Create your first game

When you create a new game in Tabletop Runner, you choose between starting from a template or starting from scratch. A template is a pre-built game structure: it comes with decks, zones, rules, and a working turn flow already wired together. Starting from scratch gives you an empty table and full control. If this is your first game, a template is the faster way to learn how the pieces fit, because you can see a complete working game and then change it.

A template is a starting point, not a cage. Everything a template gives you can be edited, replaced, or deleted. You can swap out the card content, change how many cards get dealt, rename the decks, and rebuild the table layout. Designers often start from the template closest to their idea and reshape it until it becomes their own game.

After creation you land in the editor. The main areas are the table workbench (a top-down view where you place everything on the table), the components area (where you build decks, dice, tiles, tokens, figurines, and boards), and the rules panel (where you define what happens during setup and each turn). You do not need to touch all of them on day one. A playable prototype usually needs one or two decks, a table layout, and a simple deal rule.

Set your player count early. It affects how many hand zones appear around the table and how mechanics like dealing behave. You can change it later, but knowing whether you are building for 3 players or 8 shapes almost every other decision.