Z-Man Games Newsletter - The Business Series.

Thanks Tomi.

Sure - when your game is done, send it in! Zev is always interested in looking at new designs.

Cheers,

Giles.

Z-Man Games is essentially a one man operation, with more than a couple of hundred submissions each year it can be very tough to get to each prototype.

I would suggest that if you submit a physical prototype, be prepared to wait. If you wait for 4-6 months and still hear nothing back then an email is certainly not out of place. if the prototype is not physical (ie: it has to be made up by Zev), it may never get looked at - not for lack of desire, but simply for the fact that it takes a lot of time and Zev is very busy.

I might also suggest having a look at Issue 4 of the Newsletter, as Zev talks a little about the prototype/acceptance process there! Again - if you have any questions you would like Zev to answer, or you think would be good for other designers to think about - please send them in to newsletter@zmangames.com

Cheers,

Giles.

That's a great question.

I can only offer my understanding, but I will make sure to ask it again for the next article/interview in the The Business series.

From what I understand, the clause exists for exactly the reason you state. Publishers often recieve hundreds or more submissions every year (Zev is a small publisher by many standards, and yet recieves several hundred game submissions a year), such clauses are common place, and exist to protect the publisher from the threat of litigation if they happen to publish a game that is similar thematically or mechanically to a game that was submitted to them.

Zev also states in the interview that he has a collection of submitted card games all about storming a castle. If one of them were to be published any of the other designers might, mistakenly, believe the game to be stolen.

I understand the issue from the point of view of a designer, there are no securities and publishers don't offer much in the way of assurances. As you state, there may be little to gain for a designer in taking a publisher to court, but really, there is little to gain from a publisher stealing an idea. If a publisher steals an idea they are saving themselves a royalty rate (not huge), but potentially opening themselves up to litigation that could cost a lot more. This is to say nothing of the fact that the designer hobby is small, margins are small, and reputation is vital.

In the modern hobby game industry each game developed typically only has a smallish print run, maybe between 2000 and 10,000 copies depending on the size of the publisher and the amount they want to invest in it - more often than not though a print run is for 2000 or so copies. Whether a game gets a reprint or not depends then on whether it sells. The money saved on a stolen royalty rate for 2000 copies isn't huge, and if the game is good, then the publisher has also alienated a potential boon - as in the hobby industry, many gamers follow designers as much or more than they do publishers.

I understand that the deal doesn't look good from the designers side of the fence, and in an ideal world, neither the publisher or the designer would want or need such clauses. Sadly this is not the case, there are also many clauses in a typical contract (at least within the designer hobby), that protect the rights of the designer.

I guess it is up to the individual to decide what is and isn't appropriate for the publishing company to ask for. Keep in mind that developing a game from a prototype to a finished design can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and even the threat of a law case can have a massive impact, from loss of reputation and sales, through to the printed units not being able to ship or sell - potentially tying that money up. Board game publishers don't make a huge margin on what they do, more often than not they are passionate gamers.

It is a very touchy issue because every designer invests so much in what they do. As I said above though - I will ask the professional in all of this, but really I believe the clause does exist to prevent any potential issue from rising.

Hopefully publishers like Z-Man Games, who have a proven track record of giving new designers a shot, do enough to earn the trust of the design community, and great places like this site, so that these clauses aren't relevant.

Cheers,

Giles.

(keep an eye out for the next issue - as I'll ask the experts!)

Not a stress!

As I said, I'll ask some others for the next newsletter and get their reponses as well!

Cheers,

Giles.

Well you've been listening since the get go then!

Thanks!

I throw the odd idea around, at this stage I don't think of myself as a designer, but it is something I have always been interested in. I have written/designed a few homebrew RPGs of varying qualities over the years, as well as a few basic board games. The last few years I have been getting more of a desire to go back and start designing/thinking of designs again.

I have certainly been involved in the processes in other ways though, I have playtested games as well as offered ideas/advice on direction early in the process for others. I find that process hard though because it is very time consuming, and between a day job, three podcasts and a newsletter (as well as actually playing games for fun) I don't believe I have enough spare time to do those jobs to the level I would expect of myself. If I get particularly passionate about a topic, or I get some spare time on a holiday... :)

On our last holiday we went to a place called Phillip Island here in Australia, I dragged my poor wife around looking at the tumble-down remains of Chicory Kilns commenting that a game about the 100-50 year old Chicory Industry that used to exist on Phillip Island would make an interesting topic for an economic game. We also went and look at the Fairy Penguins though - so she was happy (and suggested that I should instead make a game about tourists trying to get the bext seats to see the penguins crossing the beach to their nests)! So the desire does sit close to the skin, waiting to climb out!

We'll see!

Cheers,

Giles.

G'Day!

Issue 6 has been posted. Based on this great discussion we made this article in the business series about Product Submission Agreements - check it out and feel free to let us know what you think.

If you have anything to say, any questions or ideas for future articles post here, or email me at newsletter@zmangames.com (I may take a little while to respond as I will be away for a few days).

Cheers,

Giles.