Jamey Stegmaier Board game publisher; Kickstarter, writing directions and getting introverts talking

About this episode

Board game designer and publisher Jamey Stegmaier (Stonemaier Games, maker of Wingspan) walks Vance — a self-described board-game newcomer converted by a cooperative game called The Mind — through the surprisingly deep business and craft of tabletop game design. Stegmaier frames his company as closer to a book publisher than a hobbyist operation: most games he publishes are designed by others, and his real job is project management across editors, manufacturers, and fulfillment. The conversation's throughline is the gap between "having an idea" and "executing a design" — a ten-step process including brainstorming, rough prototyping, iterative in-person playtesting, and finally blind playtesting where instructions are shipped worldwide without Stegmaier present to clarify. He details how he left a secure Washington University operations job for a self-funded one-year runway after Kickstarter-driven reprint revenue proved the business was sustainable, eventually building Stonemaier into a ~$12M/year company with minimal staff. Recurring themes include mutual risk-aversion-in-real-life vs. risk-seeking-in-games (paralleling Vance's chess habits with his father-in-law), games as a structured, low-stakes social interface especially valuable for introverts, and community-building through volunteer ambassadors, Facebook groups, and YouTube engagement — which Stegmaier and Vance both connect to their shared discovery that opening a project to others' participation (Vance's Articulate Ventures Network; Stegmaier's fan-run Facebook groups) produces richer outcomes than tightly controlled ownership. They close on Wingspan's outsized cultural impact — designed and illustrated primarily by women, credited with drawing new women into a male-dominated hobby industry.

“Having an idea for a game is... close to the idea of designing a game [is a misconception]... the execution is what has value, not just the idea.”

“I found the things that I'm excited about and I found how often I want to do them to remain excited about it... I kind of found that sweet spot.”

“The, the small talk... is almost agonizing to me. I don't enjoy small talk, but once we sit down at the table and we have that structure of the game around us, I thrive in that environment.”

Key moments

• ~8%: Distinction between competitive and cooperative games (The Mind, Pandemic) as a "transcendent" bonding mechanism, not just entertainment.
• ~24%: "Having an idea has almost no value — execution is what matters" as Stegmaier's central design-process philosophy.
• ~34%: Ten-step design process culminating in "blind playtesting" — shipping unexplained rules worldwide to expose ambiguity.
• ~38%: Stegmaier's leap from a secure Wash U operations job to a self-funded one-year runway betting on Stonemaier Games.
• ~52%: Risk-averse-in-life, risk-seeking-in-games paradox, paired with Vance's chess-with-father-in-law "polarity reversal" story.
• ~66%: Tabletop games as a structured social interface uniquely suited to introverts — Stegmaier's own "agonizing" small talk vs. thriving once gameplay structure exists.
• ~78%: Kickstarter research methodology — backing others' projects and building spreadsheets to reverse-engineer what made campaigns engaging.
• ~90%: Parallel insight about community-building — both Stegmaier's volunteer ambassador program and Vance's Articulate Ventures Network grew by ceding control and letting others "write themselves into it."
• ~92%: Wingspan's design/illustration team being predominantly women credited with drawing new women into the game industry.

Notable quotes

“Having an idea for a game is really... close to zero value... the execution is what matters, not just the idea.”

“I had such a steady, secure job... I decided to save up enough money that I can make it a year and see how I could do.”

“The small talk... is almost agonizing to me. I don't enjoy small talk, but once we sit down at the table... I thrive.”

“It has seemed to have inspired women to get more into the game design community... I love that idea that games can be used to include people.”