What is Protospiel?

Protospiels are board game playtesting events dedicated to gathering detailed feedback from fellow designers and experienced playtesters. These events started in the US back in 2001 and were the brainchild of Stephen Glenn, Dominic Crapuchettes and Mike Petty.

The ethos of Protospiel is that of reciprocal playtesting; nobody owns table space and everybody plays everyone else’s games. It’s an ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ approach to playtesting; if four other attendees play your game, you would be expected to try your best to play each of their designs in return.

Protospiel events are an invaluable source of professional-level playtesting feedback from game designers and tabletop enthusiasts, as well as a fantastic opportunity to meet and collaborate with others who share a passion for tabletop game design.  

For more general information about Protospiel events, click here. Protospiel Milwaukee have put together a great FAQ page which is also very helpful.

Protospiel Nottingham

Since 2011, Protospiels have spread across the States and into Canada. In 2019, we organised the UK’s first Protospiel event in Nottingham. This one-day event was hugely popular; you can find out what attendees thought here. This year, due to popular demand, we’re going longer; two full days of playtesting, with the option of coming for a single day if that suits you better.

Protospiel Nottingham is a welcoming and relaxed gathering, and any profit will be split equally between Nottingham Children’s Hospital and Black Lives Matter. The 2019 event raised £950; at our next event we aim to raise even more! You can find out more about these charities on our fundraising page or by clicking the image below.

If nothing else, we hope that the day is a chance to meet others who share your passion. The tabletop community is one of the friendliest and most inclusive groups around; we would encourage you to be generous with your time and constructive with your feedback to help everybody make the most of the event. 

For more information about Protospiel Nottingham, you can read this interview published on the Zatu Games website.

Attendee Types

For game designers, Protospiel events are an invaluable source of playtesting feedback from fellow designers and tabletop enthusiasts. They are also an excellent opportunity to network with publishers.

For those guests joining us as playtesters, Protospiel will be a fantastic opportunity for you to influence the boardgames of the future. You’ll be able to try lots of different games, and the experience might even inspire you to try your hand at game design.

The huge variety of games being tested at Protospiel make it an ideal opportunity for publishers to scout out new designs in a relaxed and informal setting. Publishers can also sponsor different aspects of the event.

If you’d like to be a volunteer at Protospiel Nottingham, just send us an email. In return for helping with setup, registration and general queries, you’ll receive a discounted ticket.

Have a Question?

If you’d like to know anything else about Protospiel Nottingham, use the search bar at the top of the page or just send us an email!