Here we are again. This is Part 3 of my awesome interview with Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games. As a reminder, this interview was conducted in early 2015. I ‘lost’ it over the year and am just now getting to it again. So you will see some outdated material. But the interview is SOOO good I had to post it. I hope you enjoy it.
Jamey: I like that you mentioned this. Indeed, it takes a ton of work. Looking back, I’m not sure how I possibly ran Kickstarter campaigns before this was my full-time job. I have a much greater sense of appreciation and respect for creators who run a campaign (not to mention design and develop a game) while still maintaining steady employment and family obligations.
Tom: They are indeed our heroes. Talk about your open letter. I want to know more about that.
Jamey: It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and taking notes on. The goal of my blog is to make Kickstarter a better place for creators and backers, and 99% of my content is directed towards creators. I often challenge creators in what I hope is a healthy, constructive way, and I’d like to offer a similarly healthy challenge to backers as well.
Tom: Ok, I just read the blog post about customer service. It is spot on and something I’ve always thought should be taught in business school.
Jamey: Absolutely! I wish I had been taught that in business school.
Tom: You mentioned a book you are writing. What about that?
Jamey: I have a book about Kickstarter (my story, lessons, and a number of stories from other creators) being published by Berrett-Koehler in fall ‘15. I’ve actually been getting reviews back from the official beta readers provided by the publisher this week, so the next step is to revise the manuscript. I’m really excited about offering something tangible people can hold and earmark as they figure out their path to Kickstarter success.
Tom: That’s pretty cool. While it will help more than game producers using Kickstarter, it is something real that you are offering back. That is one of the things I like about you most. You really support our community. Let’s talk about the gaming community a bit. How do you see it? What are some of the best aspects of it in your opinion?
Jamey: Yes, I’m hoping the book will reach well beyond creators in the tabletop game category (that’s currently my main audience). And thank you! It feels like the right thing to do. You’ve said similar things in this interview regarding the motivation for why you write. What do you think it is about the board game industry that makes us want to lift each other up instead of push each other down?
It’s a little hard to talk about the “industry” in blanket terms, because there are so many niches within the niche. My primary experience is with three of those niches: Kickstarter backers, BGG participants, and convention attendees.
My favorite thing about Kickstarter backers is that they’re willing to put their trust in someone to make something that doesn’t technically exist yet in final form. It takes a lot of guts to spend $50 on something you won’t get for at least 6 months.
My favorite thing about BGG participants is the wealth of knowledge there. I check BGG at least 5-6 times a day to answer questions about my games, but 75% of the time someone has already chimed in to answer.
My favorite thing about convention attendees is how incredibly welcoming they are. I love that people warmly invite you to play games with them at Geekway to the West (I’ve heard it’s the same at BGG.con), and I love that gamers welcome people of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, nd costumes at Gen Con.
Am I missing a key niche? If so, what’s your favorite thing about it?
Tom: I think most everybody will fall into one of those for the most part.
Jamey: Well, Tom, this interview has led right up to the holiday season, so it’s probably a good time to wrap things up. It’s your blog, so why don’t you have the last word–perhaps you could share your favorite moment in gaming from 2014. Thanks for taking the time to chat with me!
Tom: Yep, it’s been a long but extremely enjoyable and fruitful interview. We covered a lot of topics and I liked the ‘back and forth’ conversation very much. I appreciate you asking questions back to me. It turned into ‘the interviewer becomes the interviewee’ at some points. I enjoyed that enormously.
Last words, THANK YOU Jamey very much for taking time from your very busy schedule. I know you were shipping massive amounts of Kickstarter materials during the days of the interview. Your time is greatly appreciated and it just goes to show that you are one of the nicest guys in our gaming community.
Everyone, keep your eyes out for Between Two Cities and Scythe. They are fantastic.
Jamey’s eBook about blogging – https://app.box.com/shared/0p2y5hhppv
Well, that’s it. The longest yet best post I have done so far. Thanks for sticking with it to the end. I have to thank Jamey so much. He is such a great guy and an excellent guest. It makes my “job” at Go Forth very easy and fun. Thank you Jamey.
And once again thank you readers. Stay tuned for some interesting changes to Go Forth And Game in 2016.
Go Forth And Game 
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