How to Make a Board Game: Prototyping, Playtesting, & Publishing

This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 35K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 2,074,264 times.

Do you have an idea for the next big tabletop game and want to bring it to life? Making a board game can be a lot of fun, and it’s pretty easy to get started with your design. We’ll cover everything you need to know about writing rules, making and testing early versions of your game, and creating a final product that’s ready to publish. Just keep reading to get started on your game design journey!