Stonemaier Streams

Your generosity of insights, feedback, and ideas is truly amazing: I’ve learned so much from the 800+ comments you’ve made over the last week on the Facebook and website versions of my article about ready-to-ship launches vs crowdfunding . Here are my top 7 big conclusions from your comments: https://stonemaiergames.com/top-7-big-conclusions-from-your-800-comments/

https://youtube.com/live/2wcTFE2Vskw

I'm not surprised that collectible card games are booming, but I am baffled by them. In nearly every way, random booster packs in CCGs do not serve customers as well as the standard tabletop method of including all cards in the game. https://stonemaiergames.com/random-booster-packs-is-there-any-way-they-serve-customers/

In today's video I'm sharing my favorite non-TCG (trading card game) games that Magic players (and other TCG players) might enjoy. I also talk a little about things that TCGs rarely do (e.g., solo play and cooperative play). https://youtu.be/rGjh5akRwCw

Many crowdfunded games of a similar weight, aesthetic appeal, polish, quality, price, and region-friendly fulfillment--even from less-established publishers with a much smaller reach than Stonemaier Games--have attracted more early-adopter customers than our launches. Why is that? And does it highlight a problem or an asset? https://stonemaiergames.com/can-a-ready-to-ship-launch-ever-capture-the-magic-of-crowdfunding/

Join Jamey for Stonemaier Games news, questions, answers, and random discussion topics! https://youtube.com/live/_rZu0-mLBQk

We've had two long-standing pricing practices that often raise questions, so today I thought I'd consolidate both into a post about pricing. One is about why we don't reveal the exact price for new products before they launch on our webstore, and the other is about why we charge full MSRP at conventions. I don't think we are alone among publishers for these practices due to the reasons explained below. https://stonemaiergames.com/pricing-launch-secrecy-and-convention-msrp/

In today's video we have a battle royale of direct-conflict games...and the people who chose them! https://youtu.be/5aH3WgQYxOc

In the early ‘90s, I was fascinated by a magazine called Nintendo Power. It was mostly a strategy guide for Nintendo video games, complete with vibrant visuals showing levels and hidden areas in games like Mario Bros., Zelda, and TMNT. Despite not even owning a Nintendo gaming console, the magazine made me feel like I had access to dozens of hidden worlds. https://stonemaiergames.com/the-stonemaier-strategy-guide/

Join Jamey for Stonemaier Games news, questions, answers, and random discussion topics! https://youtube.com/live/7Y5U936JxnE

I’ll never forget a brief conversation I had with a friend in the game industry around 10 years ago. We were talking about a publisher with 20 employees, and they were looking to hire more people. I asked my friend, “Is having more employees inherently better?” https://stonemaiergames.com/is-growth-good/

Today I'm sharing some great games with key similarities to Namiji, which is designed by Antoine Bauza and now published by Stonemaier Games. https://youtu.be/5ZDZt33NLWc

A few days ago I posted an article with my answers to some of the questions I asked Joe from Allplay and Nick from Bitewing on their podcast (The Bits), and today I’m back with a few more responses. Also, the podcast is now available –check it out to hear their fascinating answers! https://stonemaiergames.com/questions-for-the-bits-my-answers-part-2/

Join Jamey for Stonemaier Games news, questions, answers, and random discussion topics! https://youtube.com/live/bt8LintWvfI

In today's video, Jamey and Erica discuss their favorite gateway games that are still fun for experienced gamers, including why they exceed in both categories. https://youtu.be/jaF03GuJofo

"Why?" is such a powerful question. So why only ask it once? https://stonemaiergames.com/why-why-why/

Join Jamey and artist Andrew Bosley for Stonemaier Games news, questions, answers, and random discussion topics! https://youtube.com/live/alzcYkxy0JI

Ranging from our Kickstarter trailer videos from 2012-2015 (featuring me and Alan talking directly to the camera) to polished, animated trailers with voiceovers from 2016-2024, we’ve tried a variety of approaches to the initial video introduction. Starting in 2025, we tried a new method that I’ll discuss today. https://stonemaiergames.com/announcement-trailers-our-current-method-2026/

Today I'm joined by Braided Skies designer Dan Germain to take a behind-the-scenes look at the newest Stonemaier Game, comparing key elements of it to some other games we admire and enjoy. https://youtu.be/uN7Gxui3aG0

https://youtube.com/live/Y5ics9N2Lt8