DunDraCon Protospiel
California Ballroom Salon 4
Friday 9:00 AM - Monday 5:00 PM
Opening Ceremony: Saturday 9:30 AM
Prize Drawings: Saturday & Sunday 4:30 PM
The DunDraCon Protospiel
Join us again for another amazing DunDraCon Protospiel. This is the opportunity for game players to meet and game with game designers who need to get their games playtested. These are original, unpublished, board games, card games, and role-playing game designs you can't buy in a store yet. The designers are looking for your player feedback and your uncanny way of breaking their rules. This 4-day Protospiel game event will have: sponsored prizes, daily raffles, snacks, and the chance for all DunDraCon members to test out next year’s greatest games.
Game Designers
Any convention member, from veterans to rookies, can bring in their unfinished tabletop games for testing, feedback and refinement. Your games can be at the very earliest prototype stage, or polished and ready for BETA testing. We welcome all game designers and types of games. You can expect playtesters from the hundreds of eager DunDraCon convention members to provide useful feedback for your game. Test new player experience, rules comprehension, systems balance, fun factor, engagement, art direction, and all aspects of your game design. Tables are open in a first come, first serve, basis.
Playtesters
All DunDraCon members can participate in the exciting games and get a chance to meet the incredible designers. While playing you provide useful feedback and unique insights for consideration in the design of an unpublished game. Playtesters can just drop-in, meet a designer, and play any game that has space at any time. Your participation will not only gain you the gratitude of the game designers for your favorite genres, but also tickets to win prizes donated by the DunDraCon Protospiel sponsors. No sign-ups, no need for game registration, and likely no waiting as new sessions are starting all the time. If a game has a rule you really don't like or didn't understand, for once you can say so, and help influence better games! Of course, because you are playing a game with its designer, you will probably learn more and faster while helping them out.
Protospiel Community
Besides prizes, snacks and fun games you will also be part of this amazing collection of great players and designers supporting tabletop game development.Remember, all designers are also expected to spend time testing other designer's games. This is a way of paying back and paying forward for the help you will be getting back. If you can't find an empty spot to run your game, ask the friendly Protospiel staff to help you locate a table. Be kind to other designers and don't hog tables for extended sessions.
For regular updates, check out the Golden Gate Gamemakers group on facebook.
Sponsors
Current Protospiel Offerings
Adventure Calls Entertainment LLC.
Biographical Notes: I self-published an RPG back in 1994 then transitioned to designing games for the video game industry for almost 30 years. Now I am back to publish all the games I built in my spare time while making video games.
Shattered Planet
A medium crunch miniature battle game between giant robot mecha. Team vs team combat with high tech weaponry on a grid map arena.
Website: www.acettrpg.com
Clay Dreslough Sports Mogul Inc.
Biographical Notes: Clay Dreslough is the award-winning creator of the Baseball Mogul and Football Mogul computer game franchises, Lead Designer for MLB Slugfest, and the designer of the Season Ticket Baseball and Masters of the Gridiron board games.
Paint The Black
A head-to-head card-and-dice baseball simulation with a new and innovative batter-pitcher mechanic.
Website: www.sportsmogul.com
d0 Games
Biographical Notes: Previously worked on the original L5R CCG.
Emissary
Emissary is a mid/heavy weight Euro-style Area Control game for 2-8 players set in ancient China's Warring States period and takes roughly 90-120 minutes to play (after a 30 minute teach). Players battle for control of the kingdom through diplomacy a
Website: https://d0.games
Ouroboros
Discover the ancient art of alchemy in Ouroboros. Immerse yourself in a historically inspired alchemical journey. This Euro-style board game, echoing the depth of Lacerda titles, challenges players to master the delicate balance of strategy and resou
Website: https://d0.games
Dead Alive Games
Biographical Notes: Local designer, developer, and publisher of Omicron Protocol, Lunar Rush, Cyber Pet Quest, and Lunar Skyline. Since 2018, Dead Alive Games has aimed to design and publish high quality games that are inclusive and representative of the diverse gaming community they belong to.
Lunar Builders
Short engine builder mixed with light bidding, set in the Lunar Rush world.
Website: www.deadalivegames.com
Lunar Rush EXPANSION
This is a new expansion to the Lunar Rush is a simultaneous-play Euro-style board game that combines time-based resource management, market economics, bidding, and tableau/engine-building.
Website: https://www.deadalivegames.com/lunarrush
Cat Rescue - Competitive Mode
Get the cats to a loving home via this tile placement game. It's the competitive mode to the existing cooperative/solo Cat Rescue.
Website: www.deadalivegames.com
Untitled Kitten Stacking Game
Kittens at the lunar adoption center are stacking up! You can either add to the stack or adopt them to reduce the stack. This is a super casual 5-10 min/round game.
Website: www.deadalivegames.com
Floyd McWilliams
Biographical Notes: Floyd is an amateur game designer; by day he is a software engineer.
Apex
A medium-weight, 30 mins/player Civilization game that uses flipcharts to track technology and progress.
Gabriel Relich, Martian Muckraker
Biographical Notes: Gabriel started GMing frequently in 2018 as part of the Cincinnati Adventurer's Guild. Upon returning to California, he started an East Bay Martian Society dedicated to Sci-Fi games. Over the past two years he has been developing and playtesting Under a Hostile Sun with his fellow Martians.
Under a Hostile Sun
In this rules-efficient RPG, you explore a strange world, knowing that your life-support suit can fail at any moment. With some grit and firm faith in the Immutable your brave team of settlers will be able to survive and greet the alien sun.
Website: URL: https://muckraker.itch.io/under-a-hostile-sun
Hexian Games
Biographical Notes: I've been designing a number of games since Lockdown and hope to really get things off the ground by bringing them to people to try out and give honest feedback, hopefully making them even better.
River Snakes
You along with others of the boat's enigmatic crew must navigate upriver through perils unknown to locate a cryptic treasure at the mighty river's headwaters. Who will you trust when you finally get there?
Website: https://www.instagram.com/hexiangames/
Jay Leone
Biographical Notes: SF local. Offer something familiar yet unique.
Overtake race manager
Overtake: Race Manager Race managers compete on AND off the track to win motorsport races.
Website: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/402244/overtake-race-manager
Jeffrey Laikam and Michael East
Biographical Notes: We originally presented Feudal Subversion at the 2024 Protospiel. We documented the feedback and are back to reveal our updated design. This game is our first.
Feudal Subversion: Battle for Barrustag
Feudal Subversion is a competitive trick taking battle card game where players compete to become the Barrug! Ruler of Barrustag the Gateway to the Southern Seas, Master of Trade for the Five Realms of Tharel
Website: www.lazydaygames.net
John Lamping
Biographical Notes: I have no game publishing background. But these rules have been through over 500 hours of play testing and revision (lots of revision).
Epic Power: Rescue in the Forest
People have started disappearing in the Free Forest. The only clues are footprints made by dozens of feet, moving in unison. Friends of one of the missing asks the party's help. This game uses a custom fantasy rule system, Epic Power.
Lucas Connors
Biographical Notes: Lucas is an amateur game designer. He designs lightweight and party games, but loves to play games of all kinds.
Telegram
Flip-and-write spelling game where players are operators in a busy telegram office.
Website: https://revolutiontech.ca/project/telegram
Space Between
Word association game where players use the space between cards to give clues.
Pacific Rim Publishing
Biographical Notes: Since September 3, 1977 I bring the coffee and donuts
Pocket Frankenstein
Players compete to create a monster and bring it to life.
The Storyteller's Tavern
Biographical Notes: I am a lifelong Dungeon Master with a history developing indie video games and creating Dungeons and Dragons adventure booklets such as The Adventurer's Guide to Tulket and The Mask of Many Faces.
Frostpunk - A Fan-Made TTRPG
In the Frostpunk TTRPG you will be playing as members of the expeditionary teams of New London, the last bastion of civilization in the endless winter. Deal with faction conflict, arctic exploration in this post-apocalyptic, steampunk game.
Website: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BDxYbEz_GYITWCXXWDRBTpcKF_iExsDZ
Velgus
Biographical Notes: Velgus is an experienced game designer, game developer, and puzzle maker, as well as a key organizer of the Golden Gate Gamemakers design and playtest community. He loves games of all kinds and specializes in work for tabletop experiences.
Magic Inn
Magic Inn is a scenario driven puzzly card game. The player takes on the role of a new proprietor for an enchanted living space.
Kitchen Chaos
Kitchen Chaos is a real time party game of players working together to fulfill food orders by performing dexterity mini-games and managing resources.
Escape Team
Escape Team is a cooperative escape room in a box experience. Communicate, manipulate props, and solve props in a historic mansion.
Yves Bouvier
Biographical Notes: Yves Bouvier is a French game designer based in San Jose.
Matcha: Strategy and Memory game
Strategy and probabilities infused onto a memory game. Flip chips to uncover patterns and collect a chip. Be the first player with all 6 unique chips or 3 identical chips to win the game.
Website: https://www.playmatcha.com