There’s a lot going on in Kickstarter at the moment. Amongst a host of new entries, Zpocalypse have just breached D-Day Dice’s old record in becoming the highest earning boardgame kickstarter campaign EVER. The figure: $210,237 (or, enough money to create a one-dollar bill stack 7 stories high)

If you scroll down to the bottom of their Kickstarter page, you see a familiar looking badge that a lot of kickstarter campaigns are sporting nowadays, The Springboard Seal of Quality:

“It is your assurance that a new game project is worth your time and attention. All titles approved for Springboard campaigns are vetted by the game professionals at Game Salute.”

Well how is it approved by Springboard? And who are these “professionals” that claim to know more about boardgames than me?! Well, the answer was supplied by a very nice chap called Dan Yarrington…

 

1. Hello Dan, thanks for talking to us, let’s start with the most important question. Tell me exactly what Game Salute is and what Game Salute does.

At its core, Game Salute is a company dedicated to improving the industry overall, for gamers, for stores, and for design studios. We help games come to market including working with creative, dedicated designers to develop games fully, taking them from good to great to awesome! We handle everything to enhance the design and development the design studio has built, including three-stage playtesting, art, graphic design, marketing and promotion, production, shipping and customs, conventions, fulfillment, sales and distribution, volunteer programs, event coordination, and so much more. We work with studios like Clever Mojo Games (makers of Alien Frontiers and Sunrise City), Dice Hate Me Games (makers of Carnival and VivaJava), and many many more; we’re adding new studios each week. We work with stores to provide the highest level of support and service for our titles including our Game Library program to help get copies into game stores and community centers all around the world. We’ve also expanded our team as we’re growing to help support all these great programs and services. Check it out at www.GameSalute.com/home/who/

 

2. But what does Game Salute do in relation to Kickstarter?

With regards to crowd-funding, our Springboard campaign management service handles all aspects of successfully preparing, running, and delivering on a successful campaign, whether through Kickstarter, Indie Go Go, or some other platform. Most of our projects run through Kickstarter. We involve all our backers including individuals and stores in the development of each title. It’s very exciting!

 

3. Fantastic, tell us a little bit about yourself Dan, where did you start in the games industry and how did you get where you are now?

I’ve been in the industry for over 15 years now (since 1996) and my experience certainly helps to inform our services and tools. I’ve been playing games with my family ever since I can remember. I’m happily married with a new little gamer at home. I like root beer, I’m an avowed Nintendo fan boy, and I’m a big fan of camping. I’ve been playing hobby games a couple of nights a week ever since 1994 and I currently have three game nights per week to check out new games, play old favorites, and create new memories with friends. Some folks may know me as the founder of Myriad Games, local game stores in New Hampshire (FFG Retailer Spotlight). We have a great team that works at Myriad Games helping share our passion for tabletop games with new folks every day. My focus the past couple of years has been Game Salute, which is a broader endeavor to improve and expand the industry overall, creating better games for gamers, supporting and improving stores, and helping bring the creative works of awesome game designers to reality!

 

So there we have it ladies and gentlemen;

What is the kickstarter Springboard Seal of Quality? Well, all round nice guy Mr. Dan Yarrington,  founder and CEO of Game Salute tells me that it marks out a game that is certified: awesome.

Well there we go…