Catching Up With the Guys of DCG

What did 2019 mean to Dunce Cap Games?

Charles:  2019 was an interesting year for DCG with a lot of good and a lot of challenges.  For me the highlight, obviously, was getting ComPetAbility out.  And, it being awesome to include family in the development of it.  The wife came up with the name, that just fit so perfectly.  The kids played a lot of rounds of test play, came up with names & personalities, and great ideas, like including the unicorn.  

Finding Rhi, the artist who did all of the pet characters was godsend.  Rhi did all fifty-four characters with only a hint of info about what we were looking for and delivered exactly what I had in my head.  They included pets with personalities, bright colors, & inclusive creatures, when those pets could have been very generic.  So happy to have had Rhi's insight and creative brain on this game, they really completed the game.

The crazy thing on the game was how quickly we were able to turn it around.  I think Kyle came up with the base concept early in the year, then the push for mechanics happened quick. The art took a couple of months, with production and packaging a couple more, and it was for sale by September, with great feedback.

Other than the ComPetAbility build and launch, 2019 was all about fine tuning the operations.  2020 will be about the same!, I'm sure.  Soup2Nuts is selling very well, especially for the holiday season and that is great to see.  More production runs this past year have been a lot of work, but also a blessing.  Phew!  Way to go 2019!

Kyle:  I have to agree with Charles that getting ComPetAbility out is my highlight for 2019 as well. Love seeing the game come to life and seeing it start to move! We are excited to hear more feedback on the game and see how it builds momentum for 2020.

Another highlight for me was watching Soup 2 Nuts start to pop during December and we were able to get just a hair beyond $1,000 in sales for a month! The first of many. 

I also really liked the Renton Comicon we set up at. It was really cool seeing all the cosplay and getting to talk about both of our games with attendees. While there weren’t a ton of sales from the event I think continuing to talk up the company and the games at these kinds of events will be a good idea to keep moving in 2020. Who knows, we may even take a shot at PAX.

What kinds of things does DCG need to do in 2020?

Charles: 2020 is going to be different.  Although we may publish some Soup2Nuts expansion packs, we've no plans to launch a new game, so the focus will be entirely on marketing throughout the year.  I'm looking forward to participating in events to push the DCG brand and games.

We need to focus on using social media platforms more effectively as well.  Thinking of throwing up Soup2Nuts on Tinder.  Is that still a thing?

Kyle: Holy crap yes we need to get Soup2Nuts up on Tinder… You have the friggin best ideas…

I wholeheartedly agree that 2020 will be focused on getting more momentum on the sales front with Soup 2 Nuts and ComPetAbility. There will always be a big push for ecommerce, and I think 2020 could use another big push into local retail and game shops. Maybe even learning how to pitch some of the bigger shops!

I would also love for us to start a video blog or podcast or something like that. I think we are pretty cool and interesting folks… and we have cool games. I think I could get pretty decent at making am entertaining fool of myself in a very entertaining way online somehow – or dropping philosophy bombs on people. That’s always fun.

Charles:  You got great ideas too!  Would love to podcast or video blog.  We can talk with the best of them.

What did 2019 mean to you personally?
Charles: I spent some much needed vacation days out in the world this year.  Spending time away with family really did serve to recharge the batteries and bring out a, sort of, repressed creativity, love of art, flavor, music, etc.

Kyle: Ugh… 2019 has been a massive year of transition for me… big changes in front of me on the personal life side. Let me drop this little piece of wisdom on you: Life can and will fuck with you. You get to decide if as a result you will get bitter or better.

On a positive note though, I did fall in love with camping Music Festivals so keep your eyes out, there may be some DCG presence at some future festival…

 What are you looking forward to personally in 2020?

Kyle: I am looking forward to focusing on myself, my kids, DCG, my music, and the rest of the things that are important to me. In times of big transition it is very important to start with yourself. We are the foundations we build our lives on. Make sure they are not built on sand. I will be working on that foundation.

Charles:  That’s deep, my man, but sage words!

For me, more fantastic life experiences and travels.  I've got an itch to scratch and getting some things off the old bucket list would be like "Walk This Way" on a turntable. 

What are you looking forward to on DCG in 2020?

Charles:  Grabbing the business end of DCG by the horns and making sure we are doing everything we are supposed to.  Owning a business is a learning process everyday!

Play more games!

Kyle: Truth to learning every day! I am looking forward to getting more passion poured into selling some MF’n games! I think with some extra focus on retail and online sales we can keep these trends going up and get things rocking even harder in 2020.

I am also looking forward to getting more games and events scheduled and building out more of a DCG community around board and card gaming. And maybe hosting some DCG poker tournaments. get your poker faces ready…