State of Paper Dice Games 2019

In celebration of a pretty incredible and rewarding milestone – over 250 downloads (amazing!!!) – I wanted to write just a bit on where Paper Dice Games has been in the last year, and where it is going, in the State of Paper Dice Games 2019.

A Super Short History

Paper Dice Games started five years ahead of schedule. Last year I was fortunate enough to receive some excellent advice from very smart people – if you want to design games, why wait? I realized that my original goal of designing games by 2023 was much too far away, and waiting wasn’t in anyone’s best interest. So in April 2018, I created my game design company.

I began by writing a lot of articles and designing few games. While I do enjoy writing, it certainly became clear to me that designing is where I wanted to be spending my time. So in May 2019, I shifted priorities. Instead of writing one article a week, I would be designing and publishing one game a month.

Print and Play Games

The mission of Paper Dice Games is to create fun games that, for the most part, can be printed directly from your printer at home. There are two core beliefs I hold with print and play games.

The first, is that the demand for print and play games will continue to grow. I believe as more high quality games are designed for a print and play audience, more and more people will find joy in them. From DIY and crafting culture, to the explosion in acclaim of roll and write games, print and play games as a product are going to continue to increase in popularity.

The second, is that many current print and play games do not innovate. Recent innovations in board games, such as legacy style games, barely scratch at the surface of what a cleverly designed print and play game can do. I believe print and play games have massive design space, and with some creativity and hard work, print and play games can offer gaming experiences that no other medium can get close to.

Current Work

Currently, Paper Dice Games aims to release 1 game a month, for the foreseeable future. Some of these games will be shorter, and free (like Dungeon Builder) while others will be more involved (like Unicorn Party, or our upcoming release, First Role). By the end of the year there will be 6 or more games ready to be played, some free, and some at a very inexpensive price point, from Paper Dice Games.

My main focus is designing fun games for you to play, as often as I can.

The Future of Paper Dice Games

Looking forward, there is a lot I want to do for Paper Dice Games. I am continuing to grow our audience. The email list and twitter have both grown significantly since the beginning of the year.

Additionally, a milestone was reached in August. Over 250 games by Paper Dice games have been downloaded! That’s an incredible number, and surpassed my expectations by a significant amount. My focus for the near future is to continue to grow in gaming audience so that more people can enjoy these games.

Looking into 2020, I will be publishing a few larger releases, and a number of smaller scoped games as well. I am also considering launching a Patreon, to provide further value and ease of access to any gamers who enjoy my games. I’m only gauging interest right now, so if you have strong feelings either way, please let me know!

Finally, I just want to say I am very thankful. I am thankful that I can design games as a hobby, and thankful that people enjoy the games I design. Thank you for reading! Please, if you have any questions or just want to chat, let me know on twitter, through my email (james@paperdicegames.com), or join our mailing list to get news, discounts, and access to games before they are released.