ATX Protospiel 2024

Welcome!

ATX Protospiel brings together designers, gamers and publishers for two days of playtesting, game design and making connections.

We hope you can join us to play games, provide feedback, and build new connections.

Designers

Expose your games to a broad cross-section of players. Connect with and draw inspiration from your peers!

Playtesters

Experience the cutting edge of game design in new prototype titles.

Publishers

Experience the Austin Indie board game scene and get a chance to expose your unpublished games to the public for feedback.

When?

From October 12th – Saturday 10 AM to 12 AM Central Time

To October 13th – Sunday 10 AM to 9 PM Central Time

Where?

Emerald Tavern 9012 Research Boulevard #1 Austin, Texas 78758

What's new this year?

• We will be also doing a celebratory dinner and networking event at a local brewery on Friday October 11th. Details soon to come!
• We will now offer "featured designer" badges that gives the designer greater visibility and 3 hours of dedicated table time
• We will be ringing a bell once an hour in order to encourage people to circulate between prototypes (though this is not required.) We hope this will allow playtesters to more easily find a game to play and allow more designers to get their games to the table.

FAQ

What’s a Protospiel? A Protospiel is an event where you can test a board or card game prototype in person with other designers, playtesters, and publishers. It doesn’t matter what level of polish your game has, only that you bring an open mind and a willingness to receive feedback constructively.

How many prototypes should I bring? You’re welcome to bring as many prototypes as you’d like, but you may be unable to test more than three? This depends largely on game length.

How is playtesting structured? We have an open playtesting policy where you are encouraged to float around and meet new people. Find a table, have a seat, and make friends. We ask that attendees try to adhere to the Protospiel model of reciprocity: For each playtester and hour you have to help test your own game, please spend that many hours playtesting the games of other designers. For example, if a designer playtests their game with 3 players for one hour, that designer should play 3 hours of other designer’s games. As a general rule, after 1 hour you should take the temperature of the people at your table and see if they are ready to give feedback or if they would like to keep going.

What's a featured designer? Due to feedback from last year's attendees, this year we're opening up a limited number of "Featured Designer" badges. This will give you three hours of guaranteed, dedicated table time and additional visibility at the convention in the form of scheduled events and social media shout outs. When selecting a featured designer, select either (Saturday) or (Sunday) and you'll be assigned a three hour time block on that day.

Can I show off my game before the convention? Absolutely! There's a feature on this site that allows you to upload pictures and a written description of your game. Just go to Attend > Prototypes to get started. This helps give other designers and playtesters visibility of your game and helps you gauge public interest before people sit down at the table.

Is this event family-friendly? While we don't have any programming specifically designed for kids, we try to ensure a family-friendly atmosphere and ask designers to tailor the playtesting experience based on the age of their testers. Most of the games will be recommended for ages 10+, though a few will be for younger than that. All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Will I meet publishers? Maybe! The primary focus of this convention is giving and receiving feedback on unpublished games. We do have a number of local publishers who attend. Also, many of our designers have previously published and many of our designers also self-publish. This is a great networking opportunity!

Does the price cover both days? Yes. All badges cover both days.

How do I get my badge? There will be a check in table immediately on your left upon entering Emerald Tavern. Please bring a form of ID and check in when you first arrive. We will give you your badge and further information at that time.

Can I register at the door? Only playtesters may register at the door. If you intend to bring games for playtesting, we ask that you register ahead of time so we may coordinate playtesting effectively.

What do y'all do with the money? ATX Game Designers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This event is also our annual fundraiser and allows us to pay for ongoing club expenses throughout the year.

What do I do if I lose my badge? If you lose your badge outside of the venue let the check-in staff know when you arrive, and we’ll work something out.

What’s the snack situation? Emerald Tavern has a full table service bar, cafe, and kitchen with food and drink available for purchase--please support them for hosting us. There are also a number of restaurants in the surrounding area, if needed, but Emerald Tavern does not allow outside food or drink.

What lodgings are nearby? We recommend the following local hotels

LONE STAR COURT (2 miles away) 10901 Domain Dr., Austin, TX 78758

HILTON GARDEN INN AUSTIN NORTH (1.8 miles away) 2600 Brockton Dr., Austin, TX 78758