Building the First Blockchain Board Game

It was more of an accident than a plan. I never set out to build a board game for the blockchain, but it appears we just so happen to have a concept and prototype that is ideally suited for everything the blockchain has to offer. Frenemies not yet ready to be coded up and computerized, but with each passing day we get closer to realizing that ultimate objective.

First and foremost, if the title of this post is in fact wrong, please correct me. Perhaps another forward thinker out there in the world somewhere has in fact beaten me to the punch. If that is the case, I’d like to know about it because it would be disingenuous of me to make such a claim when the credit rightfully belongs elsewhere. So please leave a comment if you know something I don’t.

Secondly, I want to address a number of comments received in prior posts. More than once I have been asked for better information and greater detail about my game - Frenemies.

https://steemit.com/@lcshaft
https://steemit.com/@p5ych0path
https://steemit.com/@cryptastic

The above Steemers were kind enough to leave thoughtful comments, which I greatly appreciate, and their desire for greater detail about the game is coming soon. But we - the development team - still have a few kinks to work through before I can actually begin answer the questions asked. The way the game plays is continually evolving, and the rules are constantly being rewritten.

The most recent play-test on 5 June 2017 was a success, in a way. No, we didn’t have a good game, but I did gather enough data to further simplify the rules and mechanics into a more fluid and coherent gameplay experience. Frenemies is only getting better as time goes on, and we are only getting closer to having a viable product. The question I have is how to go about it. There are a number of paths to choose from, but I’m not certain which would be most appropriate.

The most obvious and frequently suggested route, is crowdfunding.

The most obvious benefit to crowdfunding is the up front, and outsized cash infusion the operation would receive. It would afford us the opportunity to seek out and retain highly skilled artists and designers. It would be of great benefit for us to work with more experienced professionals of that calibre, because they can produce results far greater than anything I’ve ever come up with. I have spent a lot of time training and honing my graphic design skills, but even after the months of work I’ve put in, any piece of work I’ve ever done pales in comparison to the pros. So in a nutshell, crowdfunding would empower us to offer a dramatically better product from day one, and do so at a far better/lower price point.

The downside to crowdfunding is expectations. Once you take someone’s money, you are beholden to them. No excuses, delays, or failures to deliver allowed. Furthermore, so many campaigns receive tens of thousands of orders, which raises the question of production capacity. Are we prepared to produce tens of thousands of units? How does that production and distribution supply chain work? We would need to recruit experienced professionals that can help ensure we don’t f**k it up! I know I can figure it out. But that’s just it. I have yet to figure it out...

Another possible path is to pay all costs for production of the first batch out of my own pocket and personal savings. That would put a couple hundred units max, in our inventory and ready for immediate shipment to those who order the game. From there, assuming the game actually sells, parlay all profits into a second, even bigger batch, repeating this pattern over and over again. As profits accumulate, parlay some of them toward progressive improvements in the artwork and design. This however, runs the risk of leaving early adopters of the game with a sense of buyer's remorse. Will they regret buying the early edition, when they see how much better the later editions gradually become?

I honestly don’t know, thus my dilemma...

If I choose this path, it would also take longer to generate a level of sustainable cash flow, necessary to support the development team as we build the brand and overall product line. Up to this point, my entire team has been working with me and helping me for free. I’ve done what I can to make their contributions of time and energy worthwhile, but there is a limit to what I can do. They have their own lives to live, and bills to pay. No business can subsist for long on the charity and free labor of others. Sooner or later they need and deserve to be paid, lest they move on to more interesting and profitable opportunities. My instinct is telling me it’s worth it in the long run to delay crowdfunding until we absolutely need it, but it’s also telling me, this is exactly what crowdfunding is for. Is it not?

Again, I don’t know.

Anyone with actual experience in this industry and process is invited to comment and share their thoughts. Any prospective customers and board game enthusiasts who have an opinion or insights on this issue are also welcome to share. I’ve done a lot of things, traveled many paths, and worn many hats, but this uncharted territory for me, personally. I do need help.

All the issues cited above have inclined me to take the slower path, and build this “muscle” organically, at least for now. Crowdfunding almost feels like the entrepreneurial equivalent to steroids. Yes, it can juice your operation incredibly, giving you a massive boost. And for some operations it is absolutely appropriate. But if you haven’t built a basic intellect, developed a basic understanding, and acquired the basic experience, you can do what my friend in the USMC did - juice up on steroids, with no preparation, knowledge, or experience, and then see your ligaments fail to hold as much weight as your muscles can push. His muscles could push 400 pounds, but his ligaments couldn’t hold 400 pounds. He juiced so much that his muscular development outpaced that of his underlying connective tissue. The weight on the bar, literally pushed his bones apart from each other. He was medically discharged in 2005. He’ll never again enjoy a normal life.

It is not my intention to maximize profits, because that would undermine the potential audience and customer base. Not to mention this is the 21st century, and sooner or later if we as a species are going to endure the test of time and build a better world, we need to get over our obsession with monetary gain and self serving business endeavors. We’re all stuck here, together, on this little rock-ball, hurdling through the endless vacuum of space, around a giant fireball. If we don’t get it together sooner or later, we as a species - for lack of a better term - are completely and utterly F**KED!

But at the same time, games don’t magically code themselves. The last thing I want is a bunch of kids chained to a desk in some pacific rim sweatshop, coding my game for the lowest possible price. I want to work with professionals, who excel at what they do, can deliver a quality product, which isn’t laden with bugs, that doesn’t crash every 8 seconds, and delivers what what promised to paying customers who took a chance on me and what I’ve created. Professionals who can deliver such a product deserve to be paid well for their time, energy, and contributions.

The good news is that based on the crowdfunding track record established by similar products in the past, I have no doubt we can hit our targets if we produce and deliver a quality product.

I do, and will have more to say on this as time goes on, but I want to leave it here for now.

Thank you for taking the time read this, and we greatly appreciate anything you have done to share, spread, and get the word out about this project.

Sincerely,

Joshua Abraham