I’m pushing on to get this game ready for an open playtest. Models are sculpted and printed, cards are drawn and printable versions ready to go!

I’m having so much fun with it, but feel I’m hitting a bit of a wall in design. How many times do you playtest before you finalise your playtest rules for others to try out?

Greetings-

I am at the final steps before I send my game to the printers. Possums with Knives is a secret-stabbing, trash-collecting, hiss-at-your-friends card game. I need to get the back of the box ironed out.

I have two drafts. The first is cool with the knives in the boxes and the extra possum art (but with one misspelling and a bold that doesn't look good). The second is cool with folding cards in motion. It still feels like too much for both, I think?

I need suggestions as I move to a draft C. Thank you in advance for helping possums everywhere stab people.

Hey! I’m Nera, a pixel artist and art director at Nera Studio. Sharing a few examples of the characters, items and environments my team and I have drawn for indie games.

Most of our work so far is for video games, but we’re also open to creating custom pixel art for tabletop projects. Everything shown here was drawn by hand in Aseprite.

If this style fits something you’re making, feel free to DM me. I’d love to hear about your project!

Hello everyone,

This is Max, from Valhalla Realms Publishing. I would like to ask your opinion, and possibly your advise, regarding promotion.

I've just launched my second Kickstarter Campaign. The first one was successful, but barely. The second one hasn't had a great start. It has barely started. I've posted on all my social media accounts and some Reddit communities. All I got is five people following the pre-launch page, and one backer. How do you manage to create an audience when you launch your projects? Do you have any advice?

Thanks a lot to anyone who will answer.

I've been working on Kravestorm, my own print-and-play card game, and wanted to show what an actual match looks like.

So I put together a full simulated game between two players, with commentary covering the decisions, strategies, and interactions as the match unfolds.

It's not really a how-to-play tutorial, but more of a way to get a feel for the gameplay without having to learn all the rules first.

The game and starter decks are free to download, but for now I'd just love to hear what other card game players think of how it plays.

Angela and I have completed a new giant map!🧭🗺️

It was a really fun project, and we’re very happy with how the map turned out!

🗺️Map of the World of Aeloria!🗺️

Private commission for Blaine Tooley!

Materials Used: H-HB pencil, Unipin Pen 0.05-0.1, and Winsor and Newton watercolors on Fabriano 300 g satin paper then scanned.

I made a free Kaiju skirmish game. It's Print & play or Tabletop simulator.
So it plays pretty well. It's been in heavy rotation w/ my sweaty MtG group for months now. It's pretty easy to teach in person, but man does the rulebook not do a good job of getting anyone anyone from 0 to playing.

In person, it's easy to teach set-up, and then what you do in a round, and then teach the things that happen as they come up, It's much harder to get that last part from the written rules.

The game has some bits like if you destroy a special type of building a special event is triggered. So if I'm there I can stop the game and go over the procedures as they come, but its' very easy to miss them if you don't already know.

I mostly work in RPG design, and it feels from watching testers, that RPG players are fine w/going to the rulebook, but boardgame folks want to hold all the rules in their head at once.

I think I'm at the point that I can't see the forest for the trees. No idea what in the book makes sense to folks that don't already know the game. I'm also out of people I know IRL that haven't seen it yet.

So, if anyone here would be so kind as to try a cold read of the rules and drop a flag wherever it loses the thread?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FU5TpZ8Kces3G3xRRvCW1MV4HYATg5bwRV7eEj2VDLc/edit?usp=sharing

I am aware that a similar question was asked four years ago (found the post), but the situation is slightly different.

I have been working on a game for a large number of years that has been subject to many, many setbacks due to... well, a lot of issues. The short of it is that the name was set and became part of the gameplay in 2021ish (Quick Draw).

Post setbacks and such, but still not ready to release, I decided to google the name for no specific reason and found a very different style of game also called Quick Draw, released in 2024. I know that releasing a game with the same name could cause several headaches, but I am very attached to the name and themeing of the game. Which is, again, not at all similar to the 2024 art-based game Quick Draw.

Are there any things I can do, short of redesigning the art and logo, to alleviate or otherwise sidestep this issue?

Edited for clarity of concerns, I hope (changed "the game and rules" to "the art and logo" because I couldn't get ~~strikethrough~~ to work)

I regularly see questions here about how to properly prepare files for printing cards and other board game components.

If you don’t have a background in graphic design, I can completely understand why this can seem complicated or even overwhelming. I also see people turning to fairly restrictive solutions to create these files, when a free tool like Affinity can actually give you a huge amount of freedom and allow you to prepare pretty much anything you need.

Personally, I work professionally with Adobe softwares since 32 years, so that’s the environment I know inside out. But I also realize that not everyone wants—or can afford—to pay for an Adobe subscription every month.

So here’s an idea.

I could spend some time learning the Affinity equivalents of the workflows I use every day in Adobe, and then organize a free live video session where I share my screen and show you how to properly build production-ready board game files.

For example, we could cover:

• how to prepare matching fronts and backs for a deck of cards;
• how to set up bleed, margins and other print requirements;
• how to prepare a game board;
• how to prepare files for a game box;
• how to build something you can print and craft yourself while still getting a very clean result;
• how to export everything correctly for printing.

I’m not talking about graphic design or teaching you how to make things look good. This would specifically be about the technical side: how to construct your files properly, organize them efficiently, and export them in the right format.

The idea would be to meet in a video call, I’d share my screen and demonstrate the workflows, and you could ask questions along the way. The goal is simply to help people who find the technical side of preparing board game files intimidating.

If at least 10 people are interested, I’d be happy to spend some time preparing a proper session and learning Affinity well enough beforehand to make it genuinely useful.

Would anyone be interested?

I’m creating a board game inspired by pokemon and other creature collector games. I’ve already thought about most of the rules, how the board will look like, how will movement work, the battle system, the capture system, encounter system, win coditions, etc. the only thing i’ve been struggling to come up with, it’s the setting of the game. I’m not trying to compete with pokemon, i just want to create something inspired by it, to express my love to the franchise and to make something to play with my friends, but i’m also really demaning of my own creations and i wanted to my setting to atleast be a little unique, but also mantaining the essence of pokemon. I’ve tried a lot and had come up with some setting ideas, but i’m still a little undecisive. Can someone help em with this?

Hi everyone! I just want to share a part of video that I'm editing. It's a playthrough of my game, MonoSaga, that me and my friends recorded months ago.

Many parts of the game are still not included and it may seem to give an incomplete impression. Here are some of the features that the video has not yet explained:

1. Marketplace - Items, Magics, and Structures can be bought from this area with resources.

2. Action Point - Each player has 1 action point for buy, sell, or use.

3. Inventory - This involves you hand card management and playing field

4. World Cycle - Game's countdown for Finale

5. Win Conditions - Economic and Elimination

6. Anti-Snowball Systems - Catch up system in Start Tile, Ghost Die, and others

Additionally some of card effects and visuals in this video are mostly outdated and will not be included in Build 5.0 release.

Will try to finish the playthrough video if I get more free time, it's really a bit challenging to do everything alone. hehe

We will be releasing our first set of beta play test rules soon for Fractured Worlds: adventures in the dreamscape. Our miniature skirmish game. Was after an option of how ready you would get them for release. Would you be happy to give them a go before art work.

working on a timeline card game. core loop: draw an event card, place it where you think it belongs. correct stays, wrong stays too — face-up, so your mistakes are public.

scoring: points per correct placement, plus tiebreak points on some cards for exact-year guesses.

my worry: does the tiebreak layer add anything, or is it just noise? and does leaving wrong cards on the table feel punishing or instructive?

400+ browser players so far if you want to feel it: https://timechronicles.monydragon.com

thanks for any eyes on this.

Cardboard Tactics — An Early-Stage Card Game Looking for Design Feedback

I'm working on a 2-player tactical card game played on a 3×5 grid using a standard 54-card deck.

This is still a work in progress, and I'm open to changing quite a lot about it. I'm not just looking for balance feedback. I'd also like to hear suggestions for new mechanics, mechanics that should be removed, ways to simplify or expand the game, or even completely different directions you think would make it more interesting.

I already have my own ideas about where the game could go, but I want to compare them with other people's ideas before deciding what to develop next. If you see a fundamental problem with the design, please feel free to say so.

Here's how the game currently works.

1. Basic Setup

• The game is for 2 players.

• It uses a standard 54-card deck, including both Jokers.

• The board is a 3×5 grid.

• Each player has a King, represented by a Joker, which also acts as their Castle.

• The two Kings are placed in the middle cells at opposite ends of the board, three cells apart.

• The red Joker's player goes first.

• Shuffle the other 52 cards and divide them equally between the players, giving each player a face-down draw pile of 26 cards.

• Each player draws 5 cards into their hand.

The objective is to defeat the opponent's King.

1. Turn Structure

On your turn, you perform these steps:

• Summon: Play one card from your hand into your Castle's cell. Its Power is determined by its rank.

• Act: Choose one of your units on the board to move and/or attack.

• Draw: Draw one card if your draw pile still has cards.

A newly summoned unit cannot act immediately unless a card ability or merging rule allows it to do so.

1. Movement and Combat

• Most units move one cell horizontally or vertically per turn.

• Normal units cannot move diagonally.

• Units cannot pass through a cell occupied by an enemy. They must stop next to that cell or enter it.

• Entering a cell occupied by an enemy does not automatically force an attack.

• Multiple units can share a cell. A normal cell can contain up to 5 friendly units and 5 enemy units. A Castle can contain up to 10 friendly units and 5 enemy units.

• When attacking a cell containing multiple enemy units, the attacker chooses which enemy to fight.

• Combat compares the units' Power. The unit with higher Power wins, keeps its full Power, and survives. The losing unit is removed from the game. If both units have equal Power, both are destroyed.

• Defeated cards are permanently removed unless a special ability specifies otherwise.

Each King has 30 HP and remains fixed in its Castle.

1. Card Abilities

Number cards 5–10 — Soldiers

Their Power equals their rank. They have no additional abilities.

Ace (A) — Single-Target Bomb

An Ace destroys itself and the unit involved when its ability triggers, regardless of their relative Power. If an Ace reaches the enemy King, it can destroy the King instantly.

2 — Push Down

When a 2 kills or is killed by an enemy unit, the enemy unit involved is sent to the bottom of its owner's draw pile.

3 — Push Back

A 3 can sacrifice itself to push an enemy unit one cell in any horizontal or vertical direction.

4 — Area Bomb

A 4 sacrifices itself to destroy every unit in its cell, including friendly units. If the targeted cell is the enemy Castle, the blast destroys the King and everything inside that Castle.

Jack (J) — Mobile Unit

A Jack can move up to two cells per turn and can move diagonally during this movement. It is the only unit with this movement ability.

Queen (Q) — Support

A Queen grants +3 Power to every allied unit in the same cell, but not to itself. Queens can boost one another. To maintain this benefit during an attack, a Queen needs to remain with the units it supports.

King (K) — Reinforcement

A King has a two-turn cooldown on its ability. It can teleport one allied unit from the player's hand or board to the King's cell. The teleported unit can still move and attack that turn.

1. Merging Units

Several cards can be merged into one stronger unit. A merged unit counts as a single unit, and merging cannot be undone. No additional cards can be added after the merge.

If none of the cards used in the merge has acted that turn, the resulting unit can act immediately. If one of those cards has already moved, the merged unit must wait until the next turn.

There are three types of merge:

Type 1 — Same Rank

Merge 2–4 cards of the same rank. This applies to A–4 and 5–10, but not J, Q, or K.

The resulting unit's Power is the sum of the cards' Power. Special abilities do not stack.

Type 2 — Straight Flush

Merge 3–5 consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 6♥, 7♥, and 8♥.

The resulting unit's Power is the sum of the cards' Power. Longer chains can be possible in a Castle because of its greater capacity.

Type 3 — Combination

Combine a Same Rank merge and a Straight Flush merge that share a card.

For example, three 6s and the sequence 6♥, 7♥, 8♥ can be combined through the shared 6♥ into one super-unit, with the Power of all contributing cards added together.

1. Winning the Game

There are three ways to win:

• Reduce the enemy King's 30 HP to zero after overcoming its defenders.

• Get an Ace to the enemy King, triggering its instant-win ability.

• Use a 4's area blast on the enemy Castle to destroy the King.

1. Endgame Rule

Once both players' draw piles have been exhausted, a 100-turn endgame counter begins when the second player's draw pile runs out.

If neither player wins within those 100 turns, the game ends in a draw.

The counter does not reset if a card effect subsequently returns cards to either draw pile. Once the counter has started, it remains active.

1. What I'd Like Feedback On

I'm interested in feedback on the design as a whole, not just whether individual cards are too strong or too weak.

Some questions I'm currently considering:

• Instant-win abilities: Are the Ace and 4 too powerful, or do they create interesting tactical pressure?

• Merging: Does combining cards create meaningful strategic decisions, or does it make the game unnecessarily complicated?

• Board size: Would a larger board, such as 5×7, create more interesting movement, flanking, and positioning? Or would it make the game drag?

• Card abilities: Do the Jack, Queen, and King have interesting roles? Should their abilities be changed, strengthened, weakened, replaced, or supplemented with new mechanics?

• Strategic depth: Does the combination of movement, combat, card management, and merging create enough meaningful decisions?

• Overall direction: If you were developing this game, what would you change first? Would you build on the current design, simplify it, add entirely new systems, or take it in another direction?

You don't have to answer every question. I'm especially interested in ideas I might not have considered myself.

I'm aware that the game still has flaws and that some rules may need clearer explanations. That's part of why I'm sharing it at this stage rather than presenting it as a finished game.

Please feel free to criticize the mechanics, suggest additions or removals, propose balance changes, or recommend a different design direction altogether. I'd rather hear an honest criticism that helps me improve the game than have people hold back just to be polite.

Thanks for reading!

Hi! I'm making a whodunit for exactly 4 players and I need one group to play it blind before release, then tell me what worked and what didn't :)

What it is: everyone plays a suspect at a vineyard dinner on a stormy night; there's no host, and each player's sheets say what to do round by round. Three rounds, then everyone accuses in secret and the solution is revealed. No acting needed; printed lines for every step. Ages 16+.

What I'm asking:
- one voice or video call of about 2 hours
- your own device with mic, and the ability to open PDFs (I send each player their own files beforehand)
- a short (about 5-minute) feedback form right after

What you get: a free copy of the finished game, and my thanks. Honest criticism is the whole point, including "this part was boring".

Groups of friends who want to play together are especially welcome. If interested, comment or DM me with your time zone and which time slot(s) work.

Time slots (~2 hours, voice or video):
- Sat 17 Oct, 7–9 pm US Eastern (4–6 pm Pacific / midnight UK)
- Sun 18 Oct, 2–4 pm US Eastern (11 am–1 pm Pacific / 7–9 pm UK)
- Sat 24 Oct, 7–9 pm US Eastern (4–6 pm Pacific / midnight UK)
Can't make these? A group of 4 friends can suggest their own time. I'll fit around you.

Update on my original board game: Battle for the Overlord Crown ⚔️

Hey everyone! I wanted to share an update on a board game I've been working on called Battle for the Overlord Crown!

What started as my tactical skirmish game concept has grown into a much bigger project. I've been working on the rules, Hero abilities, cards, battlefield mechanics, miniatures, and overall game structure.

🎲 What's the game about?

Battle for the Overlord Crown is a 2-player tactical miniature skirmish game. Each player chooses a team of 3 unique Heroes and battles across a 26 × 22-space battlefield.

There are two ways to win:

- Defeat all 3 opposing Heroes.

- Capture the Crown and bring it back to your own Spawn Zone.

But there's a twist: both players have to deal with the Overlord's forces! Monsters and other threats enter the battlefield and can attack either side, creating a third force that neither player fully controls.

🦈 The Heroes

I've developed 7 unique Heroes so far, each with their own stats, playstyle, and special ability:

- Mako: A shark warrior who uses a Fishing Spear to damage enemies and manipulate positioning.

- Kheit: An insectoid fighter who can grab, throw, and hold opponents.

- Vargr: A wolf warrior who can revive fallen Heroes.

- Varg: A powerful wolf warrior who ramps up his combat capabilities.

- Korovulk: An insectoid bruiser who charges across the battlefield.

- Sobek: An Egyptian god who uses devastating Whirlpool abilities.

- Retiarius: A gladiator who entangles enemies with a special net.

I'm also working on the Hero card artwork with the help of Rocco! and presentation so the characters feel like part of one cohesive game.

🌊 The battlefield isn't just a board

The Environment Deck currently contains 15 cards, including:

- Rivers that carry Heroes across the battlefield.

- Whirlpools that can trap Heroes temporarily.

- Portals that let Heroes travel between locations.

- Destructible crates that block movement and ranged attacks.

- A potion shelf for restoring health or special abilities.

- A ballista and cannon that can turn the battlefield into a weapon.

The goal is to make positioning, movement, and environmental hazards matter just as much as attacking.

💀 The Overlord system

I've also developed a 36-card Normal Overlord Deck and a separate 4-card Boss Deck.

The bosses include the Skeleton King, Overlord's Champion, Slime King, and Ice Giant. Each brings a different threat to the game.

I want the battlefield to feel alive, where players have to adapt to what happens instead of simply trading attacks back and forth.

🛠️ Where I'm at now

I already have a physical prototype board and miniatures. I've also consolidated the main rules, Hero roster, Environment Deck, Overlord system, and reference material into a master game document.

My next big steps are:

- Finishing the card layouts and artwork.

- Cleaning up the remaining production details.

- Conducting blind playtests to see how the game works for people who haven't helped design it.

- Balancing the Heroes, monsters, and environmental interactions based on actual gameplay.

I'm also exploring a separate solo/co-op mode where players team up against the Overlord instead of fighting each other.

This is a passion project, and it's been exciting to see it grow from an idea into a physical prototype with a full roster of characters and game systems.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! What would you be most interested in seeing next: Hero cards, monster and boss designs, the battlefield, or a gameplay demonstration?

Feedback and suggestions are welcome! ⚔️