how do you make your own board game?

That's a lot of questions! Much of what you need to know depends on what you intend for the game - if it's a game you just want to play at home with friends, it doesn't need to be any fancier or more expensive than some cardboard and markers.

If you're wanting to make a game to put on the market, though, you have a lot more to consider. Production value goes a long way, but doesn't necessarily mean cutting-edge graphic design; the basic idea is, "as long as it doesn't seem cheap or flimsy". Games like Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan are simply designed but attractive, and the pieces all do their job. You don't have to be cranking out Fantasy Flight Games-level work.

That said, you will need a prototype if you want to sell your game to a company to produce it, and the closer to a final version, the better. (You probably also want a prototype if you want to produce and sell your own game, if you plan on having parts mass-produced.) Try browsing through the options at thegamecrafter.com for ideas on what you can do with existing components. The best part of that site is that you can produce your game and they'll sell it on their online store, simplifying the process greatly.

My current count is 93. My favourites are: Puerto Rico Goa Settlers Of Catan Louis XIV Railroad Tycoon Memoir '44 Ra Modern Art Elasund Hacienda Acquire Nexus Ops Hammer Of The Scots Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage Power Grid Ticket To Ride (with 1910 expansion) I'll probably stop adding new games soon unless I get rid of some of the ones I don't play regularly anymore.

I have made a few different homemade games, but haven't tried to sell them. I have a lot of war games, so sometimes I rewrite the rules, or use the counters for other games. I did, however, make a game from scratch, about grand scale interstellar war from the Star Trek TNG universe. I got a large black mat with a white hex grid superimposed on it (you can get them at any gaming store), got some 1/2 inch cardboard counters (off eBay) and some blank sticker paper for my printer from an office supply school. I drew counters and planets on my computer with a print shop program, printed them onto the sticker paper, cut the stickers and applied them to the counters and map. I wrote up a bunch of tables and charts, and a rulebook, and have played it many times with friends.

As for you, you should figure out the genre you want the game to be, and start from there. You can make your own mapboard out of posterboard, use pieces from a Sorry or Parcheesi game, or buy small fantasy or military figures, if that is what your game is about, from any game or hobby store. Then try to contact one of the larger game companies, like Hasbro or Parker Brothers, and see if they are interested in making your game.

If you are looking to make and sell the game yourself, then you will have to make it look professional. You can go to a local sign store and have them make a professional looking board from your prototype for not a lot of money. If your games uses cards, like "Chance" from Monopoly, use a business card printer program that you can get fairly cheap at an office supply store. You will have to hire a printer to print copies of everything, from the board to the box it comes in. Go to the Small Business Administration (if you are in the U.S.), and make a submission for a loan to start a limited production run, then go to local stores and try to get them to stock it. If they don't, or even if they do, set up a website that sells it online, or sell a few copies on eBay.