Simple Manufacturing and Shipping

We covered some preparation info in our previous post, Kickstarter 101 but now it's time to cover how manufacturing works. There are a lot of companies to consider but I'll start with what's important to think about. This is not the end all be all to how it is for everyone but these are the things that we've had to think of thus far in our game creation journey.

If you're looking to stay in the United States and want to print off smaller batches of games, one of THE BEST options for you is The Game Crafter. They have a ridiculous amount of tools that they use to make small publishers successful and go above and beyond to make sure people are satisfied. They even have podcasts and blogs that help give advice about how all of this works. I've spent every day listening to their podcast and have listened to hours of content that has been filled with some of the best advice I could've asked for. Seriously, consider these guys for your shipping if it's in your cards. (pun intended) Even if it isn't in the cards, utilize these guys and check out what they put out.

As for everyone else, I can list off quite a few manufacturers that do great work but I won't. There are people who have larger lists that are definitely more complete than I could manage. For instance, check out The Hitchhiker's Guide To Game Manufacturers by James Mathe. It separates everything by cost and quality. Whatever matters most to you depends on your situation and your game. What I will go over is what we've considered with everything:

1. If your game has cards, think about the thickness of the cards ahead of time. Try to get some games with varying thicknesses to reference but I'll save you some work. The standard for a lot of games is at least 300 GSM (grams per square meter). Anything less is not practical for playing over time. That being said if you have less cards in your game, going as high as 350 GSM might be an option for you. You'll be the best judge of this but no matter what you do, make sure you research it ahead of time. In addition, consider whether you want them to be uncoated, glossy, or made out of linen. These are all very important for you to know ahead of time.

2. With manufacturing, another thing to think about is what size your components will be. The companies who you work with might be able to help with this but it's good for you to think about this ahead of time. Go to your game shelf and try to find a game that's similar to yours. If you don't, then you should look up games that are like yours online to see what they did. Most of the time you can find photos of the inside of the boxes when you search for them. When you find them, consider what their game includes and think about whether you like how they packaged their product. Then you can plan accordingly when you tell the manufacturer what you're expecting.

3. Contact manufacturers ahead of time so you can get quotes. Quotes are free and are very helpful with your decision making. Some of the best manufacturers out there are expensive if you are printing a small run. One thing to mention before we go further is what the term, "Landed Cost" means. It literally means the cost per printed product for it to arrive to wherever you need to ship it out from. It's the printing cost plus what it costs to ship it to you. So, if you're printing 500 copies through Company A, the landed cost could be $15 per product whereas if you go with Company B, the landed cost could be $10 per product. If you just go with Company A without first contacting Company B, you could be out extra money.

4. Always remember to plan around the Chinese New Year. This year, companies were shut down from 2/7/18-2/23/18. That means over two weeks where you can't get anything done with your manufacturing companies. If you are manufacturing outside of the US, this is most likely going to affect you and you should just plan around it.

This may seem simple but when it comes down to it, it's important stuff to consider if you haven't come across it yet. There's loads more to consider but check out James Mathe's blog to narrow it down.

The last thing I'll mention is to think about how you're going to ship everything. If you don't want to manage all of the shipping yourself and spend hours upon hours fulfilling your orders, think about going with another company. A great company that handles storage and shipping combined is Ship Naked. They are also really nice folks and have warehouses around the country to fulfill whatever your company's needs are. These are just great tools for you to consider depending on how successful your campaign is.

What are you looking for in a manufacturer? What is most important to you when trying to find someone to print your games?

Thoughts of a Mad Scientist: Gamma Juice

Ah, Gamma Juice.... 

The sustenance of life in a bottle. The source of power I will use to make a force the world has never seen before. My gang....no... My ARMY of Grunts will be made out of Gamma Juice!

It's so brilliant yet simple and elegant. Only a paragon of my stature could ever achieve such greatness. Gamma Juice is so simple to make it is insane that no one else had thought of this before. Seriously, all you really need is luciferin, luciferase, oxygen, Plutonium, neodymium, nobelium, liquid Argon, Bromine, and a dash of Gamma Radiation(15 MeV).

Thankfully these ingredients are ooh, so common. Who doesn't have a few hundred pounds of each of those? Almost nobody...that's who, AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA. That makes it all the much more simple to generate great supplies to keep for myself. Only through my brilliance could anyone have amassed these level of resources. In the worst case scenario  I've got my atom smasher just laying around. Even if that breaks down I could use some cosmic radiation in place of the gamma rays. It's easy enough to channel.

I've got a mind on how many different molds I should use to create my Grunts. At least two maybe three.... or four....seven....teen. Variety is the spice of life after-all. I have always had an affinity for ogres and goblins with the occasional orc. merging them together should be a fun task to accomplish. Maybe I can add some cybernetics to them occasionally as well.

Terror will be wrought upon my enemies. Grunts will crash through the countryside and bring woe to who oppose me.

Gamma Juice for the win.

Thoughts of a Mad Scientist: Grunts

YES I'VE GOT IT!

I have discovered the best solution to my military quandary. No, not creatures of myth and legend. No not mercenaries. No not mindless machines.

The answer is Grunts! Yes, genetically engineered Grunts. They are the perfect solution to every mad scientists needs. They are loyal to a fault. They will do anything you tell them to. They especially enjoy smashing things. Seriously, Just send them into a place and they will smash it all up. They can't really make plans for themselves, but who cares? That's what I'm here for! Their horns, and rough skin make them terrifying opponents for the inexperienced mad scientist. Yes.... they shall be my army.

They aren't indestructible, but they're are easy to replace. They can subsist on essentially nothing at all and even if they do get hungry they can just eat each other. They are all made out of Gamma Juice after all.

Now all I need is a ready supply of Gamma Juice and my plans will come to fruition.

Thoughts of a Mad Scientist: Building New Friends

Since I last left you I had discovered the truest form of happiness... World Domination.

I have mused on how to create my army. There are many different ways to build an army. For example, I can hire mercenaries. They have a history of impressive feats and getting the job done. Too bad they think too much and demand pay. They also have no loyalty, except to the highest bidder of course. In the end, I would have to worry about someone paying them to dethrone me. Can't have that....

I could build an army of machine warriors. They would be practically indestructible, fully loyal and never get tired. These machine warriors would break through the defenses of my enemies and NEVER DIE... because they're not really alive. Sadly though, they are too expensive to make. Seriously, have you seen that Honda Robot Azimov? It cost like six million dollars to design and didn't even include weapons or combat systems and can barely walk. Can you imagine how much that will cost. At least like six million and one dollars. And then there's production costs and labor. Even with forced labor the parts alone will break the bank.

I could always tie myself to the occult and make a dark pack with the Darkest of Dark beings. Unknown to the world is the insanity and power of the "Other" world. The greatest of creatures and most terrifying of aberrations will be unleashed. My enemies would go insane not trusting their senses. Perhaps, they would be consumed with fear and be unable to leave their homes ever again. Sadly though, there is a high price to this dark pack. One of the aberrations I summon could quite possibly be the spirit of my dearly departed Great Aunt Havisham. A dreadful woman indeed. The risk is too great, far too great to have to deal with that woman. Who knows, perhaps even they would drive me quite even madder than I already am.

I could enlist the aid of the fantasy creatures of yore. Yes, YES!!!! Dragons and trolls, goblins and orcs. They would suit my purposes well. They could bring ruin to my enemies. Dragons can fly through the air and breath death from the skies. Trolls could crash through the walls of my enemies smashing and bashing all the way through to the heart of their complex. Lets not forget the goblins and orcs. Goblins can wreak havoc on the robots they so foolishly built where I was smart enough to avoid. The orcs in their massive hoards can spread through the landscape and pillage all of the resources I could ever need... Oh wait.... these creatures aren't real. Oh well, the trolls would probably just find themselves arguing with people in the VideoTube comment section anyways.

Hmmmmm, none of these are just quite right. What can the solution be?!