Can you disclose any of the details?
have you test played it?
I would like to see the board and rules.
Maybe an overview...

I think it's a patent that you need. And would definitely recommend applying for a patent before you show it to too many people. I'm not sure how long it takes to process, but I think once you have patent pending you should be safe to start to talk to people.

Copyright would be to protect the name of the board game, logos, your company brand.

And i think you'd find this community is an excellent vehicle for testing out your game before taking it to the big boys.

I don't know much about board games, but i know submitting books to publishers with a big copyright symbols is generally seen as a sign of an amateur. I'm sure Hasbro gets plenty of submissions and making sure your stands out from the pack immediately is important, and I think being professional is the key.

There is probably a host of online literature you can access on the topic that will be more helpful than us.

The only thing I can say for now is that it will remind you of Diplomacy.
Yet it's not another variant rather than something completely different.
The first test play will probably happen this weekend with 2 friends of mine.
I have to print the board and units first.
:-)
I

I checked the hasbro site but found nothing on submitting a board game.
Avalon hill also makes it clear that they wont accept a direct submission to them.
They say you have to contact an outside agent like http://www.toysngames.com/

@ Braveheart - it should only be copyright that is needed. A boardgame is more like a book or a piece of software, not an invention or technique in and of itself that gets a patent. The mechanics of the game coul dbe patented if there is something truly new in them (unlike rollign the dice or moving a unit from place to place, which many games have obviously) And the name and imagery would be trademarked, not copyrighted. You can't copyright a name.

I remember reading something about this kind of thing a few years ago. Centurian is right. There is a ton of information out there. I have to disagree with Braveheart on the patent thing. I doubt you need a patent. I think the only thing in a game that might be patented is a proprietary piece or something like that. The board, art work, and instructions are copyright material.

Hellalt, its the same for books. No major publishers accept direct submissions. They only do it through intermediaries. In the case of books its literary agents that take a cut if they sell it to a distributor.

Hellalt, go to www.boardgamegeek.com and go into their forums. They have one dedicated to board game design. You'll find TONS of information there as well as the presence of lots and lots of already published game designers who can give you advice.

Another thing you might look into is the Hippodice board game design contest. I'm pretty sure the submission period is either open right now or getting ready to be open.

@Centurian, hallalt - I sold a book earlier this year and I can tell you:
1. Centurian is right, publishers (at least respectable ones) only will buy through a literary agent.
2. It is true that things like pre-copyrighting is seen as presumptuous. You can take measures to ensure that in case of a theft, you can prove your priority and intellectual property rights, but really, if picked up, the copyright issue and ownership is trickier (I assume its the same for board games) and is covered in your specific contract.

there is a lot of false statements about the law ITT :/

Such as?

First of all thanks for all the info and support.
Special thanks to Jacob. I'll sure check out the Hippodice contest.
Some things about law:
At least in Greece where I live things are more certain.
A patent is required for any idea or invention that can has industrial use.
Intellectual property like books music and games cant be protected through a standard procedure. You just have to prove somehow you were the first. Common practises are sending snail mail to yourself or deposing the idea to a public notary or even sending yourself an email with all files attached. You just have to prove the date.
The name of the game cant be copyrighted as well (at least in Greece)/ You can only copyright corporate brand names (I think this is the same for all European countries).
I was asking about law cause maybe there is something different in the American law.
I 'll check about it at the web starting at boardgamegeek.com. After all this is the internet. There is nothing you can't find

So what's your game about, hellalt?

You should get a patent. If nothing else, what will it hurt? I got bored on wikipedia the other day and was reading about the history of monopoly. It started with a game called "The Landlord's Game", which had a patent. Monopoly had a patent as well. Both board games!

There are examples of patents for "The Landlord's Game" and "Monopoly" here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_board_game_Monopoly

You're welcome =)

I believe that the usual procedure is to copyright a game, not patent it. But you can probably do either--in America copyright is just way easier. A lot of games also trademark the name, pictures, etc., as that is easy to do as well and lasts forever.

I also did some google searches and this dude has a whole page about marketing board games: http://www.amherstlodge.com/games/reference/gameinvented.htm

You also might consider contacting Wizards of the Coast for licensing, or if the game is really simple, try Cheap Ass Games (http://www.cheapass.com/). Good luck!

It's not simple. It's as complicated as Diplomacy or even more.
the link mentioned previously is a good one. I stabbed up on it too.
My biggest problem with the game is that although I can write down the rules in a professional way, I do not have a professional looking map.
I'm looking for a modern political European map with 1900 x 1900 pixels resolution but I can't find it anywhere.
Any ideas?

hellalt, there are loads of maps like that out there. I'm sure a simple google search with enough determination will turn up a satisfactory map.

Additionally I have a decently large collection of digital maps saved on my computer (I love designing and making maps.)

The closest I have to a 1900X1900 blank political map (which I assume is what you want) is 2250X1117. Though I have a much larger one of 4500X2234 that is much nicer for creating maps; you can shrink it to the proper size once you are finished with it..
Any particular reason why it needs to be square?

Also, I can help you with the design if it is interesting enough. (I ask for nothing in return but creative license ;))