Boxes are too damn expensive.

I’ve been researching the costs for packaging for upcoming games. The games are made using small 2″ X 2″cardstock tiles, with some extra components (dice, chips, etc). For some reason, I thought there should be a larger base tile for each game. These are either 2″ x 8″, or 4″ x 4″. With the larger tiles and components, I thought I would need a box. I also think a full color box would be a huge step in the direction I’d like to go with these. A box makes all of the difference in presentation. And unfortunately, I’ve learned that they also make all of the difference in cost.

Who knew that 500 4″ x 8″ full color boxes would cost almost $2000.00? I don’t even need 500, but that’s the minimum. Everywhere.

So I started to look at other options and it’s all just very discouraging. I could get some stock shipping boxes and print stickers, but I’d wind up spending quite a bit for all 6 sides of the boxes. And I would have to put all of the stickers on, which would be a major disaster. I could do the same shipping boxes and screenprint them, but it’s also pretty costly and lacks fine detail. I could assume that nobody cares about the box and just put 1 sticker on the top and save a lot of money. I can’t think of any other packaging options, especially non-conventional ones… so if anyone has ideas, please send them over.

All of this brainstorming leads me to think about my goals with these games. I know I want to make a bunch. I would love for other people to play them. I just always go for the DIY method and I think it holds me back a ton. The only people who know about the games I’ve worked on are my friends. I really need to get out there, but I’m so not the pushy businessperson-type. I wouldn’t know where to start, but I know that I do need to start.

On to the games…. I’m working hard with George (ideas) and John (artwork) on Lines of Fire. It’s looking really cool. Also working on a handful of other ideas that have been floating around for a while. And finally, I just got in my sample tiles for Cafe Catastrophe. They turned out perfect. I’ll slowly order more and eventually have all of the parts without spending too much money at one time. Now I just need a damn box!

RECAP: October NJPA Board Game Meetup

Yesterday was the NJPABGA game day and release party for Famous Missions. It was one of the most interesting days yet.

Championland games
The game day doubled as a release party for Famous Missions. We debuted the game, sold a bunch of copies (thanks guys!) and had cupcakes and  goodie bags for everyone. The first 10 people received famous people heads-on-a-stick, and everyone received the XXXtra special promo card. A few games of Famous Missions were played, but I was 60 minutes deep into another game so I missed out.

We also tested Cafe Catastrophe and VolcaNOOOOOO! Cafe Catastrophe is nearly complete and the two times I played it went pretty well. It’s a fairly easy game to pick up, and everybody really liked it. But VolcaNOOOOOO! still needs some work. It was initially a tile based game and now it’s a board game. There are some weird bugs to work out. But even being super buggy, everyone stuck it out until the end and said they enjoyed it. Got some great ideas and getting ready for version 3.0.

Other games
I started out the day with a long game of Heroscape. Most of the time was setup, but we played with 5 or 6 players so it was long between turns. Alex developed an insane scenario (computer generated vikings that fight for God, but also the devil… trying to remove the other dudes and their dragon from the castle) and we jumped right in. I went on a semi-suicide mission and successfully slayed the dragon. My mission was accomplished, but I was killed before I had enough time to really celebrate. My team went down and the dudes kept their castle.

The dragon slayer:

After that I played a quick game of Zombies. We thought it would be quick but it went really long. The last few rounds were a little repetitive, but we battled until the end. I was (this) close to winning, but wound up killing myself. I take too many chances..

Next up was Cosmic Encounter.  I was really excited to try this out. It was Joe’s game so he kind of taught/referee’d. We needed it though, because none of us had ever played before. This game was really cool. I played really conservatively after the last few games. I also thought I was going to win this, especially after a few rounds of George and Alex messing up in my favor, but I thinned myself out enough to lose in the end. Nick won this one. I had a card in my hand that basically resets the game, but I didn’t want to be the one to go there after a game that lasted almost 2 hours. I already want to play again.

The last game I played was Scotland Yard. George has been talking about this since last month. Im Scotland Yard a team of players moves around the map trying to find an invisible opponent. George played the invisible guy, and Alex, Nick, Joe and I tried to catch him. I don’t know what happened but halfway into the game we lost Alex and Nick. Maybe it was because it was getting late, but both managed to use all of their movement cards and they were forced to stay immobile for the rest of the game. Neither were in a position of any help for our team. Joe and I came really close to getting George, but we couldn’t do it without another player. George slipped away and the game (and the night) was over.

There were a few games that I didn’t get to play. Alex tested Go Pound Sand and others played Wings of War and Save Doctor Lucky. A very light day for games, but somehow we played longer than ever. As always, looking forward to next month.

Famous Missions photos and .com

The game arrived the other day.  This is the first time since it came home that I even had a second to get on the computer and write about it. Initial thoughts: Really happy with how it turned out.  The only negative is that the box is pretty packed and I probably couldn’t fit one more card in if I tried… but I don’t think that’s too bad. Today is the release party, so hopefully the final version will go over well. It should be much more exciting than playing with just the card titles taped onto Pokemon cards. I’ll post some images tomorrow.

Also finished the new website: http://www.famousmissions.com. Not a ton there yet, but make sure you go and vote in the poll on the side. Within a few weeks the promo videos will be complete and available on the site as well as here.

Here are some images of the final game and the bonus missions expansion.

Famous Missions release party

Received a shipping confirmation. Famous Missions is on it’s way, and just in time for our release party. So excited.

Saturday October 17th
2pm-11pm
NJPA Board Game Alliance October Game Day
@ The Loft (at the Auction House)
100 West Merchant Street, Audubon, NJ 08106

We’re going to have the final game available for playing as well as purchasing (if you’re interested), fun random door prizes, snacks, and a cool promo card for everyone in attendance.

Michael Taylor will also be debuting the game in New Hampshire that night to his game group. We’ll try to get a few more copies out there in time for Saturday’s release.

I’ll post some images as soon as the game arrives, and if you pre-ordered the game, expect to arrive it sometime very soon.

We have a few copies still available for pre-order (see side bar), which comes with the 9 card “bonus missions” expansion. The link will stay up until Saturday, at which point we will start to direct sales to Guild of Blades.

Waiting for Famous Missions…

It’s been quiet because I’ve been waiting for Famous Missions to arrive. Super excited for it and it should be here soon enough. Next Saturday, October 17th, we’re having a launch party for Famous Missions at The Loft in Audubon, NJ. There will be some real cool giveaways, etc.

Other than Famous Missions, I’ve been working on a whole bunch of other games. A few are almost complete.

Cafe Catastrophe – A tile-based game where you try to seat and feed your customers before they walk out, or the food goes bad. This one is almost complete. Needs final artwork and a few rules tests and we’re good to go.

Lines of Fire – A tile-based defend your castle / head to head battle game, with lots of room to build. This one is finished, just needs completed artwork. The name isn’t final.. yet.

Volcanooooo! – A board game where you risk everything by building houses next to a volcano. The bigger the risk, the more points you get. When the volcano erupts, the houses will fall. This is another name that may or may not stay. Waiting on parts to arrive to continue testing this one.

That’s just about it. Those are the big three. Have others waiting on art (if anyone is up for doing some art, help is always appreciated) and others just waiting on ideas.

RECAP: September NJPA Board Game Meetup

Yesterday was the September meetup of our game group (NJPA Board Game Alliance). It was the biggest crowd yet and loads of fun, as usual.

Championland games
The day started off with a test copy of Famous Missions. It was the basic deck with very little artwork and one or two cards that were switched out before production. Charles was a great judge, really getting the most out of the players. Alan, Steve and Molly fought to the end until Alan broke the 3 way tie with his good cop / bad cop duo of Oprah Winfrey and Ozzy Osbourne.

More Famous Missions games were played, but I was playing other games at the time. I did hear someone yell “I’m gonna vomit!” while they were playing. Good stuff.

George, Marty and I tried out the new unnamed battle game that I’ve been working on. It’s simple and pretty fun. George has about 100 expansions already planned out to add depth and strategy. I’m testing out a different format for this game. It’s going to be printed on custom sized business cards, 2″X2″ and 2″X8″. The tests went well.

After about 10 hours of gaming and lots of pizza, we ended with a sleepy-eyed / brain-fried six player game of Starts With / Ends With. 3 of the players didn’t score a single point. We all struggled with a word starting with “I” and ending in “C”, and Joe won with a 16 letter word that I can’t remember.

Other games
I played Livingstone, Dominion, and Carcassonne (with Princess & Dragon / Inns & Cathedrals). I watched a Munchkin, Scotland Yard and a few games of Hit the Beach (renamed later as “Pound Sand”). I sent Carolyn to buy Wings of War, and saw a little bit of gameplay. And I watched George and Alex spend an hour trying to figure out how to play Utopia only to pack it up and move on.

I also watched Alex demo an updated version of his awesome game Turbo Crash, and George ironed out the kinks (and was destroyed by Alex) on his game Illuminarium.

So the next game day is Saturday, October 17th at The Loft in Audubon, NJ. I want to do something cool with Famous Missions, since I’ll have the full real game in hand by then. If we can get some solid artwork and a name for the battle game, I could have that ready too.

Famous Missions is off to print.

Pre-Order here for just $9.95. Pre-orders will now include 9 bonus missions!

I sent the game off to print last night and the game should arrive in a few weeks. I also printed up a set of 9 bonus missions to extend the gameplay. These will come free with all pre-orders and be sold for a few dollars on the site afterwards. A few of the bonus missions are: Win a tag-team wrestling match, prevent an alien invasion, and repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

I also ordered one extra special bonus mission that will be announced at a later point. It’s a gamechanger, and super awesome. It was tough not to include in the main game. I’d like to continue to build off of this game with expansion decks as long as everything goes well.

Steve Irwin and Vincent Van Gogh

Two more characters completed and only two more left to complete. Then I’ll move on to the extra 9 cards (which are still undecided for the most part).

Famous Missions – Almost finished.

Just a few cards from completing this game. I have 4 people left, then I have to decide if I’m adding any more. Seriously considering adding an additional 9 cards (4 people, 5 missions). After that I’ll be sending the game off to print.

Also been thinking about a few other games.

Bloqué is pretty much done. I really want to make some crazy vintage style artwork with huge boulders/stones and huge muscular men, standing by the edge of a cliff. I actually wanted to photograph it but that might be impossible.

Also working on another game that uses the Bloqué pieces, but many more. It’s kind of like a sprawling serpentine of buildings, or could also represent a plague, or maybe even hot lava. It doesn’t make much sense to me either. Yet.

And finally, I’m reworking the Starts With / Ends with artwork for a potential new release. I love the style, but I’m willing to give it a second shot. It’s coming along.

Here are the new additions to Famous Missions:

Napoleon and O.J.

Still trailing behind a little. Lots of busy stuff going on at home this week. Finished 2 more characters though.

Here are Napoleon Bonaparte and OJ Simpson. I’m liking these pairs. It’ll be hard to top Jenna Jameson and Joan of Arc…. those two go so well together.