I needed to create a sellsheet for a contest I'm entering. I looked on the League of Gamemakers site for some solid examples, and did my best to replicate what I felt worked in the sellsheets I liked.
Here's a link to my sellsheet in case the image upload doesn't work:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nLHH8_NwpmPfDsaFhO9mug7fc-TWDejUAPn8...
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Comments
Great job!!!
Really is amazing how you get your "Hook" to be a Single Line: "A game where everyone is a villain." Very original. The only "caveat" I would see is the "Sample Layout" is a bit SMALL.
I personally would have allocate a bit more SPACE for the Layout. But I get it it's a "Sell Sheet" not a rulebook.
It gets me interested in learning more ... So I think the sheet does its job!
Did you remove the pizza guy?
Did you remove the pizza guy? (this is the pizza game, no?)
I hope so :)
questccg wrote:Really is
I personally would have allocate a bit more SPACE for the Layout. But I get it it's a "Sell Sheet" not a rulebook.
It gets me interested in learning more ... So I think the sheet does its job!
Thank you! I'll try to set up my game to take a better picture without the glare and make it a little bigger. I agree that it's a little small. :)
Jay103 wrote:Did you remove
I hope so :)
Haha this is the game with the pizza guy, and actually he's floating at the top of the sellsheet. I removed his space and pawn from the board, and turned him into an instant play card which effects players negatively unless they have a pizza card in their hand. He's integrated much more naturally into the game now. :)
More focused
Just my recommendation... Don't try to capture ALL the components. Just try to capture the "Main" components in the game. I THINK it's those 16 (4x4) cards???
You don't need a picture having all of the components it one image. You just need something "representative" of the game...
Keep up the good work!
questccg wrote:Fertessa
Just my recommendation... Don't try to capture ALL the components. Just try to capture the "Main" components in the game. I THINK it's those 16 (4x4) cards???
You don't need a picture having all of the components it one image. You just need something "representative" of the game...
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the advice! I'll keep that in mind!
I had a lot of trouble
I had a lot of trouble figuring out what to do for a game image.. I ended up with a "game in progress" with some of the other components sort of hanging out nearby (but not all of them). Think it worked out (but it took me a long time to get comfortable with taking that photo for some reason)
Jay103 wrote:I had a lot of
Yeah it's more difficult than I initially thought, because you have to get int he mindset of what someone would want to see to get to know your game.
Hook
Fertessa, your hook or benefit statement is incredible.
With only innovative products (not games) I do have some experience with Sell Sheets. I believe it would be better to focus on the game over the Art. I'd put the game where the Over weight bad guy is and a close up of 1 or 2, awesome, descriptive cards where the game currently is. Cards with a Hook!!
Not that he doesn't look like a Villain but for me he's too crass. What if the person looking at your sell sheet is overweight? Are all people overweight also villains? That's what he made me think.
evansmind244 wrote:Fertessa,
With only innovative products (not games) I do have some experience with Sell Sheets. I believe it would be better to focus on the game over the Art. I'd put the game where the Over weight bad guy is and a close up of 1 or 2, awesome, descriptive cards where the game currently is. Cards with a Hook!!
Not that he doesn't look like a Villain but for me he's too crass. What if the person looking at your sell sheet is overweight? Are all people overweight also villains? That's what he made me think.
Hey Evan! I was surprised that SuperFleek brought up such extreme reactions, as he was key to bringing in wandering playtesters at overcrowded conventions. I can see everyone's point however, and I'm currently working to replace him with a better image, as you say. Thank you for the feedback. :)
fertessa
SuperFleek would have attracted me too at a convention. He is an unforgettable character. I would want to find out what he's doing at a convention, and what game he could be representing.
On the other hand, for a sell sheet.... I think he is taking the attention from your game without adding to the Hook. You already have the attention of the new product submissions person at what ever publisher...don't distract him/her with Art. They are looking for a Hook which they can in turn sell up the chain of command!!
Anyway, the rest of that shell sheet is Five Stars in my humble opinion. Good work!!
I disagree...
I would keep SuperFleek ... because it goes a long way in PRESENTING what the ARTWORK for the GAME looks like. Someone may read "Book of Villainy" and be like... oh that's sounds like a "mean" game, something NOT appropriate for children in any respects.
The cartoon-ish artwork says "differently"!
It suggests that the game is probably more of a parody on "villainy" and that it has a "lighter" more humorous angle... Which could be a bit more kid friendly...
So I would keep the Super Villain, if only to present a SAMPLE of the artwork for your game... Meaning kids might be interested in playing too... And the humorous artwork is there to signal a bit of a "over-the-top" style of "darker" humour ... never the less not something hell bent on being a game that's about being a "villain" only.
Cheers!
Going to agree with
Going to agree with evansmind. In this context, I assume that he’s a representative example of the villain characters we’d be playing. At a convention, I’d think he was funny and chosen to get my attention
You guys have given me a bit
You guys have given me a bit to think about. Also, it makes sense now why people would respond to SuperFleek at a con versus on a sellsheet. I think I need to make the text reflect the light/humorous nature of the game, and maybe replace SuperFleek with a shot of the villains you get to play in the game. Back to the drawing board!
Fertessa
Your goal with this sell sheet should be to get the publisher to ask you for more information. You do that by leaving something out. Your hook does that VERY VERY well.
All photo's on your sell sheet should show a Benefit of your game. Each image should create a story board for your product. Perhaps, "Start", "Objective", "something funny" and leave out the "WIN". Wait how do I win this game???? That's another HOOK!!
This sell sheet should display the benefit of your game in about 6 seconds!! So a picture is worth a thousand words.
Now to use SuperFleek in all his humorous glory. Create a short video that is imbedded on your sell sheet, by clicking on SuperFleek(much smaller version)....BAM a short video of your game rolls which leaves the product submissions person wondering.."I have to know more"??? Just exactly like your HOOK line. A Video cuts out about all the text you currently have on your sell sheet, and can open up room for more pictures.
The point of this sell sheet is to get an email back from the publisher asking for more Information. Now you have his/her time and attention by letting them ask questions they need answered.
Look at the As Seen On TV infomercials (http://allstarmg.com) for good examples. Not board games, but good sell sheet videos.
The internet is too slow for me to see your sell sheet again so I'm shooting in the dark for this next part. I'd suggest using a business name/email for your contact info. This gives you perceived ownership and a fair bit more bonafides with a publishing company.
I have a ton of info on Sell Sheets, and a little real world experience licensing products. If there is anything I can do to help you get your game published I'd be honored to help.
Thanks for all of the
Thanks for all of the suggestions Evan. I'll be sure to post here once I've updated my sheet. I really appreciate your feedback. I will say, regarding the email, all of the examples of boardgame sellsheets used people's personal emails. It doesn't seem to be a thing which takes away from your sheet, at least in this industry. It would be cool if I had a business email, but I don't, and I don't want to create a 4th email I'll have to check (yes, I have 3 active email accounts lol). In the future however, if I self publish, I'll definitely establish a business and a business email.
Updated Version of Sellsheet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nLHH8_NwpmPfDsaFhO9mug7fc-TWDejUAPn8...
I tried incorporating the advice I received on here as well as BGG. Hopefully this better embodies my game. :)
Pretty good. I happen to know
Pretty good. I happen to know that the evil deed cards are pure flavor text, but they're funny flavor text. Consider doing something about the layout of those cards, though, because that baby one looks very sparse.
I'd suggest getting bookofvillainy AT gmail.com, separate from your personal email. Then forward those to your personal one if you don't feel you can check it enough (but try to remember to reply to people from the real account if you do that.. I screw it up about 5% of the time)
(or, of course, info AT bookofvillainy.com)
Jay103 wrote:Pretty good. I
I'd suggest getting bookofvillainy AT gmail.com, separate from your personal email. Then forward those to your personal one if you don't feel you can check it enough (but try to remember to reply to people from the real account if you do that.. I screw it up about 5% of the time)
(or, of course, info AT bookofvillainy.com)
Thank you Jay! I bit the bullet and made bookofvillainy@gmail.com, and made it so it forwards to my main email. I'll add that to the sheet. As for the Evil Deeds, I do need to add numbers to the bottom, but as some of them are longer than others, I didn't want to cramp it with too much design. And now that I'm leaning towards pitching it to publishers, I'm less inclined to fiddle with it. I'm open to any ideas however!
These Evil Deeds are pages which will go in your book of villainy. Each deed will have a different VP value, between 1 and 3, and at the end players will add up their deeds. The highest score wins. So my working points were that I wanted it to look like a book page, it had enough space to fit different sized evil deeds comfortably, and that there is room for a number, centered at the bottom. (It's missing the number right now though, as I'd been writing them on my protos instead of printing them out)
So if you have any suggestions for better visualizing that, I'm open to ideas. :)
*Partial* Evil Deed Cards
What I would do INSTEAD of "Full Cards" do something SIMILAR to the Character Sheets in "Guardians Call":
http://www.druidcitygames.com/guardians-call/
You'll notice on the RHS the "Barbarian Character Card" and you see like 1/4 size of a CARD which shows you some kind of "ability".
Well instead of using abilities, I would show 3 to 5 partial cards with "Villainous Deeds"... This cutting down the SIZE of the card to a PARTIAL card and you can do this with Photoshop using a Mask Layer and apply a gradient from White (100% opaque) to Black (100% transparent)...
But I think you'll get the IDEA...
Cheers!
Note: From the URL/LINK I gave for "Guardians Call", if you scroll DOWNWARDS, you'll see a "Player Board - Zira Priestess" and on the RHS of this "board", you see what I mean about "partial cards" with abilities... You could re-use the concept for your Sell Sheet...
questccg wrote:Fertessa
What I would do INSTEAD of "Full Cards" do something SIMILAR to the Character Sheets in "Guardians Call":
http://www.druidcitygames.com/guardians-call/
You'll notice on the RHS the "Barbarian Character Card" and you see like 1/4 size of a CARD which shows you some kind of "ability".
Well instead of using abilities, I would show 3 to 5 partial cards with "Villainous Deeds"... This cutting down the SIZE of the card to a PARTIAL card and you can do this with Photoshop using a Mask Layer and apply a gradient from White (100% opaque) to Black (100% transparent)...
But I think you'll get the IDEA...
Cheers!
Note: From the URL/LINK I gave for "Guardians Call", if you scroll DOWNWARDS, you'll see a "Player Board - Zira Priestess" and on the RHS of this "board", you see what I mean about "partial cards" with abilities... You could re-use the concept for your Sell Sheet...
I think the playerboard is a cool idea, but it doesn't fit what my evil deeds are used for. Since the evil deeds are different values, they can not be a set image. Also a part of the game is creating your "book" made up of these pages of evil deeds, so players need to actually collect the pages. Ideally, I would have a miniature book of solo card sleeves players could slide their cards into, and the winner gets to read the pages of their book aloud.
Edit: Still I really like the player board. I may combine my villain cards and player boards to resemble this layout. Thanks for the idea!
I wouldn't worry too much
I wouldn't worry too much about the actual "book".. I can't believe anyone is going to read the thing out loud after the game ends; they've already read all the cards as they get them, and there's nothing interesting about reading them again..
Jay103 wrote:I wouldn't worry
Some people read them, and some only look at the VP value. The people who enjoy the flavor text however, often want to read it aloud for the entire table to laugh. The winner's privilege to read at the end is just a bonus. It's an extra I'll leave up to the publisher to decide, but for the past few months, playtesters at cons have suggested the book and responded positively to the concept. I think people who are really into the theme, enjoy the drama of gloating and reading the cards aloud. As you say however, it's a small thing that I can worry about later. It's just nice touch of theme I like to keep in mind.
will also be fairly expensive
will also be fairly expensive for you, I would guess.
Jay103 wrote:will also be
It could be, but that's for the publisher to decide I suppose. 4 plastic cover book with 5 transparent sleeves sounds alot more inexpensive than one miniature, but I have no idea how the pricing works. I figure it's better to present the idea as optional, rather than wonder about something that never was. :) All they can say is no.