Should you have a Print & Play version?

edited in General
As some of you may know, I have released my first board game, the challenge is now that everyone is asking for a Print & Play version. Initially I had a full colour Print & Play version but after a comment on BGG, I realised that I should probably make a black and white version instead.

So I started working on a black and white version that has all the text in black, the numbers in black, and the structure image in a pencil sketch style. The hexes are kept in the colour and I added a coloured border to round the card off.

I then showed this to a few people and the first question I got was: Do you think it is clever to have a Print & Play version?

This was quickly followed up with questions like: Aren't you going to loose sales by having a Print & Play version?

So I am in a bit of a dilemma now, I personally think that I should have a Print & Play version and with me making it black and white (so to speak) the risk to the actual game is minimal. So my question to the community is: Should you have a Print & Play version?

Comments

  • This is a tricky one. On one hand this allows people to essentially "demo" the game and decide if they want to pay full price for all the quality artwork or not. On the other hand, if you make the print and play too nice, then there's no reason to buy.

    My 2 cents on the matter.
    Thanked by 1quintond
  • Okay ... let me maybe add an example for the two distinct version.

    This is the actual full colour card that you get on the printed version of the game.
    image

    This is the black and white (sort of) card that you get on the print and play version of the game.
    image

    To me, the print and play version has all the core details on it, gives you an idea of what the card is like, allows you to play the game but hopefully leaves you wanting to experience the real card.

    I am so confused. 8-{
    Thanked by 1dammit
  • The best thing to do is have your print and play state that it's a testing version much more clearly - that small text at the top is easy to miss. You want a print and play version to test the game out and get more feedback, right? So make sure people know where to send that feedback, and then make sure that any changes are reflected in the full game. Also, you can remove the print and play version when you're done with the testing period - people probably aren't going to keep copies of it around all that often.

    Generally, if your prototype is obviously a prototype, having a free version out there is a good idea. Your biggest issue right now is awareness, I'm reasonably certain that more people are going to see the game if you have a print and play version, this means more people will have the chance to buy it if they like it. Those are the sales you want, not sales from people who bought something they sorta saw once maybe that they thought they might have liked.

    Also, as big as BGG is, it's nowhere near covering ALL boardgame players, there's no way you're going to cannibalise your entire potential audience (even if you made the print and play version exactly the same as the paid one). Remember that a lot of your value comes from being printed on awesome cardstock and a cool custom box, etc. Print and play never has that.
    Thanked by 2quintond dammit
  • A print and play is more than making the whole thing black and white. Reversing a dark picture to make it use less ink... I don't think is a great solution.

    for example, you need to layout the cards so that they're easy to print at home or at any printshop. That means A4, laid out 3x3 (typically, some people do 4x2) sharing cutting lines so that it's easy to construct. Card backs are optional. And keeping the number of cards lower is a good idea for PNP, especially if in testing period. So a "taster" of the full game has two advantages: 1) Reducing number of things to print makes it more likely someone might do it (it's no coincidence the most printed and played games on BGG are ones from the 9 and 18 card contests) and 2) It's not the full game so people are still incentivised to get the full game after they get the PNP.

    I would also remove your picture instead of inverting it. Or replace it with a dead-simple icon. If you can get away with no colour, that would be good too (and that's good for colour blind identification too). So make use of icons.

    Though all that depends on many other factors, like how well known you are and where your game is. If a game is on Kickstarter currently, it's likely to be seen much more frequently, and because of the legitimacy of a limited-time KS (assuming the KS looks professional and is compelling), a full PNP can lead to backers better than a half-game PNP.

    You've already experienced the advantages of having your game on TGC. It means you have a retail outlet. The downside is that POD comes at a huge premium. The price of your game on TGC is definitely going to cost more than other games of a comparable component count, and that perception is strong throughout people who partake in the hobby, so often people only get stuff from TGC if there's a LOT of reasons to - being well-known is the sum total of those possible reason.

    So, back to the core - should you have a PNP? Yes I think so. But I also think that because your game is "done" (it's being presented as such and it's on TGC and it looks pretty etc) having a PNP will have a smaller effect than what it would have been if you made the PNP available during design and development and were in an open discussion on BGG with potential players.

    A print and play should be out there before your game is done, I think. That's when it's most valuable - and during a KS, when people want to evaluate the game by experiencing it.
    Thanked by 2quintond dammit
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