What Makes a Good Board Game? One That Gets to the Table

What Does “Getting Your Game to the Table” Mean?

Unlike most other games, a board game is rarely bought for one person, unless it is a solo game. Before buying, most players ask: “Who will play this with me?” or “Can I convince anyone to play it?”

Players ask this more and more. Unopened and unplayed games filling players’ Kallax shelves are a common talking point on social media; gamers call them the pile of shame or shelf of shame.

So what makes a good board game? It is not only a game people enjoy when they play it. It is a game that appeals to a wide enough group that it is easy to get people to play it. That is what designers mean by getting a game to the table.

How to Get Your Game to the Table: 5 Ways

Here are five ways to improve your chances. You don’t need all of them: pick the ones that suit your game.

1. Fit Your Target Audience

Most people play with friends who like similar games. If your mechanics and artwork match your target audience, it is much easier for them to get your game to the table. Our guide to player personas shows how to define that audience.

2. Match the Box, Components and Rulebook to Your Audience

The box size, components and rulebook should fit your audience too. If your game is for players who enjoy light games, but it comes in a 280 × 280 mm box with a 20-page rulebook, it will almost certainly never be played.

3. Improve on a Game Your Audience Already Loves

This starts at the concept stage. Designing a game as an improvement on another game is a low-risk way to reach the right audience. If reviewers call it “like game X, but better”, your players will find it easy to convince their like-minded friends to play.

4. Make Setup Quick

Many people who host board game nights watch a how-to-play video, which often includes the setup, or run through the setup before their friends arrive. If setup is slow and tedious, or long compared with the playing time, they are unlikely to suggest the game at all. Component efficiency (designing with fewer pieces) keeps setup short.

5. Leave Out Mechanics Your Audience Dislikes

Keep your audience’s common pain points out of your core mechanics, or out of the game. For example, a euro game with a cosy art style that has a “take that” move every round will put off enough of its market that at least one person in most friend groups will refuse to play.

These are examples, not a checklist. Keep the idea in mind as you design and develop your game.

Why It Matters After Players Have Bought Your Game

It is a fair question: the player has already bought the game. But how much a game gets played matters more and more, especially for self-published games. Whether your next game is a sequel, an expansion or a new IP, players remember how much your last game was played.

It also helps the whole board game market, which affects every publisher, big and small. When players learn that the games they buy really do get played, they buy with more confidence. That helps your next games and the market as a whole.