Yay! Congratulations!

CSK- please send me a message if you aren't able to find some help here. I can grill a friend of mine for some answers :)

Phynstar and I made that miserable climb and it took us old ladies all day.

Took me all day as well. I call Monadnock the old person's Mt. Washington.

Yay, congrats! That is so exciting!

Can you typically see what people rate your boxes?

Or spending more time with your boxing friends? Maybe it's petting more cats. In any case, I've got you covered:

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?eventId=3919

So our family did a lot of travelling over the holidays and we are avid listeners to audio books while we drive. The audio book by this title is GREAT! We all loved it (mom, dad, 11 yr boy, 12 yr girl). The kids had seen the movie version called 'HOME' but the book was much more in depth. There was some swearing in the read, so please be aware, but this was from the mouth of the young girl who is the main character. I would highly recommend listening if you have any long travels or evenings coming up!

I do not think there is an option to see who rates boxes?
To see how your boxes are rated though, click on letterboxes on the tool bar at the top of this page. Scroll down to box rankings and click.

Has anyone actually invented one and tried to get it produced?

I haven't actually invented one, though I do have an idea I need to develop. The owners of Tasty Minstrel Games (TMG) and Mayday Games play in our game group, Northern Utah Gamers Guild so I've played a few prototypes. If you were in northern Utah I'd invite you to come. (Anyone in the area is welcome to come as well.)

There is actually a game designers group in Salt Lake City. I haven't been to that, but if you're near a large city there is probably such a group near you. Use Board Game Geek to find your local board game group and they will probably know where to get in contact with such a group.

Let me give you the advice from the sessions from SaltCon 2017 on getting your board game sold from the (I kept notes): Play test the game. First get it playable personally. Then play with a group so that you can work out the kinks with other people. Before it is ready to be published it must be played at least 5 times without your help, though you can silently observe. Don't be afraid to put it aside for a while. Most board game designers have several ideas in the works at the same time. Keep notes.

This came up in multiple sessions from multiple designers: If someone tells you that something is wrong, they're almost always right. When they tell you how to fix it, they're almost always wrong.

When you get it ready to publish, don't worry about art work because the publisher will most likely redo the art work anyway. You can publish through Kickstarter, but the three board game companies presenting said that after that they are unlikely to pick it up. It is an issue of having the demand already served, but it can happen.

And when you sell your board game to them you get a percentage of the sales. The figures they gave for averages were: Mayday Games: 5% of wholesale which is about 40% of MSRP = 2% of MSRP. TMG averages 6% of their cost which is about 2.4% of MSRP. It doesn't seem like much but you don't have to worry about manufacturing, marketing, distributing and dealing with replacement parts.

And different game companies have different genres or audiences. Mayday and TMG had some games that they had reviewed that weren't right for their company that they referred the other company.

Good luck.

From Texas!

Wow, thanks for the information.

So you recommend selling the game and not producing it myself?

I have been sitting on this game way too long so I have considered hiring professional testers to get some neutral/professional feed back.

csk

From Massachusetts!

Wow, thanks for the information.

Like I said, this was from sessions on this topic at a board game convention.

So you recommend selling the game and not producing it myself?

That's what they recommended, but they are in the business of selling games so from their perspective it will be better to go through them. I'm not even close with my own idea so I haven't really evaluated the end of the route at this point. You would have to evaluate your own situation.

A lot of people have successfully gone through Kickstarter. I've even bought one (that should be arriving soon), a deluxe edition of a previously produced game by a professional game company. Another I've bought through KS is a neat idea for a game. Two others that were on Kickstarter are from one of the local game companies I mentioned so I'll pick them up at the local game night (because he has extras) so that I don't have to pay shipping.

Weigh your options.

I have been sitting on this game way too long so I have considered hiring professional testers to get some neutral/professional feed back.

This may be an educational game; something I'm not familiar with except playing Krypto. However, someone over at Board Game Geek will know more about that than I.

Your location is "Planet Earth" so I don't know what major cities are near you. You should be able to find a local game club. Check Board Game Geek for players near you (called guilds). Even a small group will be very helpful in play testing. At least a group in larger city will have a large group.

All of Utah has a population of 3.1 million people, most from Ogden (where I'm near) to Provo (less than 100 miles south of me). Board Game Geek lists 18 in Utah. Find one in your state, or found one in your state. Game stores will often sponsor game nights or at least know how to contact local groups.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to play test. I don't even know how to contact professional play testers. And Board Game Geek has forums too. The people over there would be even more helpful than I have been. Nevertheless, I'm still willing to discuss anything else you would like to discuss here.

Regardless, please let us know how it comes out.

Congratulations! It's no surprise to me. Your boxes are wonderful and I enjoy hunting for them.

I've been trying to think of my favorite and I have to second your choice. That was an amazing event. I'll never forget that glowing moment. I didn't have to drive for 20 hours, but it did take us 5 hours to drive 100 miles back home because of traffic. My daughter was not pleased. She has major road rage with motorcycles driving past on the shoulder and down the middle of the highway between the cars.

Sorry...been busy with sick family and a birthday. Anything really would be fun. I haven't done a ltc in forever so I'm up for easing myaelf back into the game. 😊👍

This book sounds interesting.... The Letterbox Murders!

When the harmless family pastime of Letterboxing becomes a killer’s obsession, the search becomes more than simply a hunt for a hand-carved rubber stamp.

For the record, this is not an official endorsement. I just heard about the book about 15 minutes ago and bought a copy out of curiosity, but I haven't started reading it and have no idea if it's any good or not. But I figure I probably won't be the only curious letterboxer out there! I like the idea, though! We need a letterboxing book club now!

-- Ryan

Happy New Year from Oklahoma!!! Brrr, Baby....its cold outside!!!!

I wonder if Mitzi Phillips has a trail-name...?

I just ordered this book. I read the first few pages and it sounds like a blast.

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gTrackerId=9669

Here you go!!

Hope everyone is well now!! Sickness is rough this year!

Why wouldn't Mitzi Phillips be an alias? There is at least one letterboxer on this site who enjoys reading murder mysteries, and also talks about writing a novel. Maybe this one is hers.
Mitzi Phillips, please raise your hand so we can see you.

Isn't Cookie Cutters name Mitzi?

This book sounds interesting.... The Letterbox Murders!

It is Kindle-only.

I wonder if someone will make a series of letterboxes based on this book. That would be so meta.

I wonder if the murder victim had a habit of leaving boxes completely exposed??

It is Kindle-only

It is available in paperback or kindle.

"About the author" says she lives in the Sierra foothills and dedicates her time to LETTERBOXING, writing, and animal welfare causes.

A mystery within a mystery . . . she is among us somewhere.

It is Kindle-only.

No it's not. There's a paperback version on Amazon.com as well. $8.98.

I wonder if someone will make a series of letterboxes based on this book. That would be so meta.

Or if someone will turn a copy of the paperback book into a letterbook based on the book. That would be doubly meta. *nodding* =)

-- Ryan

Sounds like a great plot line.. Have to check it out.
My 7 yr old son, the " Ice Viking ", did get very creeped out and nervous on a stretch of trail in the Lynn Woods that got very very narrow and overgrown. It also zig zagged downhill a bit. Every rustle made him jump. Perfect spot for a story plot.

It is Kindle-only.

I ordered a paper-back on Amazon. Wonder if they already run out of stock?

I once had a critter kill one of my boxes, left a chewed pink body of a stamp all over the place.