The One Game Policy

[Josh Roby]

How big is the Forge Booth, these days?  Are you still working out of a single stall, or pushing out into larger spaces?

[Malcolm Craig]

Even setting aside the physical shelf-space, I worry about the metaphorical shelf-space in all of our brains.  Even at last GenCon I felt like I wasn't doing a good enough job of pitching certain games (Sweet Dreams, for instance, I couldn't get a bead on, and I didn't even try to learn Infinite Armies, because Greg so clearly had it under control).  When I already feel like I'm playing catch-up the idea of adding dozens more is pretty intimidating.

From my own personal experience last year, I'd say I was in the same position as Tony as regards not being up to speed on enough games. It was a steep learning curve, but one I can say that I really did benefit from. The single most beneficial thing that I experienced was playing in other peoples demos. This gave me a really good handle on what, for example, Dust Devils and The Mountain Witch were all about. This year, I'm much more confident in my own ability to both pitch and demo a far broader spectrum of games. For those who are experiencing their first year on the booth, I can't say strongly enough how important it is to take part in demos for other games. The selection of games on offer this year is already looking amazing, but as Tony stated, it is pretty intimidating to think of having to pitch such a wide variety to such a varied audience.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Jonathan Walton]

Hi Luke,

1) Well, if we all want to be together, but we're running out of room, the next step seems to be to get a bunch of independent booths in the same area.  Four seems like a lot of booths... until you have 30+ people wanting to sell multiple games there.  I think we could probably fill 8+ booths with clusters of indie creators.  But it's probably still too early to plan for next year yet.  I'll pick your brain more about this at GenCon.

2) Dude, I'm not whining.  I'm not trying to change your mind.  I already signed up and am ready to send you my $100.  I'm just saying it'll be hard to effectively pitch 4-5 different products from a single creator, not to mention booth/shelf space (and I'm very thankful for those oldtimers who are just selling a couple of games).  I don't think having a bunch of products is just a problem among the newbies.

3) I'll take your jaded words of experience on this one.  You're probably right. But you'll still have to pound that into me, since I'm an idealistic fool.

4) Push contains two short games (in addition to the other content) which can definitely be demo'd, but they're gonna be a bit more difficult than some of the others.  

Shreyas' classical-Indian-dance-gesture game Mridangam is gonna be a challange, but Shreyas, Thomas, and I have begun talking about how we might do that, teaching folks a few simple gestures that they can use to negotiate their way through a basic conflict.

My game, Waiting for the Queen/Tea at Midnight is intended mostly for chat play, but you could whip through the entire game in tabletop fashion in 20 minutes, so doing little speed games of it should be fine.  It's a two-player game, though, so running it for large groups of people is more awkward.

In any case, thanks again for organizing this and really stepping up this year.  I was really whining about the One Game Policy in a "I wish you'd told us 2 months ago!" way, not a "Change it and make it better, Luke!" way.

[Brennan Taylor]

A quick note on the one-game policy, because I don't want feathers to be ruffled or people to get upset.

Luke and Ron have set this policy, and they are in charge of the demo area of the booth. The policy 100% applies in this area.

I am running the store area of the booth, and as part of that agreement, I will be selling all products available from IPR. Some first-timers are IPR members, and some first-timers have more than one game listed through IPR. All of these games will be available for sale via IPR's portion of the booth, but each first-timer in this category will be choosing one game to demo. The other games will not be demoed at the booth, even if I have them in the store section.

[David "Czar Fnord" Artman]

...not being up to speed on enough games...

Mightn't this be the best argument for a good back cover pitch/synopsis? Similar to Sell Sheets, but actually right there on the back, for the buyer to read and notice.

But if the issue is more to do with matching a buyer's expressed interests to a game: could that be mitigated by a clear categorization system (for games and, therefore, shelf space signs)? And The Forge has categorizing games down pat! Sort by Game Length, then by Genre, then by Agenda and you'd probably be better able to direct buyers to relevant products. Or use a different sort priority; whatever works for the booth operators. The point is to not just have a laundry list of sell sheets, but a way to sort them that might make (a) recalling them easier and (b) finding a particular sell sheet on the fly.
An Aside, if I may: Suppose a product involves a free core book and depends upon genre-specific supplements for its revenue channel? How would such a product line be sold at the booth? I read about the compendium suggestion... but that could make (a) a huge book and (b) an expensive book (figure each setting supplement is at the $20 price point--tossing in three or four makes for a HEAVY pricetag, even with a "bulk discount").

So would such a product line have to "gamble" on just one, hot genre? Or would that product owner just give away core books, per normal, and try to direct players to web sales (maybe with a flyer insert in the core book)? And do the booth operators--or other creators--object to having give-away products next to for-sale ones?

Needless to say, I am hoping to be on the bus next year, with a product line similar to the above.

Thank you;
David

[Nathan P.]

Thanks Brennan. That's good to know.

[David "Czar Fnord" Artman]

May I bump this? I am sincerely interested in the reply to my question above.

Thank you;
David

[Jasper the Mimbo]

Luke Is right. Trust me, I'm not a publisher, I'm not emotionally or financially invested and I've been selling other people's stuff at the booth  for two years. Luke is right.

Concentrating on one game, and making sure everyone is familiar with it is the way to get your game sold. Troy, thank you for shouldering the Sell Sheet burden. Not everyone everyone realizes how important that project really is. As has been touched on, your game will not sell if the people selling them don't know what they are like. I can sell damn near anything that has been on the shelf over the last few years. It's familiar. The goal of any first year publisher should be making their game that familiar. This is why the one game policy is so important. We're all smart folks, but we can only process so much new information at a time. I for one would like to thank Luke for saving me from the aneurysm I would have gotten if I had to familiarize myself with thirty new games.

Those of you who are still dubious, accept it for now, see how it goes, and if you feel you need to, fight to change it for next year.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

One other point - just because you're officially selling only one game at the booth during working hours doesn't mean you have to leave your other games and books at home.

Let's take Troy, who was originally planning to bring Cutthroat, Hierarchy, and Stand Off! to the booth this year, and now is only bringing Cutthroat. Troy should bring all three games, or the other two in as near completion as possible. He should play and promote Cutthroat at the booth, of course. But he should play the others during after-hours sessions. A lot.

Here's the point: combine (a) a good experience with Cutthroat at the booth (one set of costs, one set of returns), with (b) one good thread about after-hours play of his other two games. You tell me the effect you think that will have on his post-con sales success, which very bluntly is a crucial variable. Go take a look at threads about after-hours sessions from last year, and ask the publishers about their sales effects.

Best,
Ron