Overused Ideas & Overlooked Reasons Pitches Get Rejected

After seeing hundreds of game pitches over the years on both sides of the table I've learned very few games are rejected simply because they aren't fun. Publishers evaluate the entire package—from market fit and production costs to how easily they can explain and sell the game. Understanding those factors can help designers create stronger pitches and avoid some of the most common pitfalls. I've created a quick list that hopefully sums up my experience from pitching and doing inventor relations.

Overused themes and hooks:

• Fantasy adventuring (dragons, dungeons, wizards, kingdoms) still dominates submissions. It's popular for a reason, but it's hard to stand out.

• Zombies, pirates, and generic space exploration continue to appear frequently. Unless there's a truly novel twist, publishers have likely seen dozens of similar pitches.

• "It's like Uno, but..." or "It's Codenames meets X." Comparisons are useful, but if the comparison is the entire hook, it usually isn't enough.

• Trivia and Party games are also heavily submitted because they're approachable to design, but differentiation is incredibly important. You don't want to be a copycat.

The common thread isn't that these themes or mechanics are bad. It's that the game needs a compelling reason to exist beyond using them. You need to think about what makes your game stand out!

Here are some less obvious reasons game pitches could get turned down:

• The game doesn't fit the publisher's catalog. This is probably the biggest one. A fantastic euro strategy game isn't useful to a publisher focused on family games or party games.

• The production cost doesn't match the experience. If the game needs dozens of custom components, miniatures, or expensive manufacturing for a $25 experience, it can be a difficult business case.

• The game solves a problem players don't have. Designers often optimize something players already enjoy or complicate something that should stay simple.

• The hook is difficult to communicate. If the exciting part takes ten minutes to explain instead of ten seconds, marketing and retail become much harder.

• The target audience is unclear. A game that's "for everyone" usually isn't. Publishers want to know exactly who the intended audience is.

• The game is mechanically solid but emotionally flat. Players may enjoy it while playing but have no memorable moments that make them want to tell friends about it.

• Development work is too extensive. Sometimes a game is good, but fixing pacing, balance, or structure would require redesigning half the game. Publishers may choose a cleaner design instead.

• Market timing. A publisher may already have a similar title in development or have recently released something that fills the same niche.

• Retail considerations. Box size, shelf presence, MSRP, component count, and shipping costs can all influence a decision even if the gameplay is excellent.

• No clear competitive advantage. Publishers often ask themselves, "If someone already owns three games in this genre, why would they buy this one?"

Designing games can be a lot of fun but designing solid products is a job. It takes practice and work, but keeping the bullets above in mind will help a lot when you work on your games!