ATX Protospiel

ATX Protospiel takes over Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy on Saturday, October 3, for a full day of tabletop game playtesting. If you've never heard of a Protospiel, the name gives it away: it's a gathering for prototypes. The whole point is to get board game designers and curious players in the same room so the games can actually get played. You'll be trying prototype titles that haven't hit the shelves yet, so you're seeing the work while it's still in the workshop.

For the designers, it's a chance to get their games in front of a broad cross-section of players and pick up some inspiration from their peers. For the playtesters, you get a look at the cutting edge of game design—the kind of stuff that usually stays behind closed doors until it's polished and published. Publishers use the event to put unpublished games in front of the public for feedback, figuring out what works, what doesn't, and what's just plain fun. It's a working event, so your input as a player actually helps shape the final version of the games you're playing.

It's a long day, running from 10 AM to 10 PM, so you can drop in for a few games or settle in for the whole stretch. The venue is Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy, at 2438 W Anderson Ln. B1, Austin, TX 78757. Entry is $5 for playtesters and $55 for designers, and since it's a twelve-hour window, you've got plenty of room to work your way through as many prototypes as you can handle.