Happy Mitten Podcast: Board games, business, and...

Jeff and Lee chat with designer Matt Loomis on Kickstarter, pitching to publishers, and more.

On this episode: We talk with Nathan Cornelius from Cosmic Wombat Games. We discuss things like why to become a board game publisher, the final results of Kickstarting Stones of Fate, what he thinks needs to change in the industry. Company updates: We have t-shirts coming! More details soon.

Jeff, Lee, and Kyle welcome you to the fifty seventh episode of the Happy Mitten Podcast.Topics for this episode include the board games they're currently playing, the recent Aether Magic update, and their recent call to action to those interested in promoting their game or brand by sponsoring the Happy Mitten Podcast.

MTGHeadQuarters In this episode… Jeff and Kyle are joined by Jeremy Hambly, founder and host of MTGHeadQuarters. MTGHeadQuarters is a Magic the Gathering YouTube channel that engages a following of over eighty thousand subscribers through content focused around product openings, news, and strategy. Jeremy’s love for the gaming community and knowledge of MTG is evident through his rapidly evolving channel and more recently, his creation of Gamefindr, a free MTG/Tabletop networking app you can begin registration for now. While there are undeniable similarities between the tabletop and Magic the Gathering community, they do feel like completely separate worlds. Those worlds feel a bit closer with Jeremy on the podcast where we discussed the history/growth of MTGHeadQuarters, the feeling you get when you open a three dollar pack with a $800+ card in it, and the collectible card game industry. (Booster-pack-ization-erific!)

In this episode… We interview actress, model, host, YouTuber, and avid lover of all things geek, Trisha Hershberger! Twitter is our favorite social network because it provides a tiny window into the lives of people that interest us, and an opportunity to cross paths with those we never would have otherwise. It was through Twitter […]

In this episode… Happy Mitten Games is joined by friend and board game designer, Matt Worden. When Happy MItten began accepting game submissions for our debut game, Matt’s prototype, “For Goods and Honor,” stood out among the rest due to the games rich player interaction and approachability. After demoing the game with friends, we knew we had a special game and with Matt’s guidance, slowly refined the prototype into “Aether Magic,” On Kickstarter Now. Since the launch of Aether Magic’s kickstarter, Matt has gone the extra mile with what he’s obligated to do. Matt wrote about “The Magic Sauce” of Aether Magic and Aether Magic's "Clever Spell-Casting" on his website, and took the time to design a proper two player variant for the game when backers demanded it. Partnering with a talented designer that is able to help with game promotion and continuously add value to the project has been a best case scenario. We’re excited to have Matt on our 54th episode of the Happy Mitten Podcast to discuss Aether Magic, board game design, and Matt’s upcoming projects. Company Updates Aether Magic is on Kickstarter now! Check out the project HERE and make sure to share!

In this episode… Jeff and Lee change things up a bit. Instead of interviewing someone directly from the industry, we interview Rich Mulholland, a very successful business dude and board game enthusiast. Richard is an ex-roadie for bands like Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, international public speaker, and owner of Missing Link. Richard offers incredible insight as both a business person and hobbyist. Feature: Richard Mulholland Richard shares valuable insight on topics like: -His professional background and why his opinion matters. -What areas of the board game industry are doing well and what areas need improvement. -Why it's important for the board game industry to look for inspiration outside of itself. -His magical experience being a lighting roadie for a Whitney Houston concert. -Game designers should be millionaires.

In this episode… James Ernest, president of Cheapass Games joins Jeff and Lee to discuss the Cheapass business model, his opinions on game design and publishing, and his former life as a magician and juggler. Feature: James Ernest James shares valuable insight on topics like: The premise and changes of his business model after operating for over 20 years in the industry. How to cut through all the noise as the industry continues to grow. The importance and roll of game conventions on Cheapass Games. How Kickstarter has changed his business model. His previous lives as a juggler, magician, and card shark. Company Updates: Aether Magic is on Kickstarter now! Check it out here: HappyMittenGames.com/kickstarter.

In this unique episode... The three of us are literally working on finalizing things the night before we launched, and you're in the moment with us. We were up super late into the night making sure everything was ready to go. Then, cut to the day of launch and Kyle joined us via speakerphone while we hit the LAUNCH button. Later that day we reconvened to talk about how we were feeling so far. Enjoy this unusual episode as a fly on the wall during our Aether Magic Kickstarter launch.

In this episode… The three of us were interviewed by Grand Con's co-founder, the creator of Grand Game Academy, and friend, Marc Specter. At a time when Jeff, Lee, and I were new admirers of board games, we were fortunate to get introduced to Marc. Marc invited the three of us to be a part of the Grand Gaming Academy and through that organization, we were properly introduced to the board game community and plenty of incredible board games. Throughout the Happy Mitten Podcast, we have been lucky to talk to a fraction of the awesome people in our industry, but never have WE been interviewed. Marc expressed interest in interviewing us in the past and the opportunity felt right for our fiftieth episode and upcoming game. Marc asked thoughtful questions and is clearly a natural speaker. We hope you enjoy getting to know more about Happy Mitten and the "road" we took to get Aether Magic on Kickstarter this February.

In this episode… We welcome graphic designer, designer of the game Compounded, and coordinator of the Unpub network, Darrell Louder! While our podcast episodes are often the first opportunity we have to get to know our guests on an intimate level, we've had the pleasure of getting to know Darrell long ago through various game conventions. The fun picked up right where we left off the last time we spoke with Darrell as we discussed Unpub 5, his new job, and creative game designs we've seen at recent Unpub events. Feature: Darrell Louder Interview What is Darrell’s role at Unpub and how did that role come about? For those that may not know, what is Unpub and what makes it different than other board game conventions? Unpub Image Courtesy of Unpub.net UnPub has really been growing over the past couple years. How many people were in attendance this past year? ~How many designers? ~How many attendees? What made this past years UnPub different than years past? How would Darrell describe the atmosphere of UnPub from the perspective of the designers? Is the atmosphere that of camaraderie, or is it more tense/competitive? As a game designer, is it better to have more than one game design at UnPub? Can a designer have too many game designs? Who were some of the publishers Darrell saw at Unpub this past year? Were all of them there to scout out potential game designs or do many Publishers go for more promotional reasons? What have game publishers or game designers done promotional wise that Darrell felt was a great success? Has anyone ever done anything from a promotional sense that Darrell felt did not really get the right kind of attention? What games were some of the crowd favorites this past year? We know a lot of really great designs were there, but did any steal the show? The cube-shaped bowel movements wombats make. The cube-shaped bowel movements wombats make. What game types does Darrell think people really respond to at an UnPub? Has Darrell ever seen a game that was really well received at UnPub but ended up not being very successful once published?

Introduction If you’re interested in designing board games, there is no better place on the internet to go than Board Game Designers Forum. On this episode of the podcast, we speak with game designer and manager of BGDF’s monthly “Game Design Showdown,” Richard Durham. Rich shared a bit of the history of Board Game Designers Forum, and discussed the networking events and threads created on the forum by its rich community of knowledgeable game designers (and newbies alike). We hope this interview encourages game designers to get active with Board Game Designers Forum, and challenge their philosophies on game design. Feature: Richard Durham Interview What is the Board Game Designers Forum and who is it’s target audience? What was the motivation behind the creation of BGDF and what does Rich hope to accomplish? Rich explains to the listeners what his involvement and day to day role is with BGDF. In the past, in order to get on BGDF you needed to be manually approved by an admin. Is that control still in place and can Rich comment on that? A community on any forum often develops its own micro culture. What is the general tone and attitude of the BGDF “culture”? Since its creation, BGDF discussed topics have trickled into other aspects of the board game creation process. Is that welcomed? The three of us recently recorded a few 2014 wrap up segments for the Dice Tower and realized that we often don’t play games the same year in which they come out. What are Rich’s board game playing habits like? What does Rich’s board game designing life look like? Rich must see a lot of games, especially unpublished games. What common mistakes does Rich see unpublished designers making? How should designers learn from this? What 3 common traits, talents, or skills does Rich see in great designers? What is the difference between an unpublished game that gets picked up versus one that doesn’t? What interesting life fact does Rich have that you’ve never shared with anyone before? Company Updates Look out for our company’s debut game, Aether Magic by Matt Worden, on Kickstarter Q1 2015.

In this episode… We welcome Richard Bliss to the podcast! Richard is a social media expert, contributor to Forbes, and host of the popular Funding the Dream podcast. Having helped his listeners accomplish their goals with his vast knowledge of crowdfunding, we were thrilled to have him on our own Happy Mitten podcast. After talking with Richard for a short while, it became evident that in addition to his expertise on business strategy and marketing, Richard is living an interesting and fulfilled life. We’re thrilled with this interview and hope you all enjoy. Feature: Richard Bliss Interview Why is Richard interested in and dedicating himself to social media and crowdfunding? Richard’s specialty is in “rewards focused” crowdfunding. What is rewards focused crowdfunding and how is it unique from the other methods of crowdfunding? Through proper preparation, you can build a “tribe” of people who identify with you and will likely check out your kickstarter, product, etc when the time is appropriate. However, that’s only as valuable as your project is good! So, in Richard’s mind, what makes a kickstarter project backable? In Richards interview with Forbes, he says that the base level backer number of a Kickstarter will commonly be five percent of the creators social media following. For most in the board game space, that isn’t going to cut it. What are ways of dramatically improving the backer number past the creators own social media following? Out of all of the Kickstarters Richard has seen, what are the top (3) qualities of the most effective campaigns? What are the top 3 consistent mistakes all failing Kickstarters have? If Richard was going to run his own (board game) Kickstarter campaign, what would his process be? What specific steps would he take? Richard, in taking a closer look at you for this interview, I feel you are a very motivated individual. Where does that drive come from? What is next?

In this episode… We are joined by artist/illustrator, Jacqui Davis! We were exposed to Jacqui as admirers of her illustration in Euphoria (Stonemaier Games), Belle of the Ball (Dice Hate Me Games), and Fidelitas (Green Couch Games). We love the style and color she expresses with her work and are thrilled to have her as the illustrator for our debut game, Aether Magic. The “logic fairy” was kind enough to give us even more of her time, calling in from her home in the UK for a friendly chat and a podcast episode we hope you enjoy. Jacqui lived in South Africa for the first ten years of her life. What are her memories of South Africa? Does she recall what the experience of moving to the UK was like? What has Disney Studio meant to Jacqui and her career? Has anyone in Jacqui’s life had a more direct impact on her illustration career? Did Jacqui always work for herself? What other jobs has she had? What makes Jacqui the “logic fairy?” Jacqui says on her website that she began her art career with pencil and paper, but now primarily uses a tablet and Photoshop. How does Jacqui feel technology has changed her career field? Does Jacqui think of her character designs as being from the same universe or separate from one another? What fuels her creativity? Where does she find inspiration? How often does Jacqui interact with other artists? Are there any characteristics or personality traits Jacqui believes many or all artists have in common? What advice does Jacqui have for clients looking to contract her or other artists? What common mistakes come up? How can we as publishers/ designers avoid them? What is her best case scenario when being contracted? When taking on a project, would she rather have more freedom or more direction from her client? (Jeff and Kyle have gone back and forth on this the past) Company Updates Aether Magic will launch on Kickstarter in Q1 2015. Get the latest on Happy Mitten and Aether Magic by joining the crew on their mailing list.

In this episode… We are joined by Stephen Buonocore, President of Stronghold Games! Stephen co-established Stronghold Games in late 2009 and now solely operates the company, which is an incredible accomplishment looking at the number of quality titles Stronghold Games has published since its creation. Our time with this New York raised, New Jersey residing entrepreneur was spent discussing the crucial moments in his companies life, why he feels Stronghold Games is successful, and the games we can look forward to seeing from him in the future! Feature: Stephen Buonocore Interview Stronghold Games first publications were “Code 777” and “Survive: Escape from Atlantis.” A successful game company often begins with a commercially successful release as its foundation. Does Stephen feel initial success is crucial to a company's long term success? How did Stronghold Games fund the print run for “Code 777” and “Survive?” What is Stronghold Games working toward? What is Stephen’s goal for the company? How will Stephen know when he gets “there?” What does Stephen feel is his greatest strength as company president? What area does Stephen feel he needs to improve in? In 2011, Confusion: Espionage and Deception garnered game awards from MTV-Geek and Games Magazine. How do awards affect Stronghold’s sales and brand? In 2012 Stephen’s business partner, Kevin Nisbitt left Stronghold Games. What did this mean for Stephen and the company? How many games does Stephen like Stronghold to publish every year? What is his reasoning behind this number? Why does that number work for Stronghold? What tools or resources help make that number possible? Stephen sells his games online, through distribution, and at various conventions. Where does the majority of Stronghold’s revenue come from? If Stronghold Games published a game valued at $50, how long would it take Stronghold Games to break even from the costs it took to create that game? Hypothetically, if Stephen wanted to shut Stronghold Games down right now, how much liabilities would Stronghold Games have? @HappyMitten @StrongholdGames Feelings on the growth of 3rd party organizers/inserts? Does this absolve publishers from specific inserts? — Nick Baker (@Nyobari) October 11, 2014 Company Updates We hope you've all been enjoying our newsletter! Be sure to join us for exclusive Aether Magic and Happy Mitten Games updates. Currently, we’re working on getting worldwide fulfillment setup for our Kickstarter and marveling at the terrific work our illustrator is doing on Aether Magic’s illustration.