A question about cardboard

I think what you are after is called Chipboard, 1.5mm (0.05") has a nice heft to it. A friend of mine uses a laser cutter for his custom sized stuff. I've also used a leather punch and mallet for punching out a few prototypes.

Well chip board also comes in a two ply variety. At least it use to. Though it was very difficult to cut. You may also want to try museum board or a sheet of bass word.

Good luck with your game.

I used this for my game board and it was great.

I used a chisel to cut out my tiles which were double sided also and gave me a really nice straight edge as I can't justify buying a laser cutter

I printed my tokens and spray-glued the sheets to the cardboard (double-sided), and then cut them out (with a paper cutter and curved parts by hand). If you were planning to draw on it, you'd presumably want white.

"Medium weight" typically means 1.5mm, which is a standard size for things like punch-out stand-up tokens.

I bought some very nice sheets here in Sweden of something called pärmpapp that is probably the same as book board. "Pärm" is the cover of a book, "papp" means cardboard (or any kind of thick paper really), and it indeed feels like what you could use to make nice book covers with. I bought 1.8 and 2.1 mm thick. Have used both, but not enough to make up my mind yet which one is better. But around 2 mm is nice. It is pretty soft and easy to cut with a rotary knife, although I read on boardgamegeek that it is very bad for the blade so will see how long my knife will survive.

How does gamecrafter prices for printing and laser-cutting compare to order from a company that specializes in only that, like Ponoko, if that is the only thing OP needs (as opposed to have an entire production-quality print-on-demand game made that gamecrafter specializes in)?

Anyway making your own is probably both much faster and cheaper than to order anything laser-cut from anywhere, especially for rectangular or circular shapes that are so trivial to cut. I can not imagine spending money on laser-cutting any components unless I am going to self-publish the game as a final prototype or for production.

My current WIP actually has pretty complex cardboard shapes, but for prototyping I simplify the shapes to just rectangles and the game can be played like that (and I also made a digital prototype that I use for most testing). I will cut out the proper complex shapes later by hand to try out, but I will still keep the simplified version around in case I ever get to blind playtest and similar and need to make print'n'play as easy as possible for the testers.

Pretty sure you get *80* for $5.90 (plus shipping).

The laser cutting thing is a good idea if you think you might need more of whatever this is. Print 2 sheets to start, and then you could print another 4 later with no effort if necessary. Also if you want it to look more professional than just "cut by hand", though if you're making squares and you have a big paper cutter, it looks fine (but no rounded corners).

If you need 10 chits total, do it yourself.

Yes I understood... But I've always taken my Hand-Paper-Written Cards and turned them into Adobe AI cards in "Black & White"... But I often work on a COLOR "Template" for my cards using my own design skills. And then I get art done myself (most of the time) because when I pitch games to Publishers, I want them to see a "near finished" product.

I don't pitch "Game Ideas". There are far too many ideas that SOUND exciting but never get the time and day to become a real product other than being a prototype. My own designs are probably around 75% and even my Publisher took my own Graphic Template and ENHANCED the look of the cards too... So I offer the option on tweaking graphics and allow them to deal with my artist (which I already have invested in art).

These days, people want a SENSE of YOUR vision for a product. Not just a scrappy looking prototype. That's why I ALWAYS encourage people to make a more professional version of their prototype using "The Game Crafter".

Had I never gone forwards on my own with "TradeWorlds", it would have never gotten anywhere. I'm pretty sure of that ... because nobody came knocking on my door asking if I had a "prototype to show".

However from a PURELY design perspective... I guess having ONE (1) prototype is okay. I'd want my prototype to be as "professional" as possible even if it is NOT completed. And so I would invest in professionally made cards, punch-outs, player boards, etc. As one of the playtest groups told me: "Wow, this looks like a REAL game." And then I tell them: "It's only a prototype, but you get the direction that the product is headed in..."

I don't like CUTTING my own cards. Even cornering the edges isn't great if done manually. Nor are the cuts of the cards. Yes you can have guides ... but most of the time, it's NOT perfect. And since I ONLY have a B&W Laser printer, I get my cards (color) done at TGC. Even for prototypes.

But that again is my "own style" of designing. If my game is at 75%, there is about 15% room for improvement by the Publisher. At 90%, we all know that the time and money invested in trying to perfect the product even further is a waste of time and resources. Generally speaking most products at the 90% marker are "good enough" for public consumption.

For the most part, I am TRYING to self-publish most of my games AND THEN get picked up by a Publisher who likes what he/she sees and could picture the EVOLUTION of the product. But again that's my "own style" of how I market my own designs to the people who might want to take on a game.

No offense (to anyone). I understand the design-side of things... I just have a different approach when designing my games.

Best!

But what is wrong in investing in ART/Illustration??? To improve the overall look of the game?? I can't do art myself (actually I am pretty good at B&W Sketches but coloring I'm very poor at), but I do have a network of artists based on how I invest time in mingling with artists and offering them a chance to "bring some of my games into reality"!

I'm always a bit "reluctant" when I speak with an artist that wants to work together with me... Because usually all you get is a look at their portfolio and samples. Oftentimes these are OTHER styles of art that you are NOT looking for... Making ART for cards is somewhat specific form of illustration. Ha... You should see the art Charles showed me... 5000% better in the art he made for us (meaning his samples were average compared to his amazing art for "TradeWorlds")!

So far, I have been very impressed with the overall Quality of the art.

Yes I know Madison's style is a bit more "cartoon-y" and Charles' is in a "World of his own". Geof is in between and can draw the type of illustrations you would find in an AD&D Monster Manual. Of course other techniques can be applied like inking as part of the process ... to make it feel a bit "comic-book-esque" ...

I LOVE "working with people". Artists, Creative Writers, Developers, Graphic Designers, etc. But depending on the project, there is only so much that a game can "produce".

And so I am limited to what I am able to do... Based on the conversion of how well games perform and what profits are left over after everything is said and done.

People have different approaches ... And I'm NOT saying mine is the best. It's just what has WORKED for me "so far" (in that my game will be "out there"). And the journey has been a bit bumpy ... not at all perfect. But I'm trying to make games people will enjoy to play and that at times, offer an "Ah-Ha!" moment when figuring out a turn or learning from mistakes in a tight game (for example).

The prototype artwork you mentioned ... is similar to my B&W Laser cards, I do in Adobe Illustrator myself. They are "functional"... And so far this is what I have besides "TradeWorlds". But I am producing more art for "Monster Keep" ... because I want to move this design forwards.

I don't suggest to say: "Do it my way..." Quite the contrary... I just suggest investing in better prototypes because it CAN affect how people perceive you. If you demo a "prototype" without art, you will get a vastly different opinion if you demo a prototype WITH art. With art is more likely to "attract" people to your game... And keep them a bit fascinated in the cards (for example).

However I do understand the idea ... of waiting.

Cheers @Pelle!