Wannabe Board Game Designer

Design a game using 54 cards.

Important Dates and deadlines

Earliest Date for Games to be Publicly Available: July 1st, 2026
Contest Start: August 1st, 2026
Entry Deadline: October 16th, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Component Ready: November 1st, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Contest Ready: November 15th, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Official Play Testing: November 16st thru November 30th, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)
Voting Page Available: December 1st, 2026
Voting Ends: December 31st, 2026 11:59 PM BGG Time (CST)

Game Components

• Games are limited to 54 cards whose maximum dimensions are 3.5 x 2.5 inch (64 x 89 mm) in size

  • Any combination of sizes within this restriction is allowed (i.e. 24 square cards, 28 poker size, and 2 business size)
  • There is shape restriction, just as long as each card fits within the 3.5 x 2.5 inch dimensions. So hexagonal, triangular, etc. are allowed

• There is no minimum card count although if it’s a really small number you may look at other contests out there (9-Card Nanogame, Button Shy’s 18 Card Design Challenges)
• PnP files should fit on A4/Letter size PDF sheets with
• There are no restrictions on rules format or length.
• If your game uses standard playing cards, consider entering into 2026 Traditional Deck Game Design Contest instead. It starts September 1st.
• No cutting, bending or mutilation of cards is allowed – imagine that they must fit back into a tuckbox after play.

Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3746297/2026-54-card-game-design-contest