Obviously everyone knows I like board games, but one of my favorite things about the hobby has always been how good the industry treats its customers. In a world where most companies are looking to take you for as much as they can, board game companies almost universally have great customer service despite the fact that a lot of times they are not making a lot of money per unit sold. They’ll replace missing pieces, cards, etc, often at no cost because they want you to enjoy their product and continue to enjoy their product.
— Haen, gamer
I picked up a Smash Up box at Gen Con. It was missing a card. I e-mailed AEG customer service, and they sent me the card.
That is not much of a story. It rarely is when things work properly. Customer service worked well, and now I have a full set rather than saying, “Pretend this card is a Collector.”
: Zubon
I’ve decided to launch a Kickstarter this year for a board game I’ve wanted to bring to market for a while. There’s not a ton of money in it, especially without post-KS sales, but it will be great to get the game out there. I’ll make sure to have leftovers to fix any problems that come up.
I’m not sure if that’s the “cottage market” nature of the somewhat insular and still-relatively-small tabletop gaming world, but I like it. The designers I’ve talked to are interesting people with great insight, and game design itself is an appealing outlet for creativity with an analytical bent.
Would that I could make a proper living at it, but it’s just something I will do because I love game design. I have to think that others are in a similar boat, and making players happy is a big part of really making the game click. Maybe someday the industry will be big enough to have the inevitable cancers that come with bloat (and there are signs of some of that), but for now, it’s a pretty sweet space for gamers.