How soon to start market research.

It is a new game, an expansion on "Postcard from the Revolution" (www.enter.net/~mdesanto/Games-Right-PftR.htm). The series will be called "Conflict in a Nutshell" and I am currently working on three books to cover the Thrity Years War.

Each product will have 1) a 12 or 16 page booklet (5.5x8.5) a letter size board and a counter sheet. The book contains 6 or 10 pages of history about the conflict being covered, 2 pages of rules and a 1 page scenario. Plus necessaries like a cover and title page.

The game itsself is a beginner complexity hex-and-counter war game. Play time is about 30 minutes. Cost will be $4 or $5 for PDF and $8 or $10 for POD or in a store (if it ever makes it to any).

Here is my quandry. This is an introductory game. It can be used to introduce history buffs to war games, or war gamers to history, or kids to both. The target audience is kids in the junior high age range, their parents, their teachers or all of the above.

So, what I need to figure out is: is the target audience interested in the product? To figure that out, should I start asking around now, or wait until I have a completed book to demonstrate with?

Mike DeSanto
mdesanto@enter.net
www.enter.net/~mdesanto

Yea, I'm thinking the same thing myself. I chose the Thirty Years War because a friend who is a history teacher has a class on European history from 1500 to 2000. The TYW is the most pivotal conflict in the first 400 years of that time.

After all the research I have done, I'm going to finish the TYW books. I may shelve them and start selling with the American Revolution, though.