BoardGamesMaker

BoardGamesMaker (BGM) is a print-on-demand service for custom board games and card games, run by QP Group, a tabletop game printer and manufacturer. Designers build each part of a game in an online builder, from the box and board to cards, tiles, dice and pieces, and order anything from a single prototype to a full production run. The site's About section says BGM "is owned and run by QP Group, an industry leader with over 30 years' experience printing and manufacturing in the table top gaming industry," while the banner across the top of every page reads "Over 40 Years in Games Manufacturing. No minimum order!"

What a game designer gets

The core of the offer is the BGM Online Board Games Creator, which the homepage calls "a fully integrated and intelligent system to help you in creating all the game components for your table top game." A designer can create a custom printed game box, a game board with different types of fold, custom dice of different sizes, custom cards, game tiles or chits and other game pieces, and order them all in one place. Most parts can be finished smooth or linen, and printed gloss or matte. The print-on-demand page claims it takes only 1 or 2 minutes in the builder to have a board game or gaming cards printed.

The central promise is quantity. The homepage says every component comes "with no minimum order quantity with full production quality. Not just for prototypes. We have a 1 to 1 million policy." Its prototyping section says BGM does "small print runs from 1 piece upwards right through to full large-scale offset production." A designer can therefore order one copy to test a game, then scale the same files to a production run. For large quantities or fully custom specifications, BGM asks for a direct quote through its contact form, and says its board game team and sales and technical staff can help with any part of making a game.

The component range

The component menu lists custom game components, boards, boxes, cards, TCG cards, tiles, dice, dice trays, player screens, mats, booklets, spinners, miniatures, money, component stickers, score pads, pencils, chips, game supplies, game pieces and blank game components. The homepage describes the main lines in more detail:

• Game boards: professional boards with a linen or smooth finish.
• Game boxes: many rigid box shapes and sizes to print a design on.
• Game cards: premium grade cards, linen or smooth, in many popular standard sizes.
• Game tiles and chits: many shapes and sizes, customizable front and back, with matte or glossy tiles, smooth or linen chits, and a choice of card stock thickness.
• Game mats: customized with the designer's artwork, with heavy-duty rubber available.
• Spinners for games with an element of luck or chance.
• Custom dice: each side of a standard shaped die or a polyhedron die printed with the designer's design.

Recent additions shown on the homepage fill in the card game side. Custom perfect bound booklets come in tarot and double poker sizes, up to 192 pages, in color or black and white, with a glossy or matte cover and no minimum, for games that need longer rulebooks. The new BGM easy-flip card game box is a 1 piece box that can be customized inside and out, including game instructions printed on the underside of the top lid. BGM also says it has cut prices on its M31 and M32 linen card stocks and its S33 premium smooth card stock for decks of 55 cards and above, in poker and bridge sizes, at 1000 copies or more.

The site links to a sister site for jigsaw puzzles and lists custom jigsaw puzzles and custom playing cards under "We also do."

How an order works

The ordering flow runs in three steps. First, the designer prepares the artwork and can download a template for each part so it fits production. Second, they choose a component, click "Add your design," upload files and drag the artwork into position before previewing it. Third, after checking the preview, they add the item to the cart, create the other components the game needs, group them into game sets if required, and check out. BGM accepts all major credit cards and PayPal, and wire transfer is also available. The homepage says components are "shipped very fast worldwide," and its feature list names no setup fees on standard components, fast turnaround and worldwide delivery, without giving times or rates on these pages.

For designers who sell their games, BGM also offers fulfillment. The homepage speaks to a designer running a Kickstarter who needs help with packaging, labeling and shipping to every backer, or one with sales who does not want to keep stock, and says BGM "can do complete board game fulfilment for you at very low costs." The site's menu links to a dedicated fulfillment service page, a business program, delivery information, accreditations, and a guarantee and returns policy.

Materials, quality and packaging

BGM leans hard on production quality. It says it uses the highest quality materials and offers more options in shape, size and finishing "than any other manufacturer," backed by investment in machinery, research and development, so components print at full production quality regardless of quantity. The About section calls BoardGamesMaker.com a "market leader in custom board games and custom card games print on demand service" and says QP Group produces "a huge proportion of all the games that you find on the retail market." These are the company's own claims.

On packaging, BGM says it is reducing non-environmentally friendly materials such as plastic when packaging playing card decks, and is "going greener with their packaging and reducing the use of plastic for a more sustainable future."

Who BoardGamesMaker suits

BGM suits tabletop designers who want to build a whole game, not just a deck, in one online tool and order it without a minimum: a first prototype for playtesting, a handful of copies for a convention, or a crowdfunded run with fulfillment to backers. The breadth of parts, from dice and spinners to player screens, miniatures and rubber mats, means most board game designs can be assembled from standard components, which is where BGM says it charges no setup fees.

Designers selling card games get the card stock options, booklets and the easy-flip box. A publisher that needs a large or fully custom run can go straight to a quote. BGM is less suited to a seller who needs published shipping times and rates before committing, since the pages summarized here do not give them.