Before you submit
Prepare a pitch a publisher can assess.
Use this checklist to explain your game clearly, check publisher fit, and prepare the requested materials.
Each publisher sets its own requirements. Its official instructions take priority over this general guide.
Summarize your game
Give someone enough information to understand the experience and decide whether to look closer.
- Write a one-sentence hook: what players do and what makes the experience interesting.
- State the intended audience, player count, play time, and age range.
- List the main components and describe the prototype’s current stage.
- Identify comparable games so you can explain where yours fits and how it differs.
Make the prototype easy to assess
Prepare a game someone can understand without you explaining every decision.
- Keep a clear, up-to-date rulebook that matches the prototype.
- Try a playtest where another group learns from the rules without you teaching.
- Test beyond your usual group and keep notes on problems, changes, and results.
- Check that component labels, setup, and examples make the game playable.
Check fit and current intake
A publisher’s catalog is a starting point. Its current acquisition requirements matter too.
- Compare your game with the publisher’s stated audience, formats, and preferences.
- Read the official submission page to check whether and how it accepts outside designs.
- Check exclusions, deadlines, language requirements, and any restrictions on simultaneous submissions.
- Record the official page and the date you checked it. Recheck before submitting.
Assemble the requested materials
Different publishers ask for different things. Use their instructions to decide what to send.
- Prepare a concise sell sheet if requested: hook, audience, key specifications, and your contact details.
- Provide rules, photos, a short overview video, or an online prototype only as requested or permitted.
- Check file formats, attachment limits, link permissions, and any required form fields.
- Send a physical prototype only when the publisher’s instructions or an invitation call for one.
Submit and keep a record
Make the pitch easy to route and keep enough detail to follow it responsibly.
- Use the stated form, email address, event appointment, or other official route.
- Write a short, tailored introduction explaining why this game may suit this publisher.
- Record the submission date, materials and version sent, and any stated response window.
- Follow the publisher’s follow-up policy, including any request not to ask for status updates.