How to Start a Board Game Company

Many people enjoy playing board games with family and friends. Board game businesses design and make board games for people to play.

Despite the growth of online platforms, the board game industry continues to remain strong. It’s grown since 2013, and the industry almost broke $20 billion in sales in 2022.

You may also be interested in additional low cost business ideas.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee.

 Northwest ($29 + State Fees)

DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start a board game company by following these 10 steps:

  1. Plan your Board Game Company
  2. Form your Board Game Company into a Legal Entity
  3. Register your Board Game Company for Taxes
  4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
  5. Set up Accounting for your Board Game Company
  6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Board Game Company
  7. Get Board Game Company Insurance
  8. Define your Board Game Company Brand
  9. Create your Board Game Company Website
  10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your board game company. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Board Game Company Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

  • Your state’s business records
  • Federal and state trademark records
  • Social media platforms
  • Web domain availability

It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening a board game company?

The costs of starting up a board game business are fairly low, although they are significant. It usually takes $18,00 to $20,000 to get a game made and start a business, but some businesses start with lower or higher costs. One board game business on Kickstarter initially asked for £50,000 in initial startup funds (about $69,200), while another board game business began with upfront costs of just $1,000 AUD (about $738 USD).

Assuming a business owner has friends who are willing to test a game for free, the biggest expenses are:

  • Trademarking and copyrighting the game
  • Hiring an artist to make the artwork
  • Manufacturing the game

The costs for an artist can vary greatly, depending on the level of detail required and the experience an artist has. Manufacturing costs often run between $7 and $25 per unit, although larger orders can bring per-unit costs much lower.

What are the ongoing expenses for a board game company?

Ongoing expenses for a board game business include storage costs for games that haven’t been sold yet and manufacturing costs of new units. Business owners can keep storage costs low by storing unsold games themselves. Manufacturing costs for more units can be funded by sales of in-stock units.

Who is the target market?

Board games appeal to a broad demographic. Even millennials are playing lots of non-digital games.

Most board game businesses, however, focus in on a particular demographic that they want to develop games for. For instance, a business might make party games for social outings, strategy games geared towards thinkers or generational games based on certain decades.

How does a board game company make money?

A board game business makes money by selling its finished board games. Games may be sold directly to customers at retail prices or to resellers at wholesale prices.

How much can you charge customers?

According to The Board Game Family, board games can sell for as little as $10 or as much as $70. Many games, however, cost around $30 retail.

When calculating price, business owners should try to make their game’s retail price four times the per-unit product costs. This will help ensure a business is profitable.

How much profit can a board game company make?

A successful board game business can make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If a game sells for $30 per copy, selling just 1,000 games would generate a revenue of $30,000. In some cases, businesses are much more successful than this. One board game raised over $12 million on Kickstarter.

How can you make your business more profitable?

A board game business can increase its profitability by creating expansion packs that customers can purchase for an additional fee. Alternatively, board game business owners can create a blog on board games.

A few board game businesses have been developed into video games or apps, but this requires a significant investment in developing digital resources.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC’s free Small Business Startup Guide – a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your board game company is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they’re a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business’s debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business’s liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your board game company were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We’ve negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

FORM YOUR LLC

Note: If you’re interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

  • Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
  • Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a board game company. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

Trademark & Copyright Protection

If you are developing a unique product, concept, brand, or design, it is prudent to protect your rights by registering for the appropriate trademarks and copyrights.

Learn more about trademark and copyright protection

The nature of legal requirements in distance education is ever changing, especially in regards to copyright laws. Here is a frequently updated resource, which can help keep you aware of the legal requirements.

Here are two great links on boardgame licensing to publishers:

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

Find out what types of insurance your Board Game Company needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Board Game Company.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a board game company

Board games can be effectively marketed by soliciting reviews from bloggers and other reviewers. Many reviewers will write up a review for a free copy of the game, and their review will share the game with board game enthusiasts.

How to keep customers coming back

A board game business can set itself apart from other games on the market by winning awards. Even winning a small competition can help boost sales if a seal is displayed on the game’s packaging.

For this reason, business owners ought to enter their games into as many competitions as possible.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

  • All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
  • Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
  • Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPressWIXWeeblySquarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2024 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

People who are passionate about board games may enjoy owning a board game business. Developing a good board game that people will want to play requires testing and retesting a game design many times. Therefore, only those who like playing board games should try developing one.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a board game company?

Each board game that a business develops has three distinct phases:

  • the development phase, which involves testing the gameplay and designing the game’s components
  • the manufacturing phase, which involves actually making the physical board game
  • the selling phase, which involves marketing and selling the game

During each of these phases, the focus of a business shifts. Development involves a lot of playing and replaying, as well as conceptual design work to create the pieces and artwork. When manufacturing, there are many logistical items to see to. Once a game is on the market, selling requires advertising a game and connecting with potential players.

Businesses that have multiple games in production may be involved in each of these three phases simultaneously. Those that only develop one game will be focusing on one stage at a time.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful board game company?

In order to successfully design a board game, it’s important to be familiar with the different types of board games. David Silverman has a post on board game design that includes a helpful list of different styles of games (e.g. Euro-style games, family games and deck-building games).

There are also several online courses for game design, including ones from MITEDX and Coursera. Not all of these courses are specific to board games, but many of the principles taught apply to games of all types.

Many board game business owners also participate in online forums where they can share ideas and get inspiration. BoardGameGeek and Board Game Designers Forum are two popular forums.

What is the growth potential for a board game company?

A board game business may be a small operation that has just one game, or it can be a major international company that has many games created by multiple designers. Cardboard Edison, which has two games, is an example of a small-time board game business. Cards Against Humanity is another, having one main game and several add-on packs of cards. Hasbro is one of the largest board game publishers.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

  • Funding
  • Events
  • Guides
  • Support

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a board game company?

Many board game business owners launch their businesses on a crowdfunding site. In fact, more money has been raised for board games than for video games on Kickstarter.

Launching a business on a crowdfunding site not only lets business owners collect funds that can be used to pay for manufacturing expenses, but it also helps generate buzz around a game. The publicity of a crowdfunding campaign can create momentum that will generate more sales.

How and when to build a team

Many board game businesses have just a few employees. Rather than hiring artists as employees, business owners typically give them contract work. For fulfillment, most business owners either fulfill orders themselves or outsource the work to a warehouse.

Useful Links

Industry Opportunities

Real World Examples

Further Reading