I hope July was a good month for you. It was definitely a busy month for me and the bear, as I work on getting everything ready for the Kickstarter launch. (Keep reading for the date.) A lot has happened since I started testing out my poorly-constructed prototype on friends and family to see if there might be something there, and now I have a beautiful game that people have been able to play and enjoy.
But players enjoying the game is not where this road ends. I’ve still got to try and get this bear on your game table!
Which is exactly what I’ll be working on over the next couple of months.
Here’s how.
Gencon and Protospiel Online
For me, the two hardest parts about designing a game are knowing that:
- As soon as players are able to get their hands on it, it will be played more than it ever could have been during the playtest stage
- There is very little that I can do once this game is out in the world.
That’s why, even though, I have spent the past year doing playtest after playtest and the game feels solid, I will still be using these opportunities to confirm the game’s fun, balance, and completeness.
If you’d like a chance to share your thoughts, or even just help me by allowing me to see how you interact with Outrun the Bear, I’ll be in Gencon’s First Exposure hall during various parts of the day Friday August 5th – Sunday August 7th as well as participating in Protospiel online Friday August 26th- Sunday August 28th.
I also plan to share a recap email after these events talking about how Outrun the Bear was received and any changes to the game from the plays!
I know not everyone can attend events like these, so if you want a shot to playtest the game, feel free to reach out to me on any of my socials and I’ll do my best to make myself available to you.
Previews, Reviews, and How-to-Plays
I’m sure you like to see what a game has to offer before you buy it and especially before you back it. After all, not every game is for every player. So I’m working to get Outrun the Bear out to as many reviewers and previewers as I can before I launch. That way you’ll have someone you trust who can tell you if this is the game for you.
Most reviewers and previewers have a four to six week turn around and I only got my review prototypes in two days ago so you can expect to see these start coming out early to mid September.
In the meantime feel free to reply to this email with any reviewers you’d like to check out the game. I read every reply.
While the board game industry is small, there are new people entering it all the time, so there is a good chance I might not know to send a copy to your favorite reviewer.
Kickstarter
Well this is the big step. And as scary as a hungry bear is, for a new designer/publisher like me this could be scarier.
Since the inception of Outrun the Bear in late 2019 I have made it my goal to create a fast-paced game that will be enjoyed by your whole family or friend group. This will be your opportunity to let me know if I succeeded. I think I have, or else you wouldn’t be reading this email right now.
When will you get your opportunity to back Outrun the Bear?
I am happy to finally announce that Outrun the Bear goes live on Kickstarter October 4th 2022!
That gives me just over 64 days to do everything left that I have to do, and since I’m starting a whole new business, there is a lot!
You’ll be hearing from me again on August 14th, so look out for that email.
In the meantime if you have any questions please hit me up in the Outrun the Bear Facebook group. I’m not a huge social media person, but I’m getting more regular. I know I’ve appreciated being able to reach out to designers in the past.