Thursday, October 17, 2019

Crafter Con is The Game Crafter's very own game design convention. Its focus is on education to make you a better game designer. It features a track of seminars and workshops with industry experts. As well as a play testing room where you can work out some kinks with other designers 1 on 1.

Schedule

During the main schedule, there will also be a separate room open and set up for play testing. So if you are not interested in one of the seminars or workshops you always have something to do. This room will remain open until midnight.

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Session Descriptions

This is the list of sessions available at Crafter Con 2019.

The Complex Pickup & Deliver Game of Logistics

I don’t usually enjoy pickup and deliver games, but I discovered one that I have loved playing over the past few years - The Logistics of Tabletop Games. It is a polarizing “game” for sure - most gamers avoid playing it at all costs. But the costs of not playing the logistics “game” or even worse. - playing it wrong or poorly - can be very high. In this session, Kirk will share the ins and outs of and best practices for managing logistics of tabletop game projects.

Kirk Dennison is a game designer, game publisher and seasoned logistics consultant (24+ game projects over the past 4 years). Outside of working on games, he manages the operations of a IT Staffing company in Madison, WI and loves family time with his wife and 2 young boys.

Intellectual Property for Game Designers

Games and game design raise interesting issues about copyright, patents and trademarks. Mike will examine the intellectual property issues faced by game designers when they're designing, developing and attempting to license their board games.

Mike Wokasch is a father, intellectual property attorney, and game designer/publisher. He's a two-time TGC contest winner. He successfully Kickstarted his own game Starving Artists which he also licensed to a publisher for a second print this last summer.

Playtesters: Your Secret Weapon in a Changing Market

How to find, recruit, and leverage playtesters beyond the usual suspects. Proven techniques with an innovative twist will create raving fans, access niche markets, and reach untapped influencers. Supercharge your marketing on a shoestring budget.

Nicole Fende, A.S.A. has successfully self-published two books with her second premiering at GenCon Authors’ Avenue in 2016, is a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach, and hosts the podcast “The Sci-Fi Biz Show.”

Hobby Tabletop Industry by the Numbers

Milton will show you detailed numbers about what is selling and what isn't; how big the industry is; whether or not it is growing or shrinking; and a whole host of other information based upon intense research and interviews. Knowing this information will be useful whether you are pitching a game to a publisher, or running a Kickstarter.

Milton Griepp has been in the geek culture business for over 40 years, beginning in distribution in 1976. As a Co-Founder, officer and beginning in 1984 as CEO of Capital City Distribution, he grew sales for 14 consecutive years, building Capital into a profitable international company with over $150 million in annual sales of geek culture products, especially comics and games, to retailers around the world. Capital was the source of many innovations in geek products distribution, including the advance solicitation mag-a-log, still in use today in both the comics and games fields.

Since selling Capital to Diamond Comic Distributors in 1996, Griepp has continued using his expertise in the industry as a consultant in the business of geek culture. He founded ICv2, the #1 information source on the business of geek culture, in 2001. ICv2 publishes a website, ICv2.com, with daily business news; and Internal Correspondence, a magazine with in-depth market analysis, bestseller charts, and other features on the hobby game and graphic novel categories.

Make it Meaningful

Compelling games feature interesting choices and meaningful decisions -- those moments we re-visit, discuss, and think about even after the game is over. But how do you design that compelling experience? We'll discuss what goes into decision making, and how players evaluate their options in a game setting. Understanding this decision making process can help make you a better player and a better game designer.

Jay Little is an award-winning game designer and passionate game enthusiast with more than 20 years of experience in the hobby gaming industry. In addition to designing his own games, Jay also teaches video and board game design for the University of Wisconsin - Stout.

Appealing to Content Creators

The industry is full of games who deserve to have great content made about them. How do you get your game to stand out among the many that are marketed to content creators? This panel will discuss easy ways in which you can make your game as best appealing as possible to those in the content creation world.

Cassie Elle is a content creator who has been in the industry for over five years, creating video reviews, overviews, and tutorials for the independent board game industry.

Getting off the Ground: Starting a Small Board Game Publisher

Discover what it took to start Thunderworks Games, a one-man publishing company. Review various challenges encountered along the way as the company grows. Discuss lessons learned along the way, including what to look for in new titles from outside designers. Q & A strongly encouraged.

Keith Matejka is a game designer, game publisher, and avid gamer out of Madison, Wisconsin. His small board gaming publishing company, Thunderworks Games, was founded in 2013 and has published seven games to date – Bullfrogs, Roll Player, Roll Player: Monsters & Minions, Blend Off!, Dual Powers: Revolution 1917, Lockup: A Roll Player Tale, and Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale.

I successfully funded, now what?

So you've successfully raised a boatload of money on Kickstarter, but now the hard part: production, fulfillment, and customer service. Mike will talk about his experience as a first time publisher and creator bringing Starving Artists to his backers.

Mike Wokasch is a father, intellectual property attorney, and game designer/publisher. He's a two-time TGC contest winner. He successfully Kickstarted his own game Starving Artists which he also licensed to a publisher for a second print this last summer.

Room Layouts & Maps

Crafter Con Seminars

The Crafter Con Seminars will be held in room KO. If you come in the main entrance you can get their by taking an immediate right on the 4th floor. It will be open from 8am until 10pm.

Crafter Con Play Test Room

The Crafter Con Play Test Room can be found on the second floor in the Hall of Fame Room. It will be open from 8am until Midnight.