31 – Reviews and Previews

… are extremely important for introducing an unknown game to the world. There are a huge number of great reviewers on various social media platforms, magazines, podcasts, and of course on YouTube. Today I’d like to give you a look at what goes on behind the scenes. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the larger channels only create reviews — meaning they only cover games that are already on the market and accessible to everyone. But there are also some who create previews for games that haven’t been released yet, like my prototype.

Previews, especially in video format, are very time‑consuming. To build a YouTube channel, you need regular uploads so you show up in the search algorithm. Naturally, you also want to play the game a few times beforehand. And to produce a video with the quality people expect on YouTube, you need some equipment, preparation, and often quite a bit of editing. Since you know how many games are released on the market or on Kickstarter, you can imagine how much work there is. Many do it out of passion, but for some it becomes a profession. That’s why some of the larger channels charge a fee for reviews/previews — and that’s completely understandable.

But there are also many people who create previews as a hobby and are simply excited to have a prototype on their table and support designers. The feedback from the board‑gaming community has been incredibly positive. So many people responded to my call for previewers that my few prototypes probably won’t reach everyone before the Kickstarter begins. I just hope they make it to several people at all, since they’re being passed from one player to the next. With so much shipping, something can easily happen to a game. Two English prototypes are now on their way to the USA, one to England, and two within the EU — and three German prototypes are traveling around Germany and Austria. I’m very curious to see how far their journey will take them.

I’ll definitely keep you updated. If you have questions about this topic, I’d be happy to answer them in the comments — as long as I’ve already gained some experience with it.