Table Presence: How a game attracts attention
This blog explores table presence, especially the beauty, the I-want-to-touch-it, the you-cant-ignore-how-loud-we-are, and the I-have-to-own-that of tabletop games.
-
Deep Theme, Improved Accessibility, Solo Modes, and More
Over the past 50 years, the world of board game design has witnessed a remarkable evolution, with creative advancements that revolutionized the way we play.
-
Printable Card Games
Printable card games have 3 advantages: customizability, potentially lower cost, and no need to wait for delivery. Cartref carries the tradition forward.
-
Game Designer as Artist: Ali Mahmood
Ali Mahmood has illustrated some of the cards for his new game, Pocket Sci Fi. His art style has some similarities to Jason Glover’s awesome work.
-
World-Building in Tabletop Games
In tabletop games and movies, world-building is an essential part of creating a compelling narrative. However, there are some significant differences in how world-building is approached in these two mediums.
-
Waterdeep’s Board: Lightly Colorized Line Art
I’d had a bit of a challenge colorizing the Cartref illustrations, as the colors distracted players and reduced icon usability. Waterdeep suggests a solution.
-
Nice Touch – Details Matter in Graphic Design and Art
A bit of whimsy. A reminder of the game’s magic. Little details in graphic design and art can trigger positive feelings and promote thematic immersion.
-
AI Art: Legality and Ethics
I haven’t seen any indication that SDXL is an improvement from a legal or ethical standpoint. Which means that we still have a lot to discuss on these matters.
-
Testing Stable Diffusion XL on NightCafe
Mediocre quality in AI-generated images has limited their usefulness for illustrating games. How much does the new Stable Diffusion XL model improve this situation?
-
Observations about the Presentation of Game Titles on Boxes
How do boxes display the game title? Are there any general rules? What does it take to fit in? What would it take to stand out?
-
BYOM: Bring Your Own Miniatures
Making miniatures is expensive. Kickstarting them is risky. What’s a game maker to do? BYOM: Let the players bring their own (existing) miniatures.
-
A Sampling of Andrew Bosley’s Game Art
I often look at more proficient artists’ work for inspiration. This small sample of Andrew Bosley’s work illustrates some areas where I am learning from him.
-
You Need Friends: The Role of Tabletop Games
Tabletop games are the secret weapon for making friends, which in turn is essential for happiness, health, and a basic sense of meaning and purpose in life.
-
Using Dexterity Mechanics to Promote Table Presence
Get your players moving! A silent table of players staring at cards attracts much less attention than some visible activity with eye-catching components.
-
Fantasies and Futures Design Notes
In this expansion for Tapestry, you accelerate your civilization’s development by tapping into fantastic new powers provided by parallel universes intersecting our own.
-
Recent Attention-Grabbing Contest Entries on BoardGameGeek
BoardGameGeek runs tons of contests. Step 1 to winning a contest is actually getting somebody to look at your entry. How? Three games illustrate some tactics.
-
Lessons from the Video Game Industry on Art Direction
I haven’t found a textbook on art direction for tabletop games. Fortunately, the video game industry has many videos and other resources to aid art directors.
-
Understated Line Art and the Graphic Design of Cartref
For the past few months, I’ve worked on a new game that requires understated art. Several games have caught my attention and inspired an art direction.
-
What Information Should You Print on the Board?
The vast potential expanse of a game board invites placing lots of fiddly little text. Good idea? Not so much.
-
What Makes Kickstarter Videos about Games Compelling?
A post appeared in the Board Game Design Lab Community, asking for pointers to compelling Kickstarter videos. Here are replies and what made videos compelling.
-
Confirming Commonalities of Art in Awesome Fantasy Games
I previously identified commonalities in game art that players called awesome. In this post, I test if those generalizations apply to top-ranked fantasy games.
-
Commonalities of “Awesome Art” in Tabletop Games
What do the art pieces in successful games have in common? Let’s compare a sample of top-rated games that have reputedly “awesome art” to find commonalities.
-
Designer-Developers CAN do Art and Graphic Design
Most game designers and developers don’t also do art and graphic design. Yet a few special people succeed in mastering multiple areas. They’re an inspiration!
-
Twilight Imperium: The Empire Sprawl is Real
The inadequacy of parking space was a limiting factor that ultimately led to the fall of the Empire. Just saying.
-
Great Graphic Designers — Initial Notes on Game Boxes
In many fields, apprentices and journeymen study masters. It’s no different in graphic design. Let’s look at some people who do great work for tabletop games.
-
The Case of the Framed Cards (Graphic Design for Games)
While the fundamentals of graphic design are no mystery, little guidance exists on applying fundamentals to tabletop games. This article zooms in on framing.
-
The Amazing Print-And-Play Builds of Martin Gonzalvez
Martin runs the awesome little “Print and Play Hideaway” group on Facebook and is, as far as I can tell, the king of table presence when it comes to PNP’s.
-
Cute and Cozy Creatures Capture an Audience’s Attention
Some games feature cute creatures. Shamelessly cute creatures. Creatures so cute that you have to grab the box when browsing your friendly local game store.
-
Gone Beyond Cardboard: Interesting (Excessive?) Packaging
Packaging makes a game’s first impression. Because most games come in cardboard boxes, more lavish packaging can make an impression. A quick tour of examples…
-
Effective Use and Combination of Graphic Design Motifs
In graphic design, a “motif” communicates a feeling without drawing conscious attention. Yet such motifs contribute to thematic presence, amplifying immersiveness.
-
The Massive 18OE: On the Rails of the Orient Express (2014)
Big in every way. Big table presence. Big wallet presence. Big wall presence (huh?) Big cognitive presence. Big player presence. Let’s go for a ride on 18OE!
-
Games with Unusual Table Layouts
Dear designers, consider this easy way to grab attention: don’t mindlessly emulate the Monopoly layout, with a board and a few rows of other components nearby.
-
Objectively Investigating Investment in Objective Cards
I observe that publishers rarely invest much in art for objective cards, and I see a few justifications for this choice. There are, of course, exceptions.
-
Horror, Sex and Puns: The Humor of Munchkin
Get those players laughing. How? Push the boundaries. Which boundaries? How far? In what directions? Munchkin illustrates a few angles to approach the issue.
-
The Making of an Amazing Tabletop-Game Box: An Age Contrived
An Age Contrived illustrates the journey of a tabletop game’s primary box illustration, including some challenges along the way.
-
On AI-Generated Art and Humans’ Competitive Advantage
Will the game industry will replace human artists with AI artists? I put my computer scientist cap on to explore where humans have a competitive advantage.
-
Furthering Table Presence with Funny Flavor Text
Flavor text can trigger laughter. And when I hear a bunch of gamers laughing at the local pizza parlor, I wonder: What are they playing? And WHY is it so funny?
-
Fresh, Engaging, Fun, and Interactive: Scenario Booklets as a Tool for Keeping a Game Interesting
Scenarios keep a game fresh–and the Kickstarter campaign just unlocked scenarios for Gnomadic Gardeners. Here’s a quick look at three other games present scenarios.
-
Acknowledging Excellent Advice About Crowdfunding
The launch of Gnomadic Gardeners creates an occasion to acknowledge excellent advice of colleagues–and to draw attention to these people. Thanks to you all!
-
The ‘Best’ Ways to Represent Tech Tracks
Visualizing a tech track/tree is easier said than done. You must make the mechanic learnable, flexible, and replayable, all while maintaining player agency.
-
Gnomes Brighten Gardens: A Colorful Lesson about Happy Places
Taking my own advice about palettes, but not understanding how to apply it, led to a useful lesson.
-
Let’s Face It: A Compelling Character Irresistibly Hooks the Viewer
Although artists often can avoid it, rendering facial details can increase the emotional content of a card or box — making it more compelling and memorable.
-
Chipboard Cards: Are They Something Thrilling or Over-killing?
Using chipboard instead of cardstock for cards increases environmental and economic costs. Yet chipboard has advantages over cardstock. How much is too much?
-
Great Examples of Mini Box Layout and Design
Great examples of boxes (card-sized or smaller), in terms of aesthetics, graphic design, layout and illustration/art. Includes tips on box sides.
-
Chipboard Structures: An Affordable Way to Grab Attention
Chipboard is a versatile tool for drawing attention.
-
Nut Hunt’s Useful and Interesting Example of How to Amplify Attention
The publisher of Nut Hunt took intentional steps to draw attention to key aspects of the game.
-
How do Publishers Present Games on Websites? Wingspan as an Example
How do publishers showcase their creations?
-
How do Publishers Present Small Card Games on Kickstarter?
When you present a game to the market, how do you do it?
-
Drinking Fluxx: Get the Players to Amplify Your Game’s Table Presence
You don’t have to like a drinking game to learn from it.
-
Comparing the Scythe and Tapestry Rulebooks
Reading a rulebook doesn’t attract attention to the table.
-
An Informal Exploration of What Bloggers Mean by “Table Presence”
“Go big or go home” is just the start.
-
An Aesthetic Taxonomy of Tapestry’s Excellent Edifices
Stonemaier’s Tapestry has the best building miniatures of any Euro that I’ve ever played.
-
-
Seascapes, Urbanscapes, and Facescapes: Gothic Taverns Sets the Table on Fire
It glows, precious it does!
-
Birds of a Feather Ascends with a Fresh Graphic Design
Updating the graphic design helped raise this game’s BGG rating from 6.7 to 7.5
-
Back Handed Compliments: What We Can Learn from the Back of Cards
Trends and practices in the design of card backs
-
-
Beyond Beauteous Birds: Wingspan Shows How to Appeal to a Big Audience
Ornithological-quality illustrations at your fingertips.
-
-
How to Discern 14 Suits? Red Rising’s Borders Delight and Differentiate
A handy help when holding a hand.
-
Kudos to Arkham for Its Marvelous, Messed Up Level of Insanity
The art is disgusting. In a good way.
-
-
The Glass Beads in Viticulture Inspired 10 Ideas for a Glamorous Glisten in Games
Sparkles are the new cubes.
-
Let’s Compare the Classic Catan to This Fairly Fresh Family Version
Catan gets a usability face-lift.
-
I Love to Touch These Terrific Treasures in Merchants of the Dark Road
Make them want to touch your game.
-
How Does Valeria Grab Attention Through Awesome Card Art?
The Miko demonstrates techniques for grabbing and holding attention in a cards-only game.
-
Join Me in a Quick Tour Through Middle Earth (LOTR Journeys)
LOTR’s map illustrates the ups and downs of isomorphic projection.
-
Wingspan’s Bird Feeder Links Theme to Table Presence
Have you ever seen a dice tower that so nicely integrates with a game’s theme?
-
The Big Game Board in Scythe Is Concept Art Writ Large
Scythe looks like concept art. That’s a good thing.
