Protospiel Chicago 2019

The country's best game design convention is back for its fourth year in Chicagoland!

If you're a game designer looking to get professional level feedback from other designers, there is no better place to get that feedback. We've had 80 designers attend in each of the last two years (60 in our first year) so you'll have plenty of opportunities to play test your designs throughout the weekend. And the friendships you'll make will last a lifetime.

If you're a gamer who likes to try out new things, then Protospiel is the place for you. You'll get to see dozens of new designs in a single weekend. Plus you'll get to shape them before they hit the store shelves or the pages of Kickstarter.

Tell Me More

Protospiel is a casual event where amateur and established game designers get together to test their game prototypes in a supportive, cooperative environment. It's a great way to break your game and to fix it. Don't worry about the appearance of your game. It isn't nearly as important as the functionality. Some prototypes will be highly polished, but that's not what's important at Protospiel. Our goal is to help you make great games!

The guiding principle is for designers to reciprocate other designers' time and feedback by playing each other's games. For example, if you need three play testers for your game, you should try to play three other designer's games before the event ends. This is not a hard and fast rule, but the event works best when everyone tries to follow it.

Want Even More Details?

Milwaukee's Protospiel website has a great FAQ page

Check out the original Protospiel website to find Other Protospiel Events

Tabletop.Events is a great place to find Protospiels and Other Game Conventions

Don't forget the Protospiel Group on Facebook

Badges & Pricing

Here are the prices for attending Protospiel Chicago 2019:

• Designer WEEKEND Badge - $50
• Designer FRIDAY Badge - $25
• Designer SATURDAY Badge - $30
• Designer SUNDAY Badge - $20
• Play Tester WEEKEND Badge - $10
• Press Badge - Complimentary / Email admin@Protospiel-Chicago.org
• Publisher Badge - Complimentary / See below.

To qualify for a free Publisher's Badge you must have published a game by a designer other than yourself within the last two years and are actively looking for another game design. Please email admin@Protospiel-Chicago.org and include the type(s) of games you're looking for in your request.

Badges may be purchased at the door with cash or credit card. No checks will be accepted.

Food & Drink

We'll be offering a light snack service and coffee throughout the day. The hotel has a restaurant, Hanover & Hardys, so no outside food is allowed. There are several restaurants nearby, some within walking distance. We'll have a map of restaurants available at the check-in table.

Hotel

We've secured a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn & Suites. When calling for a reservation, mention Protospiel for a discounted price of $99 per night. Must book by August 23, 2019.

Parking

Parking is free at the hotel.

Schedule

This will run like the traditional Protospiel, which is open design, collaboration, and play testing. The room will be open as follows:

FRIDAY 9am-Midnight

SATURDAY 9am-Midnight

SUNDAY 9am-5pm

Publishers

Gray Matters Games is looking for:

• Fun, easy to learn party and family games
• Unique game mechanics or theme
• Can be learned in under five minutes and plays in under 60 minutes
• Has a unique marketing angle that fits with current trends

Gray Matters Games

Academy Games is looking for:

• Designs with unique table presence and gameplay mechanics for our apollo line.
• Designs with historically themed euro and war games for the academy line.

Academy Games

Sponsors

The Game Crafter will be bringing an assortment of game components!

Welcome to The Game Crafter - The world leader in print on demand board games.

The first 50 people to buy a Designer badge will receive a ChiTaG Top Trumps card game!

ChiTAG (Chicago Toy and Game) Week

Industry Professionals

BoardGameGeek representatives will be available to share their knowledge of the industry and provide feedback on your games.

BoardGameGeek | Gaming Unplugged Since 2000

Michael Miserendino will be available to share his UX expertise as it relates to your game.

Gravity Drive

Glenn Drover, president of Forbidden Games (Railroad Rivals, Railroad Tycoon and Extraordinary Voyages: Pirates) will be joining us on Friday.

Chris Leder, game designer (Roll For It!, Trainmaker,City of Gears, Robin Hood 2888) will be joining us on Saturday.

Alex Yeager, industry veteran of 20+ years will be with us all weekend!

Organized by

Clever Playing Cards