Building Your Prototype
Turn your idea into something playable, from index cards to digital tables.
How polished should your first prototype be?
Why your first board game prototype should be as rough as possible, and when polish actually starts to matter.
Paper prototypes
How to build a fast, cheap paper prototype of your board game using index cards, sleeves, and borrowed components.
Digital prototypes
How digital prototyping tools like Tabletop Simulator let you playtest board games remotely and iterate faster.
Designing cards
Practical principles for designing board game cards that are readable, scannable, and easy to iterate on.
Designing boards
How to design a board game board that communicates clearly, from spatial layout and iconography to prototyping cheaply.
Choosing components
How to choose the right board game components for your design, balancing feel, function, table space, and future manufacturing cost.
Using icons and symbols
How to build a clear icon language for your board game, and how to know when a symbol helps versus when plain text is better.
Prototype art
What kind of art a board game prototype actually needs at each stage, and cheap sources for placeholder visuals.
Using AI art during prototyping
How designers use AI-generated art for board game prototypes, what it is good for, and the licensing and community pitfalls to know.
When to start paying for art
The right moment in a board game project to spend money on professional art, and how the answer depends on your publishing path.