In my last article, I mentioned that we’re going to start looking at what board game mechanics work best with different styles of games. I wanted to take a bit more time to really get into this, so I’m going to be starting this series next week.

I also wanted to hold off, because I wanted to share some exciting news with you…

I’ve partnered with Indie Game Alliance to offer a special bonus to anyone signing up for the Board Game Design Course, which includes 5 additional free months of membership (twice monthly group calls and a Facebook community to answer all your game design questions).

I don’t just partner with anyone. I love the services and discounts they provide. I’m also a member and will be saving way more than the cost of membership with just one of the many discounts I am using. More on that in a moment…

But what is the Indie Game Alliance and how can it help you as a game designer?

Playtesting

Indie Game Alliance (IGA) has a network of over 1,000 volunteer “minions” who love games and want to playtest yours!

They arrange for physical copies of games to go out to playtesters, who will blind playtest your game and provide feedback. The playtesters then get credits for every hour of playtesting that they can spend to buy published games from other publishers that use their service (including Roxley, Blue Orange, and Renegade Game Studios, and hundreds more).

While playtesting in-person has become a challenge in the past year, they will ready to get your game out to others for that valuable feedback we all crave to make our games better when things return to normal.

You’ll save money as well, as you’ll ship all copies of your prototypes to one location and they are then distributed to playtesters.

Discounts for Designers

Indie Game Alliance has partnered with dozens of organizations to provide discounts and perks to game designer and publisher members alike.

This is another area where IGA excels.

Here are just a few of the best discounts for game designers you can take advantage of:

• 5-10% off game components and prototypes from Print & Play
• 50% off Component Studio by Game Crafter (this is a great program to automate your designs and save you a ton of time)
• 25% discount on Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia implementations of your game by Bob Nolan Digital Conversions and Games by Ray
• 3 months free trial of Trello Gold

So, if you’re looking to have a prototype made, either physically or digitally, need game components, or want help automating or organizing your game designs, IGA membership has you covered.

These are just some of the many great discounts offered. You can check out the whole list of deals here.

And if you’re thinking of publishing your game by yourself, the discounts get so much better!

Save Big When Self-Publishing

When I found out that D6 (a shipping and fulfilment partner I was planning on working with before joining) was an IGA member and that I could save up to 10% (up to $2 per backer) using their services, joining IGA as a publisher was a no-brainer.

I would easily cover the cost of my membership many times over with this one discount alone!

Funagain Logistics and Games Quest also offer substantial discounts for shipping and fulfilment, but just wait until you see the list of manufacturers, pledge managers, and other professional services that have teamed up with IGA.

You can save on setup fees, get discounts of around 5% on manufacturing, depending on the manufacturer (this can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars in savings), and even get some free promo cards included with your order.

Check out this amazing offer that I jumped on as soon as it became available – Matt Healey will create a custom insert for your game. In exchange for creating the amazing insert for my game, Relics of Rajavihara, and working with my manufacturer to perfect it, he only wanted a copy of my game. Done and done!

As you can see, there are so many benefits to joining IGA and I love what they do for the gaming community. And now, you’ll be able to get an amazing bonus of 5 free months of membership in the Board Game Design Course community when you sign up for the course once you have an IGA membership as well!

Check out Indie Game Alliance now!

As mentioned, next week we’re going to start looking at what board game mechanics work best with different styles of games. I’m really looking forward to writing all about this and sharing some amazing tips and tricks with you.