The Dark Imp {{ work.publishdate|date:"Y-m-d H:i" }}

The data-driven designer’s guide to pitching and getting published

If you’re designing a board game, you’ve probably dreamed of walking into a shop and seeing your game enjoyed by players… or even better, seeing your game on sale! If you’re self-publishing, you already know there’s a lot of work ahead of you… but that’s the topic for another blog post.

The very first thing to get out of the way: when pitching, don’t spam. ‘Spray-and-pray’ emails have never gotten a game signed. You’re far better off sending ten great pitches to publishers you’ve carefully researched than a copy-and-paste job to every contact form you can find.

My secret to pitching isn’t just having a great game, it’s having an organised process and staying organised. Yes, yes, I know – for some of you, the ‘O’ word might feel incompatible with your creative process… but we’re not talking about your creative process right now. My goal today is to walk you through a process that can feel opaque and overwhelming so you know how to begin, who to pitch, and more importantly, why you’re pitching them.

Wait, who is this guy? I’m Chris Backe (rhymes with hockey) – originally from the Chicago area and currently living in Birmingham, England. I started making board games in 2016 and have self-published, signed, or published over a dozen games. I started Virtual Playtesting in 2020 to help designers playtest their games online, No Box Games in 2021 to self-publish print-and-play games, and Tabletop Publishers in 2022 to help designers pitch their games better. When not designing games, he may be out on a run or at the gym.

Part 1: The research phase… Know before you go

Before you send a single email, do your homework. This research phase is the most critical part of the entire process, and it’s where a data-driven mindset will give you a huge advantage. It all starts with understanding two key things: your game and the publishers you want to pitch to.

First, know your game and its main stats. This isn’t just for your sell sheet; it’s the criteria you’ll use to find the perfect publishing partner.

  • Player Count: What’s the ideal range?
  • Playtime: How long does a typical game last?
  • Age range: What age range is suitable / appropriate?
  • Weight: Is it a light party game, a medium-weight family game, or a heavy strategy game?
  • Mechanics: What are the core mechanisms (e.g., deck-building, worker placement, area control)?
  • Theme & Audience: Who is this game for? Kids, families, serious hobbyists?
  • Unique selling proposition: What’s unique, special, or different about this game? With thousands of games being published every year, how will your game stand out?
  • Components: There’s a whole calculus around this, and it feeds into the manufacturing cost / retail price. A very expensive party game with hundreds of components would be a mismatch, for example.
Once you have your game’s profile, it’s time to get to know the publishers. Your goal is to find companies whose catalogue aligns with your game. A publisher known for heavy, complex euro games is unlikely to be interested in your 15-minute dexterity game, no matter how brilliant it is. Pitching to them would be a waste of their time, and yours.

Start building a ‘longlist’ of potential publishers. Look at your shelf of games (yes, that includes your ‘shelf of opportunity’). The next time you’re at your friendly local game store or cafe, have a closer look at the publishers of games you admire. Since there are probably a lot of games there, focus on the games that feel similar to yours. Browse BoardGameGeek, follow industry conversations on social media, and pay attention to who is publishing the games that excite you.  This initial research is vital, but as you’ll quickly discover, it can also become a chaotic mess of bookmarks, notes, and half-remembered details spread across a dozen different browser tabs.

Part 2: Your secret weapon for staying organised

Wrestling with a massive, unwieldy spreadsheet is a rite of passage for many designers, but it doesn’t have to be. Juggling publisher websites, submission guidelines, contact info, and your own notes is exactly the kind of administrative headache that pulls you away from designing. This is where having the right tool can change everything.

I built Tabletop Publishers for game designers, to solve this exact problem. It’s a bespoke platform designed to turn the chaos of publisher research into a streamlined, manageable, and data-driven process.

It starts with The Dossier, a constantly updated database of over 500 board game publishers who are actively looking for submissions. The Dossier contains the deep-dive data you need for each publisher, including their website, social media links, submission guidelines, and even which major conventions they attend.

The real power comes from the ability to search and filter this information. Remember your game’s data profile? Imagine being able to instantly filter over 500 publishers down to the subset that publish medium-weight games that will be at PAX Unplugged (as one example). This is one easy way to transform a messy ‘longlist’ into a targeted, high-potential ‘shortlist’ of leads in just a few clicks.

From there, the platform’s integrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools allow you to manage the entire pitching journey. You can track your games, manage your shortlisted leads, log every pitch you send, and see your reminders to follow-up on everything, all in one place.

One important note: Tabletop Publishers won’t do the pitching for you. It’s your job to use what you learn and pitch your game in the way publishers want to be pitched. 

Part 3: The pitch… Making your move

With your organised, data-backed shortlist in hand, you’re almost ready to pitch. This is where your professionalism will shine.

First and foremost, respect each publisher’s process. Every publisher has their own preferred way of receiving submissions. Some want to be emailed. Others have a specific form on their website. Some only want to meet at conventions. My goal with the Dossier is to share the  direct link to their submission page (if they have one), or otherwise help you pitch your game the right way. Following their guidelines shows you’ve done your research and respect their time.
Next, prepare your pitch packet. While every publisher is different, most will expect three key things:

1. A professional email: Keep it concise. Briefly introduce yourself and your game, state why you think it’s a good fit for their company specifically, and mention what materials you’ve attached.

2. A sell sheet: The resume / CV for your game – a one-page document that introduces your game’s key stats (player count, time, age), a brief description, and compelling images.

3. A short video: A 2-3 minute video that explains how to play the game is now pretty standard. It doesn’t need to be a Hollywood production, but it should be clear, concise, well-lit, and have a good audio level. Grab your phone, maybe a tripod, and show your game off.

Part 4: Tracking and following up

As you send out your pitches, track them carefully – how did you pitch them, and when? This prevents embarrassing double-submissions and helps you know when it’s appropriate to follow up.

You can always set up and format a spreadsheet, but it’s all built-in to Tabletop Publishers. The My Pitches feature makes tracking everything easy: which publisher you pitched, which game you sent them, and the date you sent it. The site also automatically creates follow-ups, which you can track on your dashboard. Everything is designed to make updating easy, regardless of what device you’re using – take notes on your phone while at a convention, for example.

As a publisher shows interest, you can use Tabletop Publishers to update the status of each pitch in seconds, take notes, and let the website do the organising for you.

Conclusion: Pitch smarter, not harder

Getting a game published is a marathon, not a sprint. By adopting a structured, data-driven approach, you can move away from the ineffective ‘spray-and-pray’ method and towards making intelligent, targeted connections with the publishers who are more likely to sign your game.

If you’re ready to streamline your process and get organized, check out tabletoppublishers.com. As a special offer for a limited time, you can use the coupon code GRANDOPENING30 to get 30% off any subscription. Good luck!

The post The data-driven designer’s guide to pitching and getting published appeared first on The Dark Imp.

Ver fuente