Game Prototype Printing — Test Before You Commit

Single decks and short playtest runs, printed on real production stock in New Zealand.

You can playtest a game on paper offcuts for a long time. At some point you can't — because how a card feels in the hand, how a deck shuffles, and whether players can read it across a table are all part of whether the game works.

We print prototypes on the same stock and finishes we'd use for your full run. That means what you test is what you'd sell, and any problems show up while they're still cheap to fix.

Why prototype locally

• Days, not months. Most prototype orders run 7–14 working days once artwork is approved. Offshore, you're waiting on production plus sea freight.
• One copy is a real order. You don't need to commit to hundreds to find out whether your card layout is legible.
• Real stock. Testing on office paper tells you about the rules. It tells you nothing about the product.
• Iterate cheaply. Print, playtest, change, print again. That loop is where games actually get good.
• No customs, no container. It arrives by courier.

What a prototype run gets you

Cards on 300gsm production stock, with your choice of finish and rounded corners as standard — so shuffle feel and opacity match the final product.

A printed tuck box if you want to see the whole thing presented, or loose cards if you're still iterating on the deck.

Board game components too — boards, punchboards and tokens can be produced in small quantities for playtesting, though these cost more per unit at prototype scale than cards do.

What it costs

Short runs cost more per unit than production runs. That's simple economics — setup is the same whether you print one deck or a thousand.

What we'll do is tell you honestly where the price breaks fall. Sometimes fifty copies costs barely more than ten, and knowing that changes what you order. We'd rather you understood the curve than guessed at it.

Most card orders take 7–14 working days once artwork is approved.

Getting your files ready

You don't need print-ready artwork to start. This is the stage where files are usually roughest, and helping sort them out is a normal part of the job — we check artwork, flag bleed and safe-zone problems, and get things press-ready.

If you're designing from scratch, tell us the card size you're planning and we'll confirm the specs before you commit to a layout. It's much easier to set bleed correctly at the start than to rebuild 80 cards later.

From prototype to production

When the game's ready, the same files go to a full run — no re-setup, no new supplier, no re-learning your project. See trading card printing for card games and TCGs, or board game manufacturing for full boxed sets.

Frequently asked questions

Can you really print just one deck?

Yes. Prototype runs are a normal part of what we do.

Will the prototype match my final print run?

If you use the same stock and finish, yes — that's the point of prototyping on production materials rather than paper.

How many rounds of prototyping do people usually go through?

It varies enormously. Some designers print once and go; others iterate five or six times. Neither is wrong.

Can I get a few different versions in one order?

Often yes — talk to us about what you're comparing and we'll tell you whether it's practical in one run.

Do you keep my files for the production run?

Yes, so reordering is straightforward. They remain yours and we don't use them for anything else.