Self publication detail log

Hello,

I'm in the midst of putting together a new small (100-200) game run of a new game, called Marvin Marvel's Marvelous Marble Machine, as well as assembling some of the other games I have in the Pair-of-Dice line. Anyway, to give people an idea of what's involved in a do-it-yourself operation, here's the running mental diary of the things I have to do before I can call a game published.

Packaging (Have tubes, need maybe a few more. Or get new boxes custom printed and scrap tubes? To do this would require figuring out how to make one box appropriate for multiple games. Use stickers and stamps on a generic box like Penguinas, a new German small print game?

Current tubes need three small stickers each to augment packaging. I already have these, can buy more as needed. Also, inside, need small plastic bags for game pieces. For Marble Game, need small cloth bags. Bought 150 from papermart.com at $.56 per bag. Best price? Not sure.)

Boards (Have used felt cloth boards in the past, will switch to vinyl boards for this game, as it needs more detail on printing. Bought 5 yards of white upholstery vinyl, need to find tailor to cut this into 13.5" x 14.5" squares. Quantity is estimated to be about 120. After cutting, I'll need to bring this to silkscreeners along with eps artwork of board for printing.

Dice (Will probably have to buy a few more dice as dice bought for Knockabout/Warp 6 are a bit low. May opt for marble styled dice for theme of Marble Game. May be a bit pricey due to small quantity desired.)

Pieces (Each game requires 60 printed tokens. These are made by buying small wooden disks (7/8") from caseyswood.com, then printing symbols on 3/4 circular" labels, bought online (forgot where). I will have to stick each label onto a token, since to enclose a whole sheet then roll them up into a tube would likely ruin the token sheet.

Printed material (Each game will have 4 pages of rules. Will probably try to print at local Mail Boxes etc. Consider buying laserprinter/fax machine/copier combo for $350 which will do for small copying jobs. Otherwise use Mail Boxes etc for .04 a copy with prepaid copy card. Buy reams of colored paper for brochures. Each game also needs brochure and giveaway origami die giveaway. Make sure I have most up to date copy of each. Redesign brochure.)

Art (Commission artist to draw some illustration for packaging).

Web site should be updated to reflect new game offering. New web site pages needs to be made. After game is published, some publicity needs to be done to get some attention. Go to places that previously have noted our games.

Game Play (Could use a little more play testing to test a few final ideas. Convene game test session. Try to find people who haven't played to see if they can teach themselves via rules only.)

* Other Games: Need to find wooden hexagonal tiles for new "Hex Nut" idea, as well as create a rubber stamp to use as packaging, along with cloth bags. Need to get more white D8 dice for Warp 6/Knockabout, as initial order is low.

Anyway, for those who wanted to know what it takes to do it yourself, this is a partial list of the details involved. I'm sure there's more that I haven't included but will think of later.