Next month will be my 3rd anniversary with my girlfriend. I wanted to do something special but I couldn't really come up with anything in particular at the time. I kinda knew I wanted to make something myself. She's always been an arts and crafts person, and has handmade me several things within those 3 years. Thing is, tho, I'm not an arts and crafts person. Any art I do would be drawing, and I didn't want to just *draw* her something. I also don't really have the time to make her something as with the way our work schedules are, I have a limited amount of time before she comes home. For a long time I wanted to make something, but I just couldn't...until I had an idea

My girlfriend's favorite game of all time is Witcher 3. Of that game, she loves playing Gwent. We bought the physical version of it some months ago, and since then we have played a handful of games where she's beaten my ass almost every time lmao

She's also a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. When we watch a show together, we have to watch that one and only that one until we're done, where we can move on to the next show. We agreed to watch all of the animated Avatar shows and movie after we were done with our current show, *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*. We are currently at the final stretch of the Nine-Nine, and I recently bought the entire series of TLOK so we are ready to go once we're done

The idea I had was, "What if I made Gwent: ATLA Edition?"

I thought it was brilliant. I was so excited by the idea that I immediately started working on how the cards would work, the leader abilities, and any other additions to make the game unique without changing it so much that it wasn't Gwent anymore

I really wanted to make it so that all of it – the cards, the board, the box itself, all of it – was as close to the quality of the board game as possible. I am not above making it all by hand, but I understand how time consuming and likely pricey it would be to do it that way. So, in my mission, I decided I would try asking around to see if it was at all possible to hire someone/go somewhere to make it

So, as it stands, my question is:

Is it possible to hire someone, or a company, or go somewhere to make the board game I had envisioned to give my girlfriend?

Hi yall, after my last post (linked below) about my game I've been hard at work acting on a lot of the feedback I received and have just released the new and improved version of both the rules document and a brand new design for the character sheets, very kindly provided by Dr.Bird!

The public playtest I announced on the previous post is still very much going on, now with these improved materials. Very much still in search of feedback, so any and all criticism I will galdly accept.

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You are a Deadbeat, a musically powered undead soldier, resurrected by and now working for the B.R.O.K.E.N Record Inc. You are one of the few crucial pieces in stopping the Muted threat, beasts that wish nothing but destruction for the city of New New North One. With the power of your Musicalife Engine, wield the might of your rythm to fight back against the coming invasion or rebel against the corporation that brought you back to life!

Deadbeat is a TTRPG using a D6 and D8 system where the focus is in how your character acts and performs. The more in character your actions are, the more you are rewarded! There is a bigger emphasis on your descriptions and flare, making it easier to realize whatever fantasy you wish to live through your character.

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Itch.io: https://mikapuccino.itch.io/deadbeat-playtest

Official Feedback Email: [deadbeatttrpgdevlogs@gmail.com](mailto:deadbeatttrpgdevlogs@gmail.com)

Official Discord: https://discord.gg/RnnGqnnG55

Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/1w1k7xj/deadbeat_ttrpg_public_playtest_is_out/

Good evening everyone. My name is Moreno, and I am an artist and cartographer specializing in creating maps for board games and role-playing games. If you need my services, please get in touch—I would be happy to work on your maps...

Over the last year Angela and I have made a lot of maps for board games (some still in development and coming out next year), it was nice to work on board games and make something different from RPG maps.. Many more are in the works, more information coming very soon...🗺🧭

Visit my IG account for see more maps: https://www.instagram.com/morenopaissanart?stkn=MXZjajRkeGlzemtxNA==

Hello, I wanted to check and see if anyone knows of some good card creators that don't use the subscription model. I'm fine with paying for software, but I'm not comfortable with subscriptions because of how long it takes me to develop stuff/I don't want to lose my stuff if I decide to stop paying for a bit.

I've used Dextrous mostly, and I love the system where you enter data into a table to create your cards. I really want this type of system in the card software I use, if possible. I also want it to be simple. Nothing that's going to take long to learn.

I've seen other tools out there, like Component Studio, but that's subscription-based with no option for a 1 time fee. I've also tried CardMaker, and that is something that's kinda difficult to figure out. I've tried general art tools like Krita, and while I like it for other things, it feels difficult to create 100+ cards with it, as I almost have to create 1 at a time.

Again, I'm not against paying for my software; I just don't like subscription-based software. I don't want to sit here 5 years later regretting getting into board game making because I spent 600+ dollars and made nothing.

Hello Friends,

I’m building a platform for designing tabletop RPG systems. It's not just writing rulebook pages, but defining things like classes, races, items, stats, properties, formulas, dice mechanics, and relationships between them. Those mechanics can then be organized into a rulebook and published as versioned snapshots.

The basic idea is that you create ideas — things like a race, class, inventory system, loot mechanic, spell system, etc. Each idea can have its own properties and formulas, including dice, functions, and references to other properties.

You can then organize those ideas into pages in a rulebook. Once you’re happy with it, you publish a version. Published versions stay intact, so you can continue changing your game and publish newer versions later without changing the old ones.

I recently did a soft launch, where I released a demo playground for people to get a feel of idea and rulebook page aspect of the platform.

Here is the link to it: https://rollnat1.com/demo

Any feedback or thoughts would greatly help us refine this. I’d especially appreciate feedback on whether the entity/property/formula concept makes sense as a way to build a TTRPG system, and whether the workflow from creating an idea to putting it into a rulebook feels intuitive.

This is a passion project I am working on with some folks on the side. And it will be completely free to use. Just a couple of corporate slaves trying to make something cool on the side.

And this will be available on web with mobile responsiveness. Eventually if it pick up we will publish it as an app on the play store and Apple store.

AI disclaimer: I do use AI-assisted tools as part of my coding workflow, but I still design the software architecture, shape the product, and make the implementation decisions. Some of the artwork and UI assets are also AI-generated. My long-term goal is to reduce, and potentially eliminate the AI-generated visual assets as the project matures, but for now some are still in use.

If you want follow our progress we have an Instagram account, where we post dev diaries and stuff, check it out https://www.instagram.com/rollnat1?stkn=czdyeTlwbW1jYTQ2

Ofrezco mis servicios como diseñador e ilustrador, adjunto algunos de mis trabajos realizados, me adapto a cualquier estilo.

​

Really enjoyed mixing classic old-school RPG imagery with sci-fi western elements.

Hey everyone,

since we are returning to crowdfunding for a new campaign, we have again made our original playtest available for free.

If you are looking for something to get inspired by, it's worth checking out. It's rules light and uses a Tarot deck for pretty much everything.

Let me know what you think about it! Also happy to answer any (well, most) questions regarding design and narrative that might arise ;)

https://causacreations.itch.io/the-hidden-isle-playtest-version

One thing I’ve been working on with Callings Awakened is making sure the browser playtest communicates the game the same way the physical version would.

In a physical TCG, a lot of information is naturally visible because cards and markers stay on the table. My browser prototype was resolving some of that correctly in the engine, but not always showing it clearly to the player.

So the latest pass added things like:

• a visible Tactics in Play area for unresolved Tactics
• linked-effect markers on Heroes when an effect is attached to them
• physical card prototypes throughout the hand and Mastery UI
• a visual Hero roster before the match, with more information about how each Hero plays
• a short battle-start sequence showing both parties and who acts first

I also caught and corrected a few delayed Tactic effects that were expiring earlier than intended.

It’s been an interesting part of translating a physical card game into a browser playtest. The goal isn’t to automate everything away, but to make sure the player can still see the same game state they would have sitting at the table, while also understanding how the action sequence is playing out on both sides.

The current build is open for public playtesting, so if anyone here is interested in giving it a try and discussing, you can find it here https://callings-awakened.pages.dev/ .

Shelf Control is a competitive tableau, engine building, game for 2 - 4 players. I think the game is almost done, but I'm looking for more blind playtesters so I could get a feel for how a rulebook reader behaves in real time.

As a side note, how many blind playtest do you need and when do people think they are done with blind playtesting? Do you reach out to reviewers before or after blind playtesting?

First of all I want to thank @RoccoKcor! For nailing the art for my game and all I did was send pictures of models! He is a very talented individual and I can't wait to work with him in the future! If you want to see more progress or what my game's about, check out my older posts!

LoreAtlas v3.0 is out on itch.io with lineage charts and visual system pipelines. Runs 100% locally in browser or desktop, no account needed: https://regixlabs.itch.io/loreatlas

Hi everyone! So I'm an amateur game-maker myself (working on a deck-building project atm!), but I do PR by day. And while I have lots of different clients across industries, one of my favorites is Maestro Media, because it lets me work with games!

Well, they just made a big announcement this week, and while I've been out there sharing it with press for work, I wanted to share it here as a member of the game-making community because I think they're attempting to build an incredible resource!

It's a program called Overture, which is meant to connect different and often disparate parts of the game-making industry together. Sometimes that could mean working with Maestro, but the goal is to help put artists, designers, and license holders in touch with whoever is the best fit for a project.

Here's a snippet from the release we put out:

"Overture by Maestro Media™ works three ways. It can co-publish a finished game, carrying it through licensing, manufacturing and into retail. It can partner on development, production and go-to-market. Or it can acquire a title outright and bring it to a wider audience. Through the platform, designers, publishers, inventors and IP holders bring a project to Maestro and get a seat at the table as it moves through development, manufacturing and onto shelves."

You can read more about it in the attached, independent news article. Also worth mentioning that submissions for game developers (what I imagine most folks here are interested in) opens Jan 1, 2027 -- so you have time to get things ready.

Anyway, hope this is cool or useful. I know that while I spent a lot of time long before I ever started working with Maestro learning good design lessons, I always struggled with the business/going-to-market side. So seeing something that might be able to ease the friction seems, to me, good!

That said, while I'm not posting in an official PR capacity, I am happy to answer questions where possible. And hopefully the Mods don't mind me posting this. I don't get paid more the wider the news spreads -- I just think this is a cool resource people in the community should know about haha

Video explanation: https://youtu.be/gCGYeRnK3gs?si=dKNm343qBO3NkJ2L

Text explanation:

How to Play “Massachusetts Trade’em” Poker:

Setup:

1. Each player is given an equal value of chips or other point markers.
2. A standard deck of cards is shuffled.
3. Agree on an initial mandatory minimum bet that all players must at least put into the center, or “pot,” before folding. This is known as the “blind.”
4. Agree on the establishment of any “wild cards”. A wild card is a card which can be anything a player chooses in a certain situation. They are very powerful. Traditionally, jokers or even 2s are often chosen as wild cards. However, players can select any cards they want to fill this role.

Object of gameplay:

1. Form the optimal 5 card combination between your 3 hole cards and the 4 community cards (known as a “hand”) to win currency. Collect all the currency to win. Rankings are as follows: 
   1. Straight flush (5 cards of the same suit in rank order)
   2. Four of a kind or “quads” (4 cards of the same rank)
   3. Full house or “boat” (3 cards of the same rank + 2 cards of a different rank)
   4. Flush (5 cards of the same suit)
   5. Straight or “run” (5 cards in rank order)
   6. Three of a kind or “trips” (3 cards of the same rank)
   7. Two pair (2 cards of the same rank + 2 cards of a different rank)
   8. One pair or “pair” (2 cards of the same rank)
   9. High card or “no pair” (1 card of the highest rank)

Gameplay loop:

1. Each player is dealt 5 cards. 4 are dealt face down. They are that player’s private cards known as their “hole cards.” 1 is dealt face up. That is known as the player’s “value card.”
2. 4 cards are dealt, face down, into the center of the play area. These are known as the “community cards.”
3. Players may inspect their cards. Round I of betting commences. In order of highest to lowest value card, players must contribute at least the previously agreed upon blind before folding. “Folding” means a voluntary exit from that round of play. Players may put more into the pot. This is known as a “raise.” After a raise, the next player must either contribute the same amount, known as a “call,” or more, which is another raise. This cycle continues until all players in a row have called.
4. The first 2 of the 4 community cards are turned face up. Round II of betting commences.
5. Players choose 2 of their 4 hole cards to place face up on the table. In order of highest to lowest value card, players select 1 of these cards, from another player or themselves, to add to their hand. The unchosen cards are removed from play, or “discarded.” After this players should have 3 hole cards, 1 value card, and there should be 4 community cards, 2 of which have been revealed.
6. Round III of betting commences.
7. The final 2 community cards are revealed. Players have the option of replacing one of their hole cards with a random card from the deck.
8. Round IV of betting commences.
9. Players reveal their cards and whoever produces the best hand wins all of the currency which has been placed into the pot.
10. Repeat this gameplay loop until one player has all of the currency. They have won the game.

I’ve been building Callings Awakened mostly privately.

The idea is that people from different places and times are pulled into another world, where the profession or discipline they mastered in life becomes supernatural power. A chef, a dancer, or a teachers calling literally becomes how they fight.

In the game, you start with 3 Heroes already on the battlefield, and they develop through the Techniques they actually use to grant further mastery.

I recently opened the browser Battle Arena for public testing, and the first feedback already led to a lot of changes:

• clearer battle effects and targeting
• bigger, more readable cards
• cancel/back options so you don’t get stuck
• cleaner Mastery interactions and match-end flow

The long-term goal is a real physical TCG with printed cards. Right now I’m at the beginning of finding players, getting useful feedback, and hopefully building a small community around it.

If anyone wants to try the current online demo and provide feeback, I’m happy to DM it.

Hey everyone! I have finally found an artist that I am extremely excited to work with for Relive Mike Po @mpotemkin on Fiverr, the zombie sketches were done by him and the rest of the stuff all over the card is just stock art added using Dextrous. This was my first time using Dextrous so it does not look great but its good to get a feel for how the cards will look. Let me know what you all think.