Kid’s Tabletop Game Design Challenge

The challenge is simple: can you come up with an idea for a new game?

We’ve broken this down into five mini-challenges. If you prefer your tasks bite-sized, this will help. If you’d prefer to go straight to the form and submit your idea, click here. (Form will be live and linked from 1 June.)

Mini-challenge 1: write down your idea. This is about getting the thoughts out of your head and on to a piece of paper where everyone can see them. Use this ideas template.

Mini-challenge 2: get creative with a prototype. In order to test the game, you’ll need a prototype. It can start out as rough as you like — you can always come back and make it look neater later. See these pictures of some rough prototypes.

Mini-challenge 3: make some changes. It might seem strange to be making changes so early on, but you’ll probably already have found a few things which need to be changed. Test the game yourself and make a list of the problems you find. Use this changes template.

Mini-challenge 4: playtest with other people. Show your prototype to your family or your friends. Ask them what they like about the game. Watch them as they play and see what doesn’t work. Then make more changes to your game based on what they say! Use this playtest template.

You might want to do mini-challenge 3 and mini-challenge 4 at the same time. Test it yourself, then with other people, then just yourself again! Make a few changes, then test the game again.

Mini-challenge 5: write down the rules. Now that you have a working game, it’s time to write the rules out neatly. Remember that the people who play your game won’t have you there to tell them what to do, so it’s important that the rules are clear. Use this rules template.

Mini-challenge 6: make a video or take photos. This is the last part of the challenge! In order to submit your rules, you need to show us what the game looks like. Your rough prototype is absolutely fine — it’s just so we can tell which card goes where or how to move. Use these suggestions for your video.

When you have completed all the challenges, submit the rules and the video or photographs by using the form here. (Form will be live and linked from 1 June 2026.)