Howdy. I have a boardgame called “Seventh Street” that I’ve developed. It’s kind of a complicated project but the best way to describe it is that it’s a real-estate trading game with elements of deduction and deception. (If it helps, think of it as Monopoly with incomplete information and without the death spiral and player elimination)
Point is, I think it could work as a product. I just don’t know how to turn it from a bunch of PDFs that you print on cardstock into a product, nor do I really know what I need to do to refine it, and what to look for in playtesting.
Does anyone have experience kickstarting a board game and have any advice?
No experience here, but I know someone who did turn a game into a moderately successful game. What helped him were the local industry veterans who saw his product and game him the connections and backing. So I think to start with, you should see if there are any publishers or popular boardgames shops in your area who are willing to take you under the wing.
Also you might want to speak to a lawyer about copyright-related stuff to see what IP you can secure too.