Tania Walker

Creative Lead

Table presence can be hard to define, but people know it when they see it. It doesn't always require vast size, or expensive materials, or ultra-customised minis, though all those things can help. Often what it needs is just one strong idea: pure and original, applied 'across the board'. (Sorry.)

ImageWithCaption

Maybe you're working on the Big One - the dream game; the one that got you into this wild hobby in the first place. The one you know is going to get your name out there. Maybe you're creating a super limited edition gift, or work of art. Maybe you're prepared to spare no expense. Or maybe you're looking for just one affordable way to add a bit of sparkle to an otherwise sensible, straightforward game.

Whatever the reason may be, you want your boardgame to stand out. You want some of that sweet, sweet table presence.

Small design tweaks for big visual impact

Some of these ideas can be implemented in-house by Launch Tabletop; others can't at present, but we'll work with you to incorporate materials and components from external providers.

Many of these suggestions include examples of real-world games that have implemented them, but we encourage you to put your own spin on the basic concept.

We're going to put the bleeding obvious one up front and get it over with. Yes, making your game enormous can and will turn heads. In fact, if a game takes up the entire table, it has massive table presence by default - in the most literal sense.

But that's all this is: a literal interpretation. Peruse any forum discussion on table presence and you'll see that quite a few otherwise unremarkable games definitely stick in peoples' memories due to their sheer bulk. But you'll also see several trim and compact games that make these lists over and over, without relying on behemoth size.

So if you have a big complex concept, and you're confident it will sell at a higher price point, lean into it. Lavish artwork on every component. Throw in that flavour text. Luxuriate in a two-digit font size. More cards! Bigger minis! No drinks on the table! Make your players do pilates to reach the draw pile!

7 Wonders, Firefly: The Game, Twilight Imperium, Scythe, Terraforming Mars

Now let's take a look on the opposite end of the size scale.

Minis are the final form in the 'token > pawn > meeple > mini' evolutionary cycle. These small three-dimensional semi-realistic models of characters, machines, and objects can be cast or 3D-printed, plastic or metal, plain or painted, but no matter how they're made or prepped, they're - let's be honest - kind of cute and awesome.

Unlike tokens, pawns and meeples, which stand-in for the player, minis are detailed enough to function as fully-fledged characters in their own right, or to represent established characters in licensed games. They're a quality upgrade to tokens, and they can lend your game a lot of presence, creating a whole tiny universe on the table.

Due to multiple Kickstarter campaigns packing boardgames with minis to justify a higher price point, some people view minis as an unnecessary embellishment designed to take your money. Counterpoint: how is any part of the boardgame hobby necessary? Whimsy and fun and 'play for the sake of play' is the point. And if you're here reading this article, chances are, you like your toys on the shiny side.

Games with minis that grab your attention

Betrayal at House on the Hill, Star Wars: Armada, Cthulu: Death May Die, A Song of Ice & Fire

Apparently humans love shiny things because we evolved to seek out the glimmer of fresh water. We may have water on tap now, but shiny things still catch our eye - and you can use this to draw people to your boardgame.

Here, you've got two major approaches: add shine through your choice of materials, or through printed finishes.

When it comes to materials, metal components can be pricey, but their luxury value is undeniable. Metal tokens, minis and coins all offer a level of detail and weight that will make your game a pleasure to touch and play. Glass tokens provide many of the same benefits, plus fun colour options, and may be cheaper. However, glass components are less common, less versatile, and more fragile. An alternative to this is transparent plastic components, which offer all the beauty and shine of glass but are cheaper, stronger, and available in a variety of useful forms.

A more affordable option still is to add metallic finishes on your cards, board, or box. Printing options warrant a full article of their own, but in brief, you can add soft metallic finishes, bright shiny foils, and glossy varnishes in endless combinations to create cards that feel truly special. Use foil sparingly, though. Slapped over an entire card, it can make text difficult to read, ruin accessibility and annoy your players. Use it sparingly, as an accent: in borders, or to highlight particular areas of artwork, or to make key elements on your game board or box pop.

Games with cleverly-crafted metallic elements

Hnefatafl: Viking Chess, The Lady and the Tiger, Star Realms: Deluxe Edition.

The right artwork can draw attention to any game, no matter how small. Once your game is on the table, the mechanics matter most - but without eye-catching artwork, it may never get there.

Tokaido attracts admirers when played at conventions, and doesn't need expensive materials, custom finishes, or gimmicks to do so. What makes this game pop is the unusual shape and colour of its striking white board, combined with a clean visual minimalism reminiscent of classic Japanese design. It stands out because it's outside the norm.

The same can be said of the almost monochromatic lush green colours of Photosynthesis, the retro nostalgia of Parks, the naturalist bird paintings of Wingspan, the vibrant stained-glass styling of Sagrada, or Dixit's dreamy impressionism.

Your instinct may be to go with realistic digital paintings, and those can be wonderful - Scythe features beautiful painterly artwork - but they're also the accepted default artwork style, and may blur together with every other game on the table. If you want your boardgame to stand out, think about what you can do differently. Sometimes a limited palette is more striking than a full one, or a simple style more eye-catching than realism. Next time you're at a convention, walk around the game hall and look at what people are playing. What catches your eye?

Tokaido, Photosynthesis, Wingspan, Sagrada, Dixit.

Yes, they're boardgames, which suggests a big ol' board is involved. But sometimes when you're staring at the tenth board of the day, you might get a little… bored.

Consider alternatives to a standard board, though be aware that altering a game's design on such a fundamental level may introduce new mechanics to the mix. In Betrayal at House on the Hill, players draw and place room tiles on each turn to gradually create the randomised layout of a haunted mansion they're exploring. The beloved classics Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan popularised this map-by-tile mechanic. Both games create striking table presence using little more than attractive art on cardboard tiles. The Viking chess game Hnefatafl uses a linen fabric board.

The board isn't the only thing you can reimagine. Elevate tokens by switching out cardboard for custom wooden meeples - take a look at the delightfully vibrant, detailed fish meeples of Oceans for some inspiration, or Camel Up's camel meeples, whose stackability forms the core mechanic of the game. Tobago uses cleverly-distressed plastic to give its statues a stone look. And with stunning graphic design, rich colour, and tactile plastic tiles, Azul captures the imagination of everyone who sees it.

Games with cunningly-designed table presence

Betrayal at House on the Hill, Carcassonne, Catan, Hnefatafl, Oceans, Camel Up, Tobago, Azul.

If you have the budget, why not consider building your game around moving parts?

Sure, this cam be gimmicky, and it's chiefly seen in kids games. But don't write it off just yet.

On one end of the gimmick motion scale, you have games like the old-school Mouse Trap, which most people played exactly once and never again. While the Rube Goldberg action was fun, the otherwise boring mechanics of the game didn't justify it. Another example from the same era was Trouble, which used a tactile 'popping' plastic bubble on the board to roll dice, a more useful mechanic once again baked into an unmemorable game.

Tzolk'in offers a much better example of moving parts working in harmony with a game's mechanics and theme. The board is covered in a sprawling set of interlocked plastic gears which spin one notch each turn, delivering new items to players. The gears feature intricate designs, and among the treats they deliver are adorable translucent blue crystal skulls. Spooky, and super tactile.

Shogun's dice tower randomly traps coloured blocks that can later be knocked loose to give players surprise boosts in battle. Dice Forge allows you to change the faces on your dice as you play. The marble dispenser in Gizmos keeps the game cracking along at a speedy pace, and Potion Explosion involves making potions by mixing different coloured marbles together. Some of these gimmicks are more essential to gameplay mechanics than others, but all of them are fun, and add unusual and eye-catching elements to their games.

Tzolk'in, Shogun, Dice Forge, Gizmos, Potion Explosion

If you (make them) build it, they will come

The previous suggestion often involves creating custom moulds, which can be expensive. Here, let's look at a cheaper way to do the same thing.

It's our old friend cardboard! Affordable and versatile, it can take full-colour two-sided printing like a champ, and though it may not be wood or metal, it's strong enough to be used as flat-packed components to build structures that are much greater than the sum of its parts.

Anyone who has played Everdell or Photosynthesis remembers the beautiful three-dimensional cardboard tree standups. These are made by slotting custom cardboard tokens together. Objects created this way can be very functional: Wingspan includes a working dice tower assembled from cardboard, and Materia Prima allows players to construct their own token trays. Colt Express is a game played out atop an entire train built of cardboard.

This approach keeps games affordable and easy to ship, as cardboard components can be shipped flat, in punchboard, for the player to assemble like tiny pieces of IKEA furniture.

Using cardboard components this way is an increasingly popular way to give your game some height and visual weight on the table. This does involve custom dies, which come at a cost, but that cost is far less than the cost of creating a similar component in plastic, and the result is limited only by your imagination.

Games with 3D components assembled from printed cardboard

Everdell, Photosynthesis, Wingspan, Materia Prima, Colt Express.

start creating your game

 with Launch Tabletop, you'll be assigned a project manager to guide you through the process and help you get the best results. But we're not just about doing the job, we're about helping new creators get started, and that means we're here for you every step of the way - even before you're ready to go to print.

So if you've got further questions about how to implement some of the solutions above, or if you're seeking a component that doesn't appear on our components page, 

Launch Tabletop Article | Boost your game's table presence

Table presence can be hard to define, but people know it when they see it.

Boost your game's table presence

Tempting as it is to rush an exciting game concept to 

Print-on-deman

, the simplest way to save money early in the process is by making DIY prototypes at home. It's time-consuming and makes for flimsy prototypes, but in early development, you'll be iterating quickly, which means frequent adding, removing, and changing parts of the game. 

Right now, only the content of your game matters. So let it be flimsy and ugly; you'll be throwing out many of these slips of paper during the process anyway. Save your money for when your concept is solid and you're in the latter stages of playtesting and the first stages of pitching: that's when you'll want Launch Tabletop's beautiful and sturdy game prototypes.

Check out Launch Tabletop's Designer Decks:

 90-card packs of template cards created to help you test out game ideas quickly.

DoubleImage

Each pack contains 6 suits of cards numbered 1-12, plus an unnumbered 'hero' card, all with identical card backs. The suits are associated with unique colours and symbols, allowing you to use as many or as few as you need to represent the content of your game design. The pack also includes 2 'wild' or 'Joker' cards with unique art. 

Each pack is themed, with the first two covering Space and Ocean - however, the themes are represented with very broad, basic symbols, so they won't distract from the content of your game. Also included are 10 blank card fronts, so you can add further special-function cards to the deck. 

These decks may come with a small outlay, but your time has value too, and using a Designer Deck to iterate your concepts will save you hours of tiresome printing and cutting out prototypes. The professional finish, attractive design, and sturdy construction of the Designer Deck is sure to make a good impression at the playtesting table, too.

3. Print-on-demand: professionalism at an affordable price

While the first tip stands, there comes a time in the development of your game when it's important to ditch the printer paper, scissors, and template cards, and switch to 

retail quality prototyping

If you're ready to pitch to publishers or investors, you don't want them distracted by poor quality prototypes. A bad prototype risks turning off the publishers, investors and backers you most want to attract - and in the long run that could cost you far more money than you save by 

Cutting corners can have unintended consequences down the track

One of the services offered by Launch Tabletop is the production of affordable prototypes with retail-quality polish. The quality means they'll endure just as much play as any other retail game, so you won't have to worry about your demo copies falling apart halfway through a convention. 

Are you using the smallest possible box for your game components? 

Game boxes

 as physically small as possible can keep things cheap. Less materials equals lower production costs, and less weight (and less volume) equals lower shipping costs. Over hundreds or thousands of units, those little savings add up.

ImageGallery

are your game components as compact as they can be?

As important as it is to not waste space with your box, you don't want to waste space inside it, either. And if you can reduce the size or number of components, you can once again reduce manufacturing cost, box size, and shipping weight. You may even reduce how much graphic design and illustration you'll need, cutting back on a particularly big cost.

Think about each component in your boardgame, and ask: 

6. Paper beats rock (or metal or plastic)

As a designer, you get to choose from almost endless possibilities and combinations of materials for your game. 

Paper, cardboard, wood and plastic are all commonly available, along with more high-end materials like metal and glass. While all these options offer pros and cons, if your main goal is to keep costs low, you'll want to go with paper and cardboard. 

So what's good about mashed-up tree? Well, it's renewable, recyclable, and affordable, and while it's growing, it's busy creating clean air too - that's a heck of a bonus.

There's a reason for the long association between boardgames and cardboard: cardboard is a super versatile material for the particular needs of boardgames. You can print anything directly onto it, double sided and in full colour, for cheap. It can be produced in sheets, cut to intricate shapes, folded, perforated, and punched through. Producing tokens to be punched-out and sorted by the players rather than by the factory saves labour costs - and most players love that part of opening a new game. 

Finally, of all the components listed above, paper and card are the lightest, and if you've been paying attention, you know what that means: lower shipping costs. In these times, that's a must.

A beautiful game will stand out on the shelf, but if your game box looks unprofessional or cheap, a potential customer might never pick it up at all. Unless you're a wunderkind who can do it all - game design, illustration, graphic design, and content editing - at some point you'll want to hire creative professionals.

Sounds expensive? It is. Depending on how much art and what style your game requires, this may be one of your biggest costs. If you're considering alternatives, tread with caution, as there are pitfalls in trying to cut too many corners here. The two main ones to avoid:

But hiring professionals doesn't have to break the bank. Here are three ways to shop around for a budget artist deal:

Unless you have your heart set on a particular artist, identify a few whose work you like, and ask for quotes from each of them. The same goes for editors, graphic designers, and art directors if you plan on using one. 

You'll be amazed at the disparity between what different creatives charge, and it's not always directly tied to quality - some creatives work faster than others, or don't rely on their creative work as a major income source, or live in a more affordable place. All these elements can impact price, so ask around. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Bonus tip: talk to people you know in the industry and get recommendations. This way, you're benefitting from someone else's legwork and research, you know the artist can deliver, and you've seen their work.

This is the riskiest tip, but if you're on a shoestring budget, scour online art sites for student artists. As they're trying to gain experience, they will probably be willing to take your project on for less. We don't suggest you ask anyone to work for free (or take on board anyone who offers to do so, as it's a sign they might not have given the commitment much thought). And be aware that their inexperience may affect their speed or quality; have a backup plan, just in case. But with all that said, you might just stumble on a new talent, help someone launch their career, and save some money in the process. 

There are so many ways to save here, we're rolling them into one final super-tip. 

Though art and design are often the final elements created for a game, it's important to start planning for them as early as possible. Creatives - especially illustrators - are often booked months in advance, and if you approach an illustrator at the last minute you are likely to find they're unavailable. On top of that, many illustrators charge a premium for 'rush jobs'. 

As for designers, it's useful to get them involved even earlier - they may be able to suggest ways to simplify and streamline that could save you money at the illustration phase. 

If you're not working with an art director, it's important to have a 

How to write an illustration brief

Communicate ideas with a creative brief

, using reference images and thumbnail sketches if you wish. Most artists charge for changes after a certain point, and the more back-and-forth you have to do with your artist on any particular piece, the more you're likely to end up paying. Approaching each piece with clarity will save you and your artist time, money, and sanity.

Alternatively, if you love your artist's work and you're not fussy over the exact look of the content, consider describing the function of each card, and letting the artist loose to interpret it however they wish. Artists love this sort of freedom and it can net you some incredibly creative results. You may even be able to negotiate a reduced rate with an artist if you let them know they're free to provide their own interpretations.

If you want a particular artist and can't afford them, and your boardgame has a flexible enough theme, ask that artist if they're willing to licence out some of their pre-existing pieces. This will be much cheaper than paying for original work. Faster, too.

So there's this artist you absolutely love, but they're way beyond your budget. What to do? 

Consider using expensive art in key locations. Hire that Dream Artist for a single piece - your box art. This is the part of the game people will see the most, and come to associate with it. You can always hire a different artist for the rest of the game. Better still, providing your agreement with Dream Artist allows it, you can likely re-use elements of that gorgeous piece of cover art elsewhere in the game.

The style of art you choose can drastically change the cost. Full-blown semi-realistic painterly illustrations take a lot of time, and will almost certainly cost more than cartoony styles, or simplified linework, or super-flat bright modernist styles, or strategic use of black-and-white or monochromatic art instead of full colour illustrations for certain parts of the game. 

So unless you're married to a particular style, consider going for a stylised and simple vibe: some of these art styles are beautiful and original, and will make your game stand out among dozens of quasi-realistic-painterly clones. 

Here's a thought: does this particular boardgame actually need full illustrations? Some well-known bestseller games have made do with clever graphic design, using colour and layout to communicate concepts. There's a ton of middle ground between “every card a painting” and “every card Helvetica on white”,  too: for instance, your graphic designer might create brightly coloured repeating patterns out of the icons they designed for your game. Consider multiple approaches, and think outside the canvas.

When you start creating your game with Launch Tabletop, you'll be assigned a project manager to guide you through the process and help you get the best results. But we're not just about doing the job, we're about helping new creators get started, and that means we're here for you every step of the way - even before you're ready to go to print. 

So if you've got further questions about how to reduce the size of your game, cut content, choose the cheapest combination of components, or find affordable artwork, 

Contact us

Everything is so expensive right now. Being able to create a game within your budget means you can afford to keep creating games, and that's really the goal, isn't it. We're here to help you with that.

Launch Tabletop Article | Build your game on a budget

Whether you're brand new to boardgame design or a seasoned hand, you're probably searching for ways to keep costs low.

Build your game on a budget

Any image created for print or screen includes information on how colours should be displayed. Because screens and printers produce colour in very different ways, it's important to understand which colour model you should use to make your image look its best. Using the wrong colour model can lead to prints with unexpectedly harsh and incorrect colours, or screen images that look muddy and lifeless.

When an image is displayed on a screen - like a television, computer monitor, or smartphone - the screen creates all the colours you see by mixing three base colours of light: Red, Green, and Blue. Each colour is available on a scale of 0 (no colour) to 255 (maximum amount of that colour). For example, using 100 red and 255 blue together creates a cool purple. Or, 255 red with 0 green and 0 blue creates the strongest red possible.

If all three colours are set to 0, the screen displays pure black: no colour. But if you use all three colours together at 255 each (100% strength), the screen displays pure white.

This is called additive colour, because the more light you add, the closer you get to white.

RGB files are designed to be read and translated perfectly into the right colours by screens. An RGB file is speaking the same language as your screen. Therefore, by using RGB colours, you will get the best-looking screen images possible–but these images will not print well.

When an image is printed - commercially and on most home printers - the printer creates all the colours you see by mixing four base colours of ink or toner: Cyan (a light, bright blue), Magenta (a vivid pinkish-purple), Yellow, and Black (also called the 'Key' colour). These colours use a scale of 0% (no colour) to 100% (strongest amount of that colour). For example: mixing 100% cyan and 100% yellow together creates a vivid green, and adding 15% magenta or black turns it into a dark green.

If your artwork uses 0% of all four basic inks, the printer will print no colour, leaving the plain paper to show through. If you artwork uses 100% of all four inks, the printer will print a rich solid black.

This is called subtractive colour, because the more ink you add, the closer you get to black.

CMYK files are designed to be read and translated perfectly into the right colours by printers. A CMYK file is speaking the same language as printers; therefore, by using CMYK files, you will get the best-looking prints possible–but these images will not look good on screens.

Screens use hundreds and thousands of tiny pixels that are back-lit and coloured differently so that they combine to trick our eye into seeing an image. Each pixel is formed of three bars of colour: red, green, and blue. The amount and combination of these three colours in each pixel determines the overall colour the pixel shows to the human eye.

Printing works in a similar way: each of the four ink colours (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) is printed onto the paper via a separate 'screen' formed of thousands of tiny dots. Each colour's screen creates a field of dots that is printed at a slightly different angle to the other screens, so that different coloured dots appear side-by-side, or "offset", rather than on top of each other. This is why CMYK printing is sometimes called "offset printing".

The intensity (amount and size) of dots on each colour screen sets how much of that colour appears on the page, and how bright or pale it looks. The combination of all four colour screens mixed together determines the overall colour we see on the printed page.

How to set up or convert your file for print

Launch Tabletop prefers to receive CMYK files for print. This guarantees your cards, boards, and components will be printed in the highest quality, with the most accurate colours possible, and no surprises for you. However, we can accept RGB artwork and convert it for you during the pre-press process.

You can create your images in CMYK mode, and work on your artwork in CMYK from start to finish, if you wish. Many artists and designers prefer to do this, even though CMYK colours look muddier onscreen. This onscreen reproduction offers a more accurate idea of how the colours will print, allowing the designer to make important decisions about what colours they want to use from the very start of the design process.

Some designers prefer to work in RGB mode, especially if the artwork will be extensively used onscreen. Working in RGB shows you exactly how your screen file will look; however, be aware that when you convert the file to CMYK, the colours may appear surprisingly muddy or dull to you.

The colour mode you use while working on your art makes no difference on Launch Tabletop's end, provided the file we receive from you is CMYK.

To create a new Photoshop file in CMYK, click on 'New file' to bring up the 'New Document' window. In the 'Preset Details' section on the right, look for the heading 'Color Mode'. Click the drop-down box under it and select 'CMYK Color'.

If you are using a different graphics editor, this process may vary. For more information, please consult the help guide for your graphics software, or Google "How to create CMYK file in [your software name]".

If you work with CMYK images, but plan to use some of your artwork onscreen—for example, to advertise your game online, or in Kickstarter graphics—you should save a new version of your artwork file and convert it into RGB for screen use. See below for information on how to do this.

If your file is in RGB, you can easily convert it for print.

First, save a new version—you will want to have both RGB and CMYK versions available to you.

To convert your artwork to CMYK in Photoshop, first, open the file you want to convert. On the top bar menu, go to Image > Mode > CMYK Color. You will be given the option of flattening the artwork or leaving it layered—if you are about to send it to print and have no further major changes to make, flattening it will give you a smaller and more manageable file size.

If you are using a different image app, this process may vary. For more information, please consult the help guide for your software, or Google "How to convert to CMYK in [your app name]".

Understanding which color model to use is important because screens and printers produce color in very different ways. If you use the wrong color model for your intended output device (e.g., using RGB for print), it can result in inaccurate or distorted colors when your image is printed.

Launch Tabletop Article | CMYK vs RGB - What's the difference?

Colour modes play a crucial role in ensuring that the colors in your images appear accurately on different devices and surfaces. The two most commonly used colour modes are RGB (Red, Green, Blue) and CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black).

CMYK vs RGB: What's the difference?

When you're setting out to manufacture a greener game, there are two factors to consider: what happens when your game is created, and what happens when it is destroyed.

We'll cover these factors below, but only in brief - we're not about problems here: we're about solutions. You'll find nine concrete ideas on how to make a greener game below, all using materials, components and services offered by Launch Tabletop. It's never been easier to go green.

Every game is made of a variety of materials - wood, metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, etcetera - and each of those materials comes with a carbon footprint. This is a measure of how much carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere by obtaining, preparing, and moving that material. Wood has a low carbon footprint; plastic a much higher one. The quantity of your order, your choice of component materials and inclusions, the dimensions of your game box, your approach to shipping, and even your graphic design can all affect your game's carbon footprint.

As much as we'd love to imagine our games will be treasured forever, someday all objects reach the natural end of their lifespan. The more recyclable materials used in your game, the less will end up in landfill. But not all materials biodegrade equally: a wooden piece will naturally decompose within a few years, whereas the same size plastic piece might take half a century to break down. The components and packaging you choose can improve your game's biodegradability.

There's so much to think about when juggling those costs. What if a material is recyclable but comes with a high carbon footprint - or vice versa? No matter which materials and approaches you opt for, the fact is that all manufacturing comes with an environmental cost - but by following these simple guidelines, you can vastly reduce that cost.

If you're searching for a foolproof way to keep your game green, cardboard components are your best bet. Cardboard has a small carbon footprint, it's biodegradable, and it's lightweight to ship. Launch Tabletop's custom cardboard components are manufactured from recycled materials, too, so you can rest easy knowing nothing was dug up or cut down to bring your game to life.

Launch Lab components

, particularly at thicker cardboard items like game boards and game boxes, you'll see the phrase 'grey board' come up. This is a material somewhere between a heavy cardboard and a light particle board, formed by compressing layers of recycled newspaper and packaging pulp together. It doesn't get much more environmentally friendly than that.

Consider the other advantages of cardboard: it's cheaper than wood or plastic, takes up less space in the box (potentially allowing you to choose a smaller box size - more on that later), and is easier to print on. Launch Tabletop's custom cardboard game components cost you less, and cost the environment less too.

Looking for game components or tokens with more heft than cardboard? Wood is the word.

Farmed from sustainable timber plantations, Launch Tabletop's 

Wooden components

 offer a drastically lower carbon footprint than plastic or metal game pieces, while still providing heft, table presence, and a pleasantly natural tactile feel. They're available in a range of shapes and sizes bursting with vibrant colour, so choosing them over plastic won't mean sacrificing visual flair. We can even 

custom printed wooden pieces

Best of all, you can rest easy knowing that the trees that grew your game components added oxygen to the atmosphere while they lived - and when your games are laid to rest someday, they will return harmlessly to the earth.

After all this praise of wood and cardboard it might seem strange to recommend plastic, but hear us out.

custom print-on-demand cards

 inside, those decks are typically shipped in single-use plastic wrap to stop the cards from scattering throughout the box. This type of packaging is extremely single-use, and perhaps the single most wasteful element in modern games: disposed of in five minutes, it will take decades to break down in landfill.

ziplock bags

 as part of your game. When you order baggies, your cards and components are shipped sealed inside the baggies to keep components from shifting during transit. The key difference between baggies and plastic wrap is that baggies are designed to be reused - you can repack your game into them at the end of each session, keeping your components organised and in mint condition. These baggies become a vital and lasting part of the game, and serious collectors will love you for including them.

We'd call that 'killing two birds with one stone' but we're willing to bet it's going to save some birds.

TIP: If your budget allows, take this idea to the next level by including 

Drawstring bags

Running with the above concept, here's another way to replace a disposable game part with something built to last: consider swapping out 

Score pads

 for dry-erase boards. Launch Tabletop offers 

Dry-erase boards

 in various sizes, printed with your designs. The initial outlay may be slightly more than ordering a pad of scoresheets, but you'll never run out, never need to order any replacements, and never generate pages of crumpled trash with each gameplay.

Like paper components, our dry-erase boards are biodegradable, and created from recycled materials. And let's face it: dry-erase boards look classier than plain paper, too.

It's not all about the components. Keeping your game box as small as possible can reduce your carbon footprint from moose to mouse.

Consider: have you chosen the smallest possible 

Game boxes for games of all sizes

 to house your components? Can you tweak your design or reimagine your components to reduce the overall size of your game? A smaller game comes with multiple advantages, environmental and otherwise:

When it comes to the environment, small is mighty!

Building on the previous point, it's worth considering how many games you need to print in one hit. Not every creator can afford to mass manufacture, ship, and store board games at quantities of 5000 or more. For all those reasons, and for the sake of the environment, print-on-demand can be a better solution.

Print only what you need with Launch Lab

 manufacturing , games are only printed and shipped out to meet orders as they come in. This means no excess stock. Zero waste. And if you end up with a hit on your hands, Launch Tabletop also offers 

Mass production

: we started this company to help small creators like you scale up over time.

But until that day comes, choose print-on-demand: it's less pressure on you and the environment.

On the theme of 'smaller is better', talented designers and editors can help you cut down text and arrange it in such a way that you can opt for a 

Folded rulesheets

 with fewer pages. Slimming down your rulebooks may not sound like something that can save the world, but if you remove just four pages from a rulebook across a print run of 5,000, that's 20,000 fewer sheets of paper that need printing, manufacturing and recycling. It all adds up.

Ouch. This one hurts, because plastic inserts are pretty cool, but that's a lot of plastic just to achieve a slightly neater box - which 99% of the time, nobody will see. If the main concern here is keeping your components together, consider the 

Launch Lab ziplock bag options

Launch Lab drawstring bags

An industrial designer who focusses on packaging can come up with very clever ways of folding thin corrugated cardboard (CCB) to form strong paper trays. CCB can be coated with plain white or printed paper to look more attractive than unbleached CCB. 

Launch Tabletop doesn't currently offer plastic inserts as an option, which makes avoiding them a very easy and environmentally-friendly choice!

When you start creating your game with Launch Tabletop, you'll be assigned a project manager to guide you through the process and help you get the best results. And we mean the best results by your metric: if creating an environmentally-friendly board game is of prime importance to you, your project manager can advise you of the best approach specific to your game.

Head filled with ideas? Got a question for us, or a clever suggestion that ought to be on this list? 

Get in contact

This article isn't here to make you feel bad about your hobby. Simply existing comes with an environmental cost, and as far as hobbies go, tabletop games are relatively low-impact: it's a small industry, and games tend to be kept and re-used for years on end rather than being treated as consumables. We can always do better, though.

Launch Tabletop Article | Go green with your game

Make your gaming habits more sustainable and environmentally friendly with easy and practical tips!

Go green with your game

Sign up for free to explore a universe of possibility.

Home

Launch Lab

Dispatch

TCG Smith

Roles

Resources

About

Shop

Tania Walker

All articles by Tania Walker

Boost your game's table presence

Build your game on a budget

CMYK vs RGB: What's the difference?

Go green with your game

Join Launch Lab now for free