How to move forward with the game

With the advent of 2021 Naval War has been in development for over 6 years. I think that the game has matured and can stand on its own in relation to the other comparable games.

A returning question has been if the game will stay free. As long as the game was being developed I had no intentions of marketing it. Now with the game becoming more stable I am considering how to move forward. I have noticed that the game being free poses its own challenges in being taken seriously by gamers.

• A free game does not require any investment for a player, this also has the downside that people are less committed to the game system as they have not invested in it. A lot of players come and go.
• It is pretty hard to get the game reviewed, as it seems that free sets are given less attention than any expensive paid-for sets from more well-known companies or authors.

It has always been my hope to have the game evolve by player contributions to scenario design, etc. As a one-man operation, developing the game to span the whole of WW2 is a daunting task. As there have not been many contributions apart from some very helpful individuals it might be prudent to see if any larger party is interested.

If no third party is interested in joining to further develop the game, and with my own private situation having changed over the years, I might consider putting the game up on wargamevault for a modest price. That way I can reinvest any profits into expanding the game.

Just my thoughts and a heads up for everyone frequenting the site and forum.

That is a tough question. As a player of modest means, I usually look to free sets first. But I can also see how getting professional reviews would be more difficult.
Frankly I don't know how you have built this rule set all by yourself. Especially the vast number of ship cards. That is amazing!
I am not one that flits from game to game. When I find a set I like, I stick with it. I am still using rule sets I purchased 15-20 years ago.
I can see advantages & disadvantages to both sides.
I remain committed to this set & will support whatever decision you make.

As an aside, how would we go about financially supporting the game?

Well, there is a sticky post on how to support the game. But I'd be interested in what would be an acceptable price to you for this rule set on Wargamesvault?

I am not sure I am a great judge of that as I tend to stick to free systems. But I would say $15-20 is reasonable.

I am not suren.
Independ of the Layout ,. Books like VaS will com up to $ 50 .
PDF - Layout about $ 10 for download or free .

I think a pdf via wargame vault option is a good one. My suggestion would be to market the rules as a set of pdf components:
Rules, QRS, Generic order cards and Reference say $10
Datacards and Order Cards per specific fleet say $5.
Scenarios, OOBs and scenario specific cards as a "Pay what you want suggested $5" each
There will also inevitably be "What about a printed Copy?" questions so have some prior idea of what a Print on Demand copy would cost to be worthwhile for you. This is likely to be a very common request for the datacard sets. Wargame Vault have a card printing facility.

Congratulations on getting the set to a point where this is a necessary discussion. The game deserves a wider circulation.

Update:

For now I've decided to keep the ruleset available for free. I am however exploring the possibilities of starting a Patreon account to enable the community to support the game and game designer (me! yey).

One of the main concerns I have is that Naval Wargaming is still a real niche in the wargaming landscape. Keeping the ruleset freely available will enable Naval War players to easily recruit new players without to many hurdles. For the fans of the ruleset and those wanting to be more invested in it (also literally) the option of Patreon looks more promising. The best of both worlds so to say.

I think the main issue with the Patreon thing is that you then need to put out a regular, monthly, stream of content. Perhaps the way of wargame vault, a bit along the lines of what Rory Crabb did with his Naval Command, would be a better way to go IF you decide that a monthly stream isn't in the cards.

Naval Wargaming is still a real niche in the wargaming landscape. Keeping the ruleset freely available will enable Naval War players to easily recruit new players without to many hurdles.

The above is very true.