Player Mat

A printed game surface on which individual players place their own pieces, cards, dice or other game parts.

This is not to be confused with the Reference Card component, which serves only as a rules reference without interacting with game pieces.

This may be a physical item used in a video chat game or a digital representation in the designer's chosen virtual tabletop. If in a virtual game, the board must be a separate piece from the table.

Ex: Tasty Humans Tabletop Simulator Mod

Bot Builders – Entry #7021

As Presented in May 2024

Designer(s) | Matt Soucy

Rival robotics teams compete to build the most versatile bots and win the competition! Players draft students, build robots from parts, and manipulate dice with those parts to score points.

Game Length

60 min

Player Count

2 - 4

Intended Audience

Casual:
This game expects players to focus more on social interaction than strategy and/or takes under 45 minutes to play in full, including the rules teach.

Medium:
This game involves some strategy and takes 45-90 minutes to play, with no more than 15-20 minutes of that time spent on the rules teach.

Heavy:
This game focuses on strategy and takes 90 minutes or more to play, with 20 minutes or more of that time spent on the rules teach.

Development Status

New:
This is more of an idea to workshop than a game.

Middling:
You have playtested the prototype before, but you expect it to still have bugs.

Nearing Completion:
You know the game works but are trying minor adjustments.

Final Testing:
This will feel pretty close to playing a published game, but you’re still taking feedback.

Publication Path

Self Publishing
The game creator(s) will handle marketing, sales, distribution, and all other logistics of bringing the game to market.

Looking for a Publisher
The game creator(s) are looking for someone to partner with them to handle some or all of the process of bringing the game to market.

Under Contract with a Publisher
The game creator(s) have found a company or individual who will partner with them to handle some or all of the process of bringing the game to market. The publisher and designer might be the same person, but, beyond the self publishing option, a game that is “with a publisher” will publish under a brand that publishes for a variety of designers.

No Plans to Publish
The game creator(s) will not make this game available for sale to the public. The fun of creating and playing the game is all the reward they need.

Publication Method

Crowdfunding
The publisher will produce the game after a large group of people have paid in advance. Crowdfunding platforms include Kickstarter, Crowd Sales through The Game Crafter, Gamefound, Indiegogo, etc.

Retail Distribution
The publisher will distribute the game to retailers such as friendly local games stores (FLGS), Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Cool Stuff Inc., etc.

Print on Demand
Also known as POD. The manufacturer can print one copy at a time so that the seller doesn’t need to carry inventory. Popular POD services include The Game Crafter, Drive Thru Cards/RPG, and Board Games Maker.

Another Publishing Method
Other methods may include handmade games, print and play or monthly subscription games, creating a seller account on an online marketplace like Amazon or Etsy, and/or selling from your own website — or anything else the publisher can dream up!

Crowdfunding Status

Planning Stage
The campaign is not yet open for backer pledges. Interested players may be able to follow the project on social media and/or via email updates.

Late Stage
The campaign is either open for backer pledges or has recently finished funding. The publisher is making final tweaks to the product before sending final files to the manufacturer.

Rework Stage
A crowdfunding campaign launched in the past did not meet its funding goal or was cancelled before the campaign ended. The publisher plans to launch a new campaign using lessons learned from past campaign(s).

None
There is no plan for a crowdfunding campaign at this time.

Player Mat

As Presented in May 2024

Designer(s) | Matt Soucy

Game Length

Player Count

Audience

Dev. Status

Playtest Platform(s)