Recently, I have released a print and play version of Stones and Rivers and I wanted to share my reasons for doing so. For those who don’t know, print and play is a method of game distribution where game designers make their game available to players as a downloadable PDF to be printed at home and assembled often for a reduced cost or free. It may seem odd to offer a game for free when it costs time to design it and money for the art. I decided to release a print and play for Stones and Rivers came down to 3 factors: Affordability, Accessibility, and Community.

Affordability

One of the main reasons why I decided to make a print and play was because it is an affordable publishing method. This is for both myself and for the players. As a smaller game designer, creating near production prototypes can be expensive and if I have players buy that version from me it would cost more for them. With print and play, all I need to do is make a PDF and players can simply download, print, and assemble it for no cost. This is a win-win since my goal is to get Stones and Rivers into peoples hands and share the game with them and for the player since they can get and play a great game with no cost.

Accessibility

By making the game print and play it makes…print and play is because it makes my game more accessible. For Stones and Rivers there are months and months of planning and production that would need to be done for a physical game. With a print-and-play I can post and update the rules and files for Stones and Rivers and have it be accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This makes it more likely for the game to start to find an audience and remove the barrier of cost as well.

Community

A third reason for making Stones and Rivers a print and play game was the opportunity to organically grow the community. My vision of Stones and Rivers is that it becomes a game with leagues and tournaments and for that there needs to be a community. With a print and play there is a central place for everyone to get updated rules, ask questions, and start to find a way to organize.

As we are going through the production of Stones and Rivers, it is clear to me that the benefits of Affordability, Accessibility, and Community mean that making a print and play is the right choice. For me, it seems to be an invaluable step in production for any game. At the end of the day, I want to see people play my games and Print and Play is a great choice for that. If you're a game designer looking to get your game out there, I highly recommend considering print and play as an option.

Stones and Rivers Print and Play:

https://bigblueheron.itch.io/stones-and-rivers

More Info on Print and Plays from Board Game Design Lab:

https://boardgamedesignlab.com/how-and-why-you-should-create-print-n-play-games-with-rachel-bruner/

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