Timing Expansions

I think I've mentioned several times that it's a good thing I don't run a publishing company.

This week, I discovered another reason why that is: Timing expansions.

Over the last decade or so, expansions have become a more and more common an expected aspect of gaming, but each one comes with questions unrelated to game balance.

Claustrophobia is an excellent game. I have a hunch CROC has one or more expansions ready to go, but they wanted to make sure sales justified the expense of an expansion before they started work on it. Here in the US, it was a slow starter sales-wise, but those sales have started to pick up. Has it earned an expansion, yet? At what point has it earned that expansion? Is it too late to publish one? Too early?

Keep in mind: I don't have inside information on sales here. All I have is what CROC and others have said on BoardGameGeek and elsewhere.

If you release an expansion too soon, you run the risk of publishing an expansion for an unpopular game. You also run the risk of repulsing late buyers - "Am I going to have to buy expansions to play this, too?" Or of alienating completists who see it as just a money grab.

On the other hand, if you wait too long you run the risk of people moving on to other games. Three Dragon Ante went five years before its standalone expansion made it to market. I have personally seen people pick it up, see the word 'expansion,' and then put it down because they can't find the base game anywhere (it's out of print). Wizards of the Coast cost themselves sales by doing that - I had to find my copy of the base game before I was willing to spend money on the expansion (even though I could see that it was a standalone).

The best counter-example to this is, Nuclear War has been around since 1965. Nuclear Escalation hit nearly twenty years later, and did well enough that Nuclear Proliferation hit a decade after that ...

Dungeon Twister had a lot of expansions in a short time - and it was good at first, but sales apparently trailed off over time. Because putting out more and more expansions means people will start to get pickier about which expansion(s) they pick up and you'll start to see "recommend an expansion" threads on Boardgamegeek (and elsewhere).

You also need to keep in mind the designer's timing - Christophe Boelinger put out Dungeon Twister: Prison, and then moved on to other projects with Ludically (including the upcoming Earth Reborn). Has he abandoned Dungeon Twister? Has he forgotton about us? No. He'll get there.

While I'm briefly on the subject of DT, there is a poll on BoardGameGeek that I'd like you to take (if you haven't already).

It's a tricky juggling act, publishing games. It's a bit like running a store - you need to be passionate about gaming. You need to love games and gamers. But you can't lose sight of the fact that it's a business. You need to make money.

And that, my friends, is where I would fail.

Dungeon Twister 2: Prison

So I have some juicy tidbits today - Chris gave me a bit of information on Dungeon Twister 2: Prison. And, more importantly, permission to share that information.

So let's start with confirming the information that is already public:

1) The game will include miniatures rather than cardboard standups.
2) The game will include solitaire play in addition to the two-player mode.
3) There will be three "repeat" characters as well as five all-new characters.
4) The game will be backwards-compatible with existing products.
5) One goal is simultaneous releases in English, French, and German.
6) The rules are not changing - they are being clarified and will be re-worded.
7) New publisher: Ludically. This will be their first product. Asmodee will continue distribution.

So what new information do I have?

1) The terrain on the new board will be that from the existing Base Set + 1 new terrain type. The current name is "loopholes," but that is subject to change.
2) The game will include more than eighty cards, due to solo play and how it works. In fact, the company doing the video game (Hydravision) is basing the AI (in part) on the game's solo opponent.
3) On the subject of cards, they will have new art and will be standard size rather than the smaller size they currently are.
4) Solo play includes six levels of difficulty and a special "Auto-revealing" mode that can be combined with any of them. It also adds a random mode of play. There will be scenarios on the web for it, and if there is room in the rulebook, some will be included there.
5) New characters include the Colossus and the "Human-Snake." The Human-Snake can move through the loopholes I mentioned earlier.
6) Returning characters are the Cleric, the Mechanork, and the Wizard.
7) As mentioned, the rules will be clarified. There will also be some introductory scenarios to help teach new players how to play.
8) Future Plans: An expansion every three to four months, sales permitting. Each expansion will be two characters (four miniatures) and one or two pairs of rooms. Sales permitting, of course.
9) Target release date: September of 2009. He didn't say anything about it, but I hope to have (or have seen) a copy by GenCon.

What about the sets that aren't out in English, yet?

Chris had some info, but I can't share it yet. I will say that stock in France is down to zero, so if you want it, order it now from someone who has it in stock. Geoman uploaded some excellent translations of these sets on BoardGameGeek, and I'm willing to help with questions if you have them. The future of these sets in English depends on the sales of the new base set.

The same goes for the "Ultimate 3/4" set.

I'm not saying "give up hope of seeing these items, characters, and rooms in English," so don't interpret it that way. :)