The Board Game Design Course

*This article has been updated from a previous post to include some thoughts on digital platforms for creating your minimum viable prototype.

You have the best idea for a game. You can see the entire thing playing out in your head and you know it’s going to be perfect.

But then, you realize that one part of it won’t work. It’s going to drag on. It won’t be any fun. There’s no way those two mechanics will go together.

You keep second-guessing yourself.

Weeks pass, and you’ve never actually even played your game. You’ve only played it out in your head.

The problem is until you actually make some sort of prototype and try it out, your idea will remain just that… an idea.

You need to take action to get that idea out of your head, and I’m going to show you how, including what it means to do this digitally.

MVP (minimum viable prototype/product)

The easiest way to get going is to create a minimum viable prototype (MVP).

This means that rather than create the entire game you have in your head, which may consist of hundreds of cards with distinctive art, an elaborate board, and dozens of different components, you start with the minimal game you need to just get started.

What you’re doing is testing a concept. That means you don’t need to have everything fully in place.

The problem is, if you wait until you have everything you need and your game is absolutely perfect before you test it, you’ll never get your game to the table.

Don’t let perfection get in the way of what could be a really great game.

Create a minimal number of cards, a simple board, and grab whatever components you need from around the house, and let’s get this to the table fast!

Tools and components you can use

When you’re creating your MVP, use what you have available to you. Don’t worry about going to the store or ordering special components online to get it just right.

You probably have a computer, hopefully also a printer, along with paper, scissors, pens, and pencils. This is all you need to get started.

You can make some simple cards from paper, card stock, blank playing cards, or index cards if you have these.

As a gamer, you probably have plenty of games on your shelf as well. Borrow whatever meeples, cubes, dice, tokens, money, or anything else you may need. You can always put these back in the original game box later.

Another great option is to create a digital prototype of your game. This can be done on one of many platforms, including but not limited to:

• Tabletop Simulator (TTS)
• Tabletopia
• Screentop.gg

This will allow you to create and iterate quickly, without the need to reprint, cut, sleeve and order or find special components. You might actually save some time and money once you get a good understanding of the game creation process on any of these platforms.

Begin by locating components you need, such as dice, meeples, money, etc. and start playing around with the idea. It’s very quick and easy to switch out components and try new things because there is so much available for you here.

Get with the program

While you can definitely create cards and other components by hand, there’s something to be said about being able to make multiple changes quickly. This is where computer software can help you create and make iterations to cards and other components quickly.

Rather than changing the value and actions on multiple cards by hand, you can set things up to make one change that will be reflected throughout your entire deck.

There are plenty of computer programs you can use to create cards, tokens, boards, etc.

You can use any of the following programs to create most of what you need:

• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Canva
• InDesign
• Photoshop
• Nandeck
• Component Studio
• Various others

There is not necessarily a “best” program. However, you could say that the best program for you right now is the one you’ll use.

You can always learn Nandeck or InDesign another time. These programs will likely save you time down the road, but if all you know right now is PowerPoint, stick to this for now.

In the case of one of the digital platforms that I mentioned earlier, you can find many generic components already available within the program. For others, you’ll need to learn a bit more about the interface and how to create boards, cards, etc. using their templates to upload them to the platform. Search for templates, create a simple version of what you need, and keep going!

Each program will be a little different, so get to know the requirements on the platform you’ve chosen.

Keep it simple

Don’t overcomplicate things. I can’t stress this enough.

Delaying the creation of your MVP because you don’t have the perfect wooden rutabagas or image of a sorcerer is just procrastination. These things are not needed to test your concept, which is all you’re doing at the stage.

What you’re trying to do is see if there is something fun and engaging about your idea to let you know whether it’s worth developing further. Imagine spending countless hours trying to put together the perfect prototype just to find out the idea is terrible. It will never work.

Now imagine you’d spent 10 minutes to create a simple prototype to get this same information. This would allow you to make some quick changes to see if the game can work another way or decide to move on to your next idea quickly.

Take action

It’s time to take that idea that’s in your head and turn it into something you can play around with. Make the simplest prototype you can and get this to the table quickly.

Try to spend no more than 10-20 minutes creating this MVP.

If you’re using one of the digital platforms, try navigating around and finding the simplest components to test your idea before doing anything elaborate.

In the next article, I’ll show you how to test your MVP by yourself to avoid the embarrassment of finding out the game doesn’t work at all before you show it to anyone else.

What do you struggle with when it comes to creating your prototype?

Did you know you can download my 10 Minute Board Game Design Blueprint for free? It’s the fastest way to get your game started and stay focused on your end goal.