Kickstarter Lesson #209: The Hook – Stonemaier Games

Kickstarter Lesson #209: The Hook

We recently decided to publish a new game submitted to Stonemaier.

It’s a lovely game. When the latest version of it was submitted to us, we played it once and immediately wanted to play it again. It still needs some work, but there’s a solid, entertaining, creative foundation to it. I’m sure I’ll talk about it here someday with more specifics.

The one big challenge with this game is something I call the “hook.” The hook is the element–or, as I’ll discuss below, the elements–of a product that catches your eye, draws you in, and makes you want it.

For my Kickstarter campaigns, I always tried to have different types of hooks like a must-have component, a unique mechanism, eye-catching art, and something special about the campaign to get people excited. I don’t think one hook is enough for a Kickstarter campaign.

In the post-Kickstarter world, multiple hooks still make a difference, but a single powerful hook can make a product stand out. It’s just that I’d rather check off as many boxes as possible.

Here are the types of hooks I’m thinking about for this new game. I’ll talk about these in reference to games, but they apply to any product or service. I’ll mention some examples from our product line:

  • Art & Design: Scythe box art (and the art and design throughout the game) seems to connect with the gamer zeitgeist
  • Component: custom wooden buildings in Viticulture stood out in a field of Euro games with generic cubes
  • Mechanisms: Between Two Cities’ partnership-in-a-competitive game mechanism
  • Name: Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia (my co-founder thought of that subtitle. I love it!)
  • Marketing: the mystery and unknown elements of Charterstone seem to be appealing to people who like that sort of thing
  • Theme: Scythe’s alternate-history world really captured my imagination
  • Narrative: Euphoria’s backstory was a huge element of engagement during the Kickstarter campaign

Just to be clear, I’m not just saying that I want our games to have an interesting theme or a unique mechanism. Being interesting and unique are interesting qualities, but they’re different than the hook. The key to a great hook is that it grabs your attention. It stands out in a crowd.

Of course, everything I’m talking about here is, to use the technical term, loosy-goosy. What hooks me may be different than what hooks you, and that’s okay. In my opinion, the important thing is that I at least consider those different elements as I develop, publish, and market a game. It’s even helpful as a filter: If a game doesn’t have many hooks, perhaps it’s not one I should continue to design or consider for publication.

What’s the last time a product hooked you? What was it that caught your attention and made you want to learn more? Was it enough for the ultimate hook, for you to actually buy it?

43 Comments on “Kickstarter Lesson #209: The Hook

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  1. […] abundance of options on and off crowdfunding, the projects that catch my attention are those that instantly grab me with a hook and further entice me with other hooks. For a game, hooks can include must-have components, themes, […]

  2. […] the hooks (see article on hooks, consider the potential budget, a sell sheet is fine but not […]

  3. Jamey,

    Red Rising.

    For a lover of the books, the character card artwork is exceptional (‘art & design’ hook). I’m familiar with the characters from the books, but this game seems to add a whole different/additional dimension to the world/universe of Red arising—complimenting it even further, in the minds of its already established (and continually growing) fan base.

    That was an immediate, near instant hook/appeal, at least for me.

    Although I recently picked it up on Amazon, and it should arrive any day, I read enough review articles/blog posts and watched enough review/play/walkthrough YouTube videos, to get a generally good idea of what to expect/I will be receiving with the purchase when it arrives.

    I would say that—beyond just the ‘art & design’ of the cards—there is something very valuable about your Red Rising game, in relation to the actual quantity/volume of cards offered, as well.

    Even deeper, when you offer so many cards—I believe the Amazon listing said 100+ cards (nearly double the 52 x card offering of, say, a standard deck of playing cards)—there is a great deal of mystery/mystique inherent to the purchase, as well.

    By that, I mean, no matter how many blog post articles I read or YouTube videos I watched, each really just included a ‘sampling’ of the full available/offered cards—some a smaller sampling, some a larger sampling, but unless a creator showed each individual card separately, one can’t/doesn’t really get a full/complete breadth of experience…at least until they actually purchase.

    From videos, I’ve seen some character cards, but not/never ALL of them.

    So, I’ve seen enough of the character cards to wet my palate, so to speak—to get a great idea of the overall art and design artwork IOT effectively set expectations—but it isn’t until the purchase is actually complete (done, for me) and the product is received (by me, almost) that I’ll get a full ‘taste’ for the full volume/quantity of cards.

    I think there is definitely something to the idea of a game designer/publisher providing just a high quality/caliber of artwork but, also, a fairly high QUANTITY/volume of artwork (cards), as well. I know quality usually always trumps quantity, but, in my limited experience with the tabletop board game industry thusfar, it really seems there is becoming a demand for essentially both—high quality AND high quantity.

  4. […] Stegmaier understands the importance of a hook. If you are wanting to pitch a game design to his company, the hook is a must. This philosophy has […]

  5. Game board design, theme and components have always been a hook for me. I know what i like. When i see a game and it hook me i can look at 100 pictures of it from all sides and then my imagination goes. I also try to figure out what are the rules and how to make points. This one is my last purchase, definitely stunning in my opinion.

    https://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/5487255/maracaibo

  6. I am of the opinion that a hook *could* be anything, but in the long run, a good hook *should* be something that really centers around the very essence of the game. In such a way that you can replace the hook, but not replace it’s function. I’ll explain:

    I remember a game we used to play growing up called “Dark World”.
    (BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31/dark-world)

    That game had a unique component that looked like a magic wand and would determine the order in which players take their turns. It was an extremely clever way to display a random outcome of 4 factorial with one toss. I’ve never seen such a thing and its design was really cool.

    But other than that, the game was quite mediocre. If we had lost the wand, we could easily pic another method to determine the order of 4 players, even if not as cool.
    Still, I remember my brother and I liked the characters and that wand thing, but we never played the game again.

    On the other hand, look at the game “Jungle Speed”.
    (BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8098/jungle-speed )

    It too has a wand-type-thingy, but this time it IS the center piece of the whole game. The entire game mechanics revolves around it. Not in the material sense, but rather in the abstract sense, in its function. In fact, you can lose the piece that comes with the game and use pretty much anything (as long as it fits in one hand) and the game will run just as smooth!

    The ‘Hook’ therefore, is not in the component but in the ‘Idea’ of the component. Aristotle would have said it is the ‘final cause’ of the hook, not its ‘material’ or ‘form cause’.
    Also, hooks are super important, but not to the point where it cripples the experience. A game piece that is so indispensable it completely debilitates the game might be too vulnerable for me.

    A hook could be as simple as an adjective that describes the playing experience, or something cool about the core mechanics of the game. It could be something like: “contains cyclical dependencies” or “lightning fast rounds” or “components that visually represent mathematical patterns” or “doesn’t have to be turn-based” etc…

  7. I am of the opinion that a hook *could* be anything, such as art, components, a marketing strategy… but in the long run, a good hook *should* be something the game centers around, like a core mechanic or unique playing experience.

    I’ll give two examples, I remember playing a game called “Dark World” when I was a kid (BGG link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31/dark-world).

    The game had a really cool wand-like component that you used to determine player’s turn order. I’ve never in my life seen such an ingenious way to pick a 4 color order at random with a single throw.
    But aside from that, the game was mediocre at best and that ‘magic wand’ wasn’t a key part of it so it had a very low lifetime value. I remember my brother and I really liking the wand and the characters but never playing the game again.
    The magic wand was cool, but you could replace it with some other means of drawing a factorial of 4.

    On the other hand, take a game like “Jungle Speed” (BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8098/jungle-speed).

    The cardinal mechanical element of the game is also a wand-type thingy and it’s the center piece of the whole game. You can replace the wand, it doesn’t even have to be the same one that came in with the game, but the ‘idea’ of the hook would still last deep into playing the game multiple times.

    Sometimes I see the ‘hook’ not as one specific thing in the game but as an adjective in the overall experience. So a game can have a hook like “Very fast rounds” or “parts that visually represent mathematical patterns” or “playing doesn’t have to be turn-based” or “cyclic dependencies” etc.

  8. […] 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 community, service, and hooks. […]

  9. Is this post originally about My Little Scythe? If so, what do you see is the hook in the Stonemaier Games version (forgive me, I have only played the Ponies version, which was the hook for my daughters).

    1. Jeremy: This post wasn’t about My Little Scythe. In My Little Scythe, the component hooks are the miniatures, custom dice, and custom tray. The mechanical hooks are the friendship mechanism, the refresh mechanism, and others. I could go on. :)

  10. What usually hooks me is immersion in a weird alternate world. I want to get lost in the mystique. Also, strategy mechanisms to games are a big hook for me: will I be able to outwit, sneak through, or overcome a challenge? If so, I’m in.

  11. Jamey,

    Thanks again for all you do for the community. I was hoping to ask a question and get your opinion on the matter.

    I have several games that I’m developing (Novice Knights being my first, favorite, and furthest along). Another game that I have completed conceptually and with paper prototypes is distinctly lacking a theme.

    As I’ve played through it several times, it became clear to me that a “Zombies vs. Humans” (not the game, but the genre) would work very well with the mechanics and play style. Additionally, I like that genre.

    All that being said, I feel like the Zombie genre is overused and I don’t want to be just another failed or moderately success Zombie game. As such, I’m keeping the Zombie theme on standby, but I want to be able to discard it altogether.

    What themes, if any, have you seen that work well in abstract, 2 player games? I have saw Tao Long recently on Kickstarter and decided to back it (It looks like a lot of fun), but I don’t feel like the Ancient Taoism or Asian Culture theme would make any sense for this game. Maybe it would make more sense if I DM’ed you on the game itself, but I know public conversations on these types of things are more ideal.

    Ugh. . . I just feel stuck on this theme, and I am really hoping to avoid my initial thoughts for this one.

    1. Novice Knights: Thanks for your question! I’m not sure if the question is “what theme works well in abstract games,” but rather, “What theme is the most enticing for this specific game?” There are SO many possible themes out there and so many venues for inspiration–you just have to find the right one for your game.

      1. I know, I know. . . This one has been bothering me for a while now. The game feels amazing, and I want to find a theme that matches it well. I’m just coming up with too much cookie cutter nonsense.

  12. Jamey,
    I agree with others; it’s kind of a complete package of design/ innovation/art, etc. that hooks me. However, if I had to choose one hook, I’d say the art/look is crucial because it’s the first thing you come across when encountering a game. “Yardmaster” and “Secret Hitler” are both games that caught my eye due to the beautiful simple and clean artwork. I backed their Kickstarter campaigns immediately. Stonemaier Games has capitalized on this hook by providing stunning artwork in their games and game boxes. I remember seeing the box of Charterstone at GENCON this year and instantly wanting to learn more about the game due to the clean and whimsical artwork. I’ve actually found myself checking on the progress on Charterstone in the last few months. The anticipation of what’s inside the box is a great hook. That being said, please give us some more details Jamey, haha.

  13. I like many different types of games and am conscious of many different hooks. For me, these include:

    – innovative or unusual game mechanics, particularly when games have very asymmetric powers/positions for different players but are still well-balanced (I’m a game designer and playtester so maybe being interested in mechanics is not surprising) – a recent kickstarter example is Gavin Birnbaum’s QE (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/209136/qe) which has a great no-holds-barred bidding mechanism and is now influencing mechanics for a couple of other games currently being developed in the London Playtesting community.

    – Games which are ‘game systems’ and can be used for multiple different and varied games, especially if short, simple and portable so good for taking on holiday or carrying around in your pocket. Wibbell++ (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/180845/wibbell) is a recent kickstarter example.

    – simplicity and economy of design for abstract games. ‘Go’ is the classic here. For modern abstract games, I can be hooked if I think “why has no one, including me, never thought of that before!” or “people could still be playing this in centuries to come”.

    – Quality production and components that have tactile appeal (I’m a live roleplayer so games made only with traditional materials like wood, cloth, leather appeal if my characters can play them in-character in a historical/fantasy/reenactment setting) – Mijnlieff (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72667/mijnlieff) has both this and the simplicity hook above for me.

    – Historical narrative and theme (esp when this is integral to game rather than a bolt on) – Twilight Struggle is a great example here

    – Designer – this is never the only hook, but a game from a designer (like Reiner Knizia) with a great track record will at least mean I look hard at it.

    – Silly name or theme, esp when coupled with eye-catching art – I backed Temp Worker Assassins (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198791/temp-worker-assassins) on basis of that and enthusiastic sales pitch at UK Games Expo last year. On subsequent play I found it also has interesting combination of worker placement with deck-building mechanic.

    – Replayability with different starting conditions so that even though you’ve played the game before you have to work out strategy and tactics from scratch. Something else may need to hook you in first, but replayability is something I think about before buying. NB I finally and belatedly got round to playing Scythe for first time this week and want to now try it again with a different nation. (You don’t need me to tell you the artwork and components are also great).

    1. Dave: Thank you for sharing this detailed list! I appreciate the thought you put into it. I like that you highlighted the designer and replayability (when people purchase anything, utility plays a huge role in the hook).

  14. Theme and narrative are really interesting examples – I’ve played a bunch of Euphoria and I finally got a chance to play Scythe and had a really great time with both – but the stories that underlie those worlds don’t really form a big part of the game play experience. I can see how those worlds are interesting and how people might want to dive into them, but the manner of engagement with that lore and that world building seems fundamentally different during a campaign and talking around the subject than it is when playing the finished thing.

    I’m not really sure what to take away from that as a player or as a designer, but I find it interesting that the type of hook needed to get someone into a game isn’t necessarily that strongly related to how it is in the game itself.

    1. Greg: That’s true, I wouldn’t say the backstory plays an active role in the experience of playing Euphoria and Scythe. I think the story in those comes comes from the encounter cards (Scythe) and markets/recruits (Euphoria), so it’s more player-driven.

      1. Oh aye, it’s definitely there and something that adds to the game and I’d go a bit further in talking about how the theme comes through the games (The art on the character cards in Scythe for example is far from generic and the faction specific abilities gives some hints as to the nature of those factions) – but I find it interesting how something that’s a relatively minor part of the game experience can be a major part of the Kickstarter experience.

        The reverse is also true, mechanics that really add something to the gameplay experience in a way can be difficult to communicate across Kickstarter.

        1. “I find it interesting how something that’s a relatively minor part of the game experience can be a major part of the Kickstarter experience.”

          This is a really keen observation, Greg. There are games with stunning art on the cards, yet while I’m playing, I don’t even notice. But if those same cards are posted on Kickstarter, they can play a huge role in my decision as a backer.

  15. It is always graphics for me. At least as a first hook.
    Graphics tell stories, set my imagination on fire and we’re all hooked by a good story, aren’t we? If I’m on the Mount Olympus fighting the Titans or on the sunny hills of Tuscany, caring for my crop, is the story that my imagination is telling me that makes me cast those dice once more.
    What I would like to see more, is games built around a real story that develops itself as you go further. Like you’re reading a good book, or movie for that matter. The more you learn, the more you want to know. You play and you have fun each round, but the game keeps you around its board also because you want to learn more about.
    Some games are built around a story (Shadows over Camelot) but in the end the actual playing doesn’t really rely on it, others take that a step further (Arkham games), to throw only 2 examples.
    So, my 2 cents, anything that helps telling a story, either if it’s a cool drawing, an awesome miniature (awesome doesn’t always mean a monster or a knight), or a mystery, a secret, or anything in between, this is where I believe the hook(s) should be.

    1. Giuliano: I like that you used the word “imagination” here. Art has the same impact on me, as does narrative/story.

  16. Generally as far as a hook goes. Something unique. If it’s a theme like commissioned or box size efficiency like to let games. They are quite good. That is something. I like what EGG does with there little indentions for finger dents to make opening boxes easier.

    EGG also tends to have punch board bumping out lid box so I don’t need to use punched out sheets to raise the insert tova level were bits inside won’t fly around.

    You are good with box sizes IMO. With euphoria being the only one that has some wasted space.
    So those are small hooks I see gamers with shelf space issues being aware of.

    1. Very interesting, Jason. Some of those are pretty subtle hooks–that’s a good reminder to me that hooks are different for everyone. Sometimes they’re literally hooks!

  17. Tiny Epic Quest’s Item Meeples along with the theme and art made it an instant back. Typically what hooks me is hearing positive reviews of a game from multiple sources. For example, Captain Sonar and Mechs & Minions this year recieved such unilateral praise that even though they wouldn’t typically appeal to me based on the types of games they are they became must-haves because I didn’t want to miss out on the experience everyone else was raving about.

    1. Ken: I like that you mentioned a different type of hook: Word of mouth. It kind of fits into marketing, except it’s not something a company has control over.

  18. Scythe’s art, setting/backstory, and components definitely hooked me. Chimera Station’s unique specializable (!) alien workers hooked me as did Anachrony’s mech suit minis that actually carry the cardboard worker tokens. Fog of Love as a ‘romantic comedy’ game, winning by being the happiest in Pursuit of Happiness, and being able to ‘save’ your game progress in 7th Continent were all conceptual hooks for me too.

    1. Jennifer: I was hooked by Chimera Station’s specializable workers too! Such a cool concept. I’m also curious to hear what people think about 7th Continent after it’s released.

  19. For me, the Viticulture buildings don’t distinguish the game from the million and one (thankfully going down in recent years, shaped wood is increasingly becoming the standard, which back when Stone Age came out represented a standout deluxe production) Generic Euro Cubes, that’s what the glass beads do. For buildings? I think most publishers would have represented them with cardboard tokens of some kind rather than either cubes or custom cut buildings. You’re point still stands, Viticulture has a production standard that, well, stands out as a definite hook.

    Last time a product truly hooked me… Honestly, probably just realizing the art style you’re going with with Charterstone, though I was already hooked due to the pure Euro Legacy thing. that I’m very intrigued by how it will pan out.

    Ignoring products of the future, though… Hm. There was Mechs vs Minions, with the specific hooks of component quality to price point ratio (minor compared to the other two, but does make a difference), solo playable (even if they don’t think it is, I saw Rahdo’s run through, I see nothing about the game’s mechanisms that won’t work solo), and interesting mechanics done in a way I haven’t seen before (most programming games you reset your program between rounds. The inability to do that, that your earlier actions to do what you needed to do short term can therefore become inefficiencies in the system long term, is really interesting). It’s still in shrink, but it worked well enough to get me to purchase it, possibly that? Maybe the art shop I got a print for my sister in law for Christmas? Not sure how much that hooked me vs ‘stumble across the exact thing I needed at the right time, then look through the options to see if they had her favourite animal’ [they did]

    I think it’s important to note that while I definitely agree that having hooks on multiple levels is useful – Different people respond to different hooks, even between people with similar overall tastes what captures each person’s attention will be different – no product needs to have [i]every[/i] conceivable hook.

    1. Thanks for sharing some of your hooks, Stephen! I totally agree that products don’t need to have every hook. It’s something I want to consider as a designer, but if certain hooks are really strong and others are weaker, I think that’s okay.

  20. Some combination of art, graphic design, and theme (which all have to work together) is the biggest thing for me. Frankly there are games that are probably mechanically better games that I’m less interested to play than mechanically weaker games because the art/design/theme brings the game to life.

    Any easy example of that is if I had to pick between vanilla Risk and LotR Risk, I would always pick LotR Risk because of the theme (that has the benefit of being fleshed out by the books/movies) and the fact that stories about what’s happening flow out much easier, even if you aren’t using any ‘extra’ elements of the game as compared to vanilla Risk. That said, I would rather play a game with more interesting mechanics than Risk.

    The design choices I’ve made with both the game I brought to the design day last year as well as the next one I’m working on now are very reflective of that importance of theme/story in games to me (To the point where the ‘epic’ in epic nerd games has the double meaning, referencing epic poems as well as the contemporary use of the word’). Part of the Epic Nerd Games adventure this year will be figuring out hiring artists and having the art reflect that same level of thematic hook.

    This is getting to be a bit of a long comment but I think everything I said above really points to something that I believe is also true in your games. Those hooks only work when they’re more than just hooks but something that runs deep into the very core of the game design. Viticulture has fantastic buildings, but it has them because the game is meant to have them with that level of eclectic artistry that you can see running through every aspect of the game. Another example of this would be the Item Meeples in Gamelyn Games’ Tiny Epic Quest. They work because they have the 8-bit zelda game feel the entire game has. Hooks that are just tacked on to try to pull in extra attention don’t work nearly as well.

    Alex

    1. Alex: I really like what you’re saying about how these hooks are interconnected and relevant within the product design, rather than tacked-on gimmicks. Thanks for your comment!

  21. Painted miniatures or a beautifully designed game board have always been a hook to me. Also a rulebook with lots of example graphics hook because I see that as a quick to learn game. Just some thoughts from an old geezer. –Jeff in Texas

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