Naming your board game

Hello again world :)

My day started out with a lot of writing.. writing about my newest game "Startups". While I was writing it suddenly hit me - "Is this really the best name for my game?"

To be honest I wasn't quite sure - though I've been going over this brainstorm so many times. In the end I came to the conclusion (again)... that Startups is a good name because it relates to the theme and mechanics of the game - but it's not without drawbacks.

So with this in mind I started this post - enjoy :)
 

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A project's name
Every project has to start out with a name... a working title so to speak.
But you have to keep in mind - that it's a bit too easy to let your project's name convert into the name of your board game. This may happen if you run out of time and haven't really paid any attention to the fact that you're missing a name.

The importance of a name
Then.. as your project starts coming towards a conclusion the concerns about the "real" name comes back - "What am I going to call this board game?"

I think this is important - far too important to be concluded over a single brainstorm or the initial idea that triggered the game creation itself.
You have to find the right name for several reasons:

• You probably need a website with that specific name
• It will have to stick once it goes into production... no turning back there.
• Is it easy to pronounce?
• Does it work in text?
• Will it explain the game?
  

An example is my own game - Startups... it's easy to pronounce and you don't have to translate it... but as you can check for yourself the domain names are already taken. This wasn't a big problem for me because I wasn't going to sell the board game myself (see previous article about webshops).

But I ran into a different problem with my board game's name Startups - Which was the English grammar rules...
I don't pretend to know much about grammar I just hope that I spell correctly from time to time ;) But even I could see the problem with writing "Startups is" instead of "Startups are"... it sounds and looks wrong and will be a thorn in my eye until I launch my new game :D
 

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Brainstorming - Name inspiration
When it comes to finding inspiration... going to www.boardgamegeek.com is always a lot of help - also when looking for names :)
Try looking for computer games with the same theme / game play as your board game. Just to get you started.

I usually start a good name brainstorm with dissecting my game... going through the mechanics, player situations and game pieces to see if I can find a good phrase or name.

• What would the players call themselves in my game? (ex. Conquers, Saviors or Bezzerwizzer)
• Does the game allow players to be trapped - provoking feelings? (ex. Prisoners, Escaping)
• Is there a strong theme or is the game set in a specific time period? (ex. Ancient China, Space Travel)
• Is the game about strategy, action, knowledge or money?
  

From here on - it's up to you.... what's catchy, what can you wrap around your tongue?

Looking forward to see your crazy suggestions out there in the stores - Happy gaming! :)

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