In mid-January, we had an indie publisher (Beth and Angel Make Games) reach out to us asking if we would be interested in looking over some of their Zines; they were hoping to help spotlight their upcoming Crowdfundr campaign. Throughout February, dozens of creators are taking on the challenge of making Zines, dice, gaming accessories, and more all month long; each creator will have their own format for how their campaign will be structured and the rewards they will be offering.
I absolutely love this! Crowdfundr helping spotlight smaller creators all month long is a wonderful idea. Too often, bigger crowdfunding websites only focus on big creators that will help bring them a lot traffic and money from their fees. It sounds like Crowdfundr is much more welcoming and flexible than the other platforms. I am sure there are some limitations and certainly a smaller pool of backers, but I think this month-long event is a win-win for the creator and the site. We are happy to be a small part of helping highlight at least one creator taking part in the challenge.
While we have initially agreed to help Beth and Angel Make Games, if other publishers that are part of this campaign reach out, we may help spotlight their games as well.
Throughout February, we will be releasing 2-3 articles a week looking at provided Zines. The Zines have been provided to us to create coverage, but as always, our opinions are our own.
I have already read over and written articles on three Zines provided by Beth and Angel Make Games. The Shopkeeper's Saga is one I am particular fond of. It is a simple but fun game considering it is on just 3 pages and only requires a few small components.
Giveaway Opportunity
We will also be giving away a few copies of the Zines we cover. You do need to be following our Facebook page. We will post a link to the Zine's article, and within the article will be a question. You need to post just your answer to the Facebook thread. We will give out copies of the Zine to the people who have our favorite answers.
What is a Zine?
Essentially, Zine is a term from the 60~80's where indie creators are able to release small creative works. Originally, they were published in magazines; now a days, they are either released in PDFs or collective printed works. It could be a board game, roleplay game, or really any other type of work of art.
As such, our coverage of Zines will be much shorter and will touch lightly on the actual rules of the game; most of our other articles cover game rules pretty well. With Zines being smaller games, we want to support the creators of these works especially since most of their games are a few dollars each anyways. If the Zines we cover sound interesting to you, please support the designers.
Links/Media
Crowdfundr Link for Beth and Angel Make a Campaign (affiliate)