The Ultimate Collaborative Canvas for Board Game Creators
Introducing Boardssey's Whiteboard, your virtual design studio. This versatile collaborative space transforms how you brainstorm, visualize, and develop your board game concepts with your team.
What Makes Our Whiteboard Special for Game Designers
Imagine having a limitless canvas on which your entire team can simultaneously sketch card layouts, map out game boards, diagram player interactions, and organize feedback, all in real-time, regardless of physical location. Boardssey's Whiteboard brings this vision to life with tools specifically optimized for board game creation.
Key Features That Elevate Your Game Design Process
Real-Time Collaboration Without Boundaries
Work in perfect sync with your team members. Watch ideas evolve before your eyes as designers, artists, and playtesters contribute simultaneously. Whether your collaborators are across the room or across the globe, everyone stays on the same page, and changes appear instantly.
Versatile Design Tools for Every Game Element
The Whiteboard comes equipped with a comprehensive toolkit tailored for game designers:
Draw freehand sketches of components and layouts
Create precise shapes for game boards and player mats
Add and organize sticky notes for tracking mechanics and rules
Insert and annotate images for art direction and visual references
Structure ideas with connectors and relationship diagrams
Format text for rules drafting and component descriptions
Perfect Integration with Your Game Development Workflow
The Whiteboard doesn't exist in isolation—it's seamlessly connected to your entire Boardssey ecosystem:
Save whiteboard sessions directly to your Game Center for version tracking
Export concepts directly to your Project Dashboard as actionable tasks
Reference whiteboard designs during Playtest Hub sessions for visual context
Share board snapshots with external collaborators or potential publishers
Powerful Functionality for Visual Design
The Whiteboard includes features specifically valuable for visual game design:
Shape Library: Access rectangles, diamonds, circles, and other elements essential for mapping out game boards, cards, and component designs
Connector Tools: Create visual relationships between elements to illustrate how different game aspects interact and influence each other
Text Tools: Label each component clearly with customizable text to ensure everyone understands your concepts at a glance
Color Options: Use distinct colors to visually separate game elements, player functions, or thematic zones within your designs
Grouping: Bundle related elements together for cleaner organization, making complex game systems more manageable and easier to comprehend
Layers: Build sophisticated designs with ordered visual elements to separate core concepts from detailed elaborations or variations
Real-Time Collaboration
What makes the Whiteboard especially powerful for game designers is its collaborative nature:
Live Editing: Multiple team members can work simultaneously on the same design, allowing artists to refine visuals while designers adjust layouts in real-time
Immediate Feedback: Get instant input from developers, playtesters, or publishers as they highlight potential improvements or suggest refinements directly to your designs
Iteration Tracking: Save versions as your concepts evolve through development, creating a visual history of your design process that helps you remember the reasoning behind important decisions
Specific Use Cases for Board Game Designers
Game Flow Visualization
Create comprehensive visual maps that illustrate the entire gameplay experience from setup to endgame conditions. Visualize round structures, turn orders, and phase transitions to identify potential bottlenecks or confusion points before they reach the table.
Example:
For a strategy game with multiple phases per round, design a visual map showing how players progress through different stages, using different colors to distinguish mandatory vs. optional actions.
Turn Order Mapping and Player Interaction
Diagram various turn order possibilities and player interaction patterns to find the optimal flow for your game. Test different structures—fixed turn order, variable turn order, simultaneous play—and visualize how they affect downtime and engagement.
Example:
For a worker placement game, create a visual representation of how turn order shifts based on player choices, showing the cascading effects of early vs. late turn positions on resource availability.
Decision Trees and Action Consequences
Map out the branching paths of player decisions to ensure meaningful choices and balanced outcomes. Create visual decision trees that show the ripple effects of early-game choices on late-game possibilities.
Example:
For a narrative adventure game, sketch a decision tree showing how early story choices open or close later paths, with annotations about the emotional impact and gameplay consequences of each branch.
Component Relationship Diagrams
Visualize how different game components interact with each other to create a cohesive system. Map card types to board elements, tokens to tracks, and resources to victory conditions.
Example:
For a complex euro game, create a diagram showing how each resource type feeds into specific conversion engines, buildings, or victory point opportunities. Use color-coding to highlight the most efficient paths.
Balance Adjustment Workshops
Use the Whiteboard as a living document during balance testing sessions. Record real-time data, suggest adjustments, and visualize the mathematical relationships between game elements.
Example:
During a playtesting session for a deckbuilding game, create a chart tracking card acquisition rates, comparing theoretical vs. actual card values, and documenting player feedback on perceived power levels.
Rules Architecture Planning
Structure your rulebook logically before writing a single word. Create a visual outline that ensures all rules are presented in an intuitive order with proper cross-referencing.
Example:
Plan your rulebook by creating a visual hierarchy of concepts from core mechanics to edge cases. Draw connections between related rules and mark areas that need examples or illustrations for clarity.