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Steven Streetman wrote on Sun, Nov 14, 2010 06:08 PM UTC:
This is the fourth of four parts on Spartan Chess:
  1. Spartan Chess – The Dream
  2. Spartan Chess - The Difference
      (Waiting for the other Shoe to Drop)
  3. Spartan Chess – The Process
  4. Spartan Chess - The Business

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SPARTAN CHESS – THE BUSINESS

My Business Background
I have been around business a bit. You my read about my background in my profile should you wish: http://www.chessvariants.org/index/displayperson.php?personid=streetmansd 

When I introduced version 1.08 of Spartan Chess to my circle of gaming friends we played a few very fun games. I was soon asked the question, “Do you plan on marketing this invention?” 

I answered something like this: I have seen they type of thing done before. Some chess variants I know have been marketed. Omega Chess looks like a modest success. Gothic Chess, which I followed for years, appears to have fared poorly. The large tournaments that were conceived of did not materialize. Their web site contains many broken links and their Blog page peeked in activity a couple of years ago; both usually a bad sign. And the game King’s Battlefield appears to have been a complete disaster. There were marketing tag lines, testimonials, mouse pads, coffee cups, and bumper stickers; a full promotional effort that just needed a market.

The market for chess variants is small, maybe a few hundred people. Americans don’t play much chess and far fewer play chess variants. So, my marketing analysis is this: I could invest between $20,000 and $40,000 into a serious business effort and make, based on my observations and analysis, upwards of $300. So no, I do not plan on marketing Spartan Chess. I have done this, like most chess variant inventors, just for fun. 

Synopsis…
Marketing a product to such a small potential customer base is at least tough business if not a suicidal business proposition. 

I would like to hear about any marketing experiences, both those contradicting and those confirming, this terse business analysis.

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