Not that long ago, my wife and I submitted a game concept to Out of the Box Publishing, the masterminds behind the mega-hit Apples to Apples and many other enjoyable games, for consideration as an actual product. Although our idea was politely turned down, Max Osterhaus, their Director of Product Development, is very open to reviewing externally submitted inventions personally, and we learned a few things in the process.
If you're a game inventor, keep in mind a few rules of thumb when publicizing your ideas:
1.) Follow individual companies' submission guidelines -- In the case of Out of the Box, they have a three-stage consideration process and will only look at a concept before requesting more. In other cases, at least inquire first, and send rules and/or prototypes only upon request and in the formats desired.
2.) Get an idea of what companies produce what -- A complicated, super-detailed game is not as likely to be bought by a company that focuses on simple, famly-friendly fare, and vice versa.
3.) Test the heck out of the game first, and with neutral parties -- Your friends and family already want to like your games, so they'll be biased. If they're the only people you get input from, you won't truly identify the weaknesses in your game, and you'll end up submitting something that might be fun, but not truly well-polished.
4.) Keep in mind the odds are difficult to overcome -- Not many new games are published each year. Even Out of the Box is only planning upon releasing four to six products each year, out of hundreds of submissions they receive. Even published games may sell only a few hundred copies. But, you can do it if you keep trying, and the pride an inventor gets from seeing their game on the shelf has no price!
Have fun, and never lose that competitive spirit!
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