In Which I Hold My First Published Game

12 Games per box

Shrink-wrapped!

Solid European-Style game manufacturing

Love the artwork!

Drop Site and Premio Archimede Award

If you would like a copy, head over to www.bellwethergames.com where we will be selling them exclusively.

Drop Site to be Released June 1

Do you want to get your own copies of the award winning Drop Site soon?

You are in luck! Drop Site should be arriving by truck within two weeks!

Would you like to get your copies of Drop Site at a special pre-order discount?

You are in Luck! Starting May 15th, you will be able to pre-order Drop Site from our website for a special 30% off. This discount will only last until the official Drop Site release date, which will be...June 1!

In the meantime, take a sneak peak at some more Drop Site artwork, designed by ScriBabs.

Check back soon to place your pre-orders for 30% off!

More "Drop Site" Updates

Drop Site is finally in Charleston, SC after a long voyage across the Atlantic aboard a stoic vessel named, La Margarine.

While at sea, my precocious supply of games endured tossing waves, poor conversation and days without food or water, and now they must wait at the docks until they have been cleared by customs.

Be strong, Drop Site, be strong. Your journey is nearly at an end. I have a shipping company ready to take you swiftly to your final resting place, deep in the heart of the new world.

Meanwhile. back in Venice, studiogiochi hastily prepares Drop Site for the interested Turkish publisher. Change is felt in the wind. Changes to the rules are suggested by studiogiochi, some of which might improve the game play...but who can know for sure?

I have done my best to test these potential changes and respond with a good opinion, but who knows what will result. Only, be patient and wait and I will, in time, conclude this story of adventure...

PS. The ship's name was a lot less interesting than La Margarine. Pardon the embellishment.

Drop Site En Route

Its Official!

988 copies of Drop Site are on their way to the United States from Belgium.

And now, finally: a sneak peak at the artwork for the game...

Artwork for the back of the box. Note all the awesome branding.

Here is a "7," which is worth six points if you can match it.

There will be more sneak peaks to come. Check back again soon to see some of the other cards!

Ahoy Turkey! Here We Come!

What did Turkey say to the card game?

-Come on over!

That's right, I was just notified that a Turkish publisher wants to produce Drop Site. I'm not sure if that means it will sell in Turkey exclusively, or if it will just be published in Turkey and sold across Europe.

Either way, I'm game.

They said I will get royalties on the first of the year every year. I'm not sure how big those checks will be, but I will not stop them from coming to my mailbox.

Would you?

Thats what I thought.

So if you happen to stop by Turkey, grab a copy of Drop Site!

A Lot Going On

So between Job Searching, finishing my graduate work, and getting ready for the release of my game Drop Site, I have not found a lot of time to write posts, but there are plans in store for you...

Yes! Plans...

Drop Site will ship from Europe next week to the States. This means I have to be ready to Sell it when it gets here!

Problem is, we are also getting ready to move (to wherever I am able to find a job).

In other words, I don't have a release date yet, but I am aiming for mid-June officially.

Are you wondering: "WHERE CAN I GET A COPY?"?

Good news! You will be able to order a copy Online from our Website...which is not up and running YET, but will be...(again) I hope by mid-June.

But what about PINEBARS?

Good news again! I have a back-log of blog post ideas just waiting to be written. These will begin to appear either HERE (at pinebars.blogspot.com) or at our Website (URL withheld for now).

In the meantime, are you looking for more board game news? Check out Erik Arneson's board game newsletter. It comes out about every week and has some good board game info.

Drop Site Updates

I am facing some decisions about Drop Site.

Studio Giochi, the game's agent, is looking for distributors in Europe who would like to buy the game, and there may be several who are interested.

That means, I wouldn't get to have all of the 1,000 copies, but I would still make a profit on the games that are distributed.

I'd like to have all 1,000, but I might choose to leave 500 over seas to tap a market I will not otherwise be able easily access.

An alternative would be to print additional copies for $$$. The printer has given me an estimate on 500 and 1,000 additional copies, but there is no guarantee that these games would be purchased by a distributor and I can guarantee you that the price to print these extra games is not cheap!

So what is the best choice?

Of course, if Studio Giochi can't find an interested distributor for the free 1,000 copies then it makes no sense to print any additional copies or leave any copies in Europe. If distributors are interested, however...well, stop back by the blog later for that decision.

Drop Site (So Close)

$978

The cost of shipping 1000 decks of the award winning Drop Site to the US from Italy. According to my brother-in-law, 1000 decks of cards would be 207 lbs.

A Hefty 207 lbs.

I'll admit that weighs more than me, and I suppose that could cost $978 to ship from Europe.

With hope and prayer, I'll be able to fund this last great obstacle to getting my first shipment of stock.

Check back frequently. YOU can purchase Drop Site as soon as it arrives!

Publishing Progress

There is no quick path to publication! I hammered out the the rules and initial prototype in about 1 month, but that was only the beginning. Below I have listed a time-line from that time until now.

June 20: I mail my card game "Drop Site" to Italy for the Premio Archimede contest.

July 2: I receive word that my game has arrived and been entered into the competition.

August 20: I receive word that my game has made it from the field of 141 to the field of 60.

Oct. 2: My card game, "Drop Site" wins the Carta Mundi special prize at the Premio Archimede and 7th place overall.

Oct. 4: I hear from the spokesman about the award, and interested companies.

Oct. 5-17: I work on 5 more prototypes. 4 to send to Italy and 1 for myself.

Oct. 18: I send the prototypes in the mail.

Oct. 29: I hear from Premio Archimede spokesperson that my prototypes have not yet arrived.

Nov. 2: I hear that my prototypes have arrived.

Nov. 11: ScriBabs begins work on the 1000 copies that are part of the reward for winning.

Nov. 12-Dec 18: I communicate back and forth with ScriBabs to make sure all the artwork for the game is in order.

Dec 20: I continue to wait. It has been six months since I first mailed the game to Italy for the contest. Even though it has been a long process, it has been a rewarding one too. I have gotten to see firsthand some of the issues that can develop with game publishing, as well as to speak with several people in the industry to solve those problems. In addition, I continue to feel blessed that I even get to be a part of this process and to see my game become a reality.

Be on the look out in the next year for a sneak peak of the new artwork and a chance to get your hands on a copy! I will be giving a away some free copies as part the release promotion!

Prototypes En-Route!

Prototypes en-route!

Last weekend my wife and I spent nearly 12 hours cutting, gluing and making boxes for the 4 prototypes to be sent to Italy.

All told, there were 260 cards (thats 520 cards if you count the fronts and the backs) and four boxes. I'm not a very good box maker, but I survived and made a huge mess on our office floor.

Had some trouble sending the prototypes to Italy. Apparently, "playing cards" are prohibited by Italian customs. I'm not sure whether Drop Site would be considered "playing cards" since it is home made, and doesn't contain all the typical elements of playing cards, such as suits and face cards and aces. I can only hope it will make it through.

More about the game:

Still, I believe Drop Site is an ace in terms of game play and design. As I mentioned before, Drop Site fell into place one lazy Saturday morning and was truly and answer to prayer.

I designed the graphics myself using Adobe Illustrator CS4 in our Library at MSU. (By the way 520 cards in card stock prints for about $50 bucks). Each card has a picture of a box of "AID" parachuting down towards the drop site. The higher numbers are closer to the sun, and the lower numbers are closer to the earth.

As you play the game, you help to "lower" the parachutes toward the ground in hopes of matching various packets of aid to bids you make in a pile in front of you called your "debt."

You score points based on how risky your bids were, then re-shuffle and send several more parachutes toward the ground.

Mechanics Drop Site employs are: Matching, bluffing, play and draw, graduated scoring, and a vague sense of zero-sum.

What happens next?

Leo Colovini, of studiogiochi in Venice, and well-established game designer has been in contact with me regarding Drop Site. I will get to keep 1000 copies of Drop Site, which will be developed by ScriBabs and printed by CartaMundi. The prototypes will go to three European game companies for further testing.

As Mr. Colovini explained, essentially when I participated in the Premio Archimede, I agreed to make studiogiochi the "agent" for Drop Site, that is, they help to connect the game with interested publishers.

The remaining 1000 copies I am free to do with as I please, provided another company does not decide to publish Drop Site and restrict my distribution of the games in specific ways.

Conclusion:

As usual, I continue to learn more and more about the Euro-gaming industry almost every day. Looking back even to June when I first entered the competition, I feel that I know so much more now.

Even if no company decides to publish Drop Site, I am very pleased to have learned so much in the process, and now feel that getting a published board or card game is an attainable goal--if not now, then perhaps in the not so distant future.