Starting with my first tabletop Kickstarter project in 2012, I’ve believed that one of the core purposes of crowdfunding–and many successful game companies–is to build community. But it’s a bit of a misnomer, as I realized while talking to Cami Ostman at The Narrative Project in December. She brought up the topic of building community, […]
Over the last 10 years, I’ve written over 1000 articles on this blog to share my thoughts, observations, mistakes, and insights with my fellow creators. That’s a lot of content to go back and read for someone who is navigating the crowdfunding process for the first time, so in this series I continue to revisit […]
Today I have a special guest post from our DEI consultant, Lydia Wehmeyer. Thank you, Lydia, for sharing these insights! *** I wanted to say how grateful I am for the opportunity to share my contributions to building a more inclusive and diverse board gaming community and how grateful I am for you to take […]
Today I’m trying something a little different. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about these links, questions, and the experiment at the end! 3 Inspiring Links Kickstarter Analytics: 2021 in Review (by Adam West): This is an excellent analysis and overview of tabletop games on Kickstarter in 2021. It includes a drop in overall […]
As I do every year, yesterday I posted a video showcasing my favorite games that I played for the first time in 2021 and that were released approximately in 2021. In a tough year for supply chain, I was delighted with the games I played. Various Categories Favorite Expansions: Expedition Leaders (Lost Ruins of Arnak), […]
As we tiptoe into 2022–our 10th anniversary year–I’d like to share my resolutions as they relate to Stonemaier Games and my responsibilities here. Most importantly, I want to ensure that everything I do is in line with our mission (in both words and actions): We strive to bring joy to tabletops worldwide through memorable, beautiful, […]
Accessibility for our games has always been very important to me, even dating back to my first game, Viticulture. I remember receiving the first sample copy from Panda in late 2012 and testing it in low-light conditions; it was then that I discovered that I would need to change the color I play in games–red–because […]
For my final post of 2021, I’d like to encourage you to create something meaningful to you in 2022. I’ve worded that call to action carefully, so let me break it down into its parts: create something: If you’ve always wanted to make something, start actually making it. You might have an idea, but an […]
Over the last 10 years, I’ve written over 1000 articles on this blog to share my thoughts, observations, mistakes, and insights with my fellow creators. That’s a lot of content to go back and read for someone who is navigating the crowdfunding process for the first time, so in this series I continue to revisit […]
Sending games to reviewers and content creators continues to be a key part of the Stonemaier Games marketing plan. It’s far from the only part, but it remains an important and significant marketing expense. I would estimate that we sent at least 700 free units of Stonemaier products for review in 2021. Since my original post on […]
Recently, both Kickstarter and Gamefound released statements regarding their visions of the future of their crowdfunding platforms. I was struck by the fascinating difference in purpose between the two visions. Here are some key excerpts from the articles: Kickstarter (full article): “As a first step, we’re supporting the development of an open source protocol that […]
As we approach the end of 2021, I’m going to revisit some notable moments from each of the last 12 months. These are all related to Stonemaier Games and this blog in some way, though many are indicative of the industry and the world. Our data-drive stakeholder will report will follow in spring 2022 (when […]
When I’m working on a prototype to playtest a game, the art is mostly an afterthought. In fact, I’ve found that intentionally omitting any art is a great test to see if the mechanisms represent the theme. However, the final version of any game will feature art, so going through the entire playtest process without […]
Last week on the Stonemaier Games monthly e-newsletter (subscribe here), I shared a demographic survey with our subscribers. I’ve done this a few years in a row now, with the intent being to learn more about our followers. I try to focus on questions with actionable results. As usual, I’ll focus on data where a […]
Dear Journalists, Welcome! First and foremost, I want to thank you for considering modern tabletop games as a topic for your platform. There’s a lot to know about this industry, so today I’m hoping to make your job a little easier (and as accurate as possible) by sharing a primer of terminology. Second, before I […]
At Stonemaier Games, we believe in uplifting people, especially those who have been marginalized and underrepresented in the gaming industry. Over the last 18 months I’ve tried to be much more intentional about how we actively seek to include Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), including outreach to over 150 creators and organizations. Sometimes […]
Today I have two short topics that have been on my mind over the last few days: Black Friday and cost-of-living raises. Black Friday For various reasons, Stonemaier Games doesn’t traditionally do any special Black Friday sale. I haven’t ever viewed that as a feature, though, until I saw a post from a company called […]
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to express my gratitude for various types of people who have had a positive impact on me and Stonemaier Games this year. Perhaps some of these people will be good resources for you as well. In no particular order, I’m thankful for… Backers, Fans, and Followers (Facebook, Twitter, e-newsletter, YouTube, Instagram): None of […]
I didn’t expect that a video about YouTube creator MrBeast would be the tipping point for me to write about a topic that’s been on my mind for a while: customer retention. In truth, I think about engaging, supporting, and retaining our current customers far more than I think about attracting new customers. But I’m […]
A few weeks ago, an ice cream sandwich pop-up in St. Louis called Sugarwitch mentioned on Instagram that they were partnering with an amazing local bakery (Whisk) for the weekend on a poptarlet/ice cream combo. It looked amazing. I’ve seen “collabs” like this all over St. Louis. Two restaurants combine distinctive dishes to form something […]
I made this game.