Hi ive designed a board game its original and i would like to show it to some game makers how do i do it an?

Question

Hi ive designed a board game its original and i would like to show it to some game makers how do i do it an?

Answer 1

Try the link below, the association of game manufacturers, an industry trade association.

Answer 2

First thing to do is to contact a PATENT AGENT.

Most Games manufacturers are honest but some might not be.

Failing that type up a full description of the game (with photos if possible) and lodge that tdescription with a lawyer/attorney.

Get them to TIME STAMP it with todays date.

This will be the only proff that you designed the game.

After that show the game to the larger games manufacturers like Waddingtons (or look in Toys R Us at the board game makers - if games are not stocked by them then they are unlikely to sell).

Answer 3

First, the whole bit about securing copyright or a patent is a bit off-base. You already hold copyright to everything that you produce -- that's why it is plagiarism if someone else takes your writings and publishes them as their own. Registration of your copyright is a time-consuming and expensive process, especially for something about which you are unsure of future profitability. The same goes for any notion of patenting your game -- more expensive and consuming than it is worth. More on why these steps are likely unnecessary in marketing your product later.

Now, on to your actual question about designing and marketing a game. First, there is a burgeoning web community for persons just like yourself who design games and seek to get them published. There is a wealth of material for you over at the Board Games Designer's Forum http://www.bgdf.com/. They can help you with information about how to go about marketing and publishing your game. This will be your biggest help about getting your game designed and marketed, even if that means self-publishing and personal marketing.

Before you head over there though, you may want to do some research about games like yours and whether there is a product on the market already that is remarkably similar to yours. It's tough to re-invent the wheel only to find that someone has already developed the automobile (<-- terrible metaphor). There is a great board game community with lots of information on games over at Board Game Geek.com http://www.boardgamegeek.com/.

In addition, I would recommend having a look at Brian Tinsman's The Game Inventor's Guidebook. It's a good resource for information about the game industry, profiles of prominent designers, and some industry contact information.

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Inventors-Gui...

Now, when it comes to big game producers like Hasbro, Mattel, Ravensburger, et al., most of these publishers will not take unsolicited submissions of games. This is a method for them to cover themselves in situations of being accused of "stealing" ideas (e.g. a designer makes a game based on a popular children's fad and sends the unsolicited submission off to a game publisher; a month later the game publisher releases a game based on the same fad (which they had been developing over the course of the previous year, and they never looked at the unsolicited submission), but to the designer it appears that the game publisher "stole" his idea for the game). Also, large game publishers such as these have full-time staffs who design games for them, so unsolicited and untested external products aren't of much use them.

It's worthwhile to note that while some people believe that a successful board game is a "million dollar idea," the truth is that there are very very few board game designers who make a living doing so, and generally they can only do so because they have spent years building up their published games. A joke in the board game community is that all one needs to make a small fortune in the board game industry is to start out with a large fortune. Much like writers, one must publish and produce a lot of materials before enough residual money comes in to "go pro". Few of the designers who produce prolific games make a significant income at it, and the board game industry is one where sales of a few hundred copies is considered a "success", because that's the point where the game publisher can break even. Circling back around to the top topic, in an industry where profit margins are thin, any extra and unnecessary money spent on securing copyrights and patents just a further hurdle to making a published game become profitable.

Answer 4

Everything you need to know can be found here: http://www.bgdf.com/tiki-custom_home.php

You will get answers here from people who know nothing about the game industry, so I'll save you some time by telling you:

1. No matter what anyone says here, you do not need to copyright your game because most big game companies won't accept game submissions to avoid potential lawsuits from people who submit games. In this kind of situation, they need more protection than you do.

2. Your idea is worth NOTHING. No company will BUY an idea. If you have a prototype, then you may be able to get a licensing deal.

3. If you do manage to get your game published, you probably won't make millions. The average boardgame only sells 500-2000 copies.  You can make more money working at McDonald's.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I've designed several games.. and I can tell you.. you do NOT need a PATENT for the game. The game is automatically under copyright protection via intellectual property laws.

I second the recommendation of visiting www.bgdf.com