Hobbies And Interests
Research Market
To research the market for Christian board games, begin with the "Christian Writers' Market Guide: The Essential Reference Tool for the Christian Writer." Published annually, this guide lists a number of Christian publishing markets, including markets for a wide variety of games. Once you have identified potential game publishers, such as the Bible Games Company, Cactus Design, Inc., Talicor and Wisdom Tree, spend some time exploring the websites and catalogs for each publisher to learn more about the types of games they publish. You may also consider connecting with other game developers through the annual Christian Game Developers Conference to learn more about the market.
Test Game
Take time to develop your game idea fully and then to test the game on your target audience. Sally E. Stuart, in "The Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009," explains that many game publishers look for games that have been tested for both game play and for marketability. Handbooks and guides on game development can help you test the functionality of your game with members of your target audience. Helpful handbooks and guides include Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman's "Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals" and Tracy Fullerton, Christopher Swain and Steven Hoffman's "Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games."
Submit Queries
Submit queries to your selected Christian board game publishers according to each company's submission guidelines. These guidelines can often be acquired either by visiting the company's website or by contacting the company by email or by phone. Companies often specify whether or not they want you to submit a query for a game before submitting the actual game, as well as whether or not they want your game proposal submitted by email or by traditional mail. For example, both the Bible Games Company and the Cactus Game Design, Inc., request that game developers submit queries by email for possible games.