Configure the Quote
Your project manager builds a quote around your actual game — the right materials, components and price for what you're making, not a generic package.
A DFM review catches issues before a single mold is cut.
Board Game Manufacturing
Your Board Game Manufacturing Partner
Every board game is a different product — different components, different materials, different molds. We built our process, our pricing, and our communication around that reality, not around hiding it.
- 1,000-Unit MOQ
- Lead Times from 30 Days
- Upfront Landed Cost
From 30 days
Lead time, vs. ~60 industry-wide
1,000
Unit standard MOQ
80%+
Produced in-house
300+
Publishers served since 2019
Custom Board Game Manufacturing, From 1,000 to 100,000+ Copies
Hero Time is a Western-owned board game manufacturer in Yiwu, China, making custom board games for publishers and independent creators since 2019. “Custom” means your game is built to your specification — your components, your materials, your box and insert — not assembled from a catalogue of stock parts (in industry terms, made-to-spec or OEM manufacturing).
Most factories make the same item hundreds of thousands of times. A board game manufacturer rarely makes the same thing twice: a light game might have seven components, a heavy one twenty or more, across a dozen materials — each with its own molds and setup. Because we own our factory and produce roughly 80% in-house, we set the production line up around your game, whether you're printing 1,000 copies or more than 100,000.
Built for Every Stage of Publishing
First-Time Designers
Never manufactured a game before? Your dedicated project manager walks you through every decision — components, materials, timeline — in plain language, on a call whenever you want one.
Crowdfunding Creators
Know your real landed cost and fulfillment price before you launch your campaign, not after — built for Kickstarter and Gamefound timelines.
Scaling Publishers
Already selling? Scale production without losing the transparency or the direct line to your production floor you had at a smaller run.
Publishers we've worked with
What Publishers Actually Worry About
The 6 Challenges Publishers Face With Their Board Game Manufacturer — and How We Solve Them
Here's exactly how we answer the six things publishers ask us about most.
Will the price I'm quoted be the price I actually pay?
The number we give you is the number.
The biggest surprise in this industry isn't the factory price — it's everything that lands after it. Our quotes include setup costs by default (or broken out as a separate hourly charge, if you prefer). Our shipping partner Prime Ship, a Walmart shipping partner moving hundreds of containers, quotes your full landed cost — duties, VAT, tariffs — and worldwide fulfillment to every backer, upfront, before you commit.
- Setup costs included in the quote by default
- Landed cost incl. duties, VAT & tariffs, via Prime Ship
- Full worldwide fulfillment cost, quoted upfront
- ~7 days cargo-ready-to-loading, vs. 21 days to a month elsewhere
How fast can a board game manufacturer really deliver?
From 30 days, not 60 — because setting up something new is what we're built for.
Every new game is a new product to set up — new molds, specs and materials — and setup is where slower board game manufacturers lose weeks. We stay fast there with an agile team, cloud workflows on a Microsoft-based ERP, and direct lines to the people doing the work. That's 30 days for a simple card game against a 60-day norm, 35 for a medium-weight game, 45 for a heavy one, and up to 90 for heavy miniature games that need new molds — and we tell you which before you commit.
- From 30 days vs. ~60 days industry-wide
- 35 days for medium-weight games, 45 for heavy, up to 90 with new miniature molds — stated upfront
- Setup speed is the difference, not corner-cutting
Will anyone actually talk to me?
If you're not sure, don't write a ticket. Get on a call and just talk.
Language barriers and slow, vague replies are the most-cited reason creators regret a manufacturer — and where we take the most pride. Every Hero Time project manager is fluent in English, international-school and university educated. Not sure about something? Don't write a ticket: get on a video call and talk it through. You're connected to the whole team moving your game, not a relay chain.
- Fluent-English project managers, on real video calls
- One dedicated PM from quote to delivery
- Direct lines to the people doing the work — no “broken telephone”
Will my files be handled right — and will the quality hold?
A file report at every stage — you choose the fix.
File and print setup is where most defects are born. So at three points — first submission, after the prototype, before mass production — we run a full report on your files and flag every issue; you decide whether to fix it yourself, have us fix it, or proceed as-is. You talk directly to the printing engineer, over a Microsoft-based ERP and secure cloud storage where nothing gets lost between handoffs. And because no two games are alike, our QC is process-level: built to catch a defect in any component, not tuned to one game.
- Direct line to the printing engineer and production floor manager, with live updates
- AQL General Inspection Level 2: Critical <0.6%, Major <1.5%, Minor <4%
- Free replacements for damaged components, shipped direct to your customer
How do I know I can trust you before I've sent a single file?
Judge us by real materials and real reviews — not our own marketing.
You're about to send original designs overseas, so see and hold the real materials first. Our sample pack is a genuine library of production materials, not flashy print effects nobody uses, and quality keeps improving through continuous supplier development. NNN and NDA agreements are available. Our track record is public: live, independent reviews on Trustpilot and Google, not curated on our own site. And we're Western-owned.
- Sample pack = a real materials library, not gimmicks
- NNN / NDA agreements available; active IP protection in production
- Live, independent reviews on Trustpilot & Google; Western-owned
Is the minimum order realistic for me?
1,000 is the starting point, not a wall.
Minimums that only work for established publishers keep a lot of good games from ever being made. Our standard run is 1,000 units — and if that's more than where you are right now, the answer isn't “no,” it's a conversation. We've helped 300+ publishers find what works since 2019.
- 1,000-unit standard MOQ
- Smaller run? Contact us — we're here to help
- 300+ publishers served since 2019
Recognise a few of these? That's exactly the conversation to have with us.
Talk to a Project ManagerReal Reviews From Real Publishers
Public, verified and impossible for us to curate.
80+ reviewsRecommended by
- TrustpilotMay 13, 2026
Jayne Boggs
There isn't enough words to explain the gratitude I have towards HeroTime! From the beginning to...
- TrustpilotMar 19, 2023
Cam
Hershel and Herotime have been exceptional to work with. We first stumbled onto them while...
- TrustpilotMay 22, 2026
Alex
Working with Hero Time was a wonderful experience. Their communication was top notch and ultimately...
- TrustpilotJul 17, 2024
Samuel Nielson
I reached out to many companies to manufacture my game, Super Battle Pets. I had a complicated...
- TrustpilotOct 17, 2023
Zach Isaak
Partnering with Herotime was a great decision for us. Most Chinese manufacturers barely speak...
- TrustpilotDec 2, 2025
Catherine Jackson
Partnering with Hero Time for a bulk run of our first dice game was absolutely the way to go...
- TrustpilotOct 28, 2025
Jez Schembri-Stothart
We used Hero Time to manufacture the prototypes and first bulk order of our tabletop card game, The...
- TrustpilotJan 9, 2026
Abby Brammell
I was lost in the dark, struggling with how to bring my vision to life and Hero Time finally began...
- TrustpilotMay 4, 2026
Teresa Gonzalez
It was my first time producing a game. Hero Time helped me throughout the process from A t Z. They...
- TrustpilotApr 24, 2026
Allie Williamson
Wonderful company to work with. My representative, Silver, went above and beyond, accommodating our...
- TrustpilotFeb 13, 2026
Michael Hitch Combe
Jerick and the entire team were great to work with. This is the first game I have published and...
- TrustpilotSep 4, 2024
Thomas K. Carpenter
Hero Time has been a fantastic partner in bringing my game, Champions of the Hundred Halls to life...
- TrustpilotJan 13, 2025
Curtis Humphreys
I have been working with Hero Time for several years now a fantastic company with dedicated...
Hero Time vs. a Typical Overseas Manufacturer
For anyone skipping straight to the summary.
| Service / Point | Typical Overseas Manufacturer | Hero Time |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Shipping | ||
| Setup costs | Often billed separately, after the quote | Included by default |
| Landed cost (duties, VAT, tariffs) | Discovered after the invoice | Quoted upfront, via Prime Ship |
| Cargo-ready to loading | 21 days to a month | ~7 days, via Prime Ship |
| Timeline & Communication | ||
| Standard lead time | ~60 days | From 30 days |
| Project manager | Shared inbox / rotating support | One dedicated, fluent-English PM |
| File setup contact | Relayed through support | Direct line to the engineer |
| Production updates | Occasional, via a sales rep | Direct access to the production manager |
| Quality & Trust | ||
| In-house production | Mostly outsourced/subcontracted | 80%+ in-house |
| Quality control | Product-specific, inconsistent | Process-level, AQL Level 2 |
| Damaged components | Your problem to solve | Free replacement, shipped direct |
| Reviews | Curated testimonials | Live, independent (Trustpilot, Google) |
| Minimum Order | ||
| Standard MOQ | Often 3,000+ units | 1,000 units |
| Smaller runs | Rarely accommodated | Talk to us — we're here to help |
How It Works
From Quote to Delivery, in 5 Stages
- 1
- 2
Prototype
Your game moves into prototyping — its own dedicated service, with its own process for materials and turnaround.
See how prototyping works →
- 3
Feedback & Adjustment
Every sample issue report and comment you have gets gathered and tracked back to your project — documented, not relayed informally.
A file report at every stage — you choose the fix.
- 4
Pre-Mass-Production Sample
A sample built to match the final run exactly, with the same file/print report running again so you can confirm or request a change.
Get it right before the full run, not after.
- 5
Mass Production
Production begins with updates throughout — you're connected to the project manager, file setup, printing, and factory floor the whole way.
Live updates from the actual production floor.
Board Game Components We Make
What goes into a custom board game
Almost every custom board game is built from three families of components. Printed components — game boards, boxes, cards, player boards, punchboard tokens and rulebooks. Plastic components — miniatures, plastic tokens, trays and inserts. And wooden and specialty pieces such as meeples and dice. Most games mix all three.
How we make them
Around 90% of printed components come off our own Heidelberg offset presses — printing is never outsourced. Around 90% of plastic parts come from our own plastic factory in Ningbo, in-house since 2023. The few steps we don't do ourselves, such as UV spot, metallic stamping and rulebook binding, go to a maximum of 2–3 long-term suppliers per process. How each component is made, machine by machine →
Game Boards
Folding boards in any size, from bi-fold to quad-fold.
Game Boxes
Custom sizes and finishes, built to protect what's inside.
Player Boards
Personal boards and mats, sized for cubes, meeples, or cards.
Cards
Any size, finish, or count — from a small deck to full expansions.
Wooden Meeples
Custom-colored wooden pawns and player pieces.
Miniatures
Detailed sculpted miniatures, unpainted or hand-painted.
Custom Dice
Standard and custom-faced dice in any color combination.
Punchboard Tokens
Round, hex, and custom-shaped tokens, die-cut to size.
Box Inserts
Organizer trays that keep every component in its place.
Our Board Game Manufacturing Facility
Located in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, about 1.5–2.5 hours from Shanghai.
- 6,000m²factory floor
- 80%+of production in-house
- 22in-house workers
Up to
10,000 sheets/hr
Printing — Heidelberg Speedmaster
Across a wide range of board and component sizes.
Up to
4,000 sheets/hr
Oil Coating
For a precise, consistent finish.
Up to
3,000 sheets/hr
Laminating — HOQO Series
Up to
1,500 sheets/hr
Card Cutting & Collation
Cards cut and collated with high precision.
Averaging
10,000 games/day
Assembly Line
Double line, two different games at once, up to 12 people per side.
Down to
12×12mm
Stamp Cutting
Smallest token size.
Our quality commitment is AQL General Inspection Level 2: Critical under 0.6%, Major under 1.5%, Minor under 4%, checked at a process level, not per-product.See our full quality control standard →
Approved by: Disney FAMA
- 1,000-Unit MOQ
- Lead Times from 30 Days
- Upfront Landed Cost