As we tiptoe into 2022–our 10th anniversary year–I’d like to share my resolutions as they relate to Stonemaier Games and my responsibilities here. Most importantly, I want to ensure that everything I do is in line with our mission (in both words and actions):
We strive to bring joy to tabletops worldwide through memorable, beautiful, fun games. Our games seek to capture the imaginations of all types of people, as our goal is to build games and communities that include experienced gamers, new gamers, solo gamers, partners, larger groups, people of all ethnicities, genders, creeds, cultures, nations, sexualities, abilities, and ages. Through various content we try to add value to our fellow creators in a way that extends beyond board games by sharing our entrepreneurial successes, mistakes, and insights, as well as our love for a wide variety of games. We also believe in constantly evaluating and improving our creation process to improve the environmental sustainability and accessibility of our games.
In addition, here’s what I resolve to do in 2022 in no particular order:
- I won’t sell any product to a region before it arrives in that region. Twice in 2021 we had products that were arriving imminently at a particular fulfillment center…only for them to actually take 1-3 months to arrive. We sold those products to customers who then had to wait and wait (quite patiently, gratefully) until the products actually arrived. One of the biggest reasons we haven’t used crowdfunding in 6 years is so customers don’t have to wait more than a few weeks after paying for a preorder, so this multi-month delay does not align with how we want to serve the community. In the meantime, for many of them we shipped the portions of their orders that we already had in stock, which cost us extra, and the customer service and manual adjustments required a lot of Joe’s time. So in 2022, especially with our 4 regional webstores now open, we will not sell a product in a region unless we have confirmation from the corresponding fulfillment center that they’ve received the product.
- I will finish designing my open-world cooperative exploration game. I’ve now been working on (and thinking about) this massive game for over 4 years, and it’s time to actually finish it and get it to the printer for a 2023 release. I’m committed to making this happen, as I’m incredibly excited to share how this game will offer an immersive new perspective on what an open-world game can be.
- I will implement an eco-friendly (and gamer-friendly) alternative to shrinkwrap. We want to use much less plastic in general, and my top priority is disposable plastic. We’re working with Panda on a scalable solution for this problem. Also, I want to use more environmentally-focused packaging geared towards webstore sales. For example, because we will release the Wingspan Nesting Box at the same time as the third expansion, we will offer the direct option of having the expansion packed inside the Nesting Box (eliminating the need for redundant packaging).
- I will ensure that every friendly local game store who wants our products can get them. This is a multi-faceted problem that we’ve been working to solve for a few years; it involves getting accurate estimates from distributors before we start printing, supporting distributors who are committed to selling in small quantities to a variety of small stores, and offering retailers a direct option when they can’t get what they want from distributors. Alex has done a great job with this, and we have a plan to ensure full coverage in 2022. We’ll still continue to directly support the best online retailers as well.
- I will be more efficient with my time. Sometimes I have 12-hour days where it feels like all I did was write a blog post and responded to comments relating to that blog post. I love when these posts inspire discussions, and I enjoy engaging in those discussions (and writing the articles), but it should always be a small part of my day at most, not the entire day. Sometimes this means I’ll need to be more selective about the topics I choose, both in terms of controversy and length. I’m hoping to spend no more than 30 minutes writing an article and no more than another 30 minutes discussing it.
- I will hire more amazing people who are underrepresented and marginalized in the game industry. We only have 3 full-timers at Stonemaier Games, but it takes many people to create and sell a game. Stonemaier Games is blessed to employ the services of over 100 people who have an ongoing impact on our products, along with a few dozen insightful shareholders. Currently, 35% of those people are women and 17% are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). And it goes beyond that, as shown in our mission statement: ethnicities, genders, creeds, cultures, nations, sexualities, abilities, and ages. We can do better than that, and we will do better in 2022.
- I will reduce errors and improve balance for new products. This will be the first year that all of our products benefit from the full value of the oversight/proofreading process we implemented in 2021, along with the full data analysis system for playtesting reports. So while this is something new, I want to fully acknowledge how committed we are to getting this right, as I don’t want even the smallest typo to impede your enjoyment of our games.
- I will listen more and react less. I think this is just a good philosophy in general, but I really need to take it to heart for my own mental health and for the way I represent Stonemaier Games on social media. Every now and then a comment really bugs me, and while I shouldn’t engage, I do anyway, and it’s not good for anyone. Yet there’s often truth to even the harshest of comments, so I really need to just read/listen/learn with gratitude and not actually respond/react.
- I will get a better camera. Compared to a few years ago, a significant portion of the content I create is video (nearly 7 videos per week). I use a decent webcam, but it’s not perfect, particularly the zany autofocus. So yesterday I bought a top-rated camera, and I hope it works much better. Also, I might consider Twitch for streaming instead of Facebook Live if that’s what people prefer.
- I will pursue better shipping solutions for customers in the EU (and elsewhere). Brexit really screwed things up for shipping to the EU. Spiral Galaxy in the UK–with whom we have a longstanding partnership–has done their best, but longer ship times and customs fees from the UK to the EU are unavoidable. We’re working on a solution for that, and I’d also love to find solutions for other parts of the world where we’ve had very low success rates of delivering packages in the past.
- I will respond to aggression with empathy. Here’s something I’ve learned about myself: It’s easy to respond to nice messages with kindness. But some people come out swinging, and I really struggle to feel empathy when that happens. But what I’ve realized is that what I feel in those situations doesn’t matter (at least not for the wellbeing of Stonemaier Games)–it’s how I respond that matters. And sometimes it’s okay not to respond (see above about reacting less).
- I will improve webstore prices. One of the benefits of selling directly is that our margins are quite good even if we offer discounts. That’s part of the reason the Champion program is mutually beneficial–we can afford to give Champions a 20% discount on every webstore order. But I want to offer compelling pricing to everyone, especially on the more expensive items where we have margins to spare.
- When I’m asked a private question that should be public for the benefit of others (e.g., a rules question), I will answer the question before suggesting public forums. I’m a strong believer that 99% of questions should be asked publicly–I have multiple blog posts on this topic. However, if someone messages me on Instagram with a rules question, I’d like to change my current method of immediately suggesting the Facebook group, BoardGameGeek, or our website and instead first answer the initial question. Also, a quick tip to those who ask rule questions: If you’re referring to a specific card, please type out the text on the card. That makes it so much easier to answer the question, as otherwise I need to track down that exact card to properly answer the question.
I’ll follow up soon with a post about our vision for the next 5+ years at Stonemaier Games–today was just about 2022 (though I hope to continue many of these goals in the future). If you’d like to see some hints about what we’re actually releasing this year, check out the e-newsletter I sent yesterday.
If there’s something we could do (or do better) to bring more joy to your tabletop in 2022, please let me know in the comments below!
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If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content!
31 Comments on “My 2022 Resolutions for Stonemaier Games”
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I don’t mean to play devil’s advocate, but reducing social media is a win all around. As for diversity hiring, that is always a good thing as long as it isn’t passing up a better qualified individual because they do not check the right boxes. That can be a fine line.
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Please ensure you take some time for yourself too (we want Jamey for the next 50 years I’m sure) :)
I’d definitely be pro dropping Facebook live for twitch. I no longer use Facebook and have been unable to catch you live since I made that decision. Truthfully this is the only thing I miss about Facebook.
“I will improve webstore prices.”
This is nice to hear. With the reduction of the champion discount I noticed that I can find Stonemaier products a little cheaper elsewhere. Miniature Market (My FLGS) and Boardlandia / Game Nerdz (preferred for online purchases after checking with MM) often come under Stonemaier store prices.
(Caveat: I will say that I did check these stores prior to posting this and while they still show their pricing, they are out of stock of most Stonemaier games since the holidays wiped them out of stock.)
Alongside this, these stores offer free shipping when spending $75 (GN), $80 (BL), $99 (MM). Are there any plans to implement a free shipping after $XX dollars on the Stonemaier webstore?
I think your 20 price guarantee is great, and I always like supporting the publisher and/or developer directly, when I can. While I only became a champion within the last year, I intend to keep the champion status regardless of your response to this post. I think you are doing great work as a publisher and developer.
While we don’t offer free shipping (shipping fees don’t go away when an order gets big–they get higher! :) ), our 20% Champion discount applies to shipping too.
While we’re not here to compete with retailers, hopefully we can offer prices to Champions that are comparable to retailers. As you noted, some retailers that offer deep discounts often don’t actually have those products in stock–it’s easy to offer a $50 product for $27 when you’re not actually selling it. :) Most of the Miniature Market prices I see are almost identical (if not a little higher) than our Champion prices, but I’m sure they offer special sales sometimes (as do we).
Thanks for being a Champion!
“I will respond to aggression with empathy.” – in the last year, feeling more love, and acting more kindly, toward everyone, regardless of their behavior, has become my #1 priority in life. I believe if more people prioritized this, the world would be a lot better, and I want to be a little of the change I see in the world.
I cannot emphasize enough how I happy I am to see this in your list of resolutions.
It helps me to remember that every act of aggression is a consequence of suffering on the part of the aggressor. We can learn to remind ourselves of that, and address the sufferer, not the aggressor, even though they’re the same person.
Not only should we BGG users put the full text of a card for your benefit (and thus for ours as well), we should put the full text of any game elements when asking rules question. Joe recently pointed out that having the full text of game elements in a BGG post helps those who will search for answers later. I was glad for his advice and am striving to make this change myself.
Thanks Jamey for continuing to lead the way in recognizing how to be better and how to take steps forward. 👍
Thanks Alex! It certain is helpful for us when people do as you described, and we can answer faster that way too. :)
Thanks for sharing these! I love how you are committed to continuous improvement and share with the community how you intend to make Stonemaier the best it can be.
Thanks Abe! “continuous improvement” is a great way to put it. :)
Your list is inspiring, Jamey! Thank you for all the work that you do for this community.
If you have the time and inclination, I’d love to know more about this:
> full data analysis system for playtesting reports
Maybe you already did a post or video about it, and I missed it? We’re dealing with this on Arydia, and I’m always curious to hear how other people handle massive data from playtesters.
Thanks Ira! I don’t think I have an article about it (other than some Tapestry expansion design diary posts). I share playtester data with a professional data analyst (Jeremy) who sorts through all the data, organizes it, and highlights various insights, outliers, etc. He’s great.
Thank you! That makes sense. I’ll search out the Tapestry expansion design diary stuff, which will be an interesting read either way!
I totally understand if you don’t have time to answer this, but here’s one follow up question in case you do: Who designs the survey data for playtesters to fill out, which generates the data for Jeremy to analyze? Does he ever give you advice on what to include in your survey, or do you just send him the data and he works with whatever you send?
I’ve done plenty of survey design + analysis in the past, but I can see how a professional analyst would save time and notice other things. Thank you for the good idea!
I design the surveys (if I’m working with a designer, they can add or modify questions). Jeremy does sometimes indicate some questions he’d like in the survey, typically in relation to final scores.
I’d prefer Twitch over Facebook because I’m completely off FB now and I think everyone should be :) Any support of a platform is support for all aspects of the platform.
I’ve said this before, but the way you publicly engage con
Oops, submitted the previous comment prematurely. I’ve said this before, but the way you publicly engage content, content creators, and fans, has been among the things I’ve respected most about Stonemaier for a long time. I look forward to seeing you continue to raise the bar even higher for yourself and to see its continued impact on the industry.
I think we could all practice some radical empathy.
Thanks Olivia! I appreciate that affirmation, and I’ll try to continue to earn that respect. And yes, absolutely on radical empathy!
I am so excited to see the future of Stonemaier Games. This is absolutely one of my favorite companies and I love that you are intentionally trying to be more inclusive in your games and in your workforce. I am also very hyped for this open-world game you’ve been working on!!
Thanks for sharing your excitement, Matthew! That means a lot to me, coming from you, and in particular I look forward to sharing the Viticulture expansion with you this year.
I would think that youtube would be the platform with the least barrier to entry / discoverability. FB is problematic for many and twitch doesn’t have great discoverability so youtube is the top of my own list. Is there a reason youtube isn’t an option?
Yeah, I’ve tried multiple ways of livestreaming there, and the image always has a few seconds of lag, which is really disorienting.
I do post all videos on YouTube; they’re just not all live there.
Keep up the good work!
It’s a great to see you want to lower your store prices bc your champion discount prices are still higher than local game store’s regular prices!!!
Your local store sells at more than 20% off MSRP? Impressive!
Remember, you don’t have to react 😉
True! :)