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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe
@chrisbacke.bsky.social
340 followers 560 following 980 posts
Making board games since 2016. 🎲 Game designer (https://entrogames.com) 🖥️ Game publisher https://shinypigeongames.com/shiny-pigeon-printables/) 🏢 Entrepreneur (https://tabletoppublishers.com, https://puzzlerun.co.uk) Hobbies: 🏃‍♂️ Running 💪 HYROX 🌍 Travel
entrogames.com)
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 22d
2nd edition of Around the World in 15 Minutes is LIVE!
Travel, Explore, and Collect souvenirs #PnP

What's new in the second edition?
* Explore South America and snap pics of up to 10 different animals
* A new sheet to track turns for solo and party play

www.kickstarter.com/projects/189...
Around the World in 15 Minutes (Print & Play Vacation Game)
Travel the world, explore cities, and collect souvenirs in the second edition of this print & play vacation game! ✈️🌎
www.kickstarter.com
1
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 2d
Ever wondered how publishers think about #gamedesign? Obviously every publisher is different, but a few have talked about their design thought process publicly.

How Do Publishers Think About Game Design?
open.substack.com/pub/entrogam...
How Do Publishers Think About Game Design?
5 examples to help you craft your your own design philosophy
open.substack.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 5d
It was an honor to chat to James over at the #BoardGameBinge!

We got into my origin story and a fair bit about #TabletopPublishers, especially a lot about the 4 new tools in our toolbox: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E7U...
Episode 366: Chris Backe, Tabletop Publishers
YouTube video by Board Game Binge
www.youtube.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 7d
Last weekend was the Playfest in London - an all day playtesting event, and a great chance to catch up with friends. How did it go? Go have a read:

Destination: Playfest London 2025 and lessons learned
open.substack.com/pub/entrogam...

#playtesting #playtestuk
Destination: Playfest London 2025 and lessons learned
A full day of playtesting, anyone?
open.substack.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 8d
It's always great when you see a game you had a small hand in on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/dou...

Cabriole is a gateway-plus worker placement game about building furniture in 18th century London. Some fun mechanical stuff happening in the game, and I'm a big fan of the art style.
Cabriole
A queue-based worker placement board game about furniture-making in late 18th-century London for 1-4 players.
www.kickstarter.com
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 12d
It took more of the morning (and afternoon) than I thought it would, but I've made several videos taking everyone on a tour through Tabletop Publishers. If you're brand new to the site, start here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXLr...

Enjoy!

#gamedesign #tabletopdesign
Tabletop Publishers overview
YouTube video by Tabletop Publishers
www.youtube.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 13d
Great article about being intentional with your design choices: www.whatifgames.co.uk/choices-feel...
Choices, Feel, and Crescendos: Inside Jackson’s Design Philosophy – What If Games
www.whatifgames.co.uk
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 13d
In search of a #cofounder for Puzzlerun - you are ideally a runner in the UK with a talent for organizing, working with people, and/or marketing. PM or @ me :) #putitoutthere
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 15d
Two videos to share today:

First, I gave a talk about Tabletop Publishers a little while ago: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjY...

Second, we got a nice review of Around the World in 15 Minutes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF1G...

#gamedesign #gamedesigner #review
SAGA Session Chris Backe Tabletop Publishers
YouTube video by Swedish Annual Game-design Awards
www.youtube.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 16d
Or, how games *really* get made. My newest blog post is about keeping momentum going to get your game done:

entrogames.substack.com/p/how-to-kee...

#momentum #gamedesign #boardgamedesign #tabletopdesign
How to Keep Up Momentum on Your Game to Make Progress
The lifeblood of any project
entrogames.substack.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 17d
Tomorrow's post will be about momentum, and keeping it up as you develop your game...

Want to get it in your inbox? Go sign up for the free newsletter / Substack now: entrogames.substack.com
Entro Games | Chris Backe | Substack
It's time to make some amazing board games. Keep reading for posts to help you do just that. Click to read Entro Games, by Chris Backe, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
entrogames.substack.com
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 19d
Great review of my game Around the World in 15 Minutes on Kickstarter now:
pnptime.com/around-the-w...

#pnp #printandplay #travelgame
Around the World in 15 Minutes - pnptime.com
Game review: Around the World in Fifteen Minutes, a casual, replayable print-and-play vacation full of strategy, travel, and adventure!
pnptime.com
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 19d
Just signed up for my first marathon.
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 22d
Go watch a playthrough of our newest map, South America!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYQm...

#pnp #printandplay #crowdfunding #wildlife #southamerica
Around the World in 15 Minutes Playthrough | South America Map
YouTube video by Shiny Pigeon Games
www.youtube.com
1 2
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 22d
2nd edition of Around the World in 15 Minutes is LIVE!
Travel, Explore, and Collect souvenirs #PnP

What's new in the second edition?
* Explore South America and snap pics of up to 10 different animals
* A new sheet to track turns for solo and party play

www.kickstarter.com/projects/189...
Around the World in 15 Minutes (Print & Play Vacation Game)
Travel the world, explore cities, and collect souvenirs in the second edition of this print & play vacation game! ✈️🌎
www.kickstarter.com
1
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 28d
Worth noting: this is NOT a 'vibe-coded' project that's magically come together in a few prompts. It's been close to a year of working with a trio of flesh-and-blood humans, the lead of which used to work at Apple. It's well-tested, secure, and lightning fast.

Have a look: tabletoppublishers.com
Tabletop Publishers
Get access to a live list of over 570 game publishers that you can use to guide and speed up your game pitching process.
tabletoppublishers.com
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 28d
My goal with Tabletop Publishers is a best-in-class tool to help designers organize and pitch their games effectively.

If you'd like to review the site in a blog post or video, please reach out (PM or [email protected]) 😊
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 28d
* My Leads: a shortlist of publishers you want to pitch - take private notes and refer to them anytime, anywhere
* My Pitches: track who you pitched, what games you pitched them
* My Follow-ups: visible on your Dashboard and color-coded to make it easier to follow-up.
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 28d
Along with a tech team, we've recently finished building four new features, all of which work in sync with each other:
* My Games: track your games and their status on a single dashboard you can see and update from anywhere
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 28d
When I launched Tabletop Publishers a couple of years ago, that's what it was - the Dossier of over 500 publishers that were actively looking at submissions or had worked with outside designers in the past. Today, it's that and more.

#boardgamedesign #pitchyourgame #pitching
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · 28d
It's been almost a year in the making, but here it is...
Presenting Tabletop Publishers, a database of board game publishers here to help designers pitch their games better, save time researching, and find the best publishers for their games. Learn more at tabletoppublishers.com 🧵 #gamedesigners
Tabletop Publishers
Get access to a live list of over 570 game publishers that you can use to guide and speed up your game pitching process.
tabletoppublishers.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · Sep 4
Looking for an excuse to make a #cozygame? @buttonshy.bsky.social's newest contest is to make a cozy game:
buttonshygames.com/blogs/news-1...
The 18-Card Challenge: Cozy Games
We play games for many reasons: to challenge our brains, to entertain ourselves, or to socialize with loved ones. One of the biggest reasons, of course, is to relax. Amid the chaos of our busy day-to-...
buttonshygames.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · Aug 27
My newest blog post is live! I decided to write out something I've shared a couple of times and gave it a fancy name: The Legend of the Keyhole...
open.substack.com/pub/entrogam...
The Legend of the Keyhole
A new way to regard any creative industry.
open.substack.com
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chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · Aug 16
A shoutout to Lis Luna and her game War Bosses - a print-and-play Control and write board game for 1 to 4 players inspired by MOBA videogames. Some cool-sounding arena battles happening here!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/pul...
War Bosses
Control and write board game for 1 to 4 players ispired by MOBA videogames.
www.kickstarter.com
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · Aug 12
Really excited to announce...!
puzzlerun.bsky.social
Puzzlerun @puzzlerun.bsky.social · Aug 12
Announcing our first event! This will be a free test event to ensure all of our systems and prep work well. You'll run/walk 5km and try out all 10 puzzles (we'll take photos & send surveys after).

Where: CACSSA, Cheltenham
When: August 31st, 11am-3pm
Details: www.tickettailor.com/events/puzzl...
Select tickets – Puzzlerun Pilot Event – Cotswold Area Civil Service Sports Association
Join us for the first ever Puzzlerun event!  Run (or walk) 5km. Solve 10 escape-room puzzles along the way. Get a ph...
www.tickettailor.com
chrisbacke.bsky.social
Chris Backe @chrisbacke.bsky.social · Aug 12
If you've played Portal, this'll make a lot more sense... but if you haven't, this guy basically turns a careful puzzle structure on its head by swapping the properties of the materials in the game (good explanation at the start):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTGD...
Portal, but the portal surfaces are inverted
YouTube video by Marblr
www.youtube.com
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