This made me laugh a lot...

Well, since Space Cadets is clearly a multimillion dollar franchise, I am issuing a Cease and Desist on behalf of Star Trek Holdings and Enterprises, INC LLC regarding Mr. Engelstein's depiction of the "USS Reluctant", which bears a striking resemblance to the USS Defiant. I will hold a percentage of any "go away lawyers" payment in escrow for the Star Trek company since there is potential marketplace confusion. A small stipend to be awarded to Cpt. Benjamin Sisko as there are potential damages to the captain's reputation given that the game depicts the ship in question as being under frequently incompetent or even abusive leadership.

I will be PMing my Paypal address so that we can clear up this ugly matter with expedience.

Michael Barnes
The Law Offices of Michael Barnes

I think the sales multiplier would have been significant, as the established fanbase for Trek and Trek: NG is a couple orders of magnitude higher than Space Cadets. You would have had people buying because they're Trek fans and would have had people buying for Trek fans. The very mild drawback is opening yourself up for criticism of "cashing in on a license" like the post that started this thread and alienating the much smaller group of people who would avoid the game because they believe it's simply a pasted on "Star Trek" product. In this case, the fans of a successful game like Cadets are probably more likely to pursue something with that name in the same manner as Trek fans. There's a line of diminishing returns in there somewhere vis-a-vis fan following/license attachment.

No doubt putting Star Trek on that box would make a huge difference. Of course I imagine the cost of the license would have been large as well. But if Whiz Kids can swing it, I wonder why Stronghold couldn't.

As to Space Cadets being the biggest selling title, I may have been drunk...ok it was WBC so I WAS drunk when I heard it. Maybe it was in reference to original games rather than a reprint? Or maybe I was just wrong.

Sales multiplier would have been absolutely huge. Revenues would have been much, much higher. Does that mean the money you saw would have been higher for the designer? Probably, but it's possible no... that Star Trek license probably takes a huge cut of the revenue.

but is the license a fixed cost or variable?

I'm sure there is data available on Trek Catan. See what happened there for some guidance and remember that you have two established franchises working together on that one.

^good question, I won't pretend to know anything about the business of licensing.

I'll hold out for Space Cadets: Das Kartenspiel, thanks

It may not be the be the best selling but the Space Cadets games are apparently the fastest-selling for Stronghold and that's pretty great too. From S. Buonocore himself answering in a BGG thread:

So, I look out the window to the several inches of snow that has fallen overnight, and I sigh... I pour my first cup of coffee, and sit down to read some BGG stuff, and...

WOW! Here is one interesting and lively discussion!

First of all, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I am ok with a segment of gamers not liking Space Cadets or Space Cadets: Dice Duel. No game, not a single game, is for everyone.

But the appeal of these games is real. Space Cadets (the original) was my fastest selling game of all time, and I sold through the not-insignificantly-sized print run in about 8 weeks, and had to reprint quickly.

Space Cadets: Dice Duel is on course to be even faster selling, and have even more appeal, as the game is shorter, faster, and more intense by its design. [The game plays on average in 20-30 minutes, not 5-10 minutes.]

And, for those who don't have a deep experience with Space Cadets: Dice Duel, I can tell you *categorically* that a team that is experienced and works together well will beat a "lucky" team every every time! So, dice-luck does not come into play in a large way with this game, once you know how to play it well.

Some of the critcisms in this thread, BTW, are hilarious

boardgamegeek.com/thread/1086782/a-dice-game-gone-wrong

its a shame. The attitude in that thread really kills bgg as a website. You can get elements of a good community in some threads, but then just read any thread on poker and read all the tards wading to explain why its a completely random game with no strategy or merit and anyone who says otherwise must have a low IQ.

engelstein wrote: We actually sold out to Al and Dan for a bottle of cheap tequila.

Cheap? CHEAP?!?! That stuff was imported! "Hecho en Mexico", baby!