Throughout this article I’ve referred to interviews publishers have given to the wonderful folks at Mojo Nation. Interviews can be read in full by clicking the links.
What is a sell sheet?
A one side page about your game. It conveys all the key information a publisher would need to assess your game at a glance. It’s like a CV for your game. It’s a single sheet that you can give or send to publishers, which helps them to make an initial decision about whether your game might work for them or not. And while you wouldn’t expect to sign a game based on the sell sheet alone (just as you wouldn’t expect to get hired on a CV alone), it’s a great marketing asset to have.
Tony Serebriany from The Op says: “I like [sell sheets]! They’re like a digital sketch of a game being presented… They help keep all the relevant information top of mind for me when reviewing submissions from a show or an event – particularly after the event… Sell sheets aren’t meant to be a rules summary, a ‘how to play’ or a strategy guide. They’re meant to be small, printed advertisements for your game idea.”
Not all publishers want to see sell sheets, but many do. In fact, some publishers think of it as game design 101… in other words, if you’ve not made a sell sheet, you’re not serious about licensing your game.
Just for publishers?
Sell sheets can be really useful for designers. When creating a sell sheet, you have to pluck the essence from your game. You have limited space. You need to decide how to best sell your game in the space given. It’s a great exercise. It focuses you on the most innovative and interesting parts of the game. It forces you to write concise copy, which you can use in emails and pitches.
Top Tips for Swell Sell Sheets
Make your images the hero. Images are much more important than words. Make sure you have a big image of your main components, or the game on the table, or the game being played. Think about what your images say about your game. Make sure they’re doing a good job of communicating what kind of game this is.
Big up the hook. A busy publisher may only look at the main image, game name, strapline and overview. You may only have 15 seconds to capture their attention.about what kind of game it is. So make sure you front load the hook of your game into these key sections. A good game name can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Don’t leave them guessing. A sell sheet shouldn’t be in any way mysterious! State the core mechanics and key features clearly. If a publisher is confused by your sell sheet, they’ll just move onto the next one.
Reduce the text. And I don’t mean by just making it smaller. Cut down the words, be brutal. “I always ask for a sell sheet to be one page, with as few words as possible. Basically, enough information to give me the general idea of the game.” James Vaughan, Big Potato
Tell the story. Try to communicate the arc of your game in images. Each image can be accompanied by a single sentence. What is your “how to play” in 4 sentences? Check that it’s clear what each image shows and use labels sparingly where necessary. As Jonas Resting-Jeppesen from Bezzerwizzer says: “What matters is the summary of the core: what was it, what are the most important things about this game? An outline of how it’s played and where the fun is so that I can later run through things with the team.”
Convey the experience. Add elements that suggest what kind of game this is. For example, if you’ve made a post-apocalypse survival game, comic sans may not be the best font choice. If it’s a funny, interactive party game – make sure the sell sheet is funny and interactive too. Designer Alan Wallat nailed this in his party game Posers by combining his sell sheet with a one-round game. “I think one reason it was picked up was you could play a round by cutting off the tabs at the bottom.”
Lead the eye around the page. Be deliberate about the composition of your sell sheet. Don’t make it hard for publishers to find the information they’re looking for.
Include the essentials. You should state the number of players, average play time and the age range. Include a list of all components to allow publishers to estimate production costs. And please don’t forget to add your name and contact information!
Make it clean. Run it through a spell check (obviously), but also make sure that fonts and alignments are consistent and there is enough white space.
Run a sense-check. Share your sell sheet with people who don’t know the game. Then ask them to tell you what they think the game is about. What wasn’t understood or misinterpreted? Did the hook really shine through? Do they understand what kind of experience this game will give?
Create a template. This won’t be the last sell sheet you need to make and while you may wish to mix it up for different games, a sell sheet template that you can easily customise for other games is particularly useful and can save a lot of time.
What else do you need?
A sell sheet is only part of your toolkit. While it conveys the most important parts of your game, it’s really just there to open the door for a pitch. For many publishers (particularly mass market publishers) the sizzle video is more important. Have a look at my top tips for super sizzles.
Angus Walker from Hasbro says: “If a sell sheet helps you convey the idea during the meeting, though, you should definitely use it… but – personally – I prefer videos.“
This view echoed by Mattel’s Audrey Watanabe: “[During an online pitch] sell sheets and PowerPoints are – in my opinion – great for providing supplementary details… But what we’re primarily interested in, as far as pitch materials, is a well-crafted sizzle video.”
It’s always useful for designers to see examples of sell sheets, so please feel free to share links to your sell sheets below.
Thanks for the insights on sell sheets Ellie. Very thorough and practical!