Hey yall!
I am pushing DEER! back into full gear following the holiday season and the end of the year!
First off, if you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter for DEER! and are getting these posts to your email, please do! The sign up it here:
Why is this important? I want to make sure that I am doing this right and this means setting goals that I need to hit before I take DEER! to Kickstarter, so that I know that we will be successful. I am going to be working on ramping up my exposure and pushing DEER! this year, by being at conventions, as well as scheduling demos and appearances at areas local to me, as well as surrounding areas. My main goal is for my newsletter to have 800-1000 subscribers before I am ready to launch on Kickstarter.
Now, I’ll be honest, right now, I have hit my first 20 subscribers. Which is awesome! I appreciate every single one of you that have subscribed and are supporting me on this journey, but now it’s time to ramp and push the awareness of DEER!
I really believe in this game, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. And anytime I bring it out and people get a chance to play it, people love it. Now, the name of the game is awareness! So please, if you feel inclined, share this with your friends, your family, and people you think will enjoy the game.
I will be working on doing my part as well. I am working on making my landing page for DEER! better so that I can increase my visitor conversion. I am going to be upping my game in the digital and social media marketing spaces. I will be looking into other options for both organic growth and paid marketing to get the word out. I’ve been holding off on the paid part for now, as I’d love to have some art for the game to show off when I go that route, more on art and graphic design later in this update.
So, sign up and share if you believe in the game as well! I’ll try not to be too obnoxious about asking.
What happens if we don’t hit that goal? There are a ton of variable to take into consideration at that point, but the most likely result is that I will push the Kickstarter until March of 2027, however, I am committed to doing what it takes to reach this goal and launch in 2026! I have plans for the beginning of 2027 and more games that I believe people will love, so I’m determined to make my goal. Come see me at conventions if you want sneak peeks on what is in the pipeline.
I’ve been sending out emails to different manufacturers to get quotes that I can review and find the best fit for my product based on factors like cost, production timeline, and component quality. Growing up with my grandpa in the roofing and construction business, he taught me that when he looked at quotes as well as when he gave quotes for his business, that he follows the same truisms: get several quotes from across a range of potential partners, find the high end quote, find the low end quote, then do your research and find the best fit, probably somewhere in the middle. I’m going to be looking at all potential options even the highest and lowest quotes to make sure that I end up with the best partner for the project.
I had a ton of fun at Friendsgiving and Pax Unplugged back in November, and I got DEER! to the table quite a few times thanks to all of my willing playtesters! A few plays at PaxU were helpful in the continuing evolution of the game. While DEER! has been considered mostly done, barring art and graphic design, for a while now, I am always open to suggestions for making the game better, and I found some!
We will be changing up the card distribution for the game, increasing the overall number of cards from 18 to 27 road cards, and adding in 3 “Rotation” cards into the deck. The flip of a “rotation” card, will trigger the players to rotate the positioning of the Stop, Slow, and Go cards on the table.
This changes up the expectation on where the correct reaction is located, instead of the consistency of knowing the location right away. This has players slowing down slightly to consider their location.
As well, instead of the game ending after the deck has been depleted, allowing players to expect which cards will still come up. Instead, when the third rotation card is flipped, the game ends.
On the topic of art and graphic design, I am hoping in the next month or so to have a better idea of my initial budget for this part of the project, as well as an idea of which art is necessary before running the Kickstarter later this year. I have reached out to several potential partners for this project and will continue to find the best options!
I am leaning right now to a slightly more realistic look to the art for the game, similar to what I currently use as the prototype. However, I’d love to hear any opinions on what like of look might be the most appealing for the game.
Now, I have started going back to school and I am taking two classes this semester as I work towards my Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, with a goal to keep going and getting a Masters in Marketing. This semester I am taking a Digital Marketing class and a Product Management class. In the Digital Marketing class, I am working on improving my landing page for DEER! this week.
Here is where I ask more of you all! If you have played DEER! and loved the game, I would greatly appreciate it if you’d be willing to provide a testimonial for my landing page! Also, please feel free to take a look at the page, here – I would love any thoughts or feedback on how to make it better! Please feel free to provide testimonials or feedback in the comments here, or email me at jordan@black-bear-creation.com .
Thank you all for taking the time to read and keep up to date with the progress of DEER! I am super excited about this year and everything I am planning for this game! I hope to be better about updates now that things are starting to move forward a little more!
Take care everyone!
Jordan
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