About JKLM Games

JKLM was originally started as a one of opportunity to produce Dwarves for Markus Welbourne. However, this was so successful at getting the company noticed, that not only did we sell out of Dwarves within a year, we also got several inquiries regarding the publication of other games from unknown designers. This led us to consider that maybe we should set ourselves up as a designers' publishing house, helping unknown designers to see their creations come to life.

JKLM went on to publish Kogge and Constellation the following year. These proved successful too, even though we had a few production issues.

Over the next couple of years we produced several games, improving the quality with each game we made. Improvements included bringing in a graphic artist to enhance the products, and using better quality materials. But we were still primarily producing games from unknown designers - this of course was the reason we started.

All of these were partnerships between JKLM and the designers, and created a unique way of running the company. We got the game produced, helping with layouts, costing and distribution, but in essence it was the designers who were running the show and we were just doing a job. In essence JKLM was acting as a consultant on behalf of the designers, so never actually owned any of the products that we made.

In 2006, we decided that we needed to make the jump up to a full production quality run. We did this with On the Underground and 1861 Railways in Russia. Both these runs were larger and more costly than anything we had attempted before, so we introduced a share structure so that gamers could become part of what we were doing and help struggling designers to realise their dream. This work very well and allowed us to produce 5000 copies of Underground and 1200 of 1861 Russia. Both have been selling well and most of the money has now been recouped.

Last year we decided to produce Phoenicia. This was the first time we had produced a game from a designer who had games already published, and it was the first time that we were going to fund the whole project for ourselves, so this was quite an undertaking and one which we hoped would give due reward. It was fairly successful and still continues to sell, as it reaches the entire known gaming world. We then went on the produce 4 more games for Essen, all of which we were done in conjunction with other companies that had produced games before on their own but were looking to increase their run sizes and distribution.

So we had started a new era, where we were acting on behalf of smaller companies, bringing them together in order to provide more streamlined production at a more competitive price, and give them a way into the market through distribution.

We are now looking to make the next jump up the ladder, by introducing a new brand, designed for the mainstream market. We have several designs ready to go, which combine the strategic and tactical play found in gamers' games with the simplicity required for the mainstream, and we have secured major wholesale distributors who can sell our games into the shops on the high street. Moving into this market is a big step up for JKLM, as it will require much bigger production runs in order to fulfil the level of demand the mainstream will produce.

When we made the step up to larger production runs in 2006, it was made possible by the share scheme we introduced. Producing a large print run of a game requires a significant investment, and that investment is only recouped over 12-18 months as the games are sold. With a move into the mainstream market, we are once again increasing the investment in each game, and so are looking for further investment in order to be able to make that happen. Investors vary from people who see it as a good financial opportunity to people who like what we are doing and see it as a way to support us. If this sounds like you, then please feel free to get in contact and ask for more information.