Тёмный

Essentials for making Board Game prototypes... on a budget 

Adam in Wales - Board Game Design
Подписаться 16 тыс.
Просмотров 10 тыс.
50% 1

A piece of advice commonly given to board game designers is to prototype your ideas early. To get testing as soon as possible. You learn so much by getting your game on the table; turning an idea or concept into an actual physical thing.
In this video I’m going to show you the sort of materials I use when making a board game prototype. Without breaking the bank.

Опубликовано:

 

12 сен 2024

Поделиться:

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист
Посмотреть позже
Комментарии : 57   
@jamessooy
@jamessooy Год назад
You can get blank neoprene mats for cheap if you search for "mouse pads" online, especially if solid black is okay. You can draw on them with metallic markers. I saw a listing in the UK for 60cmx30cm for £3.75. Also, for coins, just use a real penny, you won't find anything cheaper.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Good point about the coins. I'll take another look for mouse mat material. I think getting the right size was the issue - and it still needs to be rolled which is the trickiest bit!
@MMmk1
@MMmk1 Год назад
The most important lesson from this video is that we can make elements out of anything and it's worth buying a set of thingies if we spot them at a good price in some random shop which we were just passing by.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Absolutely agree!! :) I think sometimes new designers get caught up on aesthetics and materials - none of which really matters!
@usbobthefunny
@usbobthefunny Год назад
Here's a few more: - Bathroom tiles - Easy square/hexagon pieces in several sizes at a cheap price, ($10-15/sq ft - 42-100+ pieces depending on size[7-25 cents per piece]) if a bit heavy (not great for mailing, but an awesome feel for playing). Easily detachable, or you can leave some of the attached connections to make easy shapes. - Lego pieces - Some can get a bit pricy, but searching second hand websites yield a number of pieces that only cost a few pennies per piece. They have a definite premium feel to them, and can also be premium upgrades to some games. Gems, flames, daggers, magnifying glasses, and hearts are decently cheap, between 2-9 cents per item, and are great pieces. Garage sales are a mixed bag, but keep an eye out for them. Lego minifigs are pricy online, but get a haul at a yard sale and you have some player pieces that are customizable. - Lego also released a series of boardgames 10 years ago. A number of pieces are available used at low prices. Among them are the lego dice at about 30-50 cents per dice. Pair with some blank tiles (2-10cents per) and you have customizable dice you can draw on and reconfigure at will. Several existing lego dice faces or printed tiles are also very cheap. - Chinese New Years coins. You can get a pack of them on Amazon for very cheap Easily 5 cents per, or even lower in bulk. While they definitely have a lighter weight, they are metal and have a nice feel for games. Certainly better than cardboard. - Blank neoprene playmats ($9-10) can be drawn on with sharpie. Takes some skill to avoid bleed. You can also get blank neoprene coasters in circles or squares (35cents per piece), which can make modular boards, or easier to stack in a box. They are intended for sublimation printing, which can make for a way to get sharp graphics onto them easily. - Bathroom/door mats - Not the heavy rubberized ones - I picked up a thick cloth rug/door mat for $4 at the hardware store that served as an excellent playmat for card games for years. Best part - easily washable in the machine. - You can get cubes much cheaper. Several chinese warehouse stores have wood or plastic cubes at 3cents per piece (8mm)
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Great tips. Thanks!
@erickgohlke1516
@erickgohlke1516 Год назад
Adam, an idea for your board material dilemma: Smooth vinyl flooring planks. They could easily be cut to size (cut and snap with a razor). When snapped/locked together, it would make a seamless solid surface. Then easily disassembled to fit in smaller packaging. Also, i think they would be easy to draw/design on. Here in the US, they are readily available at any home improvement store and not too pricey (for the limited quantity needed).
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
That’s a really interesting idea - thanks. I’ll look into it.
@thecondemnedccg7531
@thecondemnedccg7531 Год назад
7:35 was exactly how The Condemned was first tested! We printed up the whole set, slipped it into sleeves, and then played with those cards. We even made a mock booster draft by slipping cards into small envelopes that were made beforehand. It's a great way to test and try out a game. And if you need to make changes, adjust a number and print out a new card.
@johnmarkrountree6196
@johnmarkrountree6196 11 месяцев назад
I would be a difficult patient for you because I would have a constant urge of talking to you about board games while you try to work on my teeth. What a fantastic component collection, absolutely bigger than what I have accumulated and thank you for the sharing, many times, the "I hope to have a Purpose for these someday" components. I don't have regrets now about mine because I'm always question myself why I keep it. You know as soon as you thrown them out, you'll need them and the struggle to find it again will be there.
@caseyreinard3509
@caseyreinard3509 Год назад
You're a dentist, too?! Good on you, man. Keep up the great work. I'm working on a few prototypes at the moment and love all of this.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Glad you're enjoying the videos! :)
@PaulioBee
@PaulioBee Год назад
I find your videos inspirational - this one particularly so. I have at least one idea that I'm ready to take baby steps into soon, and I can see myself crawling the charity shops to find games with reusable pieces in them for my own prototype.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Thanks! And good luck :)
@keithparker1346
@keithparker1346 Год назад
I was going to post something along similar lines. I suspect nearly everyone who is into board game design at any level has simply got an old game and just re-themed it or used its components in other ways
@Kuptain
@Kuptain Год назад
I am game designer + artist and I always tend to put so much work into the graphic design and art while early in development. It definitely slows down my progress, but I find that to be what I am most comfortable with.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
I think it’s fine, as long as you’re ready to throw away your work if playtesting doesn’t go so well! Sometimes laying out graphics early really helps me immerse myself in a game and brings out new ideas.
@joakimandersson7769
@joakimandersson7769 Год назад
Same here, and it took me a lot of hard work to Stop doing this, to actually get my games to a testable/playable state. The theme, art and design is one of the most fun parts of game design for me, but when I forced myself to put that on hold until the games components where tested and more finalized, it really, really helped both in the game design department as well as in the "not making art I then have to throw away when it not longer has a place in the game", which hurts. Also, I found that if I made a component of a game beautiful/cool, I had a harder time removing that part of the game, even when playtesting revealed it to not work. And that is not a situation you want to find yourself in.
@adamlong9728
@adamlong9728 Год назад
I love this video. When you want to look through and fondle the components of all your games. But really that's way too much work. You can just watch this video.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Yes, I thought it would be quite a nice visual feast!
@craigsomerton2359
@craigsomerton2359 Год назад
Loving these videos Adam. Thank you for so generously sharing your experiences and knowledge so widely. Your videography and graphics are superb. Do you ever make short videos that accompany your prototypes, that provide an overview or explain how the game works? I know a number of publishers prefer these. I'd love to see some examples or perhaps the process you follow when producing your videos? Oh... Another great prototyping item is paperclips, especially coloured ones. I've used them in a number of my prototypes to mark values along the edge of playing cards. Very useful because it means you can change values easily but move the card without inadvertently changing the values. The only downside is, they can mark or damage the cards.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Here's a link to a video I made on exactly that topic! :) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rWX3CO0uF0A.html
@Chereebers
@Chereebers Год назад
For the bevelled edges on a board you could get a picture mount board cutter that cuts the edge to 45 degrees. Not sure if it would work but it’s an idea 🤷‍♀️
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
It’s a good idea. I’ll take a look.
@muchagracias3624
@muchagracias3624 Год назад
Great video just in time for my new years resolution of actually starting my game 😅
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Good luck! Hope it goes well.
@bruceknight3720
@bruceknight3720 Год назад
I love your small box organiser! If it was in a shed it would be full of screws. How decadent to have a drawer full of small wooden dogs!
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Yes, it isn’t the typical man cave organiser…
@DigitalTransmission
@DigitalTransmission Год назад
One Idea I would think could work on a traditional board would be to push a ball stylus over the edges. You'd most likely need to make a track with two pieces of words clamped over the board on either side to make sure when you do roll the edges down, you have a straight line.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Thanks for the tip!
@NosyRosieunderthebed
@NosyRosieunderthebed Год назад
Thank you for sharing your ideas.
@simonheath3760
@simonheath3760 Год назад
Hello - really enjoy your videos and like other comments find them both inspirational and useful - re your question about a flicking playing surface maybe some form of silicon (baking) mat might be a solution or perhaps it might not be frictionless enough - Amazon and others sell large mats but most supermarkets will sell smaller versions if you wanted to test - thank you for your videos
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Good idea - I’ll take a look.
@mmikoff
@mmikoff Год назад
Amazing video!
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Thanks! :)
@TomConder
@TomConder Год назад
How about a collection of puzzle cut boards for your flicking game prototypes? The puzzle "connector" can be simple.
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Thanks Tom - the tricky bit is producing multiple copies (6?) on a tight budget. I don't like to spend much on prototypes just to hand them away to publishers.
@LachlanKadick
@LachlanKadick Год назад
I love the thrift store for old games (especially some of those games that I'm showing mercy to others by taking out of distribution.) I use simple tackle boxes for a majority of my components. For larger ones, craft stores often have sales on picture cases that hold 14+ containers. These are also great for storing smaller prototypes. Audio is great in this video! Keep Creating! Lach
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
Thanks! And glad to hear the audio has improved - keep letting me know! I think the quality was good in my Top 10 of 2022, but dropped again in my Kickstarter vs. Publisher video. I have a new lav mic to experiment with in the New Year, so hopefully can keep up a higher standard.
@LachlanKadick
@LachlanKadick Год назад
@@AdaminWales I'll need to go check those out. It was nice to hear you. I think you've got the best game design channel out there. Happy holidays! Keep Creating! Lach
@ddobrien1
@ddobrien1 Год назад
I have a bunch of those silver robot dudes too! @9:07 …I have no idea what game they're from. So many bits in my prototype collection currently- I wonder how much they all weigh?
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
I know which legacy game they're from but didn't mention because... *spoilers*... Haha.
@ddobrien1
@ddobrien1 Год назад
@@AdaminWales OK, with that clue... I got it!😎 I don't have that game so I must've bought them on the Game Crafter shop.
@dominikmarcinmucha
@dominikmarcinmucha Год назад
Circle Cutter - can you recommend me where I can find them with holes (you keep one in your right hand). Normally I can't see exactly what I'm cutting. thx
@dago6410
@dago6410 4 месяца назад
Boards. How to boards!
@Tysto
@Tysto Год назад
4:04 That type of “coin” drives me crazy. Those aren’t coins. They are very boring numbered tokens. Coins have portraits & eagles & shields & a different front & back as well as a number.
@georgeglazebrook7532
@georgeglazebrook7532 Год назад
Could you use asa tape or whatever it is called, you know that large sheet of tape? Mabye put it on cardboard? Or you could use a wooden bourd! That would work wouldn't it?
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales Год назад
The problem is scale: it needs to fold ideally without creases, and be light/portable enough to carry multiple copies in a suitcase. I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that rolled paper or cloth is the way to go.
@georgeglazebrook7532
@georgeglazebrook7532 Год назад
Ok, that's a good idea!
@marchanna
@marchanna Год назад
I love the presentation but I don't see how scavenging a bunch of pieces from other purchased games is 'on a budget' -- this remains unexplained. All the stuff gathered can't possibly have come into possession without substantial cost! Maybe you have another video on how to manufacture prototype cards and 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch cardboard counters I can print images on. I'll have to have a look. thanks for the vid.
@keithparker1346
@keithparker1346 Год назад
For me the obvious starting point is ...getting it on paper or card - at its most primitive I think game design is not using 90% of these components merely paper, card , dice, counters possibly utilising old games for components. I think the video is more aimed at people more serious about becoming designers rather than people knocking something up to play among friends and family
@marchanna
@marchanna Год назад
@@keithparker1346 Presumptuous to insinuate I fail to understand primitive elements and I want to design a 'knock-up' to play with my family/friends only -- then to hit on that straw man argument as a means of deflecting this video is clearly not about budget design. The title of your video should be 'essentials of making prototypes from bits and pieces and old game parts sitting around in your already existing studio bins for those I deem serious about becoming a designer but are stuck for ideas without yet sorting through your existing trash' lol good day to you!
@keithparker1346
@keithparker1346 Год назад
@@marchanna I wasn't criticising you
@kevinmontoya43
@kevinmontoya43 4 месяца назад
Where does one purchase mount board?
@AdaminWales
@AdaminWales 4 месяца назад
I buy mine from a big craft store (Hobbycraft in the UK) but I would imagine any store with art supplies. Mount board is intended for backing framed photos/artwork.
@AKKK1182
@AKKK1182 3 месяца назад
Man, get some hand lotion.
Далее
Why Great Games FAIL - Board Game Design
18:59
Просмотров 10 тыс.
А ВЫ ЛЮБИТЕ ШКОЛУ?? #shorts
00:20
Просмотров 2,5 млн
Making Your First Board Game *Board Game Design*
20:40
The Most Underused Board Game Mechanism
12:15
Просмотров 61 тыс.
I made the World's most IMMERSIVE D&D Table...
15:56
Просмотров 1,3 млн
The Board Game Industry | Start Here
16:41
Просмотров 6 тыс.