Today we talk about manufacturing quality. Here are some of the topics:

• Print-on-Demand Quality
• CMYK & RGB Issues
• Defects and Limitations
• When are defects worth the risk?
• Which manufacturer should publishers choose?
• How to gauge quality
• Quality for repetitive use
• Does the manufacturer influence a purchase?

Video Version: https://youtu.be/CjYPdXjdqTs

What themes should designers and publishers target for their games? Here are some topics we discuss:

- How important is being family-friendly?
- Considerations for getting into a big box retailer
- Over/Under-used themes

Video Version: https://youtu.be/ogHM9pbQYAQ

Learn Chris Reynolds' secrets to lay out out your crowd-funding page to give potential backers what they want to see and read. He also gives some tips on general marketing of a board game so come have a listen!

Brian interviews Eduardo Baraf about his company Pencil First Games and all the analog and digital games he has designed and published. He recently released Gem Packed Cards with both a card game version and a mobile version of it at roughly the same time. We talk about that and so much more in this interview.

What's the best way to get noticed by a publisher at a convention? What annoys them? What excites them? We talk about our experience and lessons learned as we cover these topics:

 - Making Appointments
 - Sell Sheets
 - Elevator Pitch
 - Finding a Publisher that Fits Your Game
 - Publisher Speed Dating
 - Ludography
 - Demos
 - Follow-ups After a Pitch

Video version on The Dice Tower: https://youtu.be/Ec-dJmj3Gyc

Richard New, Jeremy Commandeur, and Brian Henk talk about writing rules for a board game. Here are some of the topics we cover in this episode:

• Different styles of reading and writing rules
• Rules layouts
• Managing versions of rules
• Rules editors
• Sanity test
• Reference cards vs. rules
• Rules for an expansion
• Blind playtests

Resources:

• The Game Crafter Sanity Tests [https://www.thegamecrafter.com/help/sanity-tests]

The top 5 keys to convention preparation from the designer and publisher perspective.

Also, how do you prepare for a smaller convention? Which conventions should you attend? 

Video/YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/5cgYrNqIQWs

We continue our discussion on getting ready for a convention, running a booth, and getting in front of a publisher at a con. What should you put in your convention prep kit?

Video/YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/OVVYI8E4li0

Today the topic is getting ready for a convention from the perspective of someone playing games, publishing games, and designing games. How do you get your design in front of publishers? How do you get buzz going for a booth? What are the booth-goer "use cases"? How do you make the most of your convention? We tackles these questions and more.

Video/YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/fD5lhcPeluM

Jeremy gives some more tips on running your own Protospiel event and we get more from him about how to create the right environment for game design support and feedback.

Resources

Protospiel website: http://www.protospiel.org/

Unpub website: http://unpub.net/

In this episode, we interview Zachary Strebeck about legal issues in the tabletop game industry. He talks about his launch of his site for do-it-yourself contracts and he also started his own podcast called Legal Moves.

Video/YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/8KLd3DaqsrE

We cover lessons learned in talking to tabletop game manufacturers so you can better prepare for the next time you need to work with one.

Video/YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/h5wEsDtUPPw

Jeremy Commandeur hosts this WonderCon 2015 panel on Indie Tabletop Publishing. These are the panelists:

• Jeremy Commandeur 
• Chris Castagnetto
• Brian Henk
• Payton Lee

We talk about improving the relationship between a publisher and an artist. What are some tips to make it mutually beneficial?

Working with Artists | Hyperbole Games
http://hyperbolegames.com/2013/04/14/working-with-artists/

Kelley McMorris illustration: Self-Published Authors: 10 Tips on How to Email an Illustrator
http://kmcmorris.blogspot.com/2015/04/self-published-authors-10-tips-on-how.html

The Forbidden Limb guys talk about different places to go to find an artist for your tabletop game.

Video Version: https://youtu.be/-aC04mNovAo

Topics:

• Where can I go to find an artist?
• What's the difference between an artist and a graphic designer?
• How much does an artist cost?

References:

http://www.comicsalliance.com
http://www.fiverr.com
http://www.deviantart.com
http://www.99designs.com
https://www.behance.net

Richard Bliss hosts the Kickstarter Panel at the San Jose Protospiel. All Kickstarter topics are discussed from the following panelists:

• Jeremy Commandeur 
• Brian Henk
• Teale Fristoe
• Aldo Ghiozzi
• Richard Bliss

This panel was from the 2015 San Jose Protospiel and covered design and publishing of tabletop games. It was hosted by Grant Rodiek and also had Teale Fristoe, Chris Castagnetto, Jeremy Commandeur, and Brian Henk.

The Forbidden Limb debuts on The Dice Tower Network with tips on finding art for your prototype.

Jeremy tells us the top 9 items he believes designers should consider adding to a publishing contract before they sign it.

Learn about the important clauses in a contract between a tabletop game designer and publisher. What does a contract look like and what do you want to make sure is included, both from the publisher and designer perspective?

Video/YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/j6P4OYNmZng

See a behind the scenes perspective of a Kickstarter campaign from Brian. The Bombers and Traitors expansion of Good Cop Bad Cop campaign ended just a couple of weeks ago and we go through all the data. Jeremy adds his backing preferences and Richard asks some clarifying questions.

YouTube/Video Version: http://youtu.be/zINmgD0Clf8

Jeremy has returned from Unpub 5, the unpublished games convention, and he tells us all about it. We discuss the benefits of going to this kind of convention, what types of games you'll find, and tips for publishers, designers, and gamers on maximizing your experience while you're there.

Video/YouTube Version: http://youtu.be/wWS3w6eY_7o

Brian discusses his experience with marketing after a game release, Jeremy tells tales of fellow designers at conventions, and Richard reminisces about the buyer experience.

Brian lays out the methods of getting some free press by working with other designers and publishers. Jeremy drops some economics for those willing to drop some dough. Really, they each do both. Richard listens and gets a visitor from way off in 2015!

Richard asks Jeremy and Brian to enlighten him on who to get interested in a prototype, where and when to find those people, how to get them interested, and why. Really, all the questions but "what." You do have a prototype, right?

Jeremy explains the structure of a Kickstarter campaign, leaving options for POD and manufacturing open. Brian gives his three criteria for choosing a manufacturer. Richard puzzles over the benefits of different manufacturer locations.

Video/YouTube Version: http://youtu.be/a4WMj_Ky7dk

Brian gives several examples of errors that can occur with either POD or manufacturing and Richard discovers the guys' tips for minimizing mistakes. Jeremy talks about getting games played by publishers.

Video/YouTube Version: http://youtu.be/UNhqE9CgWgs