2. Want Genius Games to Publish Your Science Game Idea?

Genius Games is looking for Game Submissions!

We're interested in your designs for our Genius Games and Artana lines. Genius Games makes scientifically accurate games for hobby gamers, and Artana typically makes games about historically and culturally significant settings and events.

Here are some notes on what we're looking for:

• Theme is very important to us! Our niche is carefully carved out by the types of stories our games tell:
  • Genius Games submissions should have scientifically-accurate themes that are deeply connected to the central game mechanisms. We're especially interested in content introduced in basic biology, chemistry, and physics courses, which can remain broadly appealing. Games should feel halfway like scientific models that strongly evoke this setting. The game rules should be easier to explain to a high school science teacher because you can often say, "just like it really works."
  • Artana submissions should have interesting themes taken from history (including scientific history), literature, or the social sciences. They can take more liberties in thematic integration, but they should tell stories that excite us.
• Gameplay is key. We're looking for modern tabletop games that are full of interesting decisions, with different possible strategies that are worth exploring over multiple plays. We're generally not interested in games that follow "mass market" patterns including trivia, word-matching, "take that" style games, high randomness, etc. Our games are generally medium or medium-light complexity and play in 45-75 minutes.

• Polished designs only. Before submitting your game, you should have a complete design in prototype form that's been playtested and you think we would enjoy. After we license a game, we still do development (adjusting some game mechanisms and balance), graphic design, and art, but we should be able to play and enjoy your game as-is. We're not interested in partially-complete ideas or initial designs that haven't already been fine-tuned.

To submit a game, email your pitch to Steve at publishing@geniusgames.org. You should mainly include a short video overview of your game (~2-5 minutes), demonstrating components and basic gameplay. This can be a simple phone video, but should give us the feeling of the game. We also need your agreement with the IDEA SUBMISSION AGREEMENT, below. Please include the text: "I, [Your First and Last Name], have read and agree to the IDEA SUBMISSION AGREEMENT from Genius Games." (We cannot accept and review a submission without this.) If we're interested in trying your game, we'll reach out to you for a rulebook and either a complete prototype or access to a TTS mod, if available. (Note that we do not ship prototypes back.)

IDEA SUBMISSION AGREEMENT

Because we have a number of internal projects being developed at the same time as your submission, and multiple submission will be about the same theme, in order to avoid conflicts between ideas that may be similar or identical, we’ve put this Idea Submission Agreement in place. Please review the following agreement between You and Genius Games, LLC (“Genius Games”), before submitting your materials (“Submission”). If you have any questions, please send them to publishing@geniusgames.org.


Term
This Agreement is in effect from the time that you contact us with your Submission, and will continue until modified or terminated by a writing signed by both of us.
Non-Confidential
You acknowledge that the information contained in your Submission is non-confidential.
Your Promise
You promise that the Submission is a wholly original work of yours, or that you own all rights in and to the Submission.
Rights and Remedies
Your rights and remedies under this Agreement are limited to any rights and remedies under US Patent or Copyright law.
Waiver
You waive all other claims of any nature arising out of your disclosure of the Submission to Genius Games, including, without limitation, including, copyright infringement or breach of implied in fact contract, that your rights were infringed due to any similarity between your Submission and any other product or content that is or may become available from Genius Games, unless there is substantial similarity of protectable expression under United States copyright law between your Submission and the other content includes a verbatim copy of a material portion of your Submission.
You agree that Genius Games is under no obligation to purchase, license, sell, develop, produce, or commercialize the Submission.
Genius Games has no obligation of any kind until a formal written contract has been signed by You and Genius Games. Then, the obligations will only be those in the formal written contract.
Relationship
This Agreement solely governs the relationship between us, and that there is no confidential, fiduciary, or other relationship between You and Genius Games.
Competitive or Similar Materials
In no event is Genius Games prevented from discussing, reviewing, developing for itself, or developing for third parties, materials which are competitive with those in the Submission, irrespective of their similarity to the information in the Submission.
No Expectation of Payment
Genius Games has no duty, express or implied, to provide you with any compensation for the disclosure of the Submission. You are submitting the Submission solely for the consideration of a future business relationship with Genius Games, and You have no expectation of payment.
Additional Submissions
This Agreement applies to any additional submissions that are related in any way to your Submission, unless this Agreement is subsequently modified by a writing signed by both of us.
Governing Law; Disputes
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Missouri. Any disputes under this Agreement may be brought in the state courts and the federal courts located in St. Louis, Missouri and both You and Genius Games hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of these courts.
Entire Agreement; Modification
This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements, understandings, or representations, either express or implied, regarding the Submission. The Agreement may be changed only by a writing signed by both parties. If any provision of this Agreement is held unenforceable, that provision will be severed and the remainder of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.