Protospiel Madison 2019

The country's best game design convention has come to Madison, Wisconsin. Welcome to Protospiel!

If you are a game designer looking to get professional level feedback from other designers there is no better place to get that feedback. With around 100 other designers in attendance you'll have the opportunity to play test your designs many times through-out 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 also likely the best experience you'll have. You'll get to see dozens if not hundreds of new designs in a single weekend. Plus you'll get to shape them before they hit the shelves of stores or the pages of Kickstarter.

Tell Me More

Protospiel is an event where you can bring a board or card game prototype to play with other designers, play testers, and publishers. It's a great way to break your game and to fix it. It doesn't matter what level of polish your game has. Many games are made right on the spot at Protospiel using the free prototyping materials provided by The Game Crafter. But there are also many games there that are just doing final testing just before they are published or put out on Kickstarter.

If you want to play games in any state of development, then Protospiel is for you. If you want to get your own designs played, then Protospiel is for you. If you are looking to come to promote a complete game and never play anybody else's game, then Protospiel is not for you.

Badges & Pricing

Here are the prices for attending Protospiel Madison:

Designer 3-Day Badge - $65

Designer 1-Day Badge - $40

Play Tester 3-Day Badge - $15

Publisher / Press Badge - Free

Get Your Badge

Badges may also be purchased at the door if we haven't sold out, but we sell out every year, so your best bet is to get your badge early.

Food & Drink

We will be offering basic refreshments such as water, coffee, and fruit. And there are a number of restaurants and bars in a short walking distance (a couple blocks).

We'll also have a cash bar at Protospiel Madison on Saturday night from 6pm to 10pm.

Schedule

This will run like the traditional Protospiel, which is open design, collaboration, and play testing:

9am-Midnight Thursday - Crafter Con 2019

9am-6pm Friday - Registration open

Midnight Friday - Door close for the day

9am-Noon Saturday - Registration open

6pm-10pm Saturday - Cash Bar

Midnight Saturday - Doors close for the day

9am-11am Sunday - Registration open

4pm Sunday - Convention ends

Sponsors

These great companies make sure you have the best possible experience at Protospiel Madison.

Publishers

We have lots of publishers in attendance at Protospiel Madison. Many are there scouting games, but even if they aren't looking for your game, the have a wealth of knowledge from the industry and their feedback is invaluable.

Adam's Apple Games

I am looking for games that thematically capture the modern American Dream that are lightweight, have a unique component, and are quick to teach.

Funhill Games

Funhill Games is a publisher of Biblically themed board games. We have had two releases, "Kings of Israel", and "Wisdom of Solomon", and have plans to publish a new game annually. Currently, we are on the lookout for new Biblically themed games, in particular those that are:

• Light to Medium weight
• Highly thematic
• Cooperative or have lower levels of confrontation
• Can accommodate large player counts (6+)

Gray Matter Games

We're 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

Left Justified Studio

Left Justified Studio is a new publishing imprint for veteran board and card game producer and developer Jeff Tidball, who was the producer and developer of (among many other titles) Chaos in the Old World at Fantasy Flight Games and Cursed Court at Atlas Games. Left Justified Studio is seeking gateway board games in the $30–40 MSRP and 30–45 minute play time ranges, and card games in the $15–20 MSRP and 10–30 minute play time ranges. Games with at least one extremely distinctive gameplay or marketing feature are especially sought; that’s what it takes to stand out in the current marketplace of tabletop releases. Re-theming of acquired designs is highly likely. If you wish, email jeff at jefftidball dot com in advance of Protospiel if you’d like to set up a scheduled time to discuss a particular prototype.