How to Prototype Your Next Board Game

I thought my prior method of play testing was pretty efficient:

1. make a Google sheet of card information (x mins)

2. code a short script in nanDECK to render info in card format (20-30 mins)

3. convert to PDF (1 min)

4. print (1 min)

5. cut out and sleeve (30 mins)

6. play!

total time from idea to prototype: however long it takes to write the Google sheet, plus about an hour

Here’s my new method:

1. make a Google sheet of card information (x mins)

2. link sheet to a Dextrous project (1-10 min, depending on complexity of graphics)

3. save the project in a very specific place on my computer (1 min)¹

4. go to Tabletop Simulator and play!

total time from idea to prototype: however long it takes to write the Google sheet, plus a few minutes

Revisions also go much smoother with the new method:

old: either scribble out/rewrite numbers and words on cards by hand OR re-do above method. Small changes are almost instantaneous, but if I wanted to change more than a few numbers, it’d take at least a half hour to tweak the code, re-print, and cut everything.

new: change the numbers or text in the Google sheet, then save again in Dextrous. This can take less than a minute and is a complete game changer.

In short, I highly encourage any game designers out there to try using Dextrous and Tabletop Simulator (TTS) to prototype your games quickly. TTS cost me $10 to get on my computer, and I’m using the free version of Dextrous (though if I use it as much as I suspect I might going forward, I’d happily pay a few bucks a month for it).

Also, if you have TTS downloaded already and are interested in my work, please do send me a message. I’m looking for play testers of my own games and would be happy to provide feedback on your games in return. I’ll be looking for digital spaces where TTS testing is already happening and sharing them here going forward — I’ve heard good things about the Protospiel conventions, but they take place seasonally.

Hope I’ve talked you into trying this method if you’re on the fence. Looking forward to getting familiar with these softwares and play testing with some of you soon.

Happy gaming,

Matt

1. The first time I had to do this, it took WAY more than one minute. Tabletop Simulator creates a “Library” folder on a Mac when it installs, but that folder is hidden in the Finder application, so it took me quite a while to figure out the right place to save it to.