You have play tested your game with friends, at conventions + board game nights, and everyone seems to have a good time and really like your game, and if you think you are ready for the next step what should you do?
You may want to print a few prototypes. Now, depending on the complexity of your game (prototype pieces, unique punchboards and etc), the price of these prototypes will vary. So will the quality.
From our experience when we develop game prototypes we tend to do it in 4 steps.
Step 1:
Hand drawn, hand crafted prototypes. Seeing what works and what does not, testing with the internal team. This is where Table Top Simulator is very valuable because of the speed of iteration. Simply put, it is a very powerful tool in a board game designers tool kit. Since developing the Flood we have switched fully to TTS for all of our games in development. Learning how to use TTS early on will save you a lot of time and money.
Step 2:
Once you have developed your game and feel like it is ready, it is time for some art, or at least box art. We would recommend commissioning Art only if you are 100% confident that your game is fun, play testers love it and you want to proceed.
Printing the actual prototype. The company we use for this is Print and Play, their fast communication and ability to laser cut custom punchboard shapes with good quality is very valuable. Typically in this step we only print one prototype.
Templates. Even though most of the printing companies for board game prototypes have default templates for boxes, player boards and cards - having some idea of what unique punchboards you will have in your game is required in step 2. In this step you will use adobe products to make templates for your games. Majority of the work in step 2 will be via illustrator or indesign. Both of these products can have a sharp learning curve, however with youtube tutorials one can learn how to use these with ease.
When your prototype is made and printed. You can truly judge the size of all the components and what works and what does not. Based on this you will be able to adjust the components for the next step.
Important Note: Templates from all companies differ, even though a box may be 100*100*5, we have seen slightly different temples from different companies. Keep in mind that you may have to adjust your textures and art.
Step 3:
Finding a board game manufacturer ( This is a complex process based on our experience. This topic alone deserves a separate blog post ). Step 3, in our opinion, of the most important step because the amount of time you invest in Step 3 can help you save a lot of time in Step 4 and beyond.
A. Preview prototype. In this stage of game development we recommend 80-90% of all the art to be done, Design to be very close, if not final. Because these printed games will be your preview prototypes.
This is important because you will be paying content creators to preview your game and film it for a wider audience and even though everyone realizes that you have a "prototype", we have learned early on that having a perfect looking prototype makes it better for film production, promotions and Ads.
B. Setting up to manufacture. In step 3 you must have the game fully quoted. You must have all the templates made by you or provided by the manufacturer. Based on these temples you will make the preview prototypes. The most time consuming part of this can be the punch board and the Rulebook. Being realistic regarding your timeline & schedule is important.
C. Manufacturer printing the preview prototype. Typically Manufacturers print games via "digital print" that is different in durability and quality from the Production print. This is where a good project manager (provided by the manufacturer) is needed. The Project manager can make exceptions and use the big printing machine depending on how many prototypes you order. For us this worked perfect because the texture, color, and everything else was 100% on point. Digital samples can be of color and can be scratched.
Step 4
Pre production final sample + Mass Production Sample. You have gotten the funds you need and gamers are excited for your game to come out! In this step you will be slightly adjusting your files and submitting them to get your final samples. Depending on your effort in Step 3 this can be a breeze or can bog you down for some time. This is where communication with the manufacturer needs to be crystal clear, quotes triple checked, as well as all the files triple checked. After this step manufacturing starts.
Below are links to the current partners we use for game manufacturing and development from Step1-4
Software
Step 1: Prototypes
Boards game maker (Cheaper high quality board game boxes)
Step 2-4: Manufacturer
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