Reply To: Why do all our wargames rules have to cost the bomb?

[grabnutzParticipant 994xp 7]

OK, I thought of one or two more things.

You seem to be saying that £30 is too much for a set of rules. So let’s put that £30 in context:

• How much do you spend on one three-hour trip to the cinema?
• How many Big Mac meals can you get for £30?
• How many figures can you realistically buy for £30?

A good set of rules might last you years, providing satisfying games week after week.

As a professional rules writer I spend 1-2 years writing and play testing a set of rules.

After you add art, photo, layout and printing costs – which I have to pay upfront, I then have to give the distributor between 40-60% retailer discount so that they and their retail customers can cover their costs and make a small margin.

Note that those distributors and retailers don’t want to put a shabby B&W rule set on their shelves, next to the big companies’ shiny offerings.

At the end of the day I might make £5 per copy if I am lucky, and as I am a minnow in the marketplace, sell only one or two thousand of them.

Yes, I could sell the books myself and cut out the distributors and retailers, but that means spending most of my time processing orders, packing and dispatching product, buying packing materials, renting business space, paying business rates and buying software to handle this and the VAT/Sales Taxes in all the customer’s countries, and dealing personally with world wide customer inquiries 24/7.

This does not take into account the endless hours marketing my product online, begging big review sites and magazines to feature it, attending shows, putting on games, and then watching some big miniatures company give their rules away for free.

Conclusion: £30 is cheap.