Category Archives: Cards

Cards

Card Game Update

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The long awaited publication of my card game is nearing the final stretch!

I have contracted with the artist Michael Perrotta for card art that is more in line with the awesome layout and design I received a few months ago.

The plan is for crowdfunding, most likely Kickstarter, to run in the month of October, 2025, with delivery via DriveThruCards in November.

My hope is to have the final game in hand in time for UCon in November, 2025. I will definitely have it in hand for Gary Con 18 in March, 2026. The initial splash of the game was at Gary Con 10 where I brought my rough idea and after three games had workable rules. More playtesting identified rules clarifications and edge cases.

I am so grateful for everyone that has enjoyed my game. To come up with a card game that works and people want to play is the greatest reward of all.

I don’t yet have all the tiers figured out, nor what the cost of a single deck will be for either the Kickstarter or for those who wait until after to get it from DriveThruCards. Shipping will be up to each person.

I plan to have copies of the game with me at the next con I attend closest to completion of publication.

Options For Stretch Goals:

Playtesters are divided on the original art used for the playtest decks. It was either they liked it and though it was good enough, or their first comment was, “You need better art.” So one stretch goal would be to open up the playtest deck with cleaned up art and layout.

Some though that some of my art that I did on the very first playtest deck would be fun for a “Larry’s Art” version of the game. I can make this a stretch goal, and if people really want it, it will happen.

Rules:

The rules will be in PDF and include all those involved in design, art, layout, and all the playtesters and Kickstarter Backers.

I will look into a printer option for the rules.

I plan to have videos showing how the game is played and for responses to questions on the listing at DriveThruCards.

Planning:

I’ve looked into Kickstarter back when I thought it would be quick to do a Kickstarter. I did my own research, and have read most, if not all of what Kevin Crawford, of Sine Nomine Publishing, has shared about how he runs his Kickstarters.

My friend, Ryan Thompson, of Appendix N Entertainment, who has run multiple Kickstarters, some that have fulfilled in 2025. He has graciously agreed to advise me and help me avoid the gotchas.

In my experience backing 111 Kickstarters since 2014, I want to avoid the pain and frustration I have felt from poorly planned, executed, and communicated. I have the rules and layout template done. All that remains is the final art, and final layout of the cards and rules. While the artist works on art, I will work on the final layout for the rules. My goal is to make this Kickstarter a success. If it happens to be a runaway hit, or at least exceed my expectations for funding, I don’t want anything to slow it down.

If you’ve ever worked on a big project, you know that the final stages and “crossing the finish line” are the hardest. That is one reason it has been almost eight years since the initial playtest premiered at Gary Con 10.

Anyone who has offered to help me publicize my Kickstarter, I will be reaching out to take you up on that offer.

Elevator Pitch:

My card game is inspired by situations from RPGs, mostly D&D over the decades I have played it. The game is for 2 to 6 players. Each player builds an army and uses monster or situation cards to “attack” their opponents and improve their forces. The biggest army (most points) wins.

Here’s a sample of the Infantry card:

Here’s the layout design with the art used in the playtest decks:

What about other games?

I have ideas for the core of the rules for other themed games that will vary the genre and rules to fit the genre. I have ideas for a western variation, and several others.

Also doing different editions of the original game by different artists might happen if I get enough from this Kickstarter to help fund it.

Some of my ideas may lead to board games.

Of course, I will still continue sharing my RPG ideas and publishing my convention adventures and supplements.

If this Kickstarter is successful and I make enough money to continue with variations, this would be ideal for a side business to pursue in my retirement. I’m crunching the numbers to see if I can retire from my current day job at then end of 2026. If my pension, 401K, and Social Security are enough, then I might actually be able to do it.

That would be the dream, freedom to game and create and no job to use up my energy and creativity. The only drawback would be the number of conventions I could attend.

Cards

Progress With My Card Game

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On February 9, 2018 I was struck with inspiration for a card game idea that I brought to Gary Con 10 and play tested away most of the rough edges.

I had thought I would be Kickstarting it and moving forward quickly. I soon learned that quick is not possible if one is to do a good job on all parts.

One of the biggest things people said about the play test decks was “you need better art” while some said, “I like the art.” While I like some of the art in the vein of Albrecht Durer’s woodcuts, it was not all of that type and not all were good quality images. So I paid an artist to do line art in the hopes of Kickstarting in 2020, but something happened in 2020 that pushed things off until 2021.

So I announced the art was done, and hopes of publishing in 2021. But that didn’t happen.

Every Gary Con or other game convention that I attended since, people would ask about my card game. It all came down to layout. I am terrible at layout. A couple of friends offered to do it, but they are busy and have their own projects. I did not press them.

Then, as I shared in my last post about Gary Con 17, I mentioned the woman who played in one of the games I ran, which was her first convention game and first game with multiple players, that is, more than just her with her boyfriend running it. After the game I mentioned my card game, we played it , and I mentioned my struggle to finally publish it because I am terrible at layout. She then mentioned she is a designer and offered to do it.

It was a few weeks after Gary Con before I heard from her. While waiting I had my usual worries that I’d never hear from her. But I held out hope and managed to not bug her for a response. She did respond and we worked out her fee, I then shared what I had, and waited.

Queue montage of Inigo Montoya saying, “I hate waiting,” As I waited a few more weeks.

Finally, I checked my email Wednesday night. I am not in the habit of checking my business email every day and she had responded on Monday. She had a document explaining her design choices and what she did to make the design consistent and to make each card type easily identifiable visually.

The end result is spectacular and makes the art used in the test deck inadequate. The line art I paid for also doesn’t fit the look of the layout. But it is at least consistent, since it is all by the same artist.

Card Game Line Art

The only thing I could find needing adjustment in what she sent, were some typos.

She gladly corrected those and sent me the final design in an Illustrator file.

Thankfully, Affinity Designer can open Illustrator files, so I can get a good understanding of what was done and swap out the art as needed.

I like the bold, vibrant colors used. Even this view of everything in Affinity Designer gives a strong sense of just how good the layout is. The art used in the playtest decks just seems to clash, especially because all the art does not have a consistent look.

Card Game Layout

I want to avoid AI art options, unless there is an ethically, morally, and legally valid option. (Artists should be paid for their work.)

Next Steps

Now I have to decide whether to just publish it with the current art from the playtest deck, the line art I purchased (and whether to leave it as line art or attempt to color it myself, or see if the original artist is available to color it, or pay another artist to color it), or get new art.

I have some funds available to do some next steps with art, but it all depends on what different options cost.

If I can, I’d like to avoid crowdfunding, but that may be the way to go.

If I were to do crowdfunding, I’d want everything in place to make it go off smoothly before launch.

More importantly, I’d want it delivered before 2026.

Once I finally get it out, then I have ideas for expansions, and other games that would be a thematic reskinning of the basic rules.

Feedback

Please comment below if you have thoughts about this. I’d like to see what others think, and any suggestions they may have. This journey has been about six and a half years, I’d like to wrap it up and actually accomplish the goal of getting this thing published.

Things to Consider:

ART:

Plain Line Art I already have as is.

-OR-

Plain Line Art I already have but colored.

-OR-

New Art.

Further Art Questions:

Do I do a version with the art used on the playtest decks?

Do I do the often suggested “Larry art edition”? (If you know, you know.)

PUBLISHING:

Just publish when ready on DriveThruCards and/or Gamecrafter.

-OR-

Crowdfunding (Kickstarter, Backerkit, or other?)

Cards, RPGs

Gary Con XVII

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I attended Gary Con this year. Last year, I was supposed to go, but something came up and I had to cancel.

This year, I ran a scenario I created called The Hoard of the Great Mage: Search For The Dice of Destiny. I first ran this at UCon back in November, 2024.

Here’s the blurb:

The Great Mage has died and the city council’s last group of adventurers finally secured the entrance to the mage’s tower. Your group is tasked to enter the tower of the Great Mage and retrieve the fabled Dice of Destiny. Any other loot found is your payment.

It was a lot of fun, and of course, every group that has played this scenario had different things they focused on.

Like most of my more recent convention games, I used Delving Deeper. I describe it as a clone of Original D&D, but organized. The older I get, the more I like simpler rules that get out of the way of make believe.

I ran my game each morning: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Thursday had 3 players that played my scenario from two years ago, and it was great to game with them again.

Thursday’s Game with a group from 2 years ago.

Friday a man and his partner showed up. She looked like she didn’t have anything to do, so I invited her to play. Two men walked by and we looking at all the various games. I asked if they were looking for a game. They asked how long it took. I told them the end of the time slot, and they joined in. It turns out that they are from Germany and in the game industry and were at the convention on business. One said that in the 20 years they’ve been coming to conventions in the U.S. this was the first time they had gamed. They had no dice or writing implements, so I gave them each a set of the extra dice I bring, just in case. They were a lot of fun in the game and really enjoyed it.

Friday’s Game

Saturday’s game had an older gentleman who has been playing longer than I have, and another middle aged man, and a man and his girlfriend. She had only played one on one RPGs with him, most recently OSE. This was both her first convention game AND her first game with multiple players. Later she and her boyfriend played my card game. When I complained about how all that’s left before it can go out is layout and how much I suck at layout, she said, “Well, I am a graphic designer.” She said she’d email me to work out details. So I am hopeful that this card game I’ve been working on for seven years will finally be available to the masses.

Saturday’s Game

Sunday’s game was sold out with a waiting list. However, not all players showed up. Again, it was a blast, and was so much fun. I didn’t remember to get a picture until after one player left, as his character ended up teleported far away, and there was nothing for him to do. In prior games, the time slot was about over when something like that occurred, but they skipped some things and made good decisions that got them to the end with over an hour left in the time slot. He said he did have fun and that’s the way the game goes sometimes. He just could go fit in something else for the day.

Sunday’s Game

I had a great time. I didn’t see quite as many friends as in past years, but it was great to catch up with old friends and to make some new ones.

I didn’t end up in the hotel that hosts the convention, so I had to deal with parking. It was packed by the time I got there the first morning, so the other mornings I got there earlier and got parking much closer to the entrance.

I did spend some money in the vendor hall. I bought a large format d20 that is an actual d20 and not a countdown d20 for Magic the Gathering, like others I bought not knowing about countdown d20s. I got a new Gary Con hat, to match my old one, as the old one is showing signs of being a well worn hat. I picked up some new pins, but haven’t decided where to put them on my gaming jacket.

As always, I had a great time at Gary Con. Being at an off site hotel, I didn’t stay late in the lounge more than once, on Saturday night. The change for Daylight Savings Time has really kicked my butt this year, and I’m still not adjusted, so I was extra tired at the con, and not as lively. Work with the day job is also extra busy and wears me down.

One night in the lounge.

I didn’t sign up for any games, as I could always get a pick up game, but sitting in the lounge and doing nothing was marvelous. Watching people and visiting with friends and making new friends was awesome. I just don’t have the drive to game like crazy every day.

I would like to make it to Gamehole Con this year, but I’m not sure that I can justify it. It’s close to UCon, in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan, that I go to every year, since I live in Michigan. In visiting with Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen, creator of Top Secret, he said he was invited to Wizard Con in Kalamazoo. I had not heard of that convention in my backyard, so I’ll be looking into that. I also got so busy with work, I forgot to submit games for Marmalade Dog, the college convention at Western Michigan University.

This is my first blog post in over a year, the last being a year in review post in December, 2023. Work and other things have pulled me away from most gaming. I still play Wednesday nights on Roll20 as I have for over a decade now.

Gary Con has re-charged my gaming batteries. UCon did too, but it’s in the early portion of my busiest time at the day job. The day job uses so much of my creative energy to solve problems that I have little left for fun creativity.

While it is still fresh in my mind, I have started making notes about the scenario I used at UCon and Gary Con and will clean it up to share on DriveThruRPG. I’ve got a lot of scenarios I haven’t shared there.

I’ve got a rough concept for the campaign world that is the setting for my adventures using Delving Deeper, and I started consolidating some notes. The AD&D adventures I run are either based on actual play scenarios from my home campaign, or ideas I based in my home campaign world. My home campaign is something I could publish, but I feel it would be a lot more work, than the idea I have for my Delving Deeper adventures.

In coming months, I hope to publish at least one of my convention games, hopefully more.

And if all comes together, maybe my card game will finally reach an audience outside of those I can show it too at conventions.

A bit more than a Gary Con update, but it is needed with my lack of postings. I’ll do what I can to have more frequent postings here, but I can’t make any promises. If I didn’t take Monday off after conventions, I wouldn’t be writing this now.

So until next time…. Game on!

Cards

Moving Forward With The Card Game

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I am ramping up to do the Kickstarter for my card game in May, 2021. The plan is for fulfillment by November, 2021. (I don’t want it interfering with my busy time of year at the day job.)

Plans were in place to do it in 2020, but 2020 threw the world a curveball, and then I had a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Cancer is an attention whore, so all my plans unraveled.

I had that sucker cut out, and so far the first blood test is clear, my next one is in a month, another in June, and the final in September. If they’re all clear, I’m done, no radiation or chemo needed.

My artist is working on the new art. The base deck will be the original public domain art that others have seen at the various conventions I’ve demoed and play tested it.

The rules are down to one US Letter size page.

I printed a test deck last spring, and had the icons way too small. So I’ll be correcting that.

My plan is to have a sample deck ready for those who indicated they’d plug the KS when the time comes. I want you to have time to play it before you plug it.

The public domain art version will be on DriveThruCards [Affiliate Link]. The commissioned art will be Kickstarter backers only – unless a stretch goal is met. (I reserve the right to use the art I purchased full rights to for other projects.)

If you want an email when the KS launches, join the KS announcement only mailing list here: https://followmeanddie.com/sign-up-for-kickstarter-updates/ The service I used for the announcement list no longer exists, so I lost the list. Please keep an eye on the blog and my other social media for announcements.

Help

I put out a request on Twitter and other social media for information on Backerkit or similar service.

https://twitter.com/followmeanddie1/status/1361336404073213955
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Prepping A Card Game To Order Sample Deck

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For the past couple of weeks I have been working on building the deck for my card game to order play test deck number four.

I have icons that a play tester from Gary Con 11 made for me that I wanted added to the cards to see how they look. I also wanted to add new text to some cards to clarify how they work or to give them additional functions that are still within the card’s scope.

Now that I’ve finally built the 4th play test deck of my card game and ordered it from both GameCrafter and DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link], I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned. I tried doing that via live streaming on Twitch the other night, but I made some minor missteps and it was not as helpful as I intended. I will be making a YouTube video showing all these steps once I get the time to do that. In the meantime, here is a blog post with a companion podcast episode going over my experience and take-aways.

NOTE: I will be sharing a sample Affinity Publisher template on DriveThru RPG [Affiliate Link] for those wanting to create their own card decks and games. I’ll include a PDF with some of my processes.

Ordering The Decks

I’ve used GameCrafter for all the prior play test decks. It is easy to use, you just upload images in either PNG or JPEG format. First you upload the back. If all cards have the same back, then there is only one image needed. If there are multiple backs, then you need to follow the naming convention they suggest for your files so it all makes sense once it is uploaded. Then you upload the images for the fronts. Finally, you specify the number of cards if any should be multiples.

There is a proofing option that requires you to verify each card. Then you finalize the deck and can order it.

GameCrafter also has templates for the card boxes and recommends a size of box based on the number of cards in your deck. I have not built a box, since I’m still play testing. So that will be a topic for another day.

DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] has a similar process of uploading the image for the back(s) and then the fronts. Their naming convention to handle multiple backs is to have a back for each card with back001 to go with front001, etc. While I have multiple backs for my cards that have rules and other explanatory information, I did not do multiple backs for either order to keep it simple.

DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] suggested I buy their large deck box [ Affiliate Link ] that is a flat $1.00. I have one that I use for the 3rd playtest deck from GameCrafter, and I ordered one with the 4th playtest deck I ordered from DriveThru Cards. I like this box, my deck just fits. It is 130 cards and the box is rated for 120 cards. I like this because it means I don’t need to design a box. While DriveThru Cards does print tuck boxes, they are limited to 120 cards. While 130 cards will work in their large plastic deck box, I’m not certain it would fit in the 120 tuck box.

DriveThru Cards has a getting started page [Affiliate Link] that explains what they can do. NOTE: They only offer a PDF of the rules books and don’t offer that as a print option. They suggest putting the rules on a card, such as the front & back.

The big difference with DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] is that once you have all the images validated, the site builds a PDF of your deck in the form it needs to be if you build and upload a PDF according to the specs. Based on how long it took to create the PDF and have it available so I could order it, it may be faster to build the PDF and upload it. NOTE: With the PDF upload, it works the same way as uploading a PDF for a PDF only or POD product. My upload failed, and I’m not sure why. I’ll have to do some checking to figure it out.

I ran into issues with my first attempt to build a PDF to upload into DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] . It was through my ignorance of the process and I will be making a template and a YouTube video to explain what I’ve learned and what works for me.

The biggest differences between GameCrafter and DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] the image sizes are identical 825 pixels x 1125 pixels, but GameCrafter wants the images in RGB and DriveThruCards wants images in CMYK. GameCrafters estimated 3-1/2 weeks for production, but DriveThru Cards is a flat 2 weeks. GameCrafter has an option to expedite production, which is basically doubles the cost. DriveThru Cards does not have that option. Shipping options vary a bit, but one tier up from the cheapest shipping option is about the same. GameCrafter does not appear to have a limit on deck size. DriveThru Cards has a maximum deck size of 130 cards. GameCrafter is more expensive for a single deck and one has to sell a lot to get the deck cost down to the cost it takes me to get a deck to review.

Both have a volume discount. For DriveThru Cards all decks have to be shipped to a single destination.

The only thing I don’t know is quality differences. I might get the DriveThru Cards deck prior to GaryCon. I know that GameCrafters has a good quality card. If DriveThru Cards are a good quality I will use them to fulfill my Kickstarter. DriveThru Cards should have printers in other countries like they do for DriveThru RPG [Affiliate Link], so it should make shipping affordable and save on that headache. NOTE: Someone, not staff, answered my query on the DriveThruDiscord that cards are currently only printed in the U.S. I’m waiting for a link to a page that says this explicitly, as it’s not in the FAQ and so far I haven’t found it. I’ll post a link to that if such exists. That’s a major bummer, as I was hoping it would solve that issue.

I Found It (Not The Answer I Wanted)

Q: Who prints my cards?

We have partnered with On Demand Technologies, Inc. (ODT), an industry leader in digital printing and a premier print-on-demand company. When customers order print titles on our site, we transmit the order electronically to ODT’s print facility in Kansas City, where the order is printed, packed, and shipped.

https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/227867647-Card-Printing-The-Basics

I grew up near Kansas City, Missouri, so I googled and ODT is based in Shawnee, Kansas. That’s southeast of Kansas City. One major problem that I thought I had solved. This answer really ought to be on the FAQ page on DriveThruCards and NOT on a separate OBS (OneBookShelf page).

My Experience So Far

The biggest things I’ve learned is that one should plan out some things for their deck that one may not think about – I know I didn’t – before diving in and making a deck for Print On Demand (POD).

My Hard Won Checklist

  • Figure out how many unique card faces you need.
  • Figure out how many backs you need.
    • For example, a rules card with the rules on both sides to avoid micro print.
  • Determine the card order in the (freshly) printed deck.
    • For example a standard poker deck is Ace, the number cards in ascending order, jack, queen, king for each of the four suits in suit order: spades, diamonds, clubs, hearts. The Ace of Spades it the first card.
  • Make a list of all of this stuff in a spreadsheet with a column to track the BACK, Count, and FACE of each card.
    • This is useful in verifying that you have the correct number of each card. My first attempt to order the 3rd play test deck from GameCrafters was short, because I put in the wrong count for several cards and had to order another deck with the right count.
  • If your game involves text on the cards, have a spreadsheet or worksheet in a common spreadsheet with the name of each card and the text on each card.
  • Use a graphics program like Gimp (free) to prepare images. If using Public Domain art, clean it up and get it in the right ratio of dimensions. If buying art, have the artist(s) create it in the right ratios to fit. The final “safe” space is 2.5″ x 3.5″ 2.5 / 3.5 = so the width should be 71.429% of the height so that it will scale properly.
    • While the card template calls for 2.75″ x 3.75″ 1/8″ (0.125″) is the bleed. Another 1/8″ (0.125″) on all sides are the margins.
    • All critical text and images have to be inside the margins
    • Trimming 1/8″ on all sides reduces the card by 1/4″ to 2.5″ x 3.75″.
    • If using free art, be sure to lock the aspect ratio to avoid skewing the image, unless that’s what you want.
    • Put a border around it that covers the bleed and the margin so you know how much space you have.
    • I used Gimp to make the images for the front & backs of cards in my third play test deck.
  • Use Inkscape (free) to make vector graphics for icons you may use on your cards, like spades, diamonds, clubs, & hearts, and the Numbers. Save them in SVG format so that they are legible when resizing.
  • Use Affinity Publisher (c. $50.00) to make the deck. This allows you to make a master page with the card layout you need. You can use one for the most common back and use it as the master page for all the odd pages. Duplicate the master page for the backs before you add the image for the backs to it. This assumes you have created two pages for each card, the odd number page is the back and the even numbered are the front. Plan the layout on each master page where any icons will go, where numbers, text and other elements will go. Set the Font for the document.
    • I found if you don’t create a page for all the cards in the deck first, it is a pain to add them in later.
    • Understand how the layers and other features work to get the main image to the back and the text and icons over the image. There are lots of video tutorials on the Affinity site.
  • Use the list of the card order to put the art and assets on each card.
  • Copy & paste the text for each card from the spreadsheet. Set the spreadsheet to use the desired font for the cards and it will save any possible fiddling with fonts in Affinity Publisher.
  • Once each card has a back (odd pages) and a front (even pages) save it as a PDF with the specs from DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] . Review the PDF vs. the spreadsheet with the order and count of each card.
    • What I like most about Affinity Publisher is that one simple change on the master page updates all the pages based on that master page.

ORGANIZE!

  • Have art assets in one folder. You might have subfolders for different categories to minimize traversing the directory structure. For example, one director for icons & another for face images.
  • Have a consistent naming convention for each file so you know what it is from the file name, or change the display of the file to medium or large so you can make out the image.
  • Have all art for faces in the proper size ratio to avoid fiddling with it in Affinity Publisher when placing it.
    • Figure out your layout in Affinity Publisher for things that are common to all cards, groups of cards, or unique cards.
    • Save your Affinity file as an Affinity Template.
    • Save your file often.
    • Export to PDF often to check how it looks.
    • Get someone else to look at it and catch the simple things you missed, like leaving off a number or a typo. Copy & pasting from a spellchecked and proofread spreadsheet helps avoid this. Always copy paste, don’t re-type. [I hate having to re-type something that I know exists in electronic format. copy & paste avoids so many errors. Paste it into Notepad or other plain test editor removes fancy formatting to get the raw text so you don’t have to fight with formatting it.]
    • Order a preview and go over it with a fine toothed comb to spot any layout or other issues. Get others to review it too.
    • Take your time and know that EVERY SINGLE STEP of getting to the point of clicking confirm on the purchase of a deck will take longer than you think.
  • Don’t be afraid to start from scratch with a new layout if you are having speed issues or other problems. Sometimes starting over is the quickest and easiest way forward. That is what I have found. I get faster every time I start a new file in Affinity Publisher from scratch.

What I did for the current play test decks I ordered.

What I don’t yet know:

  • I don’t know if the speed issues I found in my first file from which I created all the images used to order the test decks will be resolved by full layout in a new file. However, I suspect that it will.
  • That is something I plan to do AFTER I determine if the PDF I made in the format DriveThru Cards [Affiliate Link] wants will upload without issues. If it does, I will definitely be working on a new Affinity Publisher file with all the layout.
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Artist For the Card Game

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Follow Me, And Die! Is happy to announce Lindsay Poulos as the artist doing the art for the card game so often mentioned here.

I met Lindsay at Marmalade Dog in March, where I interviewed her for my podcast and commissioned a picture for my granddaughter, as I discussed in this post.

Once the art is complete at some point in 2020, the Kickstarter will be launched. The anticipated launch date will be sometime between March and June.

Where To Find Lindsay

You can find Lindsay and examples of here art at the following sites:

Lindsay is a trained artist who wants to make that her main means of support instead of needing a full time job. She lives in Grand Rapids, MI.

She interned with Comfort and Adam, and has done art for a board game. Lindsay is an avid gamer of all kinds of games both tabletop and computer/console. She likes RPGs but doesn’t have a local group.

Playtesting Update

While Lindsay is busy at work with the art, I and another helper will be running as many playtests as possible to refine the information on the cards and in the rules. Basically, we are working to revise the deck to ensure it is easy to play your first game. Playtest deck 3.0 was ordered a few days ago and will arrive any day. I will proof it for errors then order a second deck for the other helper.

When Do We Find Out The Name Of The Game

Once we are sure the layout and verbiage on the cards are clear and no major changes are needed, you can expect another announcement. This is projected to be sometime this summer.

I Have A YouTube Channel, Blog, Etc. Can I get a review copy?

The plan is to resolve all the card and rule issues and a review deck will be created. Some of my friends have offered to do a review, and I will be approaching others. Should you wish to do a review, please direct message Follow Me, And Die! at any of the sites at Where To Find Me.

FAQ

A list of Frequently Asked Questions is available here.

Kickstarter Launch Announcement Email List

To get an email when the Kickstarter launches, you can sign up for the email list here. It will only be used to announce the Kickstarter.

Thanks!

I want to thank everyone who has playtested and made suggestions for the game! Every interaction has shown that this game has promise and is fun. All of the support and encouragement from everyone is greatly appreciated!

Cards

Target Date & Seeking Artists for Card Game Kickstarter

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Over on Twitter I launched my public quest for an artist for my card game for a Kickstarter launch in the first quarter of 2020. You can listen to the companion podcast episode here.

I then reposted the link to that Twitter thread across my social media. You can read the entire thread below this article.

I find that I prefer interacting on Twitter, mostly because I have a growing following on Twitter that is approaching 900, and I expect to be over 1,000 by the end of April. I curate a positive atmosphere and mute and block nonsense and those who spread it. I prefer to talk about games and fun and be supportive of the fun and efforts of others.

There have been several re-shares on Twitter, but my first response was on MeWe.

I want to give it some time before I narrow down to an artist or artists. A cool idea is to have multiple artists so I can have multiple versions of the deck, with a newer artist for the base funding level, and more well known artists at higher funding levels. This is only at the idea stage, and the realities of time and base funding available pre-Kickstarter.

Target Date

The first quarter of 2020 means that I want to launch sometime between January 1 and March 31, 2020. Since January is the bulk of my busy time at work, I will probably avoid January. It all depends on how well things come together and how well a hopeful new hire is at dealing with the chaos of our busy time of year. One of my colleagues resigned and their last day is this coming Friday. Hopefully we get a new person hired that is a former user, so we only have to teach them the support tech stuff. That’s a wrench I wasn’t anticipating and has thrown off my pacing on some of my blogging, podcasting, and publishing efforts.

Planning & Research

For my first Kickstarter, I am focused on doing all I can to maximize success. I am fully aware that any major misstep or miscalculation on my part will have a major impact on whether I can hope to have future Kickstarters. I have ideas for more things to Kickstart, including more card games, board games, and RPG supplements.

I have backed 69 projects and have learned what I like and don’t like about how a Kickstarter is handled. I want to emulate Kevin Crawford [Affiliate Link] of Stars Without Number [Affiliate Link] and other successful Kickstarters. I want to plan adequately and have the work done ahead of time so that I am merely waiting for the funding to arrive so I can pull the trigger on initiating production, etc. Kevin has graciously shared his checklist and method and the spreadsheet he uses to track art from artists. I plan to put all of that to use.

I have studied the top ten card game Kickstarters as of a year ago to see what pledge levels they used, how many, and which ones yielded the best results. I have sought advice from others who have ran successful Kickstarters, and read all I can find online.

My plan is to have all the work completed that is needed to begin production. I hope that the amount I have set aside to buy art is enough to have the art done and ready to go. The Kickstarter will pay for production, editing of the rules, layout of the rules and the cards to be print ready, and bonuses for the artists. Plus any other costs I identify. Shipping will be a separate charge that is applied once the cards are ready to ship.

Stretch goals will be directly related to fulfilling a production of a card game. If you want T-Shirts, you can get them from my Teespring store. If it isn’t part of the end result of holding a card game in your hand that you can play, then it will not be a stretch goal.

It should be clear that I plan to avoid all the things I know have sunk or greatly delayed Kickstarters full of promise.

If things don’t come together for a first quarter launch, I will only launch in a later quarter if my time line allows for completed production and delivery by November. My busy time at the day job starts in November and runs into and even through February. I don’t want the headache of dealing with work and trying to juggle a Kickstarter. Of course, if I hit a million dollars, I can quit my job and put all my focus on games. I’m not yet sure how much it would have to be for me to quit the day job, but that’s my dream to make my next job more about fun and doing things I love.

Play Testing

Between now and launch of the Kickstarter I will be tweaking the cards for the third iteration of the test deck and play testing as often and as much as possible. My plan is to have this iteration of the deck in my hands before the end of April, by mid-April if possible. I’ll then set up play tests at nearby game stores and take it with me to conventions. Ideally, I’ll have more than one deck and have multiple groups playing on their own without my having to explain it. After I used my new short rules at Gary Con XI, I learned that I have the rules pretty tight, I just need to re-arrange the order of explaining a couple things. Players picked up the game with minimal questions from those rules.

Suggestions

I am always open to suggestions from those who have been there, done that. Anything to help me avoid faux pas is welcome.

To all who have played my card game and made suggestions, I have noted all of them, and applied them where they make sense. My game is the better for it, and I thank you for freely offering those suggestions.

To all who have offered help with things, I will be contacting you soon to discuss the things you offered your assistance.

Some suggested that one of the cards for which I did the art, that it should stay in the game. Others suggested I should have a stretch goal of a Larry Art Version. My concern about that is it might hurt things, but I might consider it. What do you think?

Thanks!

I want to thank all the play testers at all the cons and other locations I’ve played my card game. In some ways, I still can’t believe I made a game that works, AND that people actually like! Also thanks for keeping certain details under wraps to help build suspense.

Many thanks to all those who are interested and shared on social media all my mysterious postings about it.

Local Artist

The picture used in the blog header is from artist Lindsay Poulos from Grand Rapids, whom I interviewed on Episode 86 of my podcast. She is under consideration for doing one version of the art for the card game. You can see her share of the picture on Instagram. Lindsay has experience doing art for board games.

My granddaughter is obsessed with Elsa & Frozen and I commissioned an ink drawing of Nikola with Elsa taking a selfie. Lindsay colored it to give it that last bit of punch. Nikola loves it.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I launched my newest PDF for March, No Really, It’s Me.

This is the first adventure of my monthly PDFs published on DriveThruRPG.

The player characters are doppelgangers who have replaced an adventuring party and must go back to town and convince other adventurers not to return to the dungeon.

Are you looking for a quick scenario idea that you can easily craft to your own style?

Check out my first adventure PDF which is a quick overview of an outline for one of my four hour convention games.

If this does well, I will eventually add all of my existing convention scenarios to my growing list of PDFs.

Twitter Thread Below

I have the entire thread below after the link to the thread on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/followmeanddie1/status/1109473668688723968

My plan is to Kickstart my card game in 1st QTR of 2019, so I need to work on arranging the art now. I’m interested in artists who are obviously good and experience with card art is a plus. If interested please add a comment with a link to your portfolio, and your rates. 1/n

It is a fantasy theme. I’ll discuss details of number of pieces, payment terms, etc. via Direct Message/email. References for timely delivery is crucial. My plan is to have art and details of production ready so can deliver by Nov. 1st. My preference is for a single artist. 2/n

This is so it all looks like it goes together.

Also needs to be digital so ready to layout the card it goes with. Please ask questions for clarity and cure my ignorance if needed. I want to do this right, since a flop will ruin chances of future Kickstarters. I have ideas for more, so there is a chance of future work. 4/n

You can do original in physical media and scan, whatever your best workflow. NOTE: I set aside part of my annual bonus so payment is available before the Kickstarter. I want to be fair and exposure is a bonus, not payment. 5/n

If you are within a couple hours of Kalamazoo, MI I would like to meet to show the game. Otherwise we can do an online meeting. I work a 9 to 5 job in Eastern time zone, so meetings around that. 6/n

There will be an NDA until the KS is about to launch. You’ll be free to say you’re working on an upcoming KS for my card game, but no details. I think those are the pertinent details. I look forward to having to make a tough choice between multiple artists. 7/n

Cards

Play Testing Commences

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Today was an awesome day of gaming!

I usually either play or run on Roll20 noon to 4. The GM for today had to call off due to illness.

I wasn’t worried. I had an offer to play test my new card game idea at the FLGS, Fanfare. A new game I wrote about a couple weeks ago. I just got the play test deck I ordered yesterday.

It is a game that I thought would work for 2-6 players. I two person game is obviously different with the card flow, etc. It took about 90 minutes with figuring out a couple workarounds for things that were unclear in the initial rules.

I ended up with valuable feedback, and a real basis to evaluate my game idea. It amazed me that the game played almost exactly the way I imagined it. I can see the play of this game in my mind’s eye. I very rarely have such clarity with an idea, and even more rarely manage to execute it in the real world. Talk about happy. Thanks to Joel, Playtester #1!

Running Metamorphosis Alpha

MA-Red Shirt Metamorphosis At One Well Brewery
MA-Red Shirt Metamorphosis At One Well Brewery

Since my chance to play on Roll20 got cancelled, my first play tester’s friends were free after 5:00 PM, so I went to a game friendly brewpub, One Well Brewing. I ran my Metamorphosis Alpha [Affiliate Link] scenario, Red Shirt Metamorphosis, that I have ran online a couple times, and at UCon a couple years ago. I’ll next run it at Marmalade Dog at the end of March. Four players new to Metamorphosis Alpha [Affiliate Link] and several new to old style play or seeking old school simplicity.

They were not used to player knowledge and common sense questions being the way to approach the situation. I gave them “hot stove moments” where they had missed obvious questions to ask. There were too used to GMs spoon feeding them everything. Once they realized the initial conditions I set was not 100% of the available environment, they got into it. They “beat” the scenario by achieving the goal of a four hour convention setting in 3 hours. They had more gear in spite of having worse rolls to set the initial conditions of the scenario. We exchanged contact information and will work on setting up a game.

Play Test Number 2

Play Test #2
Play Test #2

After the game, I mentioned my card game and they were eager to try it. So I had 4 players, and Joel, play tester number 1, was one of them. With me, we had 5 players. This made the game take about 45 minutes and we did a lot of talking and figuring out a few of the situations that arose to either adjudicate, or consider a rules revision.

Once again, I did not win, but I didn’t care. People were playing my game! Not only that, they liked it! Each of them said if this was a Kickstarter, they would back it! I suspected it was good enough for Kickstarter. By that I mean, a solid idea that can have the rough edges worked out through more play testing. If I do my job right and iron out all the details, a Kickstarter to fund art should easily fund, and could do better than I expect.

More valuable feedback was given. The two best, or my favorite comments:

From Jake from the second play test game, when I asked what he liked the best about it. “Playability – You can pick it up and be playing quickly.”

Joel, the most experienced player next to me, after two games said, “The light learning curve.”

Jake was really excited, and knows a lot of student artists who might be interested in doing art for the cards. I’m glad to consider new artists, if their art style is what I’m looking for. If my efforts can get them exposure and regular work, even better.

I’m bringing my play test deck to Gary Con, and if you’re around when I’m not running or playing, we can definitely play. I’ll be there sometime Wednesday, which reminds me I need to figure out travel plans with my roommate for the weekend. We have yet to set a time to leave.

This is so cool!

Cards

Card Game Idea Strikes

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Last year at Gary Con IX, I had an idea for a couple of card games. I’m not a big card game player, mostly because I don’t have a regular in-person gaming group. I have some rough outlines for those, but I need to polish them a lot so they are coherent and explainable to another person. Towards the end of this post, I mentioned I had a card game idea.

Creative lightning strikes come unexpected and this happened to me last night. A much simpler variation of one of the ideas from the last Gary Con came to me. It was one of those, clear and almost fully formed ideas.

I hurriedly typed up the basics that came to mind. This morning, I was filled with the ideas to round out the game, and typed out most of the rest of the rules. I think it’s a playable game, and there are some twists and turns in it so it will be different each time.

My level of excitement and inspiration may not translate to others, but I think I can polish what I have for clarity, and mock up a deck in time to take it to Gary Con X. There are so many creative gamers there, and the low-key atmosphere is a great place to hone game ideas. If my game has merit, it will be evident from how others receive it. A good elevator pitch will help.

I ordered 500 blank playing cards from Amazon [Affiliate Link ]last year, and started trying to mock up my original idea, but it bogged down. Scribbling out the card faces and leaving the backs blank will work for a rough play test, but it would be cool to have a mockup with a printed back and public domain art to take with me. I am very torn right now.

I REALLY want to work on this NOW, but I still have game prep to go for some of my games I’m running at Gary Con. This sort of thing happens to me all the time. I am in the groove with something, and some new idea/thing comes to my attention, and I have to be all about that new thing. I may not be overly ambitious/optimistic about this, and I might actually be able to do a decent job for a professionally printed play test deck in time to have it for Gary Con. The voice saying, “Do Eeet!” is very loud at the moment. It’s almost as loud as it was last night. I’d hoped typing this up to share my excitement, while I alternated with tweaking my rough rules, would dampen that desire. I’m sure it would cost a lot to rush a print job, but part of me doesn’t care.

If I totally suck at manipulating art to make a single card image, that would greatly reduce my enthusiasm. I’m going to have to try to make some cards, and if I’m lousy at it, then I can set this aside. However, I know there are tools that make it fairly easy (I’ve done a lot of research.), and I printed a deck I bought online that I had to manipulate to work with the printer I chose. So I may have something worthy of a rough deck that looks decent by this evening.

Cards

Planning for a Kickstarter

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I shared a couple of days ago that while at Gary Con IX, I woke up with an idea for a card game that could be good enough to Kickstart. On the drive home, I had an idea for another card game that I think is also good enough to Kickstart. The second one is simpler, and thus I think a better option for a first Kickstarter.

I’ve made a checklist and a price list to determine break even points, i.e the minimum amount for a Kickstarter. I don’t have all the numbers, but it shows how little one actually makes unless the thing goes viral. One should do this for the love of creating and playing games, and not count on it for a living.

I’m interested on feedback on this list. I don’t have all the answers for some points, but I want to make sure that I avoid pitfalls. I have a few specific questions at the end under Input.

Preparation Checklist

Independent of the financial considerations, there are a lot of things to keep in mind.

  • Design, write, & play test the game.
    • Get input from trusted friends who have lots of ideas about such things.
    • Test what pens/inks/pencils will write on blank cards before making first play test deck.
  • Copyright for parts that can be copyrighted.
  • Trademark for the name of the game.
  • LLC or similar for a company to separate my personal assets from it, just in case.
  • NDA to share ideas with others, just in case.
  • Custom URL & Website for game.
  • Use DriveThru Cards for fulfillment, as they can print on demand and do individual shipping.
    • For the Kickstarter itself, can do a bulk order delivered to my home and I do the shipping, within the U.S.
  • Rules – They will need to be polished enough that your play testers understand. You also have to be flexible to revise and change through the course of play testing.
    • Final rules will need to be proofread and edited for a polished presentation free of errors.
  • Cards – For POD a PDF of the cards fronts & backs are needed. If you don’t have the skill to make such a PDF, you will either have to learn it or hire it done.
  • Video – A video showing what it is with an example of play.
    • High quality video is downgraded if placed in the spot Kickstarter gives you. Some place the video below that, linked from YouTube. They put a graphic in the spot Kickstarter offers for a video.
  • Engagement – You will have to engage with backers during the entire run of the Kickstarter and push it on social media. If you don’t work it until the end of the run, it may not fund, or you will miss out on actually making money.
  • Delivery timeline. It must be realistic and have padding for unexpected delays. Make sure that you can deliver no later than that date.
  • Communicate with backers all the way through final fulfillment.
  • People are suspiscious of those who launch a Kickstarter and have never backed any.
    • You should back a few Kickstarters and see how they handle things, so you can see what you liked and didn’t about being on the backer side of things. This will be a good experience so you can avoid customer service pitfalls.
  • Don’t run it too close to the end of the year, that you can’t spend money towards fulfillment, this will reduce the amount of taxes. My model with the $1,000 level shows the effects of waiting until the following year to pay expenses.
  • Minimize changes from Kickstarter coments.
  • Minimize or avoid stretch goals, and only use stretch goals that add value. Such as tuck boxes for card games, or GM screens for TTRPGs.

Cost Checklist

At some point, you will have to spend money, and will need to have very close estimates on costs so that your Kickstarter goal garners enough money to fulfill without finances being an issue. I don’t plan to spend much money on this until I have a play tested game that has the kinks worked out. If it isn’t a fun game and consulting with friends and play testing doesn’t change that, then I know not to sink a lot of time and money into it.

  • If you can afford it, pay all the upfront costs before the Kickstarter so that it is ready to fulfill as soon as the funds are released.
    • Work that Kickstarter every day that it runs to get the word out.
    • Leading up to the Kickstarter let people know you are working on something to help build interest before launch.
      • The quicker a Kickstarter hits the funding level for its goal, the more likely it is to go above and beyond and lead to making decent money.
  • Make backers pay for shipping separately, so none of it comes out of the Kickstarter. That is a cost that can change unexpectedly and is one of the biggest reasons for failed and late Kickstarters. Second only to those that did not start any work until funding. Always do as much work as possible BEFORE launch.
  • $15 for box of 500 blank playing cards from Amazon.
  • $15-$20 for a domain name.
    • If you don’t know how to do your own website, you will need to factor in costs and add it to the Kickstarter.
    • If you do this all yourself, keep track of the hours to determine your final hourly rate.
  • Assume a bare bones $1,000 Kickstarter & pre-existing art and no other costs.
    • Taxes would be about 28.75%, based on being a self-employed effort, instead of the tax benefits of an LLC or similar.
      • NOTE: Research how much the taxes are for this model.
    • Kickstarter & Stripe fees would be 38.75%
    • Total taxes and fees would be $380.50, leaving $619.50 to cover expenses.
  • Low volume & High volume runs. Assume maximum deck size of 120 cards.
    • The only way to decrease cost per card is to shop around for other fulfillment options. Most likely, these will require more effort to handle shipping, etc. So you will need to keep that in mind. How much work do you want to do to complete fulfillment to all backers?
    • Low Volume is less than 5,000 cards at $0.085 each, or $10.20 for a 120 card deck. Plus $1.00 for a plastic deck box. This is $11.20 per deck.
      • 50 decks would cost $560.00. (However, this would be enough cards for high volume printing, is delivered to same address.)
      • The $619.50 left after taxes and fees is further reduced by the $560 for the decks, leaving a net profit of $59.50.
    • High Volume is 5,000 cards or more at $0.06 each, or $7.20 per 120 card deck. Plus $1.00 for a plastic deck box. This is $8.20 per deck.
      • 50 decks would cost $410.00
      • You can only take advantage of this cost if all the decks are shipped to the same location. Add shipping to this location, how much?
      • The $410.00 left after taxes and fees is further reduced by the $560 for the decks, leaving a net profit of $209.50.
      • If shipped to your location, and you do all the hours of work involved, and your hourly rate will soon be negative.
  • If you pay $1,000 for art, you will need to plan for more than $2,000 for the goal, or you will be in the red, due to taxes & fees.
    • The only way to avoid paying for art is to use public domain art, or do it yourself.
    • NOTE: How much for art for 50 cards, for example. Most of the rest would have the same image on them?
      • This requires contacting multiple artists, seeing samples of their work, and working out rights to use their are, or purchasing copyright from them.
      • Assume that they will not do the work until you have the money.
  • If you pay $1,000 for lawyers, you need to plan for more than $3,000 for the goal. Always remember taxes & fees.
    • Depending on where you live, this rate could be high, or way low.
    • You will want to shop around for the best rate.
    • Do research on what you want the lawyers to do for you and gather all the information in an organized fashion, so that they can just do the part of making the legal jargon valid.
  • If you pay $1,000 for editing and layout, then you need to plan for over $4,000 for the goal. Again, there are still taxes & fees.
    • Again, most work will not get done without you having the money.
  • There may be other things you discover as you go that will drastically affect your estimates of costs if you find them AFTER you launch the Kickstarter.
    • Contact others who have run Kickstarters similar to the one you have in mind to make sure you didn’t forget anything.
  • Keep track of all the hours spent at each step from the initial idea to the fulfillment of the Kickstarter and use that to determine your hourly rate of pay base on how much money is left.
    • As should be evident, it is very difficult to get rich or make a lot of money with Kickstarters if you are honest.
    • Enough people in the realm of game related Kickstarters have been burned, and there are those like +Erik Tenkar, of Tenkar’s Tavern, who will point out the flaws in your Kickstarter and steer people away from you.
      • It should be nearly impossible to run a dishonest game related Kickstarter and run off with the money.
  • Backerkit or other site that is used for fulfilling Kickstarters. What is the cost and other requirements for using it?

Input

Did I leave anything out? Do you have experience with game related, and specifically card game Kickstarters? I’m definitely interested in having gaps in my knowledge and experience pointed out.

If you have experience with fulfilling a card game Kickstarter with OBS, or a different vendor, I’d like to hear your take on them.

If you are an artist who has worked on art for card games, or would like to do so, please contact me. I will be contacting some artists to see who is in my price range over the next few weeks. If I can, I’d like to get everything done before

My Plans

For one of my card game ideas, I already have art for the back of the cards. I need to factor in what I paid for that art as part of my profit calculation. I can do simple art or just text for the game mechanics. If I do that, I could make that a version 1, and a second Kickstarter if it takes off for better art. I think a single Kickstarter for the best product and presentation possible is the way to go.

One of my ideas could be expanded to a board game, but I want to keep it simple. I suppose both could be done as board games, but there is less involved with a single deck card game.

I already have 500 blank playing cards that arrived yesterday, and I figured out that sharpie ink dries the fastest to avoid smudges. I built my prototype deck on one game, and am just waiting to play test it with the family. I need 46 to 50 images for cards depending on what we come up with in play testing.

So far, counting this blog article, I have between 5 and 6 hours invested, plus about $20 in materials, and I haven’t yet play tested the game. That puts my mythical $200 in profit down to less than $40/hour. Every additional hour between now and fulfillment further reduces the hourly equivalent, if the game plays as well as I hope, and there is a Kickstarter….. I make about $25 to $28 an hour in my day job, depending on the size of my annual bonus.  Unless I come out of a Kickstarter meeting or exceeding that range, I know I can’t quit my day job anytime soon.

Some of the above time and expenses can be halved, if I end up Kickstarting two card games. As with anything else, doing something the first time helps me see all the things I didn’t know to expect, so any subsequent Kickstarter will be the better for it.

Open Box 500 Blank Cards
Open Box 500 Blank Cards

Ink Test No. 1
Ink Test No. 1

Ink Test No. 2
Ink Test No. 2

Conclusion

There is a lot more planning and preparation for even the simplest of Kickstarters, than most seem to realize. Even if you net several thousand dollars after final fulfillment, how many hours are in that? What is your final hourly rate? Unless one has an idea that goes viral, you probably won’t make more than minimum wage when you divide your net profits by the hours put in. If more than one person is involved in the Kickstarter, it is further divided by each person’s share in the partnership, or whatever it is.

Lazy people looking to get rich quick are in for disappointment. A lot of work and organization is required. If you don’t have organizational skills, you will have a lot to overcome to be successful.

Treat backers like customers, just like any other business. You must be kind, courteous, and responsive. Be proactive an identify problems before they happen.

If you do have a successful small Kickstarter that is fulfilled via OBS (One Bookshelf), then you have the potential for a small automated recurring income over time.

You can also get at cost print runs to take with you to conventions, or see if your local FLGS is interested in carrying them, or let you put up a flyer.

If you have a successful first Kickstarter, you are more likely to have success with following efforts.