Samples and prototypes

Before you sign anything, get physical samples in your hands. Most manufacturers will send a sample kit on request, a box of components from games they have produced: cards in various stocks and finishes, punchboard, boxes, dice, wooden pieces. This is the single best way to evaluate a factory and to make concrete decisions about your own specs. Reading "300gsm black-core linen" tells you little. Shuffling a deck of it tells you everything.

Sample kits also calibrate your expectations across factories. Two quotes that both say 2mm box board can feel noticeably different in hand because of the wrap paper, printing, and lamination. When a factory sends samples from published games, buy or borrow one of those games at retail too, so you see what a full production unit looks like rather than a hand-picked showcase piece.

A factory prototype is different from a sample kit: it is a handmade copy of your actual game, built from your files with production-like materials. Factories charge for these, often a few hundred dollars, and they are worth it for crowdfunding, since a factory prototype photographs far better than a home-printed one and reveals file problems early. Reviewers and previewers will also take your campaign more seriously with a professional-looking copy on camera.

Do not confuse any of these with the pre-production copy, which comes later, after your deposit, and is made on the actual production line as the final approval gate. Samples inform your choices, factory prototypes market your game, and the PPC protects your print run.