Today we’d like to introduce you to Kervin Queliza
Kervin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I woke up in the middle of the night wanting to buy a mansplaining party game. However, everything I found wasn’t exactly what I wanted. The mansplaining games out there at the time played like trivia games. I wanted one with more improvisation. One that could show people, specifically men, what mansplaining was and could use the game as a tool to help men mansplain less. There are a lot of women in my life who have complained about mansplaining for years, and the thing I remember the most was the phrases the men in their life would start their mansplaining with. Men would say things like “At least my mother knows” or “If you spent less time on your phone you would know” etc.
I had been searching for weeks for a game that was similar to what I wanted, with no luck. I remember that I was at my local HEB complaining to a friend (who would later be my business partner) about it and he made a comment about why don’t we make one. I spent the next thirty minutes in the produce aisle designing the majority of the game including the majority of opening lines for the game.
I spent the next three months researching all I could about publishing a game. I read blogs, watched Youtube videos, and listened to every podcast I could get my hands on. After three months, I decided I was going to design and publish a board game.
One of the hardest things about having a business is marketing. Marketing was something I spent a lot of time wrapping my head around since you could have a great product, but if you can’t market it, the business will go under. It was 2021 and the board game conventions were uncertain and that’s how most publishers sell their games. As a joke, I put on my list of things to help market the game by becoming a content creator on Tiktok. I put it on the list as a joke because even though my degree is film, I hadn’t really used social media even in my personal life, and the thought of posting videos at all seem far fetched.
I downloaded the app, spent months watching videos, and felt strongly that I was too old to join Tiktok. I learned that the Tiktok algorithm wants to show your videos to people who might want to watch them. The goal of the app is to keep people watching videos. I convinced myself that I would think of the algorithm as a coworker who was doing all the hard work of putting eyes on you. I swallowed my pride and posted my first video in September 2021. I began to interact with other board game content creators and started to build, not only a community, but immersing myself in the community that is now Board Game Tiktok. January 2022, I got to 1000 followers, which allowed me to go live with my fellow content creators. February 2023, I did my first panel about Tiktok at the Game Expo. May 2023, I did a panel about entering the board game industry as a new designer at Comicpalooza in Houston. March 2024, I hit 10k followers which allowed me to monetize my account. August 2024, I led a panel of board gaming content creators at Gen Con in Indianapolis where we talked about how we found our voice as board game content creators. My videos talk about my life in and around board games, my boyfriend who notoriously hates board games, and I talk about my upcoming projects, which includes my newest board game called Marsh Hallow where you play Marshall the Marshmallow who is breaking into a marshmallow pyromancy cult to save family members who were taken in. Animals of the swamp, who, armed with water guns and water balloons, are there to help you on your journey. We are hoping to launch our Kickstarter early 2025
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Designing and self publishing a game is incredibly difficult. It’s a lot of time and energy, especially when you have a full time job. I’ve heard people say when you own your own business, there’s always something that could be done. I never fully understood that sentence until I started one. On top of that, I was learning how to become a content creator, which in and of itself is equally as difficult. I had to learn really good time management skills, how to prioritize my mental health, and how to create boundaries when it comes to my business and social media. I am really lucky that I was able to find other content creators and board game publishers who have been doing this longer than me and that I can call them my friends. Having people who have a vested interest in you doing well is super important. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I design and publish board games. I’m also a content creator on Tiktok. One of things I’m known for is being pretty vocal about my experiences in the board gaming space. The space is predominately straight white males. There’s been a push in recent years to prioritize diversity not only at gaming tables but also within the games themselves. I talk about both my positive and negative experiences. I talk a lot about allyship and why it’s necessary for marganlized communities. I’m most proud of the community I’ve been able to help build on Board Game Tiktok. Board Game Tiktok consists of anyone who creates or consumes content on the app. We converse in comment sections, DMs, and the discord server, of which I’m one of the admins. We meet up at board game conventions to play games, shoot content, and reinforce the connections we’ve made from watching and creating videos on Tiktok
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My advice to future board game publishers is to get the idea of your game out of your head and on to the table as quickly as possible to figure out if it is viable. There’s tons of communities on social media to join to help you on your journey. My advice to aspiring content creators is to prioritize making content you enjoy, because burn out is very real. Also, don’t be afraid to try different styles of videos. There’s voice overs, vlogs, how to videos, photo posts, and even talking in your car. I got my start talking about board games in my car. I still can’t believe how far that got me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.forwhygames.com/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forwhygames
- Other: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marshhallow/marsh-hallow
