Hey gang. I'm John Teasdale (author) happy to answer any questions you have about the write-up.
The hobby game industry is very accessible: Go to the right convention and you get to talk shop with people with decades of experience printing and marketing games. Just two weeks ago I was talking to industry bigwigs about the changes that came to US publishing as part of Asmodee's purchasing spree of very different game studios. The kind of shop talk that describes the different choices you need when making a Fantasy Flight game, a Catan game or the first printing of Codenames are exactly the kind of thing you guys needed to know in advance.
Also, why did you decide to kickstart yourselves, as opposed to talk to a publisher?
As for why we Kickstarted, the answer is pretty much the same. We had no reputation in the industry and wouldn't know who to talk to. However, it works out for us. We like being our own bosses. We'll stick with Kickstarter in the future, especially now that we know more about the pitfalls.
Sorry about the delay. I have a new account and am getting comment-throttled. I'll get to everything as I can.
Ill put this story round my contacts.