How much should be expected on the cost of a card game given the following things:
Cut from a die that is already made
Standard # of cards (probably 55)
Full color printing
Fold box with full color printing
rules (small piece of paper, black and white)
Lowest quality cardstock that allows for extremely durable play (neccessity, due to the 2 minute nature of the game)
Just curious, so I can get an idea
-Michael
How much should be expected on the cost of a card game given the following things:
Cut from a die that is already made
Standard # of cards (probably 55)
Full color printing
Fold box with full color printing
rules (small piece of paper, black and white)
Lowest quality cardstock that allows for extremely durable play (neccessity, due to the 2 minute nature of the game)
Just curious, so I can get an idea
-Michael
Who knows? This sort of thing fluctuates wildly from company to company and based upon quantity. With that being said, check this thread for a general idea of how much it may cost. But in reality, you need to approach several different companies and get quotes from each.
-Michael (D!)
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Cut from a die that is already made
Standard # of cards (probably 55)
Full color printing
Fold box with full color printing
rules (small piece of paper, black and white)
Lowest quality cardstock that allows for extremely durable play (neccessity, due to the 2 minute nature of the game)
Your best bet would be to find a game or games with a similar component set and see how much they cost. Retail price divided by 10 will give you something near the cost to produce assuming a couple of things:
#1. The size of your print run is in the same neighborhood as the game you compare it to. ie: don't use Munchkin as your baseline. The game you described is, from a component standpoint, just like the new Lunch Money expansion. They're looking for $9.95 retail for that which is interesting.
#2. You are willing to negotiate a hard deal with the printer and you are willing to treat getting your game printed as a project & a job - it can take quite a long time to get printers onto the same page as you, to negotiate price, and to make the numerous decisions that you have to make regarding quality, packaging, components, and quantity.
#3. Don't swing for the fences. You don't have to make 10X cost when you start selling your first game. Treat it like a business, not a hobby, and look for modest products on your first couple of ventures while you build brand recognition etc.
#4. You are able to provide the printer with exactly what they need to do the job - you need to understand their process and requirements well enough to give them materials that they can work with. If they have to lay out your game, you'll pay more. That sounds fairly harsh, but it isn't intended to: if you don't have the graphic design chops, pay somebody to do it for you. Layout for a game shouldn't cost a fortune - and getting a freelance guy to do it is almost certainly going to save you money over having a print shop do it (if yyou can even get them to).
All of that said, I'd think that you should be able to aim for a buck a deck with a print run of 3 to 5 thousand units depending on your printer.