Publishing: The Home Game
Writing books for a living is a very unique experience, and I say that as someone who has held a comical amount of jobs. There’s nothing quite like it, from the varying publishing paths to take with each project, to navigating the ebook market, wondering if the next project will sell or sink, handling conventions, working out audio deals, and so it goes. While I love the job and am happy to still be doing it almost 8 years down the line, it’s definitely an odd way to pay the bills.
And now, we here at Thunder Pear Publishing have decided to share that experience with the rest of the world! That’s right, this is the announcement for Publishing: The Home Game, a definitely not fictional product imagined for comedic purposes. Probably.
Please enjoy this sample from the ruleset below:
It’s your turn to take a crack at making it in publishing! Will you reach dizzying heights of literary greatness, or end up slinging limericks in a bar for watered-down beers? Time to put your talents to the test and find out.
First, players will need to select their Genre Avatar. Each Genre has different bonuses and penalties that can impact gameplay, so make your decision carefully.
-Romance: Bonus Income, Minus Reputation. You outsell everyone else and get no respect for it. Ain’t that some shit?
-Sci-Fi: Minor Bonus Income, Minus/Bonus Reputation: The Sci-Fi convention circuit helps pad the bottom line and makes you something of a celebrity, in the right circumstances.
-Literary Fiction: Minus Income, Bonus Reputation: The books might not move like in those ‘lesser’ genres, but at least you get a steady stream of accolades.
Complete list of Genre Avatars available in full game.
Now that you’ve chosen your Avatar, it’s time to pick a publishing path! Please note that while they do intersect later down the board, allowing for crossover and hybrid playstyles, there are bonuses only available on the early tiles of each section.
Independent Publishing: Take the risks yourself and reap the rewards… or consequences. When starting on this path, all Income Gain and Loss Cards are doubled, and all Reputation Gain Cards are halved. You have a higher potential to make and lose money, but little attention looking your way. These effects will change as various thresholds are reached.
Traditional Publishing: It’s tried, true, and tested; traditional publishing offers a less volatile path, in both the good and bad ways. When starting on this path, all Reputation Gain and Loss cards are doubled, and all Income Gain Cards are halved. You are more in the public eye, but working at lower royalty rates. These effects will change as various thresholds are reached.
With your Avatars on the board and a Starting Path selected, lets finally get to playing! Draw a Goal card from the deck, but don’t show any of the others! Different Goals will require different achievements to win. For example, if you draw the “Make a Living” Card, then you’ll need to reach a certain Income threshold, while also picking up specialized tokens like “Health Insurance” and “Budget Management”. On the other hand, if you pick the “Know My Name” Card, you’ll be looking to increase your Reputation, or ones like the “Tinseltown” Card which require a mix of both Income and Reputation, along with its own tokens.
Complete list of Goal Cards available in full game.
Now that you have a Goal, let’s start chasing that dream. Roll the provided D6, move to your new tile, and see what effect has been activated. The options include:
-Career: Draw a Career Card. These may raise or lower Income and Reputation, or provide special opportunities like “Send a Pitch”.
-Marketing: Spend Income to spin the Marketing Wheel. Outcomes include Raised Income, Raised Reputation, Lowered Income, and No Effect.
-Pitch a Book: Create a Book Card with a title and synopsis. Certain beneficial Career, Life, and Challenge Cards require a Book Card to take effect.
-Life: Draw a Life Card. These represent the chaos of the world outside your career, and can dramatically increase or lower all scores.
-Success: Whether it’s getting a book onto shelves or hitting a new sales record, sometimes you win one. Draw a token from the Accomplishment Jar.
-Flop: Sometimes it all goes bad and things fall apart. Draw a “Deterred” Marker and place it on your Goal card. Three “Detered” Markers means you have lost the desire to continue pursuing a career in publishing. Certain Life Cards can remove or negate this effect.
-Challenge: Rise to the challenge presented. Success can earn tokens from the Accomplishment Jar and a chance to draw from other decks with the option to discard negative outcomes.
Complete list of tiles available in full game.
Although your fellow players are certainly your competition, they can also be your allies. Some Challenge cards allow for teaming up and sharing of resources, permitting many to accomplish what one would be unable to manage. You’ll need to balance diplomacy and ruthlessness as you work toward your true goal, while trying to suss out theirs.
The game ends when a player successfully completes all the requirements for their Goal card. At this point, it is suggested that the other players congratulate the winner while loudly stage-whispering curses. If you’d like, use the provided ledger to write down the player who won and their favorite of the Book Cards they created during play. That is now considered a Literary Classic, something that can be referenced for bonuses on future playthroughs.
We at Thunder Pear Publishing hope you enjoy this small insight into the world of publishing. As a recommendation, due to the frustrating nature of both this industry and the board game representing it, we highly recommend buyers purchase multiple copies to keep on hand in case of smashing incidents. Same as when you buy copies of Monopoly.