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How do you make a Game Board prototype for playtesting?

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silasmolino
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Joined: 02/01/2013

The question is:

How do you make a prototype game board for submission to publishers (not a final game board)?

Do you just print it on paper and roll it up or fold it?

Do you laminate it?

Do you create a backing for it and fold it?

And for those who know, what do publishers want?

My map is printed on 11 x 17 matte paper. I am ready to just fold it down the middle and put it in the box for shipping. Should I cut it in half and mount it onto a board (and fold it all pretty like)?.

Thanks in advanced for any answers.

Dralius
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Joined: 07/26/2008
Board Tutorial

Here is a tutorial on how to make a nice euro style board.

http://www.bgdf.com/node/875

From my experience submitting games and from being a submission tester with Mayfair Games and others over the years what they want is functionality. You don’t need to get fancy but the board layout has to work as intended. I have seen prototypes with paper boards writen in pen that were given the same consideration as all the other submissions. All text should be double spellchecked and reviewed for clarity of meaning so it does not cause rules disputes. Speaking of text you should go over the rules very carefully and have others try to learn the rules without assistance to see how clear they really are.

McTeddy
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Joined: 11/19/2012
Dralius is absolutely right

Dralius is absolutely right that function is the #1 goal being functionality. Anything more than that is added time and money that you may not want to spend.

But there are a few things that I'd consider.

- First, I would recommend you NEVER roll up the board. This tends to make it difficult to lay the map down flat and can be bothersome to testers. While they probably won't turn you down over it... it is brainpower they waste being annoyed rather than focusing it all on the game.
Wargame publishers may have Plexiglas or something to keep it flat. But I'd never risk that they don't.

- Second, try to prevent folding in the board. This could be done either by backing the board, putting some cardboard in the envelope to prevent IT from folding, or pay extra for the "Do Not Bend" and special treatments from the Post office.
The problem is that pieces tend to fall off folds in a board. Again, it's a minor annoyance, but again distracts people from your great game.

While all of the above may end up being a waste of time and money, I usually bank on the safe side.

kpres
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Joined: 04/20/2013
aesthetics are important, too

I have found that when I build an ugly prototype, people don't want to play it. When I go all-out with arts and crafts, it gets more respect. People have more fun and want to play again.

It might not be important to a publisher who plans to make money off of it, but if you're playtesting with family and friends, they're there to have fun more than anything. Good aesthetics are required by those people.

I do prototyping in stages.

Stage 1: The Ugly. This is used solely by me for simulation purposes. I figure out how the game works and decide whether or not to scrap it at this stage.

Stage 2: The Bad. This prototype is the rough copy, using components that are easy to mark up and change or replace. If it's a card game, the volume of thrown-out cards from this stage is sometimes 2 or 3 times the size of the deck. Every card gets replaced 2-3 times. I playtest with close friends only.

Stage 3: The Good. This prototype looks good. I put some effort into it because I don't plan on changing anything. Of course, I do end up changing things, and it's a pain. I use this prototype for testing with strangers. If the prototype passes this gauntlet, it goes to the publisher as-is, dog-eared and bloody.

stubert
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Joined: 01/26/2009
Thrift Shopping!!

Go to Salvation Army, Amvets, Goodwill, etc...

There should be a listing in yoru yellow pages (or on yellowpages.com) for "Thrift Stores".

Go to the "Toys" Section, and pick a game that someone has donated that has a game board that fits the size of the paper that your map is based on.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I got the following:

3 Deal or No Deals
2 Guess Who
9 Trivial Pursuit (of various versions)
2 Risk
3 Monopoly
2 Stratego
3 Cranium
1 Sorry!
2 Perfection (I love that game)
and
various other card games, all of which were missing pieces.

The point is that I got quality gaming components that I will use to make very high-quality prototypes, but I spent... wait for it...

$7.85 on ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!

It is the lowest cost way to get high quality and professional prototyping pieces for your games.

Also, even if you don't get your prototype back, you've spent less than $10 on a HUGE amount of components.

Also, you can choose your board and simply glue your map onto the board using rubber cement or some other agent that won't warp the paper as you apply it.

That way, you have spent nearly NO time, energy, or money that you haven't already spent, and you have a sturdy, relatively professional looking model to give for testplay

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