Reflections after a Year and a Half Running

The dream, the reality, and the road to Borbata

Starting a board game publishing house sounds to anyone who loves games like the ultimate dream job. And to be fair,in many ways it is. But anyone who thinks we spend all day just rolling dice around a table is in for a rude awakening.

We are now exactly a year and a half into our journey with Van der Spek Sons Publishing. It’s a great moment to take a candid look back at what it’s really been like. Because what does that journey from initial dream to a tangible game on the shelf actually look like in reality?

The First Disappointment

When we set up our company, we immediately had a specific game designer in mind whose game we desperately wanted to publish. We could picture it entirely: this had to be our debut title.

After a series of intensive sessions, brainstorms and discussions, it ultimately fell through. After all, a designer takes a significant risk by partnering with a brand-new, inexperienced publishing house. Moreover, the game in question held a lot of emotional value for the creator, and as a result, we missed out. A bitter pill at the time, but also an early and valuable lesson: trust and experience aren’t built overnight.

Into the Exhibition Halls with Fresh Hope

Fortunately, you don’t start a publishing company for just one title. So we eagerly scoured the board game conventions, actively searching for a new game to publish.

Let’s be honest: this is without doubt one of the most enjoyable parts of our work. Wandering among dozens of gaming tables, discovering new prototypes, and chatting with creative minds from the community. We saw and played many games that just didn’t quite fit the portfolio we want to build. But every encounter brought energy and inspiration.

Alongside the conventions, we were also able to occasionally join the Spellengilde (Game Guild). A gathering of board game fanatics. By joining those we became witnesses of a game maker’s process. From testing everything to the very first prototypes and ultimately to nearly finished games. For a publisher, it’s like being a kid in a candy store. However it is also a great learning experience. We’re thankful for being able to watch the various stages of development unfold physically. The way feedback was given, and above all, how eagerly it was received, is an example to many people outside the gaming world.

The Spark: Lords of the South Slavs (Borbata)

During those visits, we eventually stumbled upon the prototype of The Lords of the South Slavs (since renamed to Borbata). Stoj played his Roll & Write version with us of what is now evolving into a full-fledged board game. To be completely honest, we walked away from the table feeling that this wasn’t the game for us. As we walked through the convention away from Stoj’s gaming table, we were evaluating away like mad. Luckily, Tom had the imagination and vision needed to let the game grow in our heads. In the car on the way home, I was already on the phone with Stoj to discuss our interest in his game.

Since then, we’ve been hard at work developing and polishing the game further. The game evolved into a board game that seamlessly aligns with our vision:

1. A game with such ‘table presence’ that when you see it being played from a distance, you instinctively feel the urge to join in.
2. A game that exudes quality.
3. And of course, a game that delivers a lot of fun for the whole family and can be pulled off the shelf time and time again.

To reach that point, a phase followed of playing a lot, tweaking a lot, testing even more, and then testing again. Up to now, this creative phase has by far been the most enjoyable period of the entire process.

The Harsh Reality of Publishing: Specifications, Quotes, and Logistics

But running parallel to that wonderful game design and testing is a completely different process. One you might not immediately think of when starting a board game publisher: the commercial and technical journey with manufacturers.

Formulating our exact production requirements, meticulously figuring out and listing all necessary components, and the endless emailing back and forth with various producers about quotes… It is undeniably a fascinating process, but at the same time much more complicated and intensive than we had anticipated.

And even then you’re not done, because the subsequent steps require an enormous amount of attention. Because once those thousands of boxes roll off the factory line, they have to be shipped by container to a distribution hub, and from there individually dispatched to (hopefully many!) players at home.

Just look at how much is involved:

• Storage and warehousing
• Packing and fulfilment
• Sea and freight transport
• Customs formalities and import duties
• Local taxes and VAT structures
• Returns processing and customer service
• And above all: the massive costs associated with every single one of these steps.

We knew full well beforehand that we weren’t entering the board game world to get fabulously rich overnight.Consequently, we aren’t paying ourselves a single penny right now. And that will likely remain the case for a while. Our primary goal is simple: make a profit so we can immediately reinvest it into our next game. But even that turns out to be a gigantic challenge in this market. For a debut game nowadays, as a small publisher, you can probably consider yourself lucky if you just break even and don’t make a loss.

The Dessert: Art Coming to Life

Fortunately, the creative side is always there to restore the balance. We are currently right in the thick of it with our concept artists. Seeing how raw ideas, characters, and game boards are transformed into breathtaking artwork… that genuinely feels like the dessert after a heavy meal. It instantly soothes all the headaches caused by customs tariffs, quotes,and spreadsheets.

The artwork is a real journey, beautifully captured here for the tracks.

Would We Do It Again?

If you had asked us a year and a half ago: “If you had known beforehand exactly what all of this would entail, would you still have done it?”

Then the honest answer is: No, probably not. The mountain seemed a lot more manageable back then than it has turned out to be in reality.

But if you ask today: “Now that you know what you know, would you go through this whole process all over again?”

Then it’s an emphatic: Yes!

By now, we’ve gained experience, learned where the pitfalls lie, and the ultimate reward is starting to emerge more and more clearly: a real, physical board game. And that, after all, is the most wonderful thing in the world. Pouring countless hours, energy, and passion into something, only to soon have a tangible box sitting on the table that people all over the world will enjoy together. That makes every single stressful minute well and truly worth it.

We aren’t quite there yet; after all, the final hurdles are always the hardest. But one thing is certain: Borbata is coming. Just a little more patience, and our game will be up on Gamefound. And that is the exact moment when we need you!With enough backers, our game will genuinely end up on the shelf. Your support is crucial in making that happen!