Do games ever come out of Premium?

[Gislef]

I understand that Premium is a moneymaker for BGA, and there's licensing issues. Some games like Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, Scythe, and Ark Nova are going to be Premium for the foreseeable future. Fair enough.

But for instance, take Coal Baron. It was published in 2013, and it's Premium. People rarely play. I could become Premium and start a game, but since it's Premium, seemingly nobody has learned it and thus nobody wants to play it.

Seems like in this case the game's Premium status Is interfering with people playing it. Which isn't good for anybody. Players, Premium members, and/or the owning company.

I'm sure Coal Baron isn't the only game like this. I just don't get older games (this game is 13 years old) still being Premium.

I'm sure this isn't the first time this question has been asked, so be gentle with me.

[tarongot]

I understand that Premium is a moneymaker for BGA, and there's licensing issues. Some games like Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, Scythe, and Ark Nova are going to be Premium for the foreseeable future. Fair enough.

But for instance, take Coal Baron. It was published in 2013, and it's Premium. People rarely play. I could become Premium and start a game, but since it's Premium, seemingly nobody has learned it and thus nobody wants to play it.

Seems like in this case the game's Premium status Is interfering with people playing it. Which isn't good for anybody. Players, Premium members, and/or the owning company.

I'm sure Coal Baron isn't the only game like this. I just don't get older games (this game is 13 years old) still being Premium.

I'm sure this isn't the first time this question has been asked, so be gentle with me.

Very, very rarely, but I've seen that happen. Unfortunately I've also seen other way. Game that wasn't premium for long time, at some point changed to premium one.

[Gislef]

Sushi Go, Heat, and the Terra Mystica games are others that understand why they're Premium. They get played pretty regularly, they generate income. With dozens of such games, I'm sure there are odd licensing arrangements.

But Coal Baron? I don't want to fixate on that, I'm sure there are others. but I know CB's creation date and roughly how much use it gets on BGA. 2013 (redone in 2023), and None.

BGA was created in 2010, and bought by Asmodee in 2021. If nobody ever plays CB, for instance, what's the point in having it on the site? It doesn't have a tutorial, and I might be interested in making one. But what's the point if no one ever plays it? And Premium seems to help make it so nobody wants to play it

[cigma]

People rarely play. I could become Premium and start a game, but since it's Premium, seemingly nobody has learned it and thus nobody wants to play it.

I think this hasn't so much to do with Premum. If "nobody wants to play it", that's mainly because - nobody wants to play it! I have played Coal Baron in real life and I'm not very interested in playing it again. There are so many other games I enjoy more! If it were a favourite game, people would be eager to learn it, as you can see from other old Premium games like Agricola or Catan.

Seems like in this case the game's Premium status Is interfering with people playing it. Which isn't good for anybody. Players, Premium members, and/or the owning company.

Definitely. A free playing period (at least) would have been a good promotion investment. Especially since the BGA release 2023 predated the 2nd printed editons in 2024 (kickstarter, retail and de luxe).

If nobody ever plays CB, for instance, what's the point in having it on the site?

As a prelaunch of the second printed editions...

It doesn't have a tutorial, and I might be interested in making one. But what's the point if no one ever plays it?

And vice versa. If there is no tutorial, nobody wants to learn it. As with every game, Coal Baron has its fans, and some of them don't know about it yet

[Gislef]

I'm not very familiar with Agricola. With Catan, it seems pretty popular. Game length has something to do with it, I suspect. From what I understand, Agricola is a bear of a game, length-wise. Catan seems to have some popularity, in part because of its appearance on The Big Bang Theory. It's also sold a lot in America in big box stores like Target.

Ultimately, who knows why a game catches on? If you'd like to learn it but it's Premium, long, and nobody else is playing, how do you get a game going? I don't know. But there seems to be a point where a game's Premium status counts against it. Has that point been reached with Coal Baron, for instance? I don't know, but I am curious to know if non-Premuming a Premium is ever considered and what the criteria is. If a tutorial makes no difference, I'm not going to write a tutorial. Not only does it seem a waste of time, but it seems like cheating. I get points for writing a tutorial that nobody uses?

I can't get friends interested if nobody can start or play the game. (Most of us aren't Premium members. Yet.)

And if a game is Premium, can you write a tutorial if you're a non-Premium member? What if you don't have a hard copy, and turned to BGA instead? What if you're considering buying the game, but would like to preview it first?

There's a lot of plates to keep in the air, and consider. I'm curious how one goes about doing that. And if. I don't doubt that there are a lot of factors involved. Just seems like right now there's no audience, and a lot of us are wearing blindfolds.

[Jellby]

Remember that the premium status of a game is mostly a publisher's decision.

[Gislef]

I've never forgotten it. I've just never mentioned it specifically.

I'm not trying to defend Coal Baron specifically. I didn't know it existed here until a few weeks ago. And likely it isn't popular. Whatever "popularity" means in this context.

But if it's not considered popular, why have it on BGA as Premium?

I don't understand the full reasoning of paywalls. Which is essentially what Premium is. Coal Baron and others like it are effectively behind a paywall. Why? It doesn't seem to be helping BGA, the game, or the publisher. What are I missing?

I'm not saying BGA should entirely eliminate Premium. But what's the reasoning of the benefit in this instance?

[Fuchur]

Hi, i have no idea why some games are premium and others aren't, but there is a group of coal baron players where i found this link to a tutorial : https://boardgamearena.com/tutorial?gam ... orial=1698

[Meeplelowda]

It doesn't have a tutorial

It's right there on the main page for the game. Did you switch the leftmost option to "Learn"?

[Gislef]

It doesn't have a tutorial

It's right there on the main page for the game. Did you switch the leftmost option to "Learn"?

Thanks! I did switch to Learn before, don't know why it didn't come up, or if I missed it.