Hey there,
While the spotlight’s on next month’s Photo Tour reprint campaign and its two brand new expansions, I’ve been focused on something less visible — but just as critical. The infrastructure. The systems. The long-game work that decides whether we’re still standing in two years.
Running an indie publishing company means waking up every day, balancing two timelines: what needs to happen right now… and what needs to be built for the future. So today, I want to pull back the curtain and show you what that really looks like.
What a $300K Campaign Actually Means
Let’s start with something most publishers never say out loud: the numbers you see on Kickstarter are not the numbers that land in the business.
Our most recent campaign — DNA, Habitopia, Synthesis — shows around 300,000 CAD (including late pledges). It looks impressive on the surface. But once you subtract Kickstarter fees, Meta ad spend, production costs, and the shipping subsidies we offer to backers, only about 25% of that stays with the company before taxes.
That’s not a bad result, but it’s still not enough to fully support a family and fund development on multiple new games.
I pay myself something close to a decent full-time salary, with all the pressure of running a business and none of the safety net. The funds we retain need to stretch across 12 to 18 months of development before the next campaign launches.
That’s why the upcoming Photo Tour Kickstarter in mid-July matters more than usual. Not to boost our top line — but to make sure we can keep building.
When Ad Costs Double and Budgets Don’t
Meta ad costs have jumped significantly since last year. The cost to bring in a single interested subscriber has doubled, while the results have stayed the same.
We’re aiming for 3,000 pre-launch followers, but the budget hasn’t scaled with that cost increase. That means we may fall short, and a softer start could result in weaker Kickstarter visibility, which compounds quickly. Kickstarter’s algorithm favors early momentum.
We’re not solving this by spending more. We’re solving it by working smarter — with sharper messaging, more efficient targeting, and community support.
Three Bets We’re Making
Board game publishing has a built-in weakness: the turnaround time. You invest 12–18 months of time and money into a single game, launch it, and hope it performs well enough to fund the next one.
To break out of that fragile cycle, we’re launching three additional revenue streams. If even one of them succeeds, it changes everything.
1. Amazon Retail (Launching July)
Retail editions of Photo Tour are currently somewhere in the middle of the ocean, heading to Amazon warehouses. We’re targeting a July launch, which opens us up to a much broader audience — and introduces a completely different revenue model beyond crowdfunding.
2. Print-and-Play Club (Testing July–August)
We’re developing two new games specifically for our upcoming PNP Club. Pacific Ocean, Habitopia, and Synthesis will also be available in digital format at launch, supported by weekly content drops and community features, including gamified elements like quests, XP, and collectible gems.
It’s a digital-first platform for hobby gamers, and one of the most exciting projects we’ve ever taken on. Internal testing starts next month.
3. Book Publishing for Kids (Launching Fall 2025)
We’re building a sub-brand focused on educational storybooks for kids, with recurring characters, real science, and a mix of journals and activity books to go alongside the stories.
With Amazon handling printing and fulfillment, we can focus on creativity and reach new audiences without adding operational complexity.
Why All This Matters
Money is the fuel behind every creative decision. Without enough of it, you can’t invest in better art, pay your collaborators fairly, or spend the extra time refining design and testing. You lose the ability to take creative risks, and the work suffers.
This is the point where small creative companies evolve: from making something people want… to building systems that allow them to keep doing it, sustainably.
That’s exactly where we are right now. The spreadsheets, shipping logistics, and ad dashboards might not be glamorous, but they determine whether we’re still making games in 2026.
Want to Help?
If you’d like to support what we’re building, here’s one simple way:
We have a full collection of 24 hardcover journals in our webstore — 11 featuring Photo Tour artwork, and 13 inspired by Pacific Ocean. They’re beautiful, durable, and thoughtfully designed. Whether you use them for notes, sketches, or game ideas, they’re a small way to bring a piece of our work into your daily life.
👉 Browse the full journal collection
More than anything, though, your presence here matters. Reading these updates. Following the journey. Sharing them with someone else who might care.
That engagement is what keeps this whole engine running.
What’s Next
I’m optimistic — but I’m also anxious. So many challenges have collided all at once. But these new efforts aren’t optional. They’re mandatory.
Without change, there’s stagnation. Burnout. And a slow slide toward lost momentum.
This is how we fight that. This is how we build a creative business that can grow.
Thanks for being here, and for helping us keep moving forward.
Take care,
— Eugene
Founder, Timashov Publishing
timashov.games
P.S. Foxed Up #009 — Social Experience
Some games bring people together. Others… bring out something else entirely.
This week’s comic takes a light look at what happens when expectations meet reality, around the table.
