Since February 2022, Protospiel Online has not included Tabletop Simulator as a supported digital board game prototyping platform at our online playtesting conventions.
Up until that point, Tabletop Simulator’s reputation as the de facto digital prototyping tool had created friction for designers looking to use other tools at our conventions. Once we changed our policy, we were able to experience our convention weekends without TTS taking up more than its fair share of space. Since then, our community has enjoyed several benefits the other platforms offer.
Benefits of alternate digital prototyping platforms
- Screentop.gg, PlayingCards.io, and Tabletopia are all 100% free for players with no account or software installation required.
- Every platform other than Tabletop Simulator is less resource intensive for users’ computers. This decreases lag issues we saw frequently when TTS was the most used platform at our events.
- The platforms with only a top-down view of the table have much simpler controls. This cuts down on wasted time manipulating digital components, changing camera angles, and looking for the right button during digital playtests.
- Many of these platforms work on mobile devices, making them accessible to playtesters who don’t have a laptop/desktop computer.
With all of these benefits in play, we’ve found our convention weekends are easier to run, onboarding new playtesters is more straightforward, and we’re able to get more playtests run more quickly than we were able to when TTS was among our supported platforms.
Preparing for the future of online playtesting
We’ve seen multiple reports that TTS’s creator, Berserk Games, isn’t answering emails from licensing partners asking for payments Berserk owes them. This suggests there’s no one behind the scenes maintaining TTS, so it’s likely the platform may soon stop working altogether. We encourage designers to move to new, more modern and user-friendly platforms now before their prototypes end up lost to abandonware.
How do I get my game into a platform other than TTS?
- Check our most recent email newsletters for info on Screentop.gg Pro subscription discount codes available for attendees.
- Consider using one of our recommended resources, including some done-for-you options, to speed up the process.
- If you have a game built in TTS, learn the procedure for mass-uploading assets from TTS into TTP. Check out the TTP knowledge base or our YouTube tutorial video. While this does not include table setups or scripts, it’s still a time-saving feature worth using.
- Don’t let perfect be the enemy of playtest-ready.
- Come as a playtester first to practice playing in new platforms, then learn how to build in them.
- Consider prototyping a relatively simple new game idea that will work perfectly in the new platform you most want to learn.
What will starting on a new platform cost?
- All of our supported platforms offer cost effective options
- Screentop.gg offers a free subscription level for up to 3 game builds per account
- PlayingCards.io is 100% free to both builders and players with ads that show a couple of times per hour
- Tabletopia offers a free subscription level that allows the account holder to build one game without the use of 3D objects
- TTP is a one-time cost of $15 for both builders and players
- Applicants for our badge scholarship who don’t have TTP will get a TTP unlock code with their badge. (Our ability to do this is thanks to a generous donation from TTP themselves.)
What about prototypes that rely on features unique to TTS?
More game setups are possible to build in TTP, Screentop.gg, Playingcards.io, and Tabletopia than you might expect. TTP has many of the same features as TTS, including scripting capabilities. The downside is that, since TTP uses JavaScript, scripts built in LUA for TTS can’t directly port in. The upside is that JavaScript is a much more well-known coding language. It should be relatively easy to find people and resources to help implement JavaScript code for TTP.
For games with mechanics involving writing or drawing, TTP added a drawing tool to their platform in early 2022. This conversation in TTP’s Discord also explains a way to set up a roll and write to work using scripting. Screentop.gg games can have fillable fields or parts that are transparent in one state and marked in the opposite state. Flipping these from one state to the other can allow players to effectively fill in spots on a board. Another option for roll and writes is using a Google Sheet or FigJam board outside of the game platform to manage the player sheets.
Many online playtesting community leaders have been in touch with the developers behind TTP and Screentop.gg. Both developers are very open to suggestions from the online playtesting community. It’s possible one or both of these tools will add a feature you need for a mechanism to work. You can even make your own request through the Screentop.gg Discord or TTP Discord and/or upvote existing items in the TTP Roadmap.
While learning a new platform will take time and effort, we believe expanding your digital prototyping toolkit will be worth it. Your prototypes will be easier for more people to play and, if you go with a topdown-only platform like Screentop.gg or Playingcards.io, your playtest sessions will likely go more quickly, too.