Blog

Signs of Life?

March 13, 2023

Something (or multiple things?) may be in the works...

Why the cryptic message? Life has taken some major twists over the last 2 years. Now that we're out of the woods, the itch to make more cool things is there but uncertainty remains how to make it all work.

Convince me! For anyone who actually reads this, curious to know if:
a) you just want more Rurik stuff
b) you're interested in other games
c) you're interested in our family
d) some combination?

Click to email any thoughts / dad jokes. :) Oh, and if you aren't subscribed to our email list - now may be an interesting time to sign up.

Happy gaming from our family to yours! Here's a recent picture of our boys (Silas and Wyatt) playing a game with dad (Kirk)

Restock Alert - Metal Coins

January 26, 2022

Upgrade your copy of Rurik with metal coins! They have been sold out for the last 4 months, but our factory randomly found an extra box in the warehouse. While supplies last.

Buy Metal Coins

Metal coins displayed on top of a dungeon illustration

Behind the Board - Episode 3: Product Photos

June 21, 2018

"Behind the Board" gives you a behind the scenes look into our everyday life as an indie board game publisher. In the third episode, Kirk sits in with photographer Amandalynn Jones while she takes product photos for Gearworks.

Click here to view on Facebook and enter to win a copy of Gearworks!

Behind the Board - 03. Product Photos

Behind the Board - Episode 2: Playtesting

May 7, 2018

"Behind the Board" gives you a behind the scenes look into our everyday life as an indie board game publisher. In the second episode, Kirk heads to Protospiel Milwaukee to demo Rurik: Dawn of Kiev. The results and input from players there are then reviewed for consideration of potential updates to the game.

Behind the Board - 02. Playtesting

Click here to see more episodes!

Behind the Board - Episode 1: Prototypes

April 3, 2018

Our new video series "Behind the Board" gives you a behind the scenes look into our everyday life as an indie board game publisher. In this first episode, we are creating eleven prototype copies of our upcoming game Rurik: Dawn of Kiev (making prototypes takes a lot of time!), receive updated manufacturing samples for Gearworks, and more!

Behind the Board - 01. Prototypes - Full Episode

Publishing Insights: Taxes and Your Board Game Business

March 13, 2018

It's that time of year - March Madness! I mean tax season... We originally posted this article for the 2016 tax year but it is still just as pertinent today. If you read last year's article, read the "What's New" summary before deciding whether you need to read further. Otherwise, you might find it helpful to read the entire post.

Note: I am still working on our 2017 tax return. When I complete it, I'll edit this blog post to show the actual tax savings attributed to the "Overlooked Deductions." You can see our tax savings from 2016 here.

I thought a board game business was about playing games...

I am addressing individuals who file their board game publishing business taxes on Schedule C with their personal tax return. I will start with some of the most valuable deductions I believe are often overlooked (in order of the largest tax savings for us in 2016) and then move on to specific line details.

Please note that I am not an accountant and what is listed below is my own perspective based on reading IRS documents and soliciting professional advice. I am happy to help answer any questions via this blog or email (games [at] piecekeepergames.com) but consider hiring an accountant as needed.

What's New

Very few tax law changes
Very little changed with US tax laws between the 2016 and 2017 tax years that impacts small board game publishers. However, there are larger changes looming for the 2018 tax year.
Removed non-taxable gifts
After further consulting legal advice, I no longer believe any Kickstarter pledge amounts constitute non-taxable gifts. So you need to report all the funds received from Kickstarter as revenue.

Publishing Insights: License Agreements

January 20, 2018

If you are a game publisher, where do you start to create a contract to sign that game you're excited to create? Today I'm talking about contracts between publishers and game designers.

Textbox mentioning the sample agreement is for US publishers

I'll focus on what we do for our contracts and leave a lot of the basic definitions and other options we don't use to other blog posts that do a great job, such as:

Game design contracts by James Mathe

Many legal topics by James Mathe (halfway down talks about contracts)

This contract is written from the perspective of a business in the United States. If your business if based outside of the US, you should give this contract a really thorough review before using it.

Please note that I am not a lawyer and what is listed below is my own perspective based on paying lawyers for advice and years of reviewing legal documents. I am happy to help answer any questions via this blog or email (games [at] piecekeepergames.com) but consider hiring a lawyer as needed.

Publishing Insights: Taxes

March 24, 2017

Now that we are 1 year past the completion of our first Kickstarter (Flag Dash), it's about time to start sharing some of the lessons that we learned throughout the process of designing and publishing our first game. I (Kirk) wanted to start with a time-sensitive topic that I see discussed infrequently: taxes.

I thought a board game business was about playing games...

I am addressing individuals who file their board game publishing business taxes on Schedule C with their personal tax return. I will start with some of the most valuable deductions I believe are often overlooked (in order of the largest tax savings for me in 2016) and then move on to specific line details.

Please note that I am not an accountant and what is listed below is my own perspective based on reading IRS documents. I am happy to help answer any questions via this blog or email (games [at] piecekeepergames.com) but consider hiring an accountant as needed.

Overlooked Deductions

Mileage Costs: $3,181
When driving anywhere for the purposes of business, you can count the mileage driven as a business deduction. This can save you a lot of money on your taxes compared to just deducting your gas receipts (you can only deduct one or the other). However, many people find it overwhelming to record your business mileage accurately and easily (due to IRS rules) and settle for just claiming gas costs.
Hopefully I can help make this process much simpler. I created a Mileage Log that satisfies all IRS rules and is pretty easy to use. I have now used it for 2 tax years and am ready to share it with others. Feel free to share with others and ask any questions.
Notes:
- Instructions: I put together detailed instructions in the "Instructions" worksheet.
- Examples: I listed some examples to help get you started on the "Mileage Log" worksheet.