
Ask HN: So I want to create an adaptation - qmarchi
My friend and I are working on a digital adaptation of a board game, with the hope and dream that it will one day be a nice source of side income.<p>However, this board game is quite unique and we want to engage with the IP owners for their consent.<p>We&#x27;ve come up with some questions that would be pretty universal with others who have some similar dream:<p>* When should we reach out to the IP owners?<p>* How should we engage? With an attorney or just firing off an email?<p>* How does profit sharing work in situations like this?<p>I can&#x27;t think of any extras right now, but I&#x27;m sure discussion will spark some more.<p>So, does anybody have suggestions on how to answer these?
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teyc
The design and characters are copyrighted but my understanding is game
mechanics are not.

If you want to reach out to IP owners, you should have a clear understanding
of why you are doing it, because now you have another cook in the kitchen, so-
to-speak. If you are planning to recreate the game digitally with same
characters and mechanics, then I can understand why. If you are planning to
use the characters in a new game, I can also understand why.

But if you want to just copy the game mechanics but alter the characters, it
is permitted - everybody understands that game mechanics is free to be copied.

