Registration is Live!

Registration for Protospiel 2016 is now live!

Register for a Designer, Sponsor or VIP Player badge here:

https://tabletop.events/conventions/protospiel-san-jose-2016

As a reminder, there are two categories of games that are NOT allowed.

1. Finished/Production games should not take up table space.

Please don’t bring a finished game that is on sale/Kickstarter because you wish to promote it.  Bring flyers, sell sheets or a sample instead.  Finished games are not allowed to consume table space and play testers at the event.  
 
If you have an expansion you wish to test for your published game, that is acceptable.  If you are still making changes/tweaks to your near finished game, that is also acceptable.  The event is focused on play testing unpublished games.
 
2. Cards Against Humanity style games are NOT allowed.

I have lots of families attending the event.  Many of the publishers and designers attending are focused on making games for children and families.  Volunteers are bringing their kids.  We need to maintain a family friendly environment. 
 
If your game uses curse words, scatological humor, sexual terminology and/or nudity, it is not a good fit for this event.  

Protospiel San Jose 2016 Date Announced

PROTOSPIEL SAN JOSE 2016

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, April 15-17 

10 AM to 10 PM Daily

Game Kastle Mountain View

550 Showers Dr.

Mountain View, CA 94040

(650) 935-2229

www.gamekastle.com

Three days of all the board games you can handle for free! Come help local game designers and game companies play test their upcoming titles. Enjoy free snacks and the chance to win games from huge pool of raffle prizes.  

Register for a Designer or VIP Player badge here:

https://tabletop.events/conventions/protospiel-san-jose-2016

RSVP as a player via the related Meet Up group:

http://www.meetup.com/Bay-Area-Board-Game-Boosters-and-Designers/

Find our Facebook group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boardgamebuilders/

Within walking distance of Game Kastle Mountain View is: 

Subway 

Veggie grill

Starbucks

Jersey Mikes

The Counter

Chilies 

Lucky Chinese Food

Sushi 88

Several other restaurants 

Safeway

Walmart

Target

Trader Joes

Sprouts

Door Dash will deliver to Game Kastle Mountain View.

Uber and Lyft are widely available in this area for transportation.

Several hotels and the San Antonio light rail station are within walking distance.

Updated with more details 2-19-2016.

Feedback Requested: Possible Dates for Protospiel San Jose 2016

Good News Everyone!

Good News Everyone!

My dilemma this year was deciding if I should hold Protospiel San Jose at Game Kastle again, or try and get a larger location. Game Kastle has been a fantastic supporter of Protospiel San Jose and I have nothing but love for them. However, in both of the previous years I had to turn away numerous designers for lack of table space.  

The good news is that Game Kastle is opening a third, much larger location in Mountain View in February. The new location will have 100+ tables. For comparison, Game Kastle Santa Clara has only 50 tables. 

Protospiel San Jose 2016 will be held at:

Game Kastle Mountain View
550 Showers Dr.
Mountain View, CA 94040

What I want to hear from you is what date(s) would work best for you.  

The three possible dates are:

April 15th-17th
April 22nd-24th
April 29th-31st

My logic for those dates is avoiding getting too close to Kubla Con (in May) and to avoid other Con related conflicts.

Projected Timeline: 

1. January: Gather feedback on the best possible date in late April. 

2. February 1st: Announce date for Protospiel San Jose. Game Kastle Mountain View opens. Jeremy visits new location to plan out table layout and builds a store map.

3. February: Registration goes live for Designers and Sponsors. Promotion campaign begins in ernest.

4. Late April: Protospiel San Jose.

Let me know what date works best for you in the comments below or via email to BoardGameBuilders at gmail dot com. Check back on February 1st for the final event date.

The Contender Kickstarter Lessons Learned

Good read on Kickstarter and Card games over at Medium. This campaign seemed realistic about stretch goals and still lost money. I like their logic for tying stretch goals to backer count and not $ amount. 

We made $142,000 on Kickstarter and you can too — Medium

https://medium.com/@contendergame/we-made-142-000-on-kickstarter-and-you-can-too-fbd9268e661f#.qlgeyakvn

Top 10 Things FoxTrot did right to fund World's Fair Kickstarter on the first day.

Take a look at this extremely well put together Kickstarter for World’s Fair from Foxtrot Games.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/foxtrotgames/worlds-fair-1893-board-game

I am a fan of Randy and Foxtrot games.  Foxtrot just launched a Kickstarter for World’s Fair and it is already funded.  It is Randy’s third game launched on Kickstarter. I’m sharing this because I think Foxtrot is a fantastic example of the right way to compete on Kickstarter as it stands today.

Key details that stand out for me:

1. Video is 90 seconds, animated, and very clear with a just a sample of gameplay. Video plays well without sound. (Videos now auto play on Kickstarter with no sound).

2. Kickstarter price is $10 below MSRP.

3. Kickstarter pledge level includes shipping to USA.

4. Launched with 6+ independent reviews of the game.

5. Short profiles of you are backing is included on the Kickstater page with photos. I often back for the people, even if I’m not that interested in the product.

6. FoxTrot hired an artist AND a graphic designer separately. Both are profiled on the Kickstarter page. 

7. Print and Play on Kickstarter has full graphic design, but not full artwork.

8. Review copies had full artwork and graphic design.  Artwork files were provided to reviewers for use in their reviews.

9. ZERO stretch goals.  There is a section on the Kickstarter page addressing this.

10. Large, clear, “Whats in the Box” graphic near the head of the Kickstarter page (with full artwork and graphic design).