The contest is aimed at all boardgame authors with the purpose of rewarding their prototypes and making them known to boardgame publishers. In this sense, the contest has a program of friendly publishers (59 at the moment) who will receive the dossier corresponding to the 6 finalist games so that they can evaluate their interest in publishing them.

Source: https://ascensio.cat/concurs-ciutat-de-granollers/

BGG Community design contest for Wargames.

Special Theme: SABOTAGE

 Games entered in this contest should be purpose-designed wargames. Games may be solitaire, two player, multi-player or even co-operative. However it is critical that the game is a wargame. The primary focus should therefore be on conflict and warfare. For the avoidance of doubt, the following themes are allowed: historical war from any time period (e.g. the Irish civil war), hypothetical war from any time period (e.g. hypothetical invasion of Cornwall by Korea in 1248), fantasy war (e.g. ents versus fungusfolk), sci-fi war (e.g. Cthulhu versus Godzilla on Planet X). Any scale of conflict is allowed from 1 on 1 (e.g. gladiators) through to grand strategic (e.g. whole of WW2). If you are in doubt about whether your idea qualifies, please consult BGG’s very detailed definition of what a wargame is.

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3627732/contest-open-2026-print-and-play-wargame-design-co

With this contest, we hope to encourage all you clever and attractive designers to create interesting new gaming experiences specifically for a pair of gamers.

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3620917/article/4696478

A Swedish competition in board game design

The Swedish Annual Game design Awards (SAGA) is a competition for those who have found the joy in creating board and card games. Take the chance to make the game of your dreams and participate in the final at LinCon 2026!

Source: https://saga.boardgamedesign.se/sida/home.html

The Cardboard Edison Award recognizes great unpublished board games.

Submissions must include a brief description of the game, a 3-minute video overview, and a rules document, in addition to a $25 submission fee (or Patreon code).

Source: https://cardboardedison.com/award

This contest is open to any French or International designer, in the limit of 1 GAME per designer in order to promote the participants’ diversity.

Any kind of board game can compete, except for solitaire games, brain teasers, computer games and expansions of existing games.

Only the games that are NOT PUBLISHED (even self-published) at the time of the awards ceremony in September 2026 can participate. If a game were to be published before the final in September 2026, it would no longer be considered a prototype and would therefore be excluded from the Boulogne-Billancourt Contest. Any designer whose game is under publishing process (or just signed with a publisher) before the end of the competition will have to inform the organizers about it.

Source: https://centreludique-bb.fr/concours-collection/le-concours/ledition-2026/

This contest is meant to design games that we can play with the children, or games that children can play together. The focus should be on games that children (9 and under) can play with their families. Themes should be appealing, mechanisms should be easy to grasp. As has always been the case, these games should include some player agency. Meaning games where you flip a card or roll a die and move to the next space of the same color are out, unless accompanied with something that requires at least a tiny bit more thought.

Contest Dates
Contest starts: January 15th, 2026
Game submission deadline: April 15th, 2026
Edits/tweaks allowed until May 1st, 2026
Voting begins: May 1st, 2026
Voting closes: May 15th, 2026

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3645079/2026-children-and-family-game-design-contest-conte

Design contest by The Game Crafter. Aim is to create animal themed game for 1 or 2 players and above with play time of 60 minutes of maximum.

Source: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/contests/fur-feathers-fun

The Premio Archimede is biennial contestof studiogiochi where they look for new games and they sign agent deals with the finalists.

If you would like studiogiochi to be your agent for your creation, you can participate to the contest.

The Premio Archimede is international competition for non professional game authors.
If your game passes the first selection (about one out of two games), it will be exposed during the final ceremony and may be noticed by the public and publishers that will be there as jury members or visitors.
If your game is among the finalists (about one out of ten games), it will be played by jury members (most of them represent major international game publishers). And so, the chances of a publication are very high.
If your game gets one of the first places, you will receive substantial prizes in form of expenses reimbursement for a total of 3500 Euros.

Source: https://studiogiochi.com/en/premio-archimede-2/archimede-2027/

Design a game with just 9 cards.

The rules are mostly the same as last year.

Changes of note:
The card cutting/manipulation rules have been removed this year.

Important Dates
Earliest Date for Games to be Publicly Available: January 1st, 2026
Entry Deadline: March 16th, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Component Ready: April 1st, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Contest Ready: April 15th, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Official Play Testing: April 16th thru April 30th, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Voting Page Available: May 1st, 2026
Voting Ends: May 31st, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
These dates may change as the contest rules are finalized.

NOTE: All games must be Contest Ready by April 15th, 2026!!

Game Entry Requirements
This contest should be purpose-designed Solo or Multiplayer/Co-op or PvP designed game. The games in this contest should be designed to fit within the following parameters:

• A4/Letter size PDF rules sheet(s) – no restriction on the number of pages!

• 1A4/Letter size PDF sheets for 9-cards [3×3]- sized 2.5″x3.5″ only – both sides can be used for gaming purposes or you can use one side for your logo.

• Game Components

  • Up to [24] “of any color combination” d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, meeple, wood/plastic cubes, coins, crystals, paper clips, OR round/square tokens/chips/disc “all generic and same solid color on both sides”

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3648226/2026-9-card-nanogame-print-and-play-design-contest

NOTE: The submission period has been extended from original date to 26th June 2026.

Main requirements (key rules excerpt from the actual contest rules)

• Games submitted must use 18 cards and must be poker size (3 ½ x 2 ½ inches). Cards may be double-sided. 

• The game is to be used in conjunction with a single normal deck of playing cards.

• Except for the 18 cards and the deck of poker cards – only a pad and pencil for scorekeeping is allowed; no other outside bits and pieces may be used. 

• Any game mechanic, with the exception of legacy games (so no destroying, coloring on, or changing cards), may be used.

• Game can be used with any standard deck of poker cards (different backs).

•  You may submit up to two games (this includes any co-designs with their name on it). 

Submission material required:

• A 3 minute video overview of how your game is played
• PDF rules and PDF of your game

The Prize for 1st place: $100

Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ai8IGnXFJxfCbaQPt42Yp9Qn7bvebC5fSomHeprqQbA/edit?tab=t.0

Yearly Chinese design contest organized by  Yoka Games.

NOTE: The source site does not clearly specify if organizer reserves some special rights to participant’s game design or publishing. Read the rules of the contest carefully from the original contest site.

Categories

Strategy games

• Well-structured rule system
• Rigorous gameplay mechanism
• Players：2+
• Playing time: 45-90 mins

Party games

• With simple game play structures and rules
• Players: 1~4+
• Playing time: ≤45 mins

Nine-card Games

Games with 9 cards or cards that are multiples of 9 supplemented by a few other accessories (poker cards, paper and pen, etc.)

The Best Artwork Display

All submissions may participate in this selection by default(entirely or mainly generated using AI will be disqualified accordingly)

Timeline

March~May, 2026

Open for Submissions

June, 2026

Preliminaries starts

June~July, 2026

Preliminaries results Update your submission for the next stage

July~August, 2026

Semi-finals stage starts
The meet-up

Sep., 2026

Semi-finals judgement

Oct., 2026

Semi-finals results and enter the finals

Nov.~Dec., 2026

Finals results
Prize giving
Ceremony

Source: https://wodc.yokagames.com/en

The idea of this contest is designing of a solo mode for a game that does not have one, or has a one that you find lacking. The winner will be determined by voting, similar to other BGG community design contests, and there is a feedback requirement for all entrants. The winners will get geekgold, but the real prize is the exchange of ideas with fellow designers, and making your designs better.

Dates

• Earliest date for the solo mode to be publicly available: July 1st, 2025 (end of last year Solomode Contest)
• Submissions: March 1st to May 15th, 2026 (midnight PST)
• Deadline for mandatory feedback: May 25th, 2026 (midnight PST)
• Development deadline: May 31st, 2026 (midnight PST) – your rules and files should stay the same from this deadline until the end of contest
•  Voting: June 10th to June 30th, 2026 (midnight PST)

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3670686/article/47370970

Word of the Bi-Month: CLASSIC

A quick overview:

🤔 Designers can spend as much time thinking about a game design as they want, but cannot begin creating (or even physically sketching) until…
🟢 When a designer is ready to start putting pen on paper, they announce their start time on this challenge thread for the bi-month by posting that they are starting
⏲️ From that exact moment, that designer has 24 hours to complete their design, editing their intro post with the game details
🛑 As soon as 24 hours have expired, that designer may not touch their content until the challenge is complete (at the end of the bi-month)
🎲 No restrictions on components, mechanics, player count, etc. – the game just has to relate the word of the bi-month in some manner, however small

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3675743/march-april-2026-bi-monthly-24-hour-design-challen

The development team at Bad Comet is on the hunt for the next great board game. They are looking for something warm, inviting, and accessible. The best Family Cozy game designs!

Timeline

• Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026 (11:59 PM EST)
• Finalists Announced: July 31, 2026
• Winner Announced: August 31, 2026

Eligibility Rules

• Theme Requirement: The game MUST fit the Family Cozy theme. Games featuring overly dark, violent, mature, or heavily combat-focused themes will be disqualified.
• Designers: Open to all designers aged 18 and older. Co-designers/teams are welcome. Multiple entries from the same designer are allowed (each requires its own WIP thread).
• Game Status: The game must be an original creation, unpublished, and unsigned. Games currently active on or planned for crowdfunding platforms (Kickstarter, Gamefound, etc.) are NOT eligible.
• Originality: No existing intellectual properties (IPs).
• Language: The rulebook and all game components must be in English.

How to Enter

• Create a Work In Progress (WIP) thread in the BGG Works In Progress forum.
• The title of your thread MUST follow this format: “WIP – [Your Game Title] – Bad Comet Cozy Contest”
• Reply to the contest thread with a link to your WIP thread to officially announce your participation.
• Update the VERY FIRST POST of your WIP thread with all the required materials (see the source) before the deadline.

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3683796/article/47476847

The game should be exactly 1 poker-sized card (approximately 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches / 63.5mm x 88.9mm) 1- or 2-sided.

Designers will NOT be allowed to provide a larger sized card to the player

The single poker-sized card, however, can be altered (written, drawn on, cut, poked, folded, perforated, etc) as part of setup or during the gameplay, either temporarily or permanently.

Game Components

Each game entered in the contest may optionally use up to a total 24 of the following components. You can also create a game without any components.

• Cubes. You may use any sized cubes metal, wood or plastic.
• Coins. You may use a different sizes of coins in your game.
• Paperclips. You may use metal, wood or plastic clips in a variety of colors or shapes.
• Discs/squares. You may use metal, wood or plastic any size.
• Meeples. You may use mini or standard sized single color meeples from games such as Carcassonne.
• Dice. You can use any of the following dice types; d4, d6, d8, d10. d12, and/or d20.
• Crystals/glass beads. Versions that are commonly found in craft stores or other games may be used.
• Bags/cups. These can be used for randomly drawing other components. Bags/cups do not count toward the 24 component limit when used as containers. Bags/cups can not be used as a component or space for gameplay, only for randomizing.
• Timing devices such as hourglass, phone timer, kitchen timer are allowed and do not count as part of the component list when used to keep time. Timers can not be used as a component for gameplay.
• A pen or pencil. You can use a pen or pencil in your game, on your card or on a scrap piece of paper to keep score.
• Items found in a household, as long as their specific brand, type, size, color or shape are not restricted, and only if the main gameplay happens on the card itself, not on/around the items, can be used as part of your game.

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3622725/discussion-thread-2026-1-card-contest-and-post-mor (NOTE: not an actual contest thread, contest thread will be opened at later date (probably in the beginning of April).