What is Protospiel South?

Protospiel South is a convention for game designers and play testers. Protospiel South is:

• open to everyone with an interest in game design
• designer-focused,
• not for profit,
• cooperative, collaborative, and constructive.

If you're a designer, bring prototypes of games you're working on to play test them with other designers. It's not a free ride, though. Be ready to play test other designers' games and provide helpful suggestions.

If you're a play tester, you'll be the most popular person in the room. Be ready to learn and play games of all types and offer honest insights into what works for you and what doesn't.

Protospiel South is sanctioned to use the Protospiel name by the organizers of the original Protospiel, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010.

Protospiel South 2018!

We took a break in 2017. Now we're ready to host another great prototyping and play testing event. Get ready for Protospiel South 2018!

When & Where?

We're figuring that out. As soon as we have an answer, we'll let you know!

What will happen at Protospiel South?

Protospiel South has one primary purpose:

Play testing of board game prototypes.

We're providing a clean space with tables, convenient rest rooms, coffee, water, good lighting, and food.

Designers of different levels of experience, as well as representatives from various game companies will be present. We may have one or two informal Q&A events – one with game designers and publishers with different publication approaches, and one with advice from a game retailer. If there's an event that you'd really like to see on the Protospiel South schedule, talk it up in the Protospiel South forum. If it gets enough traction, we'll do what we can to make it happen.

Why Protospiel South? Isn't Protospiel enough?

Several Reasons:

• Cross-pollenation: Austin, Dallas, and Houston have several board game publishers, robust artist communities, and many computer game companies of all different sizes. I'd like to see these communities share ideas more often.
• Community: There are lots of game designers in Texas and surrounding areas, and I'd bet that lots of them think they're all alone. Protospiel South should help them network.
• Convenience: Some people can't travel all the way to Ann Arbor, MI, with their prototypes and luggage, but are willing to travel to Austin, TX.

Who's putting Protospiel South together?

Hi! I'm Jonathan Leistiko. I posted one free print-and-play game every month for 10 years at Invisible City Productions. I've successfully licensed four games, two published by AEG: The Isle of Doctor Necreaux and Pressure Matrix. The third became the iOS game Tumblewords. The fourth was Blank White Dice, published by WizKids. I've also co-self-published two board games: Inevitable – a boardgame that we funded (to the tune of ~$9,500) through Kickstarter and the second edition of The Island of Doctor Necreaux. I moved to Austin from State College, PA in August of 1999. Now I live just north of Austin in Pflugerville and I'm very happy here. I was also a game developer for Steve Jackson Games.