Answer the questions publishers actually ask.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What's your game called?

The working title is fine. Publishers expect it may change.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What do players do, and what are they trying to achieve?

What players do and what they're trying to achieve, in plain words. Many forms cap this at 250 to 600 characters, so keep a short version handy.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: How many players?

The range. Add a best count only if your rulebook states one. Some forms want min and max in separate boxes.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: How long does a game take, in minutes?

In minutes, as a range. If a form asks for the time at a set player count and you've only measured a range, say so rather than guessing.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What three things set your game apart, and which rule shows each one?

Three short claims, each backed by a rule. Start with the central mechanism. If your sell sheet has feature bullets, use those, cut down.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What's the youngest age you'd print on the box?

The youngest age you'd print on the box. Number-only boxes reject "10+": type 10.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: In one sentence, what's your central mechanism and what's different about it?

One sentence, under 200 characters, that names the central mechanism and what's different about it as a fact, not praise. It has to survive a 255-character box.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Which two or three mechanics are central to play?

Two or three, ranked by how central they are to play, not by how well known the label is. If a form's list lacks your central mechanism, pick Other rather than a minor one that's listed.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: How many times has it been played in all, how many in person, and how many online?

Keep total, in-person, and online plays as separate numbers, and never merge them to clear a publisher's minimum. Add how many groups and what changed.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What's the setting, in one sentence?

One sentence on the world and who the players are in it, with no mechanics. Only call the theme flexible if it has already survived a re-theme.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What's in the box, with counts?

Every component with its count (for example: 110 cards, 4 player boards, 60 wooden cubes).

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Who is it for, and what's its tone?

Who it's for, and its tone (family-friendly, dark humor, political...). Keep tone separate from complexity: a dark theme doesn't make a game heavier. If a form's list has no honest fit, pick Other and say what it is.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Which publisher is this for, why does the game fit their catalog, and which of their games do you admire?

Two halves: why the game fits their catalog, and why you admire their games. Tailor both for each publisher, and only say you've played a game of theirs if you have.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Do you have an online version that matches your current rules? Paste the link.

A Tabletop Simulator, Tabletopia, Screentop, or Board Game Arena link. Only share a build that matches your current rules: an old one is worse than none.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What happens on a turn (or in a round, if everyone acts at once)?

Walk through one turn: what a player chooses, what happens, and what changes. If players act at the same time or in rounds, explain a round instead and say so.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Who are you, in two or three sentences, as a designer?

Two or three sentences: who you are, what you design, anything relevant.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: What have you published, how was each made, and was a publisher involved?

Titles, how each was made (publisher, Kickstarter, print-on-demand), and BoardGameGeek links. Publishers define "published" differently: some count self-published, some only count a publisher.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Which moment in a round do you play for? Only describe reactions you've seen at the table.

The moment you play for. It can be two: a public one and a private one, in the order a round produces them. Only describe reactions you've actually seen.

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: Which published games is it closest to in structure, in tone, and in its core mechanism?

One published game each for structure, tone, and the core mechanism, with the reason for each, then one sentence on the difference. Say "usually", never "no other game does this".

Confidence 1: Designer only Only you can answer this: How many groups learned it from the rulebook alone, with you absent?

Groups who learned it from the rulebook alone, without you there. People you taught who now play without you don't count, and neither does play on a site that enforces the rules for them.