ATX Game Designers Protospiel

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

Protospiel 2025 is happening on October 25th and 26th in Austin Texas! Buy your tickets now.

Picture highlights from last year

What’s new this year?

• In order to accommodate our growing convention, we’ve moved venues: this year’s Protospiel will be at Dragon’s Lair in Northwest Austin.
• There will be more scheduled events in addition to open play to help everyone find a game. 
• We’re also going to have several speakers conducting roundtables throughout the event on topics such as “Game Design Competitions,” “Designing for Mass Market,” “Launching Your First Kickstarter,” and “Integrating Theme into Board Games.”
• Every designer, as part of their badge purchase, will be able to schedule a single 2-hour block, or two consecutive 1-hour blocks each day. You can sign up for this by submitting an event. (Note: there is no longer the “featured designer” badge.)
• Volunteers for the event will be wearing green shirts with at least two people readily available throughout the convention, one to check you in and the other floating to help you find a game.
• We will be also doing a celebratory dinner and networking event at a local brewery on Friday October 24th. Join us at 7pm at Celis Brewery.
• Complimentary snacks! (More details coming soon.)

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 scheduled events and open playtesting. Find a table, have a seat, and make friends. During open playtesting, we ask that designers 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.
• How do events work? Due to feedback from last year’s attendees, we are glad to offer with every designer badge the opportunity to schedule 2 hours of dedicated table time. All events must be submitted by Thursday October 23rd. Additionally, we will have scheduled speakers giving presentations throughout the weekend on topics related to board game design and publishing.
• 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 in Dragon’s Lair and look for a volunteer in a green shirt. 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 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? Dragon’s Lair has a ton of restaurants in easy walking distance and the venue permits outside food and drink, just no alcohol. They also sell food and drinks themselves. Finally, various snacks will be offered throughout the convention by our generous sponsors…more details coming soon!
• Here Kitty, Kitty Be aware (in case you have allergies) that Dragon’s Lair has two adorable cats that roam the store.
• What lodgings are nearby? We recommend the following local hotels
  • Econo Lodge (2 miles away) 9102 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78758
  • Doubletree Northwest Arboretum (2.8 miles away) 8901 Business Park Dr, Austin, TX 78759

Sponsors