Format for Small Game

[Paul Czege]

I think bundling is generally a bad idea.¹ From a publishing standpoint, I think it sends a message that you doubt the individual value of some or all of the components of the bundle. From a consumer standpoint, I hate bundles. There's this conventional wisdom that bundles benefit the underdog components of the bundle by creating crossover from the other higher interest components. I never see this effect. My annoyance and negative bias at being over sold is too high a barrier for the underdog components to surmount. I think you can create greater sales and revenue by effective bundling, but it's generally at the expense of customer satisfaction.

Paul

¹ Unless you're talking about an anthology of previously published stuff, or toolkit type products.

[MatrixGamer]

Ah...different forms of "Presentation"

We have the home printed out PDF, single color laminated sheet, the 5.5x8.5 booklet, the 4.25x5.5 booklet, and the multiple copies of the same tiny booklet so everyone can have one. How would these different presentations of game information work in play? How would the game play differently in different formats?

These are just my imaginings but here goes...

Players pass the home printed sheets around. They likely draw up their characters on separate sheets. Once they know the basic rule (conflict or task resolution) they never pick the sheet up again. The rules sheet itself may get lost in the shuffle between games and need to be reprinted. Fortunately that is easily done on the computer. 50 cents a pop on an ink jet.

Another group has the color laminated sheet. Again they pass it around to do character generation and likely don't look at it much once they learn the basic rule. If it had a neat map on one side they might put it in the middle of the table and look at it from time to time. The game host might pick it up and use it as a story telling prop (which could be done with a PDF map as well but wouldn't be as shiny.) The sheet is much less likely to get lost between session. Rightly or wrongly people seems to save laminated things - go figure. The game is a one time cost of $3.

Another group has the 5.5x8.5 booklet. The book gets passed around for character creation. The game host may hold the book in their hand as a reference during play - but after the basic mechanics are learned it probably sits on the table, ignored. The booklet is stored on a bookshelf between play so it is unlikely to get lost. I still have booklets like this from 30 years ago. Saddle stapling actually makes a very durable book so it will be around. One time cost $5.

The 4.25x5.5 booklet might be used in the same way. If they type was big enough it could be read without a magnifying glass. Once set on a table though it could easily get lost. After the mechanics are learned it will also be set down. It is harder to store little booklets like this, I have little hardback books like this with poetry and never know where to put them. They don't work as well on bookshelves. A big risk is if a game host's mother comes along cleaning and doesn't realize the booklet isn't trash and away it goes! One time cost $5? Or $3. Well one time unless Mom tossed it.

The multiple copies of the small format book would speed up character creation and probably speed up the players learning the rules of the game. If the book contained something they frequently used in play (like a list of magic words that if called out affected play) then the multiple books would greatly aid play. Many of the same thing might make Mom not throw them away (or only accidentally toss them one at a time over the next year. One time cost $8.

Ron described putting out a beautifully bound version of Sorcerer that people would hold, refer to and pet. It's use in the game sounded like a ritual object/ancient tome of wisdom thing. A inexpensive/punk format would give a different effect so the format used projects a meta message by itself. I'm not certain what that meta message is for these different formats but it is worth thinking about.

Any ideas on how the game would be played in different formats and or what the meta messages the format conveys is?

Chris Engle
Hamster Press = Engle Matrix Games

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Paul, I think you're mostly right. I'm not convinced it's a bad idea yet, though, so let's try this:

What if there was a pad of player sheets in the back, to keep track of resources between games, characters and stuff you've created, that kind of thing? Not just lined paper, but a graphical tool for play? This addresses what Chris is saying: if each player needs a particular copy, it makes sense.

Without knowing how your rules work, or even what they do, it's hard to say more concretely. I'd also hate for the design of the game to be weakened by marketing concerns. So it's on you, Bret, to figure out if this makes any sense.

[Bret Gillan]

You guys have given me a bunch of ideas. It sounds like doing a small, saddle-stitched booklet could be my best bet. Since the gameplay is real simple, selling it as a pack wouldn't be worthwhile to the consumer. Still, I have no problem selling a small booklet for $3 or so, as long as I can cover my costs.

[Luke]

My goals:

Sell my game at a reasonable price.
Make a profit, though this doesn't need to be substantial. I'm looking for a little extra cash, not a second job.

If this is the case, design your game in a format that reflects its content. If it's a polictical game, I'm just guessing, make it look like a political pamphlet. 4.25 x 11.5 -- a long narrow booklet would probably look very nice and be something that any copy shop/printer could handle.

-L

[CSBone]

Bret,

Just my take on it, but I second the idea of a 4.25" x 11" pamphlet. I bought two OGL "Class" expansions from Mongoose game in that format for $3.95 a piece. Glossy, full color light card cover stapled in the middle, approximately 16 B/W pgs (8 folded in half) with the  biggest table in the pamphlet on the middle page of the pamphlet, the one that opens up flat and 2-3 pcs of  1/4 page to 1/3 page B/W artwork sprinkled throughout for flavor.

Looks sharp, handles nice, fits on a clipboard opened up flat. If any of their other "Class" expansions had been any good I would have bought more of them. Good format, to me a great price point. I would have easily paid the same + $1 S&H in a heartbeat if I knew I was going to like the product. I'm not sure I would have bought it if I hadn't actually had a chance to skim it before I bought it. I have seen similar products on the various online sales sites and not bought them for $.99 because I wasn't sure I was getting a good deal.

The upshot for me is that as a piece of hardcopy that I can skim before I buy, I'd pay less than $5 TOTAL including S&H. I would not be willing to pay a nickel for a similar product as a PDF. As a side note, however, I would feel like I was getting value added if I bought the hardcopy for $3.95 + $1 S&H and got the PDF e-mailed to me for free while I was waiting so long as it was reformated to read well as a PDF(2 columns per page, sequential pages).

As a side note, I believe in the format strongly enough that I am planning to sell my game Space Ranger in this format if the page count ends up short enough.

C. S. Bone