The Board Game Manufacturing Pipeline
A lot goes into making a board game. From design to development, marketing and of course manufacture. In the past I wrote about the distribution pipeline (see our article: Supply Chain A-Z), and decided that it might be helpful to dig a little deeper into the actual process of manufacturing a board game.
The Pipeline
Let’s take a closer look at each of the steps in the process…
Print File Review: The publisher sends their print files to the manufacturer. They are checked for formatting, and to make sure components fit the manufacturing specs – i.e. margins are correct, die cutting is tenable, and meeples can be made via machining or laser-cutting as specified in the RFQ.
Digital Proof: The manufacturer creates a digital proof. This is the first step of QA for the publisher to make sure that everything is in order.
Component Sampling: The manufacturer sources specialty components that they don’t make in house (see our article: Industrial Clusters & Board Game Manufacturing). Sample components are created. Sometimes components will be sent to the publisher, other times they are photographed.
Manufacture Prototype: A copy or copies of the game are made off-line. This means that printed components are made on industrial printers (rather than a full in line process), so coloration may vary slightly from the final production run, but all materials and finishes will be the same.
This is the most important check before a full print run is authorized. The publisher must make sure components fit in the box, check component quality, and make sure components fit and work well together. We now use manufacture prototypes as our review copies of our games.
Printing: Once the publisher signs off on the manufacture prototype they authorize a full print run of the game, and printed components are printed.
Mounting & Finishing: Finishes are applied to printed components, they are dried, and mounted on an appropriate stock (see our article: The Anatomy of a Card).
Die Cutting: Printed components are die cut and sorted.
Component Creation: Non printed components are manufactured and sourced from third party specialty component manufacturers. Many manufacturers only handle printed components in house, while sourcing plastic and metal components.
Mass Production Copy: A single mass-production copy of the game is assembled and sent to the publisher. This is the publisher’s final line of QA to make sure that the game and components are up to specs. If there are any issues then replacement components will be sourced before final assembly - for example we sourced new dice for Nut Hunt after seeing our mass production copy.
Climatization: Components and printed materials are climatized to reduce the risk of warping.
Assembly: The manufacturer QAs the final components and the full print run of games is assembled, wrapped and packed.
Freight: Games are palletized or floor loaded and the manufacturer hands the games off to the freight forwarder.
What is your favorite board game component?
