You don’t need a published game to call yourself a designer. If you want to be one, just start designing and you already are one.
WannabeBoardGameDesigner.com is a learning journal. An ongoing project to collect resources and share stories and information about the board game design for anyone interested in board games.
I share what I’m learning as I go, from first prototypes to playtests gone wrong, so you can skip a few mistakes and join the fun.
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Final Tweaks Before the Contest Deadline
Design Diary – October 13, 2025
Transcribed by AI, dictated by the designer while driving.
As the contest deadline approaches, I’ve been making the final tweaks to Hack-a-Pad. The game is almost ready, and I’m feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. I’ve been refining the rules and making sure everything is as polished as possible. I also recorded a 12-minute playthrough video to give people a better idea of how the game works. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.
Digital Versions
In addition to the Tabletop Simulator mod I made earlier, the game is now also available in screentop.gg. I hope that helps me to get more testers as screentop.gg is a free-to-play system website.
Deadline approaches
Overall, I’m feeling good about where the game is at. It’s been a lot of work, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. Now, it’s just a matter of making sure everything is ready for the contest deadline on October 15th. I’m hopeful that the game will be well-received, and I’m excited to see how it does in the contest.
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Howto play video for Hack-a-Pad
Howto play video is now online for Hack-a-Pad card game.
This 12 minute video highlights the key rules of the game. The more detailed instructions, links to digital versions and PnP-files can be found from the game page.