Tips for knowing when to give up on a game design or persevere with it (video):
What impact will high U.S. import taxes on China have on the tabletop industry? What are publishers doing in response? And what will it all mean for board game designers?
To find out, we at Cardboard Edison reached out to U.S. publishers, and we’ve compiled their responses into a new industry report:
The Cost of Cardboard: How Tariffs Will Impact Board Game Publishers and Designers
Taken together, their comments signal a dramatic shift in how board game publishers will operate under high tariffs—and a correspondingly altered landscape for game designers.
Check out the full report here:
Tips for new board game designers, especially any who are hesitating about making their first game:
https://bsky.app/profile/drayerink.bsky.social/post/3lm5qzmi7gk2y
How dedicated “thinking time” can benefit your game design efforts:
https://www.charliecleveland.com/thinking-time-for-game-design/
Thoughts on player agency and how the limits of that control are the very essence of what it means to play a game:
https://lestmyopinions.com/2025/04/06/the-limits-of-control-2/
Four things you can do to increase your online visibility as a board game designer:
https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2025/04/05/you-are-who-google-says-you-are/
Tips for pitching your game to publishers, gathered from a series of public pitches at this year’s Unpub:
https://www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/how-to-pitch-your-game
A short thread about how players’ game-purchasing decisions are often made, and why you’re actually designing for a group, not an individual:
https://bsky.app/profile/nickbentley.bsky.social/post/3lla6jphwdk2o
A short thread about asking playtesters “How would you describe this game to a friend?” and the useful information it can get you:
https://bsky.app/profile/drayerink.bsky.social/post/3llb7a6fios2c
How best to run a playtest? Here’s a thread making the case for why you should facilitate your playtests like a well-run meeting:
https://bsky.app/profile/drayerink.bsky.social/post/3llbzosz5m22c
The board game creation tool Tabletop Creator is running a monthly contest for designers who use and post about it online:
https://tabletop-creator.com/board-game-contest/
Monthly winners get a free prototype, and the overall winner at year’s end gets a “full production.” We asked for some additional details about that last part, and here’s what they said:
- What does "full production" of the winning game mean?
It means we’ll professionally produce the winning game (annual) not just a prototype, but a small print run made with real board game manufacturing standards. It won’t be a mass-market release, but it will be a high-quality version similar to what publishers use for promotion or early distribution.
- Will you print a certain number of copies? How is shipping (and its cost) handled?
Yes, we’ll produce a professional print run. The exact number of copies hasn’t been finalized yet it will depend on logistics and the specific needs of the final game.
Shipping is fully covered by us, and the winner will receive the final product directly, regardless of where they are in the world.
- Can the designer do whatever they want with the final product, or does Tabletop Creator retain any rights?
The designer keeps full ownership and intellectual property rights to their game. Tabletop Creator does not retain any rights over the game itself.