Recently, we ran our Level 99 Games annual survey. Over 500 fans chimed in to help us decide where we're going in the next year. I'm excited to share these results with you.

The fans who filled out this survey are a pretty small sample, and not all fans are necessarily Level 99 Games fans, but I think there's some really interesting stuff here! I hope that it's enjoyable to read, whether you're a fan or a fellow publisher.

So let's get started!

Check out this Market Share

More than half our fans typically buy on Kickstarter/Gamefound. This is a pretty huge slice. Crowdfunding projects are expensive and require a lot of coordination to launch, but they're really important to reaching our fans. This also means that it's a little bit harder to launch small games, which don't often earn a whole project for themselves.

I Heard You Like Exclusives

About 66% of our fans only care if all the core content (base + expansions) are available. It looks like 33% are dedicated completionists who want to get everything, even limited promos. 

We usually try to make our exclusives cosmetic or non-gameplay, and all the core content is unlimited. This seems to be a good way to sidestep this problem.

Play It Your Way

The large majority of our fans play games At Home, Weekly, with a Friend Group. Incidentally, this is also how I usually play board games. So it's nice to know that I'm engaging with the medium in the same way my fans are.

No Shelf of Shame Here

Despite owning substantial collections of 30+ games, most of our fans have played at least 75% of their games, and nearly half of fans have played 90% or more of their collections. 

This indicates that for serious gamers, a game can't just be a pretty setpiece. It's actually going to be played, and so it's got to have real gameplay value.

Art Really Matters

These answers range from 1 - Strongly Disagree to 4 - Strongly Agree.

Art matters a lot in a board game, and in general, artists really don't get what they deserve for how much they contribute to a game's success (just see the next section).

As someone who has owned and operated an art studio, let me say that it's really hard to make a living as a board game artist. Incredibly, I would say it's even tougher to be a full time board game artist than to be a full-time board game designer or developer.

Publishers, please remember to credit and celebrate your artists! And fans, take note of the names you like! Ask questions about where the art comes from and how it's made!

Fame Accumulates to the Publisher

These answers range from 1 - Strongly Disagree to 4 - Strongly Agree.

At least among fans of this publisher, publishers get all the credit. Designers get a decent share of recognition. Artists, despite their huge contributions, not so much. That's a shame, because so much of a good game experience is good artwork (as we saw above).

Let's not even get started on developers (who make sure the game is balanced and playable) and visual designers (who create the slick interfaces for our games). Many people don't realize these positions even exist. There's just not much visibility on these positions in our industry, and that's something worth changing.

They Really Like Us

These answers range from 1 - Strongly Disagree to 4 - Strongly Agree.

This is not just a victory lap. There's still room to improve, but overall our respondents said that we're doing a great job, and that means a lot.

We work really hard to bring you great games, and it's awesome to have success in that task confirmed to us.

For me at least, these are some of the most important questions on the survey, because how people feel about your work overall is something you can't measure purely in sales or ratings. 

After someone buys and plays a Level 99 Game, they have a good experience—that's the most important thing of all, and I'm proud of the work that our team has done to make it so.

Most of You Get It

Your support is the most important thing that determines our future! I know I say this every year, but everyone here at Level 99 Games chooses to work here because we love the things that we get to make, and we love that they bring you joy.

Thanks so much for being a part of Level 99 Games, and thanks to all of you who participated in our survey!