Every month, I update the progress chart on the News page of our website so anyone can see the current status of any Stonemaier project. There are 12 steps (some overlapping, some sequential) that define the process from design to retail release. If you’re curious about what each step entails, here’s a brief summary, along with the approximate timeframe for each.

1. Design (6-24 months): Take the game from an idea to something fun and functional. This includes prototyping and local playtesting. If you’re submitting the game to publishers instead of self-publishing, most of your responsibilities end here.
2. Art (3-6 months): Create the art for all components in the game, including (as needed) cards, tiles, boards, player mats, the box, etc. If there are miniatures, 3D modeling is also necessary.
3. Development (2-3 months): Make the game even more fun and functional by playing and honing the game. Focus on rules clarity, gameplay intuitiveness, and balance. This overlaps with blind playtesting.
4. Blind Playtesting (4-8 months): Send the files for the game to paid playtesters who assemble the game, learn it from the rules, and play it several times before reporting their experiences. Use those reports and data to update the game (ideally with support from the designer), then start another wave of blind playtesting.
5. Solo Design (3-5 months): Solo specialists (e.g., Automa Factory) craft the solo mode for the game based on the final rules/prototype. They also prototype it extensively, sometimes discovering new balance issues to address in the multiplayer game.
6. Graphic Design (3-4 months): Design the icons, layout, and user interface, then transfer all the content from the prototype into these templates. This also includes the proofreading and oversight process, with the graphic designer updating the files with each new batch of edits. Graphic design culminates in the graphic designer preparing the printer-ready files based on the manufacturer’s specs.
7. Pre-Production (1 month): The manufacturer reviews the final PDFs and tokens for any issues that might arise during production. Usually there’s some back and forth (digitally and via samples) until the digital proofs and components are approved by both parties. This culminates in the manufacturer sending a PPC (pre-production copy) to the publisher for them to test–this is a single copy of the game printed on its own.
8. Components (2 months): The manufacturer (and any third-party factories they outsource to) produces the diecuts for tokens and moulds for miniatures, as well as actually making those components at scale. They also prepare for the printing itself–for most printed components, the prep takes longer than the printing. Anything that needs to be glued takes longer (i.e., boards, player mats, and the box), as the paper needs time to dry properly to the cardboard.
9. Print & Assemble (1 month): Cards and rulebooks are printed en masse. Now, with all the components ready and in one place, they can finally be assembled into the game boxes and placed in cartons (they may also be palletized).
10. Freight Shipping (1-2 months): From factory to final destinations, the games go by truck to train to ship to train to truck until they arrive at warehouses around the world. This applies no matter where you make products–it’s a global economy. It’s at this time that we typically announce and start to market our products.
11. Launch & Fulfillment (1 month): This is specific to Stonemaier Games, as we don’t sell products until they have arrived (or are imminently arriving) at our fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The hardworking folks at these fulfillment centers then pack every order, pair it with the correct label, and send it out with many others via couriers.
12. Retail Release (1 month): While the webstore launch is in progress, distributors and the publisher gather orders from retailers. This is why it’s super helpful for you to let your store know what you want to buy from them–that way they can ensure they have a copy of the product just for you in time for the retail release day.

Not shown here is the reprint process, which starts a little before step 8 (usually there’s a least a few files in which we make tiny updates before making more of a product).

These are only brief summaries of the steps, but I’m happy to answer questions in the comments.

***

Also read:

• Board Game Supply Basics
• An Open Letter to Non-Gamer Journalists Researching Modern Tabletop Games
• How to Design a Tabletop Game
• The Hidden Job of Every Creator
• My Game Publishing Checklist

If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog.