Help making board game

If it's innovative enough, they may get back to you with an offer. Parker Brothers, for instance, specializes in turn-based, family-friendly games, whereas companies like Games Workshop and Arcane Wonders tend to put out titles with more emphasis on complex strategy and customization. Game developers don't have time to look at each and every submission in depth, so it's important that you send them a prototype that's fully functional. Part 4. Cut out a durable game board. Plot out the specific dimensions you want your board to have, then trim your backing material using a utility knife and straight edge.

You can then draw or paint on designs related to the game's theme. If you want your board to close with a professional quarter fold, use a utility knife and ruler to cut a slit from the center straight to the outer edge and fold the board into 4 distinct squares around the centerpoint.

Stiff cardboard or composite board will be sturdy enough to hold up under hours of play. A sheet of vinyl backing also known as "contact paper" is another good choice.

If you've got some graphic design expertise, use an illustrator program to create a design for your game board. Print the design on sticker paper, then transfer it to the board for a cleaner, more professional look. Write out a rule sheet.

Provide players with detailed instructions on how to play your game. Walk them through the process step-by-step, from the first dice roll to the last card draw. Explain all the major pieces, card types, and board zones, as well as any special circumstances under which the rules might change.

This is a good chance to see the game's mechanics laid out in front of you and review for inconsistencies before you first play-through. Fashion game pieces from ordinary objects. When putting together your first prototype, you can use just about anything to stand in for player pieces and other components, from clothing buttons to toys to other miscellaneous knickknacks. Draw upon many different objects to serve the different functions needed to play your game.

Once you have a wide assortment, organize the various pieces by material so there will be some consistency to them. Make sure your accessories are just the right size for the game board.

If they're too big, they may look disproportionate. If they're too small, they'll be hard to keep up with and may be easily lost. Try buying and painting small figurines to create detailed, one-of-a-kind game pieces. Draw playing cards by hand. Cut sheets of heavy card stock into squares and trace your designs onto both faces.

Alternatively, you can pick up a pack of small-sized index cards and do your doodling on the unlined back face. Use permanent inks so your artwork doesn't run or smudge easily. One you've got your cards looking the way you want them, run them through a lamination machine.

This will help safeguard them from tears, spills, and other accidents while lending them a sleek finish. Package your prototype. Track down a clothing box of a similar size and stash your mockup materials inside. That way, you'll be able to keep everything together and protected when you're transporting it from place to place.

Display the title of the game proudly on the box. A few original illustrations will also add a bit of DIY flair, if you're the artistic type. Assuming you're not as concerned with appearances, you could also invest in a compartmentalized carrying case to keep the game board, cards, player pieces, and other accessories neatly organized.

Use paper or Styrofoam. Cardstock works as well. The point is to have a solid board that doesn't rip or get damaged easily. Yes No. Not Helpful 7 Helpful Do an online search for "board game companies. Go to a website to find contact information.

Not Helpful 10 Helpful James Johnson. The most popular way to make a board game is by using the proper types of material. For instance, use an old, clean pizza box or something else with thick cardboard for the game board. Cardstock or blank flash cards can be used for the game's cards. You can even do all this via Word documents. Not Helpful 5 Helpful 6. You can buy them at certain retail stores, such as Target or Walmart.

Or at arts and crafts stores, such as Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 9. I am making a game about photographing wild animals. But I cannot think of a name. Any help? You could call it something short, something photography-related like "SnapShot". Or, you could call it "Photo Safari", it's up to you! Article Summary. Part 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.

Write down your ideas. You never know when the perfect inspiration is going to hit. You may find that combining two different ideas makes a neat new game concept. Keep a log of ideas in a notebook, on your computer, or in a note taking app on your phone. Playing games might spark the perfect idea for your own game.

Develop your game with a theme. Complex wargames have conflicts, player politics, and game piece placement strategy.

You might find inspiration for the theme of your game in your favorite novel, comic book, or TV series. Mythology and legends are often used when developing themes. Common elements include vampires, witches, wizards, dragons, angels, demons, gnomes, and more. Use mechanics to develop your game, alternatively. Mechanics are the ways players interact with the game and each other. Experiment to find what works best for you. Common mechanics you might be interested in using include turns, dice rolling, movement, card drawing, tile laying, auctioning, and more.

Determine the age range of your players. The age range of your players will influence the complexity of your game board and its rules.

For adults, you could create something more competitive, exciting, and complex. Set player, time, and size limits for your game. Some games are limited by the size of the board, the number of player tokens, or the number of cards. Game board size and the number of cards will also influence how long it takes for players to complete your game.

When setting these limits, think about: The number of players your game will support. Will the game be fun with just two players? How about with the max number? The average length of your game. Additionally, the first playthrough generally takes longest. Players will need time to learn the rules. The size of your game.

Large game boards and decks will usually add complexity and lengthen the game time, but this will also make your game less portable. Decide how players will win. In these games, the first player to reach the final square wins.

Point-gain games require players to accumulate awards, like victory points or special cards. At the end of the game, the player with the most awards wins. Cooperative games involve players working together toward a common goal, like repairing a gnomish submarine or stopping a virus outbreak.

Deck-building games rely on cards to move gameplay along. Write out the basic rules. These will undoubtedly change as you continue to develop your game, but a basic set of rules will allow you to begin testing quickly. When writing your rules, keep the following in mind: The starting player. Many games choose the first player by having players roll dice or draw cards.

The highest roll or card goes first. What can players do during their turn? To balance turn time, most games only allow one or two player actions per turn. Player interaction. How will players influence each other? The non-player phase. Outcome resolution. Outcomes might be decided with a simple roll of the dice. Special events might require specific cards or rolls like doubles. Part 2. Use prototypes to evaluate your game. Before you begin work on the finished product, create a rough prototype test game so that you can play around with it.

A prototype is a vital part of the game creation process, as it gets ideas out of your head and into the real world where you can evaluate them with other players. Hold off on adding artistic details until you begin assembling the final product. Simple, pencil-drawn game boards and cards will allow you to erase and make adjustments as necessary.

Sketch a rough draft of your board design. This will give you a sense of whether your board is too large or small. Depending on the theme and mechanics of your game, your board may or may not include the following elements: A path. Simple games may have a single path that leads to a finish line, more complex path games may have splits or loops in the path.

A playing field. Games that have a playing field do not have a set path. Instead, players move as they see fit through areas that are usually divided into squares or hexes. Landing positions. These can be depicted with shapes or images. Landing positions can have special effects, like allowing you to advance a square or draw a card. Assemble prototype game pieces. Buttons, checkers, poker chips, chess pieces, and knickknacks work well as prototype game pieces.

Avoid using game pieces that are too large for your prototype, since these can make it difficult to read information written on the board. Use game cards to add variation. Randomly shuffled game cards will affect players in unexpected ways. Decks have about 15 to 20 card types like trap cards and tool cards.

These types are limited to about 10 cards to a deck to create a balanced mix. Cards can have out-of-game requirements, like one that challenges a player to talk like a pirate for five minutes for a prize.

Failed challenges may have a penalty. Part 3. Test your prototype by yourself. Once you have all of the basics assembled for your prototype, you can start testing the game to see how it plays. Before trying it out on a group, play it by yourself. Play through the game as each player and record any positives or negatives you notice as you play. Solo test your game several times. Find flaws in your game by trying to break it while solo testing.

Play test your game with friends and family. Take notes while the game is being played. If one player is consistently ahead of the other players, there's probably an unfair advantage. Switch up the test players for a better perspective of your game. Wikipedia has a list of every board game that currently exists. Looking at this list for inspiration you can create your own board game and even develop your own unique set of rules. After picking the style of your board game, the next step is to NOT to start crafting the board and pieces.

Figuring out the look and rules of your board game will provide you with the ability to carefully craft your perfect board game. The sketches can also act as a guide during your stage when you put your board game together. The sketch can be a detailed or simple as you want. But laying out your ideas on paper will make building game easier in the long run. Not all board games need a board but many do.

There are a variety of ways that you can construct your game board from the simple printed out sheet to a crafted laser cut piece of wood. Using cardboard or paper found around your house you can design your board using simple tools such as pens, pencils, markers, and paint. You could even use glitter! Using a design software such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape you can design a board for your game with a little more precession.

Using a design software also allows you to become more complicated or integrate board. Laser cutters are awesome and can produce really cool designs in a variety of materials. I personally like to laser cut designs on Wood or fiber glass.

I would start with cardboard until you are satisfied with your design, it's more cost effective in the end. After your board has been finalized you need pieces to play your game. There are a varitey of ways to generate your pieces for your game. There is nothing wrong with using tools already available to you. Look to your existing board games or small items around your house to find the pieces of your game.

My personal Favorite is discarded beer bottle tops. Thanks to the massive number of 3D printing companies the price of reliable 3D printers has dropped considerably. This makes 3-D printing objects in your own home feasible. Another great advantage of this is that you don't need to design the pieces yourself. Thingiverse- game pieces is a great resource that has objects that makers, designers, and engineers have uploaded to the public domain.

It is also possible to order prints of your design online if you do not have access to a 3D printer. I have included my own design of piece using tinkered that will hold a picture or playing card.

This way you can print out many of these pieces and give them a card or color to differentiate them. Not every board game needs them but let's face it many of them do. So let's figure out ways to get dice for your game. Using your favorite modeling software you can always design your own dies to be as special as you want.

Of course, if you don't have a design software but still want to print things out you can always use existing designs from online resources such as Thingiverse. For a simple die design DB3JHF crafted a design that is print ready and easily solves all you six sided die needs. The great thing about smart phones is that there are millions of applications, so luck beholds there is an app that turns your smart phone into dice.

Android: Dice by Teazel Ltd forfeits allows you to pay games without physical pieces. Again, not all games need playing or game cards.