On Second Thought | BoardGameGeek (2024)

Not at all.

This is a reprint campaign of my previous game Transmissions. I've never done a reprint before - so I don't know anything about what to expect. At least some reprint campaigns have done better than their first campaign and it is almost conventional wisdom that this will happen. But will that happen for Transmissions? The data I've collected doesn't help at all. I have no real way to collect reprint campaigns and honestly don't know how many there have been. How successful are they truly?

But the other issue nagging at me is the number of games launching in September. Beast Shattered Isles (15,479 followers), Creature Caravan (8,040), and Firesiege (1,475) are launching on Gamefound while Mythic Mischief Vol. II (4,451), Defenders of the Wild (2,598), Vagrantsong Encore (2,034), Flock Together (7,460), and Fromage (2,915) are all launching on Kickstarter. And all of these are in September - and there are many more - Dragonbond Quest (1,647), FOUNDERS (1,527), Kavango (1,485), Canopy: Evergreen (2,213)....

The reason I'm listing followers for these campaigns is I believe it has a direct impact on launch day. No great insight, eh? It's obvious! If you have more people lined up at your storefront, more are likely to back. Easy! But what is the impact? Well, I can only talk about my campaigns and specifically my last one. I had 1,341 followers before launch with 794 backers on Day 1 - that's about 60% conversion. I have no idea how much that predicts the final campaign. Maybe not at all? As of this moment, Transmissions (Second Printing) has 676 followers. Not great compared to last time and not great compared to numerous others launching in September.

You can see where my Jitters(tm) originate. But there are additional concerns.

I have no new material in this campaign! Well, I do have one thing: metal robot miniatures. So that's something certainly and they will be pretty nifty. But I have no expansion, no stretch goals. I am tweaking the game a little - fixing the pipe scoring so they are not quite so overpowered (as several have suggested) along with a few other tweaks, and before you ask, yes, after much wringing of the hands, I have decided to offer an upgrade backer level for those who have the game already. Maybe you want my tweaked punch boards and the new rulebook? Several have said they do so I'll be offering those.

I have no new video reviews! That was something I really focused on with my first campaign for Transmissions. My somewhat failed (but not actually) campaign for Empire of the Stars spent zero on marketing. Zero. That was an experiment and something I would never do again. But here again, I'm not spending much on pre-campaign marketing. I will be spending a little bit (so not zero!), but still, how much is needed to get the word out sufficiently? And what is "sufficiently" anyhow?

My prices are going up! There's no avoiding this - I need to charge more for the game and I need to charge more for shipping. Costs are going up and if I'm going to stay above water, I need to not lose money. But will my price point be too high now? I don't know. It feels like it might be? However, the average backer amount so far in 2023 on Kickstarter is around $75. Yes, an average isn't much help - but on average, Kickstarter backers are willing to spend more than I suspect your average, walk-about gamer would. But who knows? More Jitters.

So why bother with all this? Well, I want to keep making games. I do! I have another one in the works ( - check it out) and it needs funding prior to a campaign - funding for illustrations, graphic design, prototypes, and marketing. My tiny publishing company is just barely hanging on. It needs positive, profitable, net cash flow. I'm out of inventory! That's the reason. Yes, I also believe there is demand - certainly many have not even heard of the lovely little game called Transmissions and I think it's a good little game. And it did sell out everywhere it landed. So maybe there is still demand? Maybe even retail demand?

There you go. Jitters! But I'm going forward anyhow! Sometimes you have to set aside your worries and just plunge in. It'll be exciting - that's for sure! It always is. And I'll (once again) blog about it here so you can follow along if you like for all the chills and spills!

If you have a game you're looking forward to in September, which one? And why? Have you backed a reprint campaign? If so, which one and why? Help a poor guy out!

You can follow Transmissions' Second Printing launching Tuesday, September 19th.