Is there an anticipation sweet spot? I posed this question on the Ludology podcast a few weeks ago. While Geoff and Gil didn’t have a specific answer, our overall conclusion was that some anticipation is good, but if you wait too long (like Kickstarters that take years to fulfill rewards), people tend to forget that […]
Last week, a great local burger place in St. Louis shared the news that they would be giving away 1,000 burgers for free to celebrate the 150th episode of a TV show called Bob’s Burgers. Several people–perhaps knowing how much I like Hi-Pointe Drive-In, sent me the story. As a result, here’s what the line […]
Today I have a few videos to share from my Dice Tower crowdfunding series. These short videos summarize the key points from my blog about the power of practicing empathy, a checklist of things to do the week before your project launches, and what retailers want from your campaign. You can find the previous videos on […]
I recently realized that Stonemaier Games has no strategy for gift commerce. I’d like to change that. Gift commerce (or retail gifting) is the idea that a significant number of purchases people make are gifts. In fact, one source I found claims that “The average consumer buys more than 20 gifts each year across various […]
This weekend, Stonemaier Games hosted its fifth annual Design Day. On Saturday, various hosts in St. Louis (myself and a few others) held day-long game days at our homes. On Sunday, the Design Day itself featured designers, playtesters, and gamers from St. Louis and around the country for 10 hours of playtesting and gaming at […]
I opened a YouTube account 9 years ago so I could post a silly video of my cat. 4 years later I started using YouTube for Stonemaier Games, posting the occasional how-to-play or preview video for our Kickstarter projects. But my YouTube channel really didn’t begin until 4 years ago–more on that in a moment. […]
Stonemaier Games would not be where it is today were it not for the the artists who have brought out games to life. Beth Sobel, Jacqui Davis, Jakub Rozalski, Mr Cuddington…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve contracted dozens of artists for illustrations and sculpts big and small, and I’m fortunate to have […]
One week ago, I posted an article titled, “I Am Soliciting Your Advice.” In it I talked about that we can all be more aware of how often we give unsolicited advice and ways–when invited–to give advice that people might actually hear. I ended the post with an open invitation for anyone to give me […]
In this series, I highlight some of the interesting choices made by creators regarding their project’s reward levels, stretch goals, and overall campaign design (the projects themselves, not the content or product). This isn’t an endorsement or promotion. Nanty Narking I love creative twists on stretch goals, and the creators of the Nanty Narking project have gone so far […]
I get a lot of unsolicited advice. I’m grateful that people around the world are willing to spend their time giving me unsolicited advice. I’m glad that they care, and in most cases, the advice comes from a good place. I understand that giving advice feels good. But, to be honest, there are times when […]
