How to Make a Board Game Print and Play: 10 Tips From Someone Who Got It Wrong First

How to make a board game print and play - 10 tips covering file structure, ink-saving design, hosting, versioning and how to avoid the mistakes I made when I first started creating print and plays of Station Decimus.

From cards that won't sleeve, to missing decks, I've definitely made some mistakes with print and plays. They can be a great way to get your game in front of people, wherever they are in the world, whether it's for playtesting, marketing or as the end goal for the game. I've been making Station Decimus for 4 years now and created the print and play to get the game in front of people ahead of my Kickstarter launch in 2027. I've tried to collate all the print and play tips, tricks and gotchas I picked up along the way as an indie board game designer figuring things out as I go. And if you also want tips on methods for crafting print and plays into table ready games check out my recent article on methods of prototyping.

If you'd rather watch there's a full video available here:

To see the tips in action you can get the free Station Decimus print and play here:

Why Make a Board Game Print and Play?

As I mentioned earlier there are loads of reasons to make a print and play. It's one of the easiest ways to get your game in front of people anywhere in the world, whether that's for playtesting where you'd otherwise rely on shipping physical copies around, one of the best board game marketing tools by letting people play the game before backing, or your final product without having to worry about all the complexities of manufacturing, shipping and fulfilment. I strongly believe in letting the game do the talking for my organic marketing campaign.

While I've tried to keep the advice in here useful for everyone, bear in mind what your end goal is when considering how important each tip is for you.

Tip 1: Make Your Board Game Print and Play Easy and Cheap for Players to Print

Even if your aim is to sell your print and play, it's worth considering if you'll provide a cost-effective version of the game for those without a colour printer, or those not wanting to use loads of ink - especially applicable for playtesting where the game is likely to be changed in the future. Sure you could rely on greyscale but it can end up using a lot of ink still and ink isn't cheap. Black and white line art can massively reduce the time and ink needed to print your game and increase the likelihood of people who aren't sure if the game will be worth it actually printing it out.

There's a nice side effect of this too - it forces you to think about how effective icons are without colour and also how accessible your game is for those with colour blindness. It makes sure whatever you do will still be understood by those who see colours differently.

Tip 2: Home Printing a Board Game Print and Play - What Works and What Doesn't

Paper is both incredibly versatile and often quite frustratingly weak. It's going to be the first port of call for pretty much everything you provide for your game. Most people won't want to have to rifle through their games to steal meeples for example, so think about whether a folded paper triangle could do the same thing.

As I said though, paper has its weaknesses too. Paper cards can be harder to draw from the top of, and hidden information doesn't always stay hidden on thin paper. There are solutions, like providing double width cards you fold in half to provide a back, but it adds to the time and cost of the person printing it. Card sleeves can help too, so try and keep your cards to standard sizes. If you want more tips for home printing games then check out my article on prototyping methods.

Tip 3: Board Game Print and Play File Structure - Naming, Layout and Formatting

As the person making the game it's easy to forget how confusing it is for someone looking at your files for the first time. File naming, structure and layout can really help ease the process for someone who's looking at a bundle of files and instructions and not knowing where to start. Good print and play design makes the construction process as painless as possible.

File Naming

A good first pointer around file layouts is to use meaningful names which the player is likely to understand, especially when they then start reading the rules.

Start Here Document

And while we're talking about filenames, I include a "Start Here" file detailing how to approach the game creation, what you'll need available and any other information useful to know before you even get near a printer. It also doesn't hurt to include a little reminder in here that printers can play tricks at times. Remember the settings you choose and keep them consistent between prints. I've printed a few cards to update Station Decimus previously and found my printer has decided to rescale everything and the cards were useless.

Per-Player Files

It's also worth considering if you can do anything to reduce the amount of printing by how you structure files. Station Decimus has 8 cards per player plus the shared decks. By splitting out those 8 cards into their own single file, I then let the reader know in my Start Here document they only need to print that file once per player and won't end up with cards only used at player counts they aren't using. Likewise I always keep the rules separate to any other files, since people may want to print multiple copies of them.

Print Formatting

A few points on print formatting - I much prefer trim marks in corners to full card borders. Once you've printed, trying to cut along a straight black line will make any angle or inconsistency really obvious. A little cross in each corner (which will disappear if corner punched) can make it look much nicer. Think about how close to the edges your files are since most printers can't print edge to edge - you don't want them being cut off or scaled down by the printer. The same goes for boards or large components - can you scale them down yourself, or if the size is essential can you cut them up into multiple A4 files?

Tip 4: No Card Backs in Your Print and Play? Here's How to Organise Your Decks

It's easy to forget how much we instinctively rely on card backs to organise a game. Unless you're providing double sided files, for twice the ink, your print and play won't have card backs. This can confuse the game, the printing, the setup - pretty much everything.

There are a few ways you can solve this. Icons on decks can be helpful, or if the card fronts are distinct enough just having a components page alongside your rules can be just as good. Even better if it includes the quantity of each type of card. In the Station Decimus rulebook I provide a picture showing the fronts of each card type, which deck they belong to and how many are in it - worth flagging anything unusual too, like a completely blank card which might otherwise end up in the bin.

Tip 5: Always Print Your Board Game Print and Play at Home Before Sharing It

If you only listen to one tip from all of these, let it be this one. You'll never know what you've missed, forgotten or done wrong until you try making the print and play yourself.

When making the Station Decimus print and play I realised I'd missed a whole deck of cards. This came about when I restructured to one file per player as I mentioned earlier. If I hadn't printed it and, importantly, played it, I never would have known. I'd have sent out an unplayable game.

Tip 6: Don't Share a Board Game Print and Play Until the Rules Are Ready

I mentioned earlier how incredible a print and play is for getting a game to people anywhere in the world. That means anyone can be playing it, with no input from you - no corrections on rules, no questions, just them and the game. If things are unclear they have no one to ask. If things are broken they'll probably never pick the game up again.

Even if you're using a print and play for playtesting make sure the rules are pretty much there and you're just tweaking and refining things - or you risk leaving a very bad taste in your playtesters' mouths and probably won't get any feedback from them. A bad first experience is hard to recover from.

Tip 7: How to Get More People to Download Your Board Game Print and Play - Offer a Demo

Asking someone to print, cut and prepare hundreds of cards for a game they know little about from a designer they've never heard of is a big ask. Station Decimus is over 160 cards. To lower the barrier to entry I created a demo version which cuts the cards down significantly but keeps the core feel of the game - it lets people get the idea and if they like it they can print the full game.

Even better if you can make a set of files to add on to the demo to turn it into the full game, so the effort so far isn't wasted. My demo is sent out alongside the full game on sign up - if you want to try it just put your email in below.

Tip 8: How to Get More Feedback on Your Board Game Print and Play

Getting feedback from people when you aren't there yourself can be tricky. When people do provide it they're doing you a huge favour so try and make it as easy as possible for them to. In my rules I include a brief note thanking people for taking the time to play the game, hoping they enjoy it and listing how to provide any feedback - I list email and social media so they can use whichever is easiest for them.

Feedback is usually easier if you ask something specific. If you ask something specific you're more likely to get an answer, although I'd limit it to a few questions.

Tip 9: Where to Host and Share Your Board Game Print and Play Files

Where you host your files might not seem like that big a decision but there are a few key considerations. I use Google Drive because I have access to it already and it's really simple for me to share files that way. It also means I can share the free board game print and play link via email sign-up. BGG lets you share your files but you won't be able to gate it behind an email sign-up effectively since people can find it there without signing up. You will however get organic BGG traffic over time. It's also worth considering Tabletop Simulator and Board Game Arena as digital hosting options - I've had publishers ask to see my game on Tabletop Simulator, so having files ready there can open unexpected doors.

Also think about how and where you might be advertising your print and play as different places have different rules which tie into your hosting choice. Some Facebook groups will gladly let you share a print and play which requires an email sign-up whereas others won't - always read the group rules before posting.

Tip 10: Version Your Board Game Print and Play Files to Track Feedback Accurately

You get some feedback about your game. You update the files to fix it. You get the same feedback again - is the problem still there, or are they still playing with the old files? Working that out can be tricky unless you've versioned your game. I put a version number in my files and ask which version was played whenever I get feedback.

I also have an email list which is how people get to the print and play in the first place, so I can easily let them know if a new version is out. I haven't had to do this yet but it's worth thinking about minimising effort between versions. If the next version adds 2 cards, just provide those new cards in a separate file. If it removes cards just let them know what to remove. Don't make them reprint the whole game every time.

Playtester or Backer - Who Is Your Board Game Print and Play For?

One thing worth considering throughout all of these tips is who your print and play is actually for. I mentioned earlier that it's important to know who you're making your print and play for and why. Depending on what you're doing with it the expectations can be very different. Playtesters are usually happy with rough art and minor ambiguities for example - potential backers will be less so.

My approach with Station Decimus is somewhere in the middle with a rough and ready print and play, but using my monthly newsletter to provide art updates and to give backers context for the final product.

Regardless of who you're aiming it at, be honest about construction time - if it takes two hours to build, say so. A frustrated builder is not in the right headspace to enjoy the game.

You've seen the tips I picked up making the Station Decimus print and play. If you want to try it for yourself and follow along with the development sign up for my email list!

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