In a little book on game design produced by SPI, Jim Dunnigan stated that many small companies can survive for a short time on "guts and visions of glory" but that few were able to make the transition into larger enterprises. After six years of playing the one-man-band, I feel this company is ready to slowly and safely make that transition.

Specifically, this year is literally one of transition. By the end of the year, the initial teething problems will be passed as we make the hurdle to bi-monthly game production. Already, with Mike's effort, the log-jam of submitted outside designs is beginning to move to playtesting after initial in-house development. The "teething" I'm talking about comes from the lead times involved in making sure a continuous supply of designs are available for final development and production-it's one thing to say "bi-monthly game production" and fully another to deliver on that promise without jumping hrough all kinds of hoops and availability shortfalls (all of which, I might add, generate the typical quality drop seen in companies which have tried to make this jump in the past ... ) I intend to do this with a minimal amount of problems and all the while upholding the standards of quality and service this company stands for.

This whole growth is being handled in a incremental fashion. Each step is small and not all can be observed from the outside, so the impression sometimes is of major changes-when really all that has occurred is an accumulation of the small steps we have made. Each move has been thought about long and hard-with the occasional disagreement between staff members. Fortunately, I have people here who are no afraid to speak up when they think something is wrong. The whole crew of us are in the same boat and we rise or fall together. I am grateful for the teamwork they show.

Naturally, there are dangers in this change-not the least of which is a potential drop in the quality of the games or the service we give. That is a reasonable concern (more so, given the dearth of attention it gets in this industry) and we are taking great pains to ensure that high quality of goods and service remains our standard. No slippage will be tolerated.

There is the danger of adding new people to the mix, people who don't share the qualities which made this company so successful in its first years. So far, that fear has been unwarranted and we have been singularly lucky in our ability to attract those who share common desires to do a good job and to constantly raise the standards. People willing to grow with us. Is it possible for us to strike out with the next employee or the one after that ? Sure, it is. But, as we develop a corporate culture based on the pursuit of excellence, these individuals will find it more and more difficult to survive in that atmosphere.

The combination of highly-polished series rules and a built-up pile of games which have spent a great deal of time in playtesting will see us through this period of transition.

I suppose the question could be asked, "So where, exactly, do you intend to go?" I don't think I could give a correct answer to that. I look at this as a constantly re-evaluated feedback loop which, like all systems, will tend toward a particular stasis. What that might be, I can't tell. With careful management, the company will develop the infrastructure required of a permanent level of size and function-no more, no less-and we will end up in a very comfortable operating zone.

I do not envision a massive corporate structure requiring some sort of 40-story building in Manhattan. (To do so in this industry would require a visit one of our "mental health professionals"...) Just a small size ($500,000 to a million a year) operation with less than a dozen employees and very satisfied customer base.

See ya there!