Where to from here?

Depending on the *game components* your games have, you could have several options.

1. Look at The Game Crafter (http://www.thegamecrafter.com/). They have good options when dealing with cards, dice, pawns, boards, etc. You can "self-publish" your game for $0.00. So each time your game sells you make money. But don't expect high volume of sales. But it's also a great way to create a NICE prototype instead of B&W or self-cut cards, etc.

2. Take it to the NEXT level and use Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/). This allows you to FUND things like artwork, initial production runs (which usually require a 500 unit minimum). You can expect, depending on the game, to get funding $5,000 and up (if you are successful). It's a good way to pay for costly "game inventory". But again you should expect 200+ contributors... So you would still have inventory left over.

3. After #1 and #2, see if a publisher would be interested in MARKETING your game further. So you have self-published your game, gotten a small following for your game. Now you are interested in taking it to the next level with distribution deals and marketing to boot! Honestly I have not reached this step, although I have self-published...

This is *my own* strategy. Some designers would ignore artwork and final production and seek to attract a publisher right after they write the rules to their game and have a *working* prototype. It doesn't need to be the prettiest - but using software like Photoshop or Illustrator to make a nice prototype is probably a good idea.

I'll let other designers chime in with their thoughts on "Self-Publishing" vs. "Using a Publisher". I'm pretty sure there are other designers following a different path. But the major stumbling block is DISTRIBUTION and MARKETING when it comes to *self-publishing*.

Best of luck with your games!