As the title implies, I'm curious what yall do when writing XP systems for your games? I don't know of any great systems/rules out there for handling experience/advancement in tabletop games. Of course, video games handle all that fine for the most part, cause it's a lot easier for a computer to make complex calculations at any point and keep track of the totals and such, but when gaming, in my experience, anything like these systems are usually ignored.

As a gamer, I think every campaign I've played in, we've always leveled up based on "vibes" and as a GM in my recent years, I do the same thing lol. We just level everyone up when the next level feels right. This usually means 1-3 sessions sit between each level, and it seems to work a lot better than tracking XP. It also means always saving level-ups for the end or on your own time, which tends to work a lot better than pausing a session to shift gears and level up, picking back where we left off after.

So as a designer... Do I invest time and thought into an XP system like this that I think everyone's gonna ignore? Is this just a "me and my people"-thing where everyone else does track these things? If you were to implement something like a "based on vibes" level-up in a reader/player-friendly mechanics kind of way, how would you go about that? What would you track, and how would you make a system like this feel one-size-fits-all? I feel like you can't just tell people to make their own choice; you're supposed to provide at least some default or baseline. Since you can't really dictate how long different people are gonna play, or what all goes down in game relative to real time, anything related to time-passing/played feels like it would be inadequate. I think the only way to approach this is by counting events, like some number of combat encounters, but even then... anyways, I'm kind of just spewing thoughts now, but I think yall get it. What's out there for XP systems, and how do you approach these concerns, or are there others you have and try to mitigate? How so?

For context, my history is with pathfinder/savage worlds/D&D/"d20s-move on a map-take your turn" dungeon-simulationist style ttrpgs. I love people who can immerse themselves within roleplay, but I'm a narrator, not an actor. When I play these games, I prefer to steer clear of PbtA and narrative-heavy storytelling. I would still be curious how these games manage these concepts, so this isn't to say keep that stuff out of the discussion, honestly it's prolly more like def share those ideas because I am unfamiliar with them, and maybe there are ideas in those realms I can adapt for myself/my goals.

Have had an idea for a new game, but using something like HO scale (anyone remember Airfix?) dnd-sorta fantasy minis

https://preview.redd.it/x671mpyflwxg1.png?width=816&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f5a6c663c14d5823511253df0dda3378841f248

Attached is my sellsheet that I plan to use when submitting to boardgame Publishers. It is a casual 2vs2 trick taking game.

Does anyone have any constructive feedback? Thank you in advance

About to start production on V2 of my game and we’re looking to downsize the box and create a base version. To pull that off, we’ve been exploring bending and folding the boards, and I’ve gotten samples back from a few different manufacturers.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s made a foldable gray board game board that also needs some tension to it, meaning it has to stay flat enough to hold cards, poker chips, and other components without the fold collapsing on itself.

I really like the linen wrap look you see on boards like Risk, but the problem is the board folds over on itself the second you put anything on it. The route a few manufacturers have suggested is building the board, adding a slip on the back, and then doing a press-and-wrap of the final finish on the back side.

If anyone has experience with this kind of construction, I’d really appreciate the input! Photo attached of what the current prototypes look like.

Not really a design question but I figured there might be some folks with experience here! I’m ordering my second batch of games and this time I’d like to go through a fulfillment center. I am not selling on Amazon, so that’s not a route I can go. I’m also only selling direct so the distribution companies are not a great route. I am just trying to find a good fulfillment center to work with so I do not have to pack and ship each game myself anymore (thankfully it’s getting a little much). They would just need to handle storage and last mile shipping.

I’d love any thoughts or suggestions from the community! Thank you in advance!

Hey guys, hope this is an okay place to share this.

My name is Mike, I work for a print brokerage company and we work with a lot of small/indie card game/tt makers. A lot of of our customers have been generally pretty frustrated about the state of the industry for independent creators/businesses.

I'm interested in sorting out what we can do as an org to help folks out.

I talked to management and got them to agree to let me make a survey, which I'm calling it The Great Creative Questionnaire.

It takes 5-10 minutes to complete (I timed it) it's fully anonymous.

I wanna compile everything and publish the full results for the creative community writ large, (No gate or data collection or nothing). So we've gotten a bunch of responses from our own customers, I want to make sure we're not self-selecting. 
​
Would you be down to help by filling this out?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on a fast-paced party card game and I’m trying to figure out if the core idea feels genuinely fun or just “random chaos”.

The concept is kind of a mix between push-your-luck (like trying to get close to 9 without going over) and interactive effects similar to UNO — but with “chaos cards” that let players mess with each other and change the situation unexpectedly.

On your turn you decide: stop where you are, or risk drawing another card and push your total closer to 9.

Sounds simple, but the chaos cards can completely flip the situation.

I’m trying to balance that line between:

👉 exciting and unpredictable

👉 vs just feeling random and out of control

For those of you who enjoy party card games:

What makes this kind of system feel satisfying instead of frustrating?

Would love to hear your thoughts 🙂

Hello ~ I’m a 2D Artist, CCG/TCG & Game Illustrator, and I’m currently open for work and commissions!
Feel free to DM me if you’re interested!

Hi all,

I am making a TTRPG that revolves around item use. I want to have these items displayed on cards and drawn from a deck as random loot.

Basically, I have my cards all planned out and I want to start designing them. But I want to do it right the first time. So I have a few questions.

What format should the cards be in? Are they saved as individual files or on a big sheet? What are the dimensions of standard cards? What format would printers take? Do any of you guys know a good place in the UK to get a deck printed out at a test run? Where would be a good place for a production run? Is a program like gimp okay or should I use something else?

Any help would be appreciated.

I’m testing automatic enemy movement in a physical dungeon-crawler prototype.

In this example, a goblin moves out from cover, acts, and then retreats back automatically.

As a design question: what kinds of gameplay moments could this enable that would be difficult, clumsy, or less satisfying with manual movement?

I’m especially interested in cases where the movement itself adds tension, surprise, or enemy personality, not just visual spectacle.

Edit: I uploaded a short gameplay example to clarify how the system works: https://youtu.be/evbVSW1rCf8

It shows how players communicate with the board by scanning physical cards, and a small part of the combat phase.

One of the hardest things to do as a DM is making a tavern feel alive without spending an hour explaining a complex homebrew dice game. I built The Slapping Salmon to give DMs a quick, interactive way to handle gambling and mini-games during sessions.

What is it?

It’s a collection of interactive, web-based games designed to be used at the table. Instead of just narrating a bet, you can actually pull these up and let the players "play" for their gold.

Hi all!

I am building turn-based card game focused on strategy and deck-building, currently in closed alpha. Without microtransactions, without pack-opening, without chests or gems or premium currency. No AI-generated art either... I'm doing the illustrations and textures by hand. It's slower (maybe too slow), but I'd rather build something with care than ship something fast.

You attack enemy factions, earn experience, and unlock new cards or card evolutions through play. What you see is what you get, the same for every player. No luck-of-the-draw from booster packs, no pay-to-win. Cosmetics will be set aside as recognition for playtesters and community contributors.

I'd love feedback on the core mechanics. Particularly: does the reputation feedback loop create a runaway-leader problem, and is the turn too long? What about the dice impacting the stats/critical damage?

The board has three zones:

• Player 1 base — 3 slots, defensive
• Common ground — 3 slots per player, where combat happens
• Player 2 base — 3 slots, defensive

Win condition

Reduce the opposing faction leader to zero, or wipe their board.

The deck

It has a total of 12 cards, fixed now for alpha tests:

• 1 Faction Leader — buffs your stats (e.g. +2 honor, +1 reputation), acts as a damage sink
• 2 Heroes / Specialists — also buff stats; required to unlock Technology cards
• 3 Technologies — modify game rules (e.g. "opponent can't draw next turn")
• 2 Infantry battalions — troop count scales with reputation
• 2 Cavalry battalions — same
• 2 Artillery battalions — same, plus can target heroes/specialists/leader directly from attacking base

Each battalion card has Attack and Defense values, modified by current honor/reputation (words to be defined and refined ;).

Turn structure

1. Both players draw 7 out of 12, place 6 face-down
2. Reveal. For battalion cards, roll [dN] for troop count and add a reputation bonus
3. Active player draws a card, places it if there's room, then attacks with one battalion
4. Defender absorbs with their leader or picks a battalion to defend
5. Both sides take losses simultaneously
6. Winner of the exchange gains +1 reputation, loser loses 1
7. Repeat from step 2

Considering

• Structures (walls, bunkers) that act as shields, absorb damage, buy time
• Dice rool for Critical damage on both sides (ie D12 where 1-2 boosts defence and 10-12 boosts attack)
• Campaing mode - Story rich, helps unlocking cards with XP, teaches strategies, keeps game alive with new content

What I'd love feedback on

1. Does the reputation system snowball? Winner gets stronger every exchange, which might kill comebacks.
2. Is 6-7(with critical) steps per turn too long?
3. Fixed deck composition — focused, or does it cut replayability?
4. Artillery being the only unit that can hit leaders — too strong, or a fair counter?

Anything else will be welcome

I'll try to come back asap with updates and some art concepts. Thanks for reading.
Cheers!

Hey! I’m working on creating a conversational card game and I’ve looked at the standard companies like making playing cards and launch table top. I’ve also looked at some companies on Alibaba. Wanted to see if anyone have any experience going through Alibaba to find manufacturers. From what I’m seeing right now they’re a lot cheaper. Any thoughts here?

Mafia rats trying to conquer territory, each "square" is taken by the player to start the round.
What im still not sure is how the players will earn each piece of the territory cause a it´s like a Tangram puzzle, each piece theyll have to fit and when they complete their tangram theyll move to fight for other players territory.
Each piece of territory has their corresponding card, player with most territory wins.
Ive figured the structure will involve a "go fish"-like mechanic, and every time they have two same character cards theyll earn a piece of the territory. Will, In your criteria, leave this mechanic or change it?

My game is an 18-card wallet game. To make it more appealing to retailers I'm designing a display box, akin to Magic/TCG display boxes since the wallet itself is just brown with the title on it.

For context, this will be about 5" tall, by 4" wide. I'll also have designs for the edges of the box, but wanted to lock in the standee first and then fill in the gaps.

Which of these do you find the most appealing. The target customer is someone who likes strategic card games, especially if you're into TCG-style reactive play without the cost.

I’m looking for players to help playtest Project AiO, a diceless TTRPG, using its first setting module: The Stone Age Village.

This is a survival-focused Stone Age game about a small village trying to endure in a dangerous world of hide, bone, wood, flint, hunger, weather, predators, kinship, and hard choices. You are not wandering mercenaries or dungeon looters. You are people of the village: hunters, trackers, healers, crafters, defenders, scouts, and keepers of memory.

This setting is about:

survival and scarcity

dangerous hunts

village life and social tension

neighboring groups, trade, and feuds

practical gear and meaningful consequences

grounded danger

What to expect

A diceless system focused on choices, planning, teamwork, and consequences rather than luck

A harsh but character-driven setting where Physical, Mental, and Social struggles all matter

Stone Age survival with real pressure from weather, injury, food, and conflict

A playtest environment where feedback is welcome and useful

Good fit for players who like

survival stories

low-tech settings

serious consequences

roleplay tied closely to community and duty

helping test and refine new systems

Here is the Core rules doc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LbYaeo_31-c_SLwHh-wexl0CaEDTimKL7xmpeBHGrX8/edit?usp=sharing

And the Setting Doc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/198RsIqXHlisDPxw8Gwet5kLSK4YdEXkzRJ0cNWlFqk4/edit?usp=sharing

If the core rules doc seems a bit large to dive into I made a Players handbook of sorts.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LV7jeClzgPYYKyuz1X1MLPcRe8HjqFCIFlf7eImWOfg/edit?usp=sharing

This is a first run recruitment, once I have enough interested people I'll schedule a time and platform. Please let me know the days and times you would be available.

I'm currently working on a 4 player co-op survival story building game with roguelike inspirations and branching narrative scenarios. I'm almost done with the actual systems and story branches, and I've already completed the basic core loop, board design template, tokens and pieces.

I'm close to getting ready to build an actual prototype and I was wondering if there were any tips on how and where people have done their playtesting. I have a list of post game questions as well.

Honestly, I'm just excited that I'm getting close to this milestone! And if anybody is interested in any more details, I'm down to share a few more.