TikTok is an excellent platform to grow and build community. But, it takes some work.

We explore the ins and outs of the app from an indie board game publisher’s perspective. What works, what doesn’t work, and how you can grow your channel.

A major part of successfully navigating adult life is staying on top of and completing a plethora of maintenance tasks. Some of which have very real consequences. We take a critical look at how social media fits in the scope of running a business. And, the boundaries that exist and are breached by becoming the face of our business.

We take a closer look at Magic: The Gathering’s classic blue core card stock. It’s thicker, heavier and thicker than standard card stock. And, the choice of a plastic laminate all contribute to a worse shuffle feel.

So, why did Wizards of the Coast choose the stock they did way back in 1992?

You don’t typically see analogue games with their own platforms until they sell hundreds of thousands (or more) copies – the Wingspans, Spirit Islands, and Gloomhavens of the world.

But, we built a free to play, browser based version of our next game Sigil. So, let’s talk about our thinking around the digital implementation, what we’re working on, and the circumstances that allowed us to pull it off.

It’s midterm election day in the US. Which means, across the country voters are flocking to the polls to decide who will hold Congress, along with a bevy of state and local issues.

While the stakes aren’t quite as high, a poll is a great way for us as creators to engage with our communities, and give our supporters say in our projects.

Every few weeks I happen upon a post complaining about delays in a Kickstarter. They’re frustrated, often angry, and sometimes due to their bad experience - swear off Kickstarter as a whole. I believe that there is a lack of communication and understanding around the development stage of projects, and how that impacts timelines and risks to timelines. Something that we as creators should be doing a better job communicating.

You’ll need a shipping mark in order to import and fulfill your games. We give the basics on what a shipping mark is, what needs to be on it, and best practices.

We explore the ethics, history, and legal protections of a game design. Is your design safe? Why is game design plagiarism so rare? And, when have designs been replicated to commercial success?

I’m excited to share a guest post today by designer Joe Slack (Relics of Rajavihara, King of Indecision), on 10 ways to maintain a Kickstarter campaign’s momentum through the mid-campaign slump.

Everything you need to know about what goes on a board game box. Best practices, how to format it, and all the legal and regulatory markings and what they mean.

There are a lot of little things that go into making a board game. And sometimes it can be hard to find the information you need to complete those little tasks. We walk through how to create GTINs, UPC codes, SKU numbers and barcodes for your games. all of which you’ll need for distribution, and retail.

We take a closer look at our components. Technical specifications, manufacturing options, our considerations, and best practices.

We dive into the art of rules writing. What a rulebook needs, what makes it great, how to structure it, and best practices.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance - The Board Game’s campaign was cancelled after raising €318k on Gamefound. We dive into what went wrong, examine whether fast funding matters, and think through how new creators can build trust in a shared ecosystem that is leaving backers increasingly discouraged.

We dive into next steps after crowdfunding. Managing manufacture, freight, fulfillment, and communicating with backers.

Some games are able to transcend their time at the table. The hobby around Warhammer, backstories and character art for Dungeon’s and Dragon campaigns, and strategy content for Magic: The Gathering competitive play.

I top eighted an Mtg tournament on Saturday, and ponder how to build community for our upcoming game Sigil.

We manufactured 4,000 dice that aren’t quite up to our standards. After talking about the dice-snafu in a Kickstarter update, I was surprised by the support and goodwill it garnered in our community. We explore some takeaways from dicegate and lessons learned about community building and communication.

We dig into printing processes for gameboards, boxes, and punch board. Everything you need to know about how it’s made, thicknesses, weights, embossing, foil stamping, and finishes.

Only 11% of characters on board game cover art since 2020 are BIPOC. Only 26% are women. As an industry, we need to do better on representation.

We take a closer look at global freight. Quoted ocean freight prices are down 50+% from their peaks, but remain more than 3x pre-pandemic levels. Ocean liner queues are abating (partly due to slower steaming), and our quoted prices are down 20-25%. But risk still looms in the guise of inflation and labor shortages.