Hello everyone, I am Hangzai. When I wrote this article, the Earth Core Board Game's Small Box Series "Little Legend" has supported more than 4,030 people at MoDian. This number has been rising rapidly in the past 20 days. Correspondingly, as an original publishing house, Earth Core Board Game is also crazily unlocking more new cards, making this Small Box game, which originally had only more than 50 cards, have increased to an astonishing 110 pieces.
In the past 20 days, Fang Luhan, the founder of the core board game in Montreal, Canada, was alone, adapting to the 12-hour time difference with China, and grasping all of this. We must not only "coax" the designer to make new cards, but also require the factory to control costs, and also carefully protect the birth of this small legend with members of the core team scattered across China.
Director board games have always been a board game self-media, meeting everyone through various videos and comics. However, since last year, they have gradually made efforts in the board game publishing industry. It also successfully launched "Transfering the Goose with Goose" and today's "Little Legend". They may have redefined what a board game priced at 49 yuan should look like, but they also have more thinking and focus points.
How will Fangluhan answer the contradiction between "good quality" and "low price"? Recently, I made a cross-border phone call and chatted with him.
Hangzai: Your side should be 10 o'clock now.
Fangluhan: pair, 10:02 pm.
日本語: Is the night in Montreal beautiful?
Fang Luhan: I can’t see the moon tonight, but I still feel very excited to have this conversation with you who are far away in the motherland.
Hangzai: Haha I am also very excited. When we make this phone call, of course we have to talk about "Little Legend". What are the results now?
Fangluhan: was very much beyond our expectations. More than 4,000 players were supported by us, and the amount also reached more than 230,000, which far exceeded our expectations.
Hangzai: Can I get the second sister’s signature promotion card?
Fang Luhan: , I'll ask you if the second sister doesn't sign for you, I'll sign for you.
Hangzai: , this... I got my heart, I got my heart, you just said that "Little Legend" far exceeded your expectations. What was your estimated result at that time?
Fangluhan: is about 1,000 to 2,000 sets. We also refer to our previous project because the size of the two boxes and their audience evaluations are similar. If you have to ask me why "Little Legend" has this result...
Hangzai: I didn't ask you.
Fang Luhan: Yes, but if you ask me, I think the style of "Little Legend" has indeed made many people with common experiences evoke some common memories in the hearts of these people. In addition, we have put some effort into unlocking, hoping to let players get a satisfactory game.
Hangzai: Yes, I think your unlocked cards have actually exceeded the cards of the entire game body. Are your costs OK?
Fangluhan: Actually, you are not the first to ask me this question. Players in the message area and some other friends in the board game industry will also ask this project.
To be honest, we are trying our best to maintain a balance of income and expenditure. Of course, this needs to be said to be a good cooperation between us and manufacturers and other team members, and to ensure quality while making a very accurate control.The profit margin of this game is indeed lower than that of conventional games. At the beginning, we didn’t prepare so many unlock items, but later we felt that we could not let down the enthusiasm of the players. Our unlocking was gritting our teeth and keeping up as long as we didn’t lose money.
Hangzai: The results of "The Little Legend" exceeded your expectations, and now the production cost of "The Little Legend" has also exceeded your expectations.
Fangluhan: manufacturers are also willing to support originality and give us some care, otherwise it will be really difficult to do it.
Hangzai: What kind of communication did you have with the designer G minor during the entire crowdfunding period? What kind of mood does he feel?
fang Luhan: designers we must "coax" them, right? I told Teacher G minor that you are now the designer with the largest number of original supporters this year. The designer is indeed under great pressure because it exceeded his earliest design plan. We also feel that it is quite a burden to Teacher G minor.
But I have to say that the teacher G minor is very strong in design ability and design level. One thing that is particularly good is that while facing many unlocks, he still maintains a very stable and restrained design, and the balance of the game is put first. Although we are the relationship between designers and publishers, I actually feel more like a team with close cooperation.
And I would like to add something here, the teacher of G minor also joked that with the continuous emergence of unlocking, the game's worldview has become more and more perfect as unlocking is, which is also a very unexpected gain.
Hangzai: really gained a lot. What kind of opportunity did you get to sign in to "Little Legend" at that time? What touched you the most?
Fang Luhan: Last year's DICE CON g minor teacher went to test this game at the original exhibition. At that time, I stood by and watched several games. The first thing that touched me was the style, because to be honest, most publishing houses modify the designer's art, but this time we basically followed the entire pixel style, and turned all our publicity and promotion directions to such a center of gravity.
The second point is that under such a retro feeling, the game's mechanism and theme are combined very well. You can find a lot of things that make you evoke your memory in the whole character design. In addition, the whole rhythm of the game is that lightweight. Many people call it a micro board game, which means that it will not take up a lot of your energy and time to learn, and it has a certain depth and reopening rate, which is suitable for many occasions.
Hangzai: The board games recently launched by the core and the surrounding areas are under 49 yuan. Why do you choose the pricing?
Fang Luhan: In fact, we have also been thinking about pricing for a while. We will encounter some thresholds and difficulties when promoting board games. Price is actually a very important factor. I think board games are actually quite expensive in China. Many people may like to play board games, but they are blocked by the price. We want to meet the needs of these players. We do not want them to miss such an opportunity because of some price reasons. So we set the price at the beginning of the formulation of a price level that will not feel particularly stressful, which is to go out for a meal or watch a movie.
Secondly, we think that some games in the domestic low-priced game market actually have some problems with the quality or gameplay, or there are some flaws in the overall productization level of its art. We actually don’t want to buy these things in the low-price area. The price of 49 yuan should also have more high-quality games.
may also be that we met this demand, so starting from "Transferring Goose with Goose", the results have always exceeded our expectations. I would like to thank the players for their selfless support. You have made us more confident and more confident in this market.
Hangzai: You may actually be able to redefine the price line standard of the board game of 49 yuan. Didn’t Allen also build Hepa Studio? I am also helping to see some subsequent original products. I think your positioning of 49 yuan will also affect the pricing strategies of Hepa Studio and other publishers.
Fangluhan: Thank you, Hangzai, I think there will be, I hope that through our little power, players' understanding of originality will be promoted, and publishers will consider more how to accurately control costs and form a virtuous cycle.
Hangzai: Overall, what are the sales volumes of all your games currently?
Fangluhan: "Star Core Plan" is still around 500 sets. We hope to break through the 5-digit sales this year. As for "Little Legend", we will also have its corresponding retail and promotion plans in the future. Our game can allow more players to enjoy the value, and we are satisfied.
hangzi: Come on! So, what are the subsequent arrangements of the entire core team, including the publishing plan, and your personal time arrangement?
Fang Luhan: This year, due to some personal reasons, people are now abroad, and the core has always been a team that relies on network collaboration. In China, many team members are still there, so our operations will continue, but for me personally, it may be impossible to meet players offline for a while, but we also look forward to having the opportunity to communicate more with everyone online.
media will continue to do everything you can.
We will focus more on the "Ground Small Box" series. In fact, it is a homophone of the ground core. As the name suggests, the entire product series is full of small boxes, which is those easy to carry, lightweight but interesting game positioning. These games are mainly original games, and there are several products that are planned in the future. Among them, one of them is mainly party positioning. We have been developing for a long time and are expected to meet players after the Little Legend.
We like the setting of "Dixiao Box" from the bottom of our hearts. This is a type of board game we like very much. It is unique, new, interesting and relaxed, and will not spend a lot of time and money on you. I feel that it has a good promotion for circle expansion and promotion.
The current positioning of the core is more like a publishing house, and we also welcome everyone's contributions.
Hangzai: Okay, then please send me your detailed address in Montreal and post it. If you are interested in submissions, you can welcome to go to Montreal to knock on the door (laughs).
fangluhan: transportation costs need to be borne by myself. After I come here, I can invite everyone to dinner (laughs).
Hangzai: Thank you for your time, and I wish "Little Legend" more success on top of success and become a real board game and a legend in the industry.
Fangluhan: Thank you!
