Embedded Files
Making a board game involves more phases than most designers expect and doing the wrong things at the wrong stage is one of the most common and expensive mistakes. This is the board game design framework I built while developing Station Decimus: eight phases from first idea to Kickstarter launch, covering prototyping, playtesting, art, manufacturing and marketing. Knowing which phase a game is in tells you exactly where to focus your time and what to ignore until later.
When I first started out making games I made a lot of mistakes. I wasted time on art that got cut. Money on prototypes I wasn't ready for. Those mistakes taught me more than any framework could, but having a framework now means I don't make those same mistakes again. Knowing how to make a board game efficiently, without wasting time on the wrong things at the wrong stage is something I wish I'd figured out earlier.
This isn't the only way to make a board game but it is the way that works for me. It's a set of phases a game moves through from first spark of an idea to something on someone's table. Knowing exactly which phase a game is in tells me where to focus my time and lets me easily limit how many games I have in each phase to stop me spreading myself too thin.
If you'd rather watch, the full video is here:
Self-Publish or Find a Publisher: The Decision That Changes Everything
Before the framework, there's one question worth answering as early as possible - why are you making a game? Most of the tips in here are assuming your end goal is a published game and not just something for you and your friends. The next important question; are you trying to self-publish, or are you looking for a publisher?
Everything you do after that changes depending on the answer. It doesn't have to be set in stone and with Station Decimus I assumed I'd self-publish for a long time without fully committing to it, and it was only after pitching to publishers at UKGE that I really cemented the decision. One publisher mentioned they'd probably want to change the art direction, and at that point I realised giving up creative control wasn't something I was prepared to do. The self-publishing journey had also given me things I genuinely enjoyed like my YouTube channel, blogs, and these articles which I wouldn't have had going the publisher route.
The earlier you make the decision the better, it's not essential but it will reduce the risk of you wasting time.
If you're seeking a publisher:
Marketing is largely their responsibility so a sizzle reel matters more than an email list
Convention attendance is about networking and meeting publishers, not getting potential backers
Investing in artwork risks wasting money if the publisher wants a different direction
Many of the phases below will be less relevant to you
If you're self-publishing:
Start building an audience and an email list as early as possible
Get some art done early, even if rough. Giving people an idea of what the game might look like can help a lot
Marketing is your responsibility, and starting early saves money later
Conventions are about getting your game in front of potential backers, not publishers
Phase 1: The Ideas Phase and How to Filter Board Game Ideas Worth Making
The ideas phase is less a phase and more of an ongoing process. The goal is to get an idea to a point where it seems worth investing time in.
At this stage I'm thinking about:
Theme - is it a sci-fi game on a space station, animals in a forest, something else entirely?
Mechanics - cards, dice, something else?
Style of game - high player interaction, solo puzzle?
I always start games with a theme and a single core mechanic. They need to match each other really well. Everything else spirals out from there.
My personal filter for an idea to make it to the next phase is for it to seem really fun in my head and excite me to make it. That bar matters because the first time any idea hits the table it's almost always worse than it was in your imagination. If it isn't exciting as a concept, it won't survive contact with reality. The bar also rises the more games I already have in progress so if I'm stretched across multiple projects, a new idea needs to be exceptional to justify starting it now rather than noting it down and coming back later.
Phase 2: Prove It - How to Test Whether Your Board Game Concept Actually Works
Having an idea that seems worth pursuing is different from knowing it works on the table. This phase is about getting the concept on the table and finding out.
The goal here isn't a polished game, it's just to verify the core idea is worth pursuing further. There will probably be mechanical issues and that's fine. The question is whether the core gameplay loop makes sense.
In this phase I usually:
Refine the concept and work out what mechanics actually look like in practice
Produce a first prototype, as quickly and easily as possible, I've covered different methods in my prototyping article
I do solo playtesting. This can be playing multi-handed against myself and is surprisingly useful for checking whether the core mechanics work even without testing player interaction
I write the rules down very roughly, it forces me to make blurry rules concrete and surfaces problems early
Playtest with friends in case the game hits a wall mid-session, and friends won't mind but I don't want to be wasting strangers' time
Connecting with designer communities like Playtest UK. Check out this article if you're planning convention playtesting.
Get quotes early from board game manufacturing companies, as the cost of making the game can influence design decisions, and finding out a component is expensive earlier rather than later saves any rework
A quick note on email collection, for self-publishing every playtest is an opportunity to get potential backers onto your list. People who've played your game, given feedback, and feel invested in its development are far more likely to back it. I wasn't good enough at this early on so by the time Station Decimus was mostly done I had 40 emails. That's what the 40 to 1000 series is my attempt to fix.
One common mistake here which I made myself, is jumping to a nicer prototype than you need. I spent money getting professional printed card that I cut out at home, and those cards are still uncut in a drawer because the rules changed before the copy ever made it to the table. Rough and ready is right for this phase.
Phase 3: Develop It - Taking Your Board Game From Rough to 90% Done
The develop it phase is all about taking a rough game with a proven concept and trying to get it 90% of the way there. The goal isn't to get it perfect, just to get it close to what you want the end product to be. The core gameplay loops and mechanics should be worked through properly here.
This is where I start introducing:
Placeholder art: it doesn't need to be good, just enough to give players a sense of the theme and direction. I once scrapped new art halfway through because I realised I was weeks from a playtest and the rules needed work more than the art did. The rules always take priority in this phase.
Basic graphic design: just enough to make components functional. The goal is removing barriers that bad graphic design creates, not achieving great graphic design.
A proper rulebook: again not needing to look pretty, but coherent enough for blind playtesters to pick it up and play without me being there. See my previous article on tips for blind playtesting and how it can be an effective marketing tool.
A print and play: it's a great marketing and playtesting tool at this stage. I've covered how to make a good one in a separate article.
More quotes: as the game changes, the manufacturing cost changes with it. Sometimes adding a few cards doesn't change the price at all, sometimes adding one component you thought was cheap skyrockets it.
The signal that it's time to move on for me is when feedback is becoming consistent. The same things keep coming up, nothing major and new is surfacing, and the components are unlikely to change significantly. If I'm looking at adding cards rather than replacing whole mechanics, I'm probably ready for the next phase.
Phase 4: Refine It - Art, Graphic Design and the Manufactured Prototype
The refine phase is about taking a well worked through, mechanically sound game and making it start to look like the finished thing.
The first big question here is art, will you commission it or do it yourself? Commissioned art can be expensive but will probably produce a better looking game. It also makes you less flexible, once you've paid for a piece of art, letting go of it when the game changes becomes harder. DIY art takes longer though and takes time away from the other activities. I went DIY with Station Decimus and it's slowed the process down, my own limited time to draw has been the bottleneck for getting to manufactured prototypes.
I also start investing some time (or money if not doing it yourself) in graphic design to be functional and attractive. Now is also the time to be looking at box art and all the information that needs to go on the box (player count, play time, age range). Component layout that players can read intuitively. How to play videos are something I'm currently working on for Station Decimus, they're a good marketing tool and are now pretty much expected for any board game Kickstarter.
Towards the end of this phase I'll be looking at the first manufactured prototypes. Holding a manufactured prototype is a real milestone for a game, finally seeing what it might actually look like and it's valuable for playtesting the final feel of the game.
Station Decimus is at this phase right now. The rules are solid but the extra work for DIY artwork is what's keeping me from the manufactured prototypes.
Phase 5: Market It - Building a Board Game Kickstarter Audience Before You Launch
This phase doesn't really come after phase 4, but the amount of effort I spend on marketing will only increase at this point. If you're self-publishing it's an ongoing activity throughout the whole process.
The bit some people don't realise with crowdfunding, is that you're the one who has to bring the crowd. The commonly cited numbers suggest Kickstarter will bring roughly two to three people for every five you bring yourself. You're doing most of the lifting.
Waiting until the game is finished to start marketing can be a costly mistake and one I made with Station Decimus. I'm focusing entirely on organic marketing, with no paid ads as the margins on a small card game don't support the cost of ads through to email to backers. This is another reason I should have been building that list from the very beginning.
My marketing approach is built around a content strategy I've gone into in detail in a separate article which focuses on BGG posts, YouTube videos, short-form social content and articles for SEO with them all aimed at being genuinely useful to people who might also be interested in my game. Alongside that, getting copies in front of blind playtesters, board game cafes, and reviewers. And conventions in the run-up to launch.
The 40 to 1000 series on this channel documents all of it in real time. Sign up to the email list and you'll get a monthly newsletter covering everything I'm doing to push the game forward, plus a free print and play of Station Decimus.
Phase 6: Launch It - Planning a Board Game Kickstarter Campaign
I'm not here yet with Station Decimus but I am starting to plan, which is worth doing well in advance.
Things to do early for this:
Get your Kickstarter page set up as soon as possible as there can be a delay between submitting for review and getting approved, even just as a pre-launch page
Plan what you'll do before, during and after the campaign. Launch events, how you'll contact followers, what you'll do to keep momentum in the first few days, how you'll manage the mid-campaign slump, and what you'll push hard on in the final days
Know your numbers: funding targets, backer goals, what success looks like
I have a lot of ideas for the launch phase. I haven't tested any of them yet. Watch this space.
Phase 7: Fulfil It — The Part I Know Least About
An honest admission here, this is the phase I know the least about. I've done research into fulfilment partners, freight costs and delivery, and I'm building a picture of what it all costs. But it's far enough away for Station Decimus that I haven't gone deep on it yet.
What I have done is get quotes though because knowing what fulfilment costs is essential to setting a Kickstarter funding target correctly. You need to know the cost per unit, the cost to ship, and therefore what you need to raise before you hit launch.
Phase 8: Retrospect - The Step Every Board Game Designer Should Build In
The final phase happens both at the end of a project and after each phase. It's simple, take stock of what worked, what didn't, what would I do differently, and how I can keep doing what went well.
Making a board game takes longer than you think, costs more than you think, and teaches you more than you think. A framework like this helps make sure you're working on the right things at the right time and a retrospect at each phase helps make sure the next one goes better than the last.
If you're interested in following my journey through these phases or trying the games I've been working on, sign up below.
Google Sites
Report abuse