Designing your first board game is exciting — and weirdly easy to derail. One minute you’re sketching a clever mechanic on a napkin; three months later you’re buried under half-finished rules, three versions of the board, and a prototype no one has actually played.
Most board game design pitfalls are normal and fixable. The goal isn’t to design perfectly from day one; it’s to notice those board game design pitfalls early so you don’t burn months of time and budget spinning in place.
In this article, we’ll walk through 10 common board game design pitfalls we see indie designers hit during the early prototyping stage — and some practical ways to sidestep each one.
1. Overcomplicating Your First Prototype
The pitfall
Version 1 tries to be the “definitive” edition: multiple resources, asymmetric powers, branching scenarios, six card types, three tracks, and a partridge in a pear tree. Teaching takes forever, and nobody reaches the end of the first game.
Why it hurts
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Players can’t tell what actually matters, so they play cautiously or randomly.
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You can’t see which mechanic is fun because everything is tangled together.
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Each change is painful; you’re editing 20 systems instead of 3.
How to avoid it
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Build the smallest playable version. One core loop, one primary win condition, as few edge cases as possible.
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Ask: “What if this were a microgame?” Cut anything that isn’t needed to prove your core concept.
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Delay the fancy stuff. Add extra modes, factions, and modules only after the base game teaches quickly and finishes consistently.
Quick check: If you can’t teach the prototype in 5–10 minutes, you’re probably trying to ship the deluxe edition as version 1.
2. Designing Around Chrome, Not the Core Loop
The pitfall
You obsess over splashy details — factions, special abilities, lore — before locking what players actually do on their turns.
Why it hurts
Without a clear core loop (“on my turn I do X, which leads to Y, so I can eventually Z”), everything feels fuzzy:
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Players struggle to form plans or evaluate options.
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Balance work turns into whack-a-mole because the base rhythm of play was never stable.
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The “cool chrome” hides that turns just aren’t satisfying yet.
How to avoid it
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Write a one-sentence loop:
“On my turn I [ACTION], which changes [STATE], so I get closer to [GOAL].”
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Prototype around that sentence only. Use the minimum components needed to make that loop interesting.
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Treat chrome like expansions. Factions, scenarios, and wild powers should sit on top of a rock-solid base, not stand in for one.
If your core loop is fun with generic tokens and blank cards, the chrome will shine later. If the loop is dull, no amount of lore will save it.
3. Vague or Uninspiring Victory Conditions
The pitfall
Players aren’t totally sure what “winning” looks like. The game ends “when the deck runs out” or “after eight rounds,” but no one remembers why they’re chasing points or what story they’re telling.
Why it hurts
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Fuzzy end conditions make players feel unmoored and passive.
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Boring win conditions (“most points because… points”) make the game feel like a math homework sheet instead of an adventure.
How to avoid it
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Separate the end trigger from the win condition:
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End trigger: “The game ends when someone completes their fourth contract.”
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Win condition: “The player with the most contract value wins.”
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Tie victory to the fantasy.
Instead of “most points,” think “most legendary heists,” “largest dragon hoard,” or “strongest rebellion.” -
Say your win condition out loud.
If your elevator pitch for winning sounds bland, rewrite it until it feels like the punchline of the game’s story.
Clear, satisfying victory conditions turn random actions into intentional plans.
4. Investing in Art and Production Too Early
The pitfall
You commission illustrations, miniatures, or full graphic design for a game that hasn’t survived a handful of honest, ugly playtests.
Why it hurts
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Sunk costs make you stubborn. When you’ve paid for art, every rules change feels painful.
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Pretty prototypes distract people. Testers are more likely to compliment the art and less likely to give blunt feedback on gameplay.
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Reworking is expensive. Redoing beautiful assets every time you discover a problem drains money and motivation.
How to avoid it
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Keep early prototypes ugly but legible. Handwritten cards, simple icons, and black-and-white printouts are your friends.
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Lock systems before art. Reserve paid art and polish for after the core game has survived multiple tests with strangers.
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Label everything as prototype. If you need nicer-looking assets (especially for digital testing), use placeholder art and clearly tag it “Prototype — Not Final” to keep yourself flexible.
A scrappy prototype that plays well beats a gorgeous prototype no one wants to play twice.
5. Waiting Too Long to Playtest
The pitfall
You refine rules and spreadsheets in a vacuum for months, telling yourself the game “just needs one more pass” before anyone sees it. This is one of the most common board game design pitfalls for first-time creators, because polishing in private feels safer than putting an imperfect prototype on the table.
Why it hurts
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Early problems get baked into the design and become harder to fix.
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You miss the weird, surprising ways real players will actually approach your game.
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By the time you test, you’re emotionally attached to systems that might need to be cut.
How to avoid it
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Playtest as soon as you can finish one rough round. Index cards, sticky notes, and a scribbled board are enough.
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Start small, then widen. Test with yourself and one other person, then quickly move to 3–4 players once the turn structure holds.
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Use digital tools to iterate faster. Platforms like Tabletop Simulator let you tweak numbers and text without reprinting every time.
If you’re waiting because you’re not sure which tools to start with, our article 10 Essential Tools for Indie Board Game Designers walks through a stack that pairs nicely with the playtesting habits in this guide.
If you’re not slightly embarrassed by your first few tests, you probably waited too long.
6. Ignoring or Arguing with Playtester Feedback
The pitfall
You ask for feedback, then spend most of the session explaining why the testers are wrong. In your head, feedback splits into “good takes” and “they just didn’t get it.”
Why it hurts
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Testers feel unheard and pull their punches next time.
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You miss patterns in the feedback because you’re defending instead of listening.
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You frame issues as “player problems” instead of “design problems.”
How to avoid it
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Listen first, talk later. During feedback, your job is to ask clarifying questions, not defend choices.
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Look for clusters. If several people stumble at the same phase, that’s a design signal, not a fluke.
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Separate intent from implementation.
If players misread a rule, the rule is unclear — even if your intention was brilliant.
You don’t have to apply every suggestion, but you do need to understand why people felt the way they did.
7. Relying Only on Friends and Family as Testers
The pitfall
Every test is with the same group of friends or family. They’re either very kind, very harsh in a familiar way, or not really the audience you’re designing for.
Why it hurts
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You get a narrow slice of opinions.
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Loved ones may be reluctant to tell you the game isn’t working.
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You accidentally tune the game to your group’s quirks instead of your actual target players.
How to avoid it
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Mix in fresh eyes. Seek out local meetups, online design communities, and digital playtest groups.
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Define your target audience and test with them. If your game is for heavy euro players, you need heavy euro players at the table.
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Include at least one blind-read. At some point, have testers learn the game from the rulebook alone without your help.
Friends and family are great for early sanity checks. They just can’t be your only data source.
8. Messy, Incomplete, or Out-of-Date Rules
The pitfall
Rules live in your head, scattered sticky notes, and a half-finished doc. After each playtest, you tweak the game but forget to update the rulebook. No one is 100% sure which version is “real.” Out of all the board game design pitfalls on this list, this one can quietly slow you down the most, because unclear rules infect every future playtest.
Why it hurts
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Every test runs on slightly different rules, so your results are hard to compare.
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Blind playtests and publisher reads become nearly impossible.
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You waste time re-answering the same rules questions because nothing is written clearly in one place.
How to avoid it
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Maintain a single source of truth. Keep one living rules document and update it after each change.
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Version and date your builds. “v0.3 — economy tweak,” “v0.4 — new endgame,” etc. Put that version on the prototype itself.
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Schedule cleanup time. After each session, spend 15–30 minutes updating the rules while the experience is still fresh.
Clean rules aren’t just for publication; they’re a tool for doing better design work now.
9. Not Tracking Changes, Data, or Decisions
The pitfall
You playtest, chat about how it felt, and then change things based purely on vibe. A week later, you can’t remember why you changed that card cost or whether it helped.
Why it hurts
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You bounce between versions without real progress.
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You can’t tell which adjustment fixed a problem and which created a new one.
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Your future self has no record of what you’ve already tried.
How to avoid it
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Log every test in a simple sheet. Track date, player count, major rule changes, key issues, and planned next steps.
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Pick a few metrics to follow. Start small: total play time, final scores, or how often a particular strategy wins.
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Mark experiments clearly. “Testing higher income this session.” After the game, decide to keep, revert, or tweak that change.
You don’t need a full analytics setup. A little data goes a long way toward smarter design decisions.
10. Designing for “Everyone” Instead of a Specific Player
The pitfall
You want your game to work for every age, group size, and play style. So you keep compromising until the game is okay for everyone but incredible for no one.
Why it hurts
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Rules bloat with options and edge-case fixes.
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The game’s identity gets blurry; people struggle to remember what makes it special.
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It’s harder to pitch because you can’t clearly answer “who is this for?”
How to avoid it
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Picture a specific player.
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How experienced are they?
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How long do they want to play?
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Do they prefer combo-building, chaos, story, puzzles, or something else?
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Write a short “for / not for” list. For example:
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For: tactical gamers who like combo-building and 60–90 minute euros.
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Not for: people who want party games or fully co-op experiences.
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Use that lens for decisions. When in doubt, choose the option that best serves your “for” players.
The clearer your intended player, the easier every design decision becomes.
Turning Pitfalls into Progress
If you recognized yourself in a few of these board game design pitfalls, that’s actually a good sign — it means you’re paying attention to how your game behaves in the wild.
Early board game design is supposed to be a bit chaotic. You’re allowed to overbuild, misjudge, and change your mind. The difference between stalled prototypes and finished, pitch-ready games is that the latter learn from their mistakes quickly and keep iterating.
If you’re 2–6 months away from pitching to publishers or launching a Kickstarter, this is a powerful moment to:
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Strip your prototype down to its strongest core.
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Run honest playtests with fresh eyes.
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Tighten your rulebook and victory conditions.
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Use real data — not just vibes — to guide your next round of changes.
And if you want structured help working through the toughest board game design pitfalls — from blind-read rulebook checks to tidy Tabletop Simulator builds and moderated playtests with vetted players — that’s exactly what we do at BoardBrain Labs. Your game already has potential; our job is to help you prove it at the table.
If you’d like a quick reminder while you work, turn these 10 board game design pitfalls into a simple checklist and keep it next to your prototype. Each time you start a new design, run through the list to catch issues earlier, iterate faster, and ship games that feel a lot more like the one you imagined.