We often get emails from game creators asking about the possibility of making a game with a board that’s outside the typical rectangular, cardboard norm. This is often possible, but it can depend on a variety of factors related to your board’s design and your choice of materials.
Nonconventional game boards can increase your game’s thematic impact, give your players a pleasant surprise the first time they set up and begin playing, and elevate your game’s identity both creatively and from a marketing perspective.
The tradeoff is some extra complexity in design, prototyping, and manufacturing, but with the right approach, it’s often worth it.
In this guide, we’ll talk about what “nonconventional” means in practice for a game board, what kinds of designs are possible, and give you some concrete tips for working with them, plus risks to watch out for.
What Does “Nonconventional” Mean in Board Design?
By “nonconventional,” we mean game boards that deviate from the typical rectangular, folded, flat layout. Some examples include modular/tile-based boards, 3D or layered boards, irregular shapes (e.g. a circle-shaped game board), flexible or rollable boards, or boards with their own moving parts and mechanical integration.
For example, Carcassonne: The Castle, Notre Dame and lots of other games all have boards that fall outside the typical rectangular, folded layout that most games conform to.
These designs let the board itself become part of the gameplay, not just the backdrop for the game. Done right, this kind of nonconventional design can make your game more engrossing, as well as giving it a unique look and theme that players will remember.
What’s Possible: Examples & Variations of Nonconventional Boards
If you’re designing your game and want to use a nonconventional board design, here are some directions you can explore.
Modular/Tile-Based Boards
Modular/tile-based boards are dynamic and can change as needed. Instead of one fixed board, the board is made up of tiles or segments that can be rearranged or added over time. This gives replayability, dynamic layouts, or variable geography each time the game is played.
Many war or exploration games use modular map tiles. You can also combine one central board for the “core” of your game with modular border tiles.
Non-Rectangular Shapes
Boards shaped as circles, hexagons, or even organic shapes (e.g. a river, star, island silhouette) help your game stand out if it has a unique theme that’s related to the shape. A circular board is great for encouraging symmetrical play, while irregular edges can mimic terrain.
Although some non-rectangular board shapes are still easy to manufacture, the more complex a board’s shape gets, the more difficult it usually becomes to cut effectively and fit inside your box without issues.
If you’re interested in a non-rectangular shape (especially a complicated shape), feel free to talk to our team. We can help you go from idea to finished design ready for manufacturing and give our advice to help your unconventional board design work in practice.
3D/Layered or Vertical Boards
A 3D or layered design brings depth to your board. This might mean layered platforms, vertical ramps, or multiple “levels” of your game board stacked above each other to give your players a feeling like standing on cliffs or ascending a tower.
For example, a dungeon game could have floors, staircases, or collapsible levels, while moving parts or rotating discs can change paths during gameplay.
Flexible or Rollable Boards
Flexible boards use cloth, fabric, vinyl, or flexible plastic so the board rolls and folds without rigid board material. These are useful for travel games, games that use large play areas, or getting a whimsical effect during your game.
We can use a variety of materials to help you make a non-standard game board. If you’d like to use cloth, vinyl or another material for your game, please contact us so we can help you pick a material that matches your vision and works with your game components.
Interactive/Mechanical Boards
These are boards where elements move, flip, rotate or shift midgame. For example, the game might feature hidden compartments, rotating wheels, or sliding panels that move during each game to change the dynamics and action.
Interactive game boards can get quite complicated, but there are always trade-offs made with manufacturing complexity and durability as the game board gets more complex.
Different Game Board Materials
Most games use standard cardboard for their foldable boards. In addition to unique shapes or mechanics, you might want to consider using a material like wood, acrylic, metal or something else to give your game a unique feel.
Design Tips for Nonconventional Game Boards
It’s fun to get creative and imagine a game board that’s totally different from anything else on store shelves. While creativity and uniqueness are great, it’s also important to have a realistic attitude and keep design and manufacturing constraints in mind.
Here are practical tips to help you use a nonstandard board effectively:
- Start with constraints & back-of-the-envelope logistics. Ask yourself how your board will fold, store, ship and package. Does your box impose any constraints in terms of weight, thickness and total size?
- Check with your manufacturer before committing to a design. We’ll always try to support the materials, tolerances and parts you want for your game board. However, it’s vital to check with your manufacturer before committing to any game board design.
- Prototype early and in stages. Use cheap materials or mockups to test the form, fold, or movement of your board design. Try to simulate gameplay by having tokens, cards and miniatures interact with your board and move through it.
- Design for manufacturability and tolerances. Use simple geometries wherever possible (straight cuts, simple joints) to reduce cost and error. Allow generous tolerances where mechanical parts meet.
- Use simple art like terrain transitions or textures to mask seams. Plan for some degree of misalignment in die-cutting or assembly and give your game a buffer so it looks great in finished form.
- Don’t get “attached” to any one material. Instead, choose the materials that support your design and manufacture well. We can help you pick the right materials for your board to match your creative vision and budget.
Also, keep in mind that nonconventional boards will generally cost more for design, prototyping, production and quality control. This is due to a longer production cycle, higher tooling and setup costs, and a more complex assembly process.
Because of this, you might want to consider only using a nonconventional board for a premium or deluxe edition of your game, rather than for your first mass production run.
The Bottom Line on Nonconventional Game Boards
As a game designer, it’s good to be different, especially if your game has the themes and great gameplay to justify the extra investment in a creative board design.
Designing outside the typical rectangular foldable board offers lots of potential for making your game more special and memorable. However, it also requires a lot of extra work and care, and it’s not the best choice for every game.
If you’re thinking about using a nonconventional board for your next board game, we can help you assess feasibility, choose materials and prototype your ideas.
Contact us now and we can explore creative, fun design ideas for your game and help you get ready for production.
