Top 10 Most-Viewed Articles of 2017 – Stonemaier Games

Top 10 Most-Viewed Articles of 2017

Before we get too deep into 2018, I thought it might be a good time to look back on the 2017 articles posted here that resonated the most with readers like you. I’ve included a notable quote from each of these articles.

  1. One Box to Rule Them All: “I think it’s somewhat deceptive to the consumer when the contents of a box take up about 10% of the space. You’re just selling air at a premium. I want the exterior of the box to align with consumer expectations of the interior.”
  2. What Do Retailers Really Want?: “75% of distributors like MAP (minimum advertised price, 81% of FLGS like it, and 48% of online retailers like it. However, 62% of consumers said that they’re disappointed in publishers who use MAP, and 56% of consumers said they buy fewer games from publishers that have a MAP policy.”
  3. An Open Letter to Gamers from a Growing Publishing Company: “Let your comments and posts be a force for good. The next time you find yourself writing a negative comment or post, before publishing it, ask yourself, “Can I make this constructive?””
  4. Kickstarter Lesson #234: Batman, The 7th Continent, and Skipping Retail: “The one reason I’d ever consider returning to Kickstarter would be if I had a game that cost $30-$40 to make. I would have a really hard time asking people to spend $150-$200 on a game via retail when I could sell it to them directly for $99 + shipping.”
  5. My Big Tax Mistake of 2016: “You don’t have to calculate all 4 of your quarterly tax estimates at the beginning of the year. Rather, you (or, more likely, your accountant) can do this each quarter. So if you have high expenses or low sales in the first quarter, you don’t have to give up what little cash you have remaining to pay your quarterly estimate.”
  6. Rising Sun: What I Learned as Creator by Backing My First CMON Campaign: “Some would say that CMON didn’t “need” to do a Kickstarter for Rising Sun. I think that type of statement focuses on the money, and honestly, I have no idea what CMON’s cash flow looks like. For me, Kickstarter is just as much about building community, raising awareness, improving a product, and gauging demand as it is about the money.”
  7. Kickstarter Lesson #211: It Can Hurt to Ask (Sometimes): “It can hurt to ask. You only get one chance to make a good first impression–do you really want to use that one chance to (a) ask someone to do something for you and (b) demonstrate that you don’t know how to look up basic information?”
  8. 5 Surprises from Our Demographic Survey: “I was REALLY surprised by how few women (278) filled out the survey compared to men (3,136). Does it mean that among all gamers, only 8% are women? Probably not. It may not even mean that among all Stonemaier fans, only 8% are women. But the results are skewed enough that it indicates a significant imbalance between male and female Stonemaier Games fans.”
  9. Lessons Learned from Quitting Kickstarter as a Creator, Part 3: “I really like that anyone can join the Facebook groups or chat on Twitter, BoardGameGeek, etc. Those platforms allow you to love something or be interested in something without spending money to interact with others who are passionate about it.”
  10. Kickstarter Lesson #226: When a Backer Threatens You: “Backers have the right to challenge creators in healthy ways. That’s how projects and products improve. Backers also have the power to vet project creators who are trying to scam people. But there’s a big difference between a backer saying, “I’m interested in some bigger stretch goals” versus “The stretch goals are terrible. I’m canceling my pledge if you don’t improve them today.” That’s a threat. We simply don’t talk to people like that.”

Thank you so much for reading, sharing, and commenting on this blog. I love to write about crowdfunding, entrepreneurship, and publishing, and I learn so much from your thoughts and questions. I look forwards to experiencing 2018 with you!

Before you go, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of this blog. Is there a certain type of entry you’d like to see (or see more of) in 2018? Even though I run a board game company, I try to make these blog posts applicable to creators of projects in all categories.

2016 Top 10

2015 Top 10

8 Comments on “Top 10 Most-Viewed Articles of 2017

Leave a Reply to Jamey StegmaierCancel reply

If you ask a question about a specific card or ability, please type the exact text in your comment to help facilitate a speedy and precise answer.

Your comment may take a few minutes to publish. Antagonistic, rude, or degrading comments will be removed. Thank you.

  1. Issue #12 CAH, Getting Reviewed, Importing/Exporting, Stealing, and Popularity Contests – The Tabletop Design Blog says:

    […] Lesson #240: Why Have a Release Date? — via Stonemaier Games + Top 10 Most-Viewed Articles of 2017 — via Stonemaier […]

  2. Greetings Jamey,

    Such great information. To echo @goldnuggetgame I too will read whatever you put out as I too am a brand new small business. The internet is a deep rabbit hole of information. It is nice to have a platform with so much useful information in one place. Quote number 7 really hit home for me because I am full of questions! So with hope I do not violate this rule here is an entry suggestion/question for the blog. I am searching for clarification on the illustration/graphic design stage of game (card game) development. What determines the size or resolution of the original pieces of art. If you have an article on this I have not found it yet and do apologize. This rabbit hole is deep and I am late. Thank you so much for all that you do for the gaming community!

    Sincerely,
    Michael

    1. Thanks Michael! Public questions are always welcome. :)

      I don’t have an article on that topic. Generally, you want art that is 300-400dpi and is at least 6mm bigger (for bleed) than the actual component size.

  3. As always, thanks for all the awesome content you create for the community!

    It is really great to be able to see inside all the mistakes and successes you have in order to position others to fix a mistake before it happens!

    As far as what to write for 2018 I enjoy everything you write, but if you would like to put out even more on how to navigate growing a small business that would be great since that is where I am at right now.

    Bottom line though, put out content and I will read it
    – Cody Thompson

    1. Thanks Cody! I’m in a similar place with my business, so it’s on my mind a lot, and I’m sure it’ll end up on the page too. :)

  4. I really enjoy when you dissect a problem that arose during game design/production. I tend to learn the most, overall, from mistakes. It’s really great when I get to learn from other people’s mistakes versus my own, what can I say, I’m cost conscious.

    And though I’m not sure it applies to your blog entries, I’m really enjoying your videos on your YouTube channel.

    1. Thanks Christopher! I enjoy writing those posts, as if something I write can help someone avoid a mistake I made, I want to share it! While I won’t be talking about game design on this blog (that’s for my YouTube channel, as you mentioned–though perhaps I need to expand that channel a bit, as I rarely talk about that kind of topic there), publishing and production will remain major topics here.

See All Comments

Discover more from Stonemaier Games

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading