#252 Board Game Production and Operations with Nicole Cutler

Nicole Cutler joins Dirk and David to discuss her roles in operations and production in the tabletop industry. They discuss some of the production choices made when developing Gods Love Dinosaurs from Pandasaurus Games. Nicole shares insights into how the small teams common in the industry often end up with many of the production, operations, and project management roles blurring together. In the latter half of the show, the group chats about Kickstarter dos and don’ts, print runs, sell sheets, and pitching to publishers.

Episode Outline

1:11 More information on Nicole’s roles as a production manager and an operations manager.

4:04 How different game designs might get more focus in production

6:05 In-depth talk of Nicole’s involvement with Gods Love Dinosaurs

10:03 Deciding on whether a component upgrade is worth it or not

14:54 The interaction between creatives/designers and the business/production sides of the business

18:25 Resources for learning production costs and similar info

20:09 The role of project management in board game design, and how it can sometimes be overlooked

24:25 Operations management in board games

27:45 Kickstarter tips and warnings for self-publishing designers

33:08 Talking about print quantities and avoiding a garage full of game copies

38:55 Pitching to publishers vs self-publishing

42:16 Talking about sell sheets and pitching

48:33 Final tips and advice from Nicole for designers

In this Episode

Nicole Cutler - @SidekickNicole
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer