This weekend at Metatopia, I presented on three panels, and at all three of them, people asked the same question: “How can I get reviewers to review my game?” So, here’s my answer:
“Become part of the community. Follow people on Twitter, talk to other game designers, talk to the reviewers they’re interacting with, answer questions, ask questions, and talk to people like they’re people about the things you’re both passionate about. Agree. Disagree. Listen to podcasts, read reviews, and decide which reviewers you like best. Keep listening to and reading them. Start all of that now even if your game is just an idea in your head. Then, when you have a good prototype ready to send out, ask them if you can send it to them. They’ll probably say yes.”
And that’s it. The magic is that there’s no magic, just time and effort.
I have compiled a good list of reviews for table top games here:
http://www.jamesmathe.com/o-reviewer-reviewer-wherefore-art-thou/
Excellent resource! To anyone reading, James’s stuff about Kickstarter is one of the two or three places you MUST read if you want to know what to do with your Kickstarter.
Sometimes I say something smart about games, then I get sad because I only know that thing because Jamey Stegmaier told me.
And Stegmaier is the other guy! 🙂
And JR, don’t sell yourself short. If I could get feedback on a game from only five people, you’d be one of those five.