I originally launched SDG Games in February 2021 with the release of Journeys with Jesus. One of the most important lessons I learned from that first game is that print-on-demand games are expensive. Since then cost and the resulting price have been the key consideration in my game design. About half the cost of that first game was in the large game board and the large box to hold it.
For the past couple of years I’ve tried to come up with a more affordable approach to Journeys with Jesus. The Game Crafter (TGC) is always enhancing their component portfolio and recently I’ve discovered a more affordable board design that also fits in a smaller box which together reduce the cost by over $3. Reducing the number of cards in the game and eliminating the tuck box to hold them (a more reasonable approach with fewer cards in a smaller game box) provide additional cost savings, getting the production cost to just below $35.
The cards I removed were for journeys recorded in the Gospel of John, leaving those journeys described in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), so I also created an expansion pack with the removed cards (priced at ~$13). I rebranded the original Journeys with Jesus as the Legacy version and made the new lower-cost version of Journeys with Jesus and the Expansion Pack available in the TGC store.
I’m also really excited about the artwork for the new box. I’d love to hear what you think of this new approach.