
I would also suggest joining the card and board game designers guild on Facebook, and asking your question there. There are many, many experienced designers in that group - and I’m sure a lot of them will have worked with intellectual properties (I haven’t). Good luck!
@@AdaminWales thank you so much you think.it could loosely be based around that but change things or would that go against copy right ?
your sister is my teacher
And your teacher is my sister! :)
:) if you dont believe me rossana poter mrs porter is my teacher
m and j samwich I believe you :) She’s a wonderful teacher and a wonderful sister!
thank you :)