3 Cool Things Other Publishers Are Doing

With Gen Con 2022* beginning today, I’m going to highlight 3 awesome things I recently noticed about other publishers.

Far Off Games 2022 Charity Auction to Fight Cancer

Far Off Games (of Xia and Arydia fame) is currently hosting a charity auction on BGG. They’ve selected 5 different charities and paired a robust set of Xia-related products with them to form 5 auctions; the winning bid will be matched by Far Off Games and donated in full to the organization.

If this sounds familiar, it is! Cody and Ira are familiar with the charity auctions we’ve run in similar formats over the last 9 years, and I’m flattered they chose a similar approach, especially with a focus on cancer, as my dad died of cancer-related complications earlier this year.

Moonrakers: Titan by IV Studios

The folks at IV Studios run superb Kickstarter campaigns, and they added something to their latest campaign that I think is really neat. To encourage participation and improve the game–two core tenets of crowdfunding–they unlock a new showdown for every $25k raised.

A showdown is two different cards that are pitted head to head for backers to vote on. Both cards are included in the $99+ pledges, but only the winner of the showdown will get a special holographic treatment. The other card returns “to the showdown pool to fight another day,” per the project page.

There’s a restaurant in St. Louis that does burger showdowns like this–the burger that sells the most every 2 weeks at Bailey’s Range stays on the menu, and the other goes away. I think it’s a great way to encourage people to pay attention and participate.

Grandpa Beck’s Phone Number

Last night we played a rousing game of the excellent trick-taking ramping game from Grandpa Beck’s Games, Skull King. At one point we encountered a situation involving a pirate, a king, and a mermaid, and we weren’t exactly sure who won the trick.

That’s when I remembered that the rulebook offers a very unique type of customer service: If you have a question while playing, you can call or text Grandpa Beck himself.

We found the answer and didn’t need to contact Grandpa. I later confirmed that this really is his cell phone number, making this one of the most immediate and personal forms of customer service I’ve ever seen.

What do you think about these examples from other publishers? Have you seen anything memorable or exciting from a publisher you admire recently?

*We aren’t at Gen Con, but Meeplesource has a booth there (2909) and a great crew of volunteers to showcase our products, including signed promo cards, Rolling Realms promo packs, Viticulture Wine Crates, Wingspan art from Natalia and Ana, and the first copy of the Nesting Box for anyone to inspect. Have fun, treat people well, and stay safe if you attend the convention!

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