Placeholder Games

Our designers workin hard on designing our games. Gotta love the old school, tactile game design.

#gamedesign #placeholdergames #arts #crafts #boardgames

ANNOUCEMENT: PLACEHOLDER NEWSLETTER!

So you're late the party? You missed our inaugural newsletter? No worries. Here's a copy just for you, and if you want the next one hot off the press, sign-up at placeholder-games.com.

mailchi.mp/placeholder-...

IELLO Games 🔔 WE NEED YOU 🔔 Game designers, creative folks, we are actively looking for Dice games prototypes to extend our IELLO Dice line 🎲 If you want to show us your work, please send us an email at...

Iello is seeking dice games

the lighting and shadow on this are superb damn

A red meeple, with a white cape, and the words SUPER MEEPLE underneath in red. Logo for French board game publisher Super Meeple.

Wooden board game pieces in the shape of a red, armadillo-like creature with stegosaurus spikes and a scorpion tail, and a white, Chinese-style dragon with a blue mane. They are on a colourful hex board representing land and sea. The board game Wondrous Creatures.

Cardboard boards and colourful components for the board game Beyond the Horizon, with the box stood upright in the background. The whole game is arrayed on a light beige table, with an off-white backdrop.

Front of a board game box showing an illustration of three 1920s-dressed characters in art deco surroundings. The middle of the red box reads Kronologic Paris 1920.

“We released nine games in 2025 and only one was a flop”: French publisher Super Meeple says keeping a tight rein on the number of complex titles it releases each year is paying off in an industry rife with overproduction:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

In order to aid the folks struggling in Minnesota in the fight against our fascist government, we'll be adding a stretch goal to our Kickstarter campaign that launches on 2/10. We'll be sending aid through one of the charities at Stand With Minnesota. www.standwithminnesota.com

We do love a campfire in this house.

How I Heard It - Campfire Storytelling Game Gather ‘round the campfire to tell the tale of a folk hero long past in this storytelling TTRPG inspired by framing narratives like Name of the Wind. Explore themes of power and history as the story i...

So if @dairykillsme.bsky.social's game (How I Heard It) gets funded - I will go camping (FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER) and record an in person AP. You will see me in the wild (my friend's backyard) all cold and shit.

Like do you want to see me camp because this is how you get me to go camping.

Glowing green circuit board pin banner art (left) and a mock up of it indicating its approximate scale to the Short Circuit PCB pins (right)! Text on the image reads, "36 x 72 cm: over one foot x two feet!", "Plenty of space to display your Short Circuit Collection & Then Some".

Image showcasing artwork of a robot wolf pup on a faux candy bar product label. The robot is barking/snapping its jaws with eyes shut over a background of yellow splatters and circuit traces. Text in the design reads, "BYTE BITES!". To the right are mock ups of the artwork on the faux candy bar keychain it was designed for, in both pale yellow and chocolate PVC colors on the bar, labeled "CRT Static Vanilla" and "Command-Line Shell Chocolate". Additional text on the image reads, "Guest Art by McMadmissile", "7 cm tall, available in two "flavors"!", "3D PVC Candy Bar Keychain: "Byte Bites"", and "Complete with Nutritional Label".

Image showcasing art of a robot wolf pup roaching (laying upside-down) on a pile of pillows. The pillows feature various patterns in gold-orange and green, including checker board and circuits, and one is shaped like a bone. On the right is a mock-up of it as a holographic acrylic keychain! Text on the image reads, "Guest Art by Jekkyfarm", "Holographic Acrylic Keychain: Robot Dog Dreams", and an arrow along the bottom of the mock-up indicates that the keychain will be 8 cm wide.

New Soft Circuit add-ons are live!

Pin banners, transparent stickers, and most delightful of all: Byte keychains featuring adorable guest art by @mcmadmissile.bsky.social and @jekky.farm!!

Get 'em all here >> www.backerkit.com/c/projects/c... 🐺💚

We have decided that the start of the year is also when we want to be hibernating lol. But there is something nice about a fresh start nestled in fresh snow. Beautiful art!

Watercolor painting of two sauropod dinosaurs (brachiosaurus) circling a large maple tree with reddish pink leaves. #dinosaurs #paleoart #sauopods #prehistoric #levihastingsart #levihastings

January is nobody's favorite month, which is why I selected these stylish sauropods as the first entry in my 2026 calendar. Initially created as a commissioned painting for a local client the previous holiday season, this piece quickly became a favorite addition to my growing library of Paleoart.

Cards and tracking sheet from Logic and Lore

A little lunchtime Logic and Lore ( @weirdgiraffegames.com ) with the Variance expansion is a big-brain move...and one you can do too! Loving this expansion so much!!!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/wei...

a ground squirrel holding a red ball in its mouth ALT: a ground squirrel holding a red ball in its mouth

6 more weeks of winter!

And here is a little bit of history on Punxsutawney Phil www.weather.gov/phi/GroundHo...

a box for a parker brothers slide pursuit game ALT: a box for a parker brothers slide pursuit game

Placeholder staff have been talking with our social media manager about how they got started with board games.

What was your first board game and who taught you?

#boardgames #family #friends

It's one year after everything fell apart. Are the corrupted the only things to fear? We've got a special one-shot of #TheCorrupted, created by Navaar Jackson (@navaarsnp.bsky.social) who will also… Havenbrook // A 'The Corrupted' One Shot Actual Play

🎥 VOD || "Are the corrupted the only ones we have to fear?" Check out our one-shot of #TheCorrupted, created by @navaarsnp.bsky.social, who got the chance to be in a player's seat this go around and game with us! #ttrpg #actualplay

Watch via High Shelf Adventures #YouTube: youtu.be/NqCqs3xfC5U?...

Logo for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award

It's the FINAL DAY FOR CARDBOARD EDISON AWARD SUBMISSIONS! We'll have a final count tomorrow, but let's just say we and our judges will be quite busy in the coming weeks! cardboardedison.com/award

Sounds like an awesome conversation. Love it when a design jam really pulls me in.

What is the infinite soul of a mechanic is a good question.

Forest Winding

I've made another *artisanal, hand-coded* website for my playthrough of Carved by the Garden (by @cassi.mothwin.com)

For people who like solo journaling TTRPGs or freaky stories. The final pages of this playthrough is some of my favourite horror writing I've ever done 😬

forestwinding.neocities.org

A game has come to mind. The rules make soup, everyone secretly makes shish kabobs in the shapes of various animals or people. You have to guess which animal or person after the soup has been cooked.

Announcing the Unpub Festival 2026 Guest of Honor Connie Vogelmann

We're delighted to announce that our Unpub Festival 2026 Guest of Honor is Connie Vogelmann! 

Learn more about Connie and preview her keynote topic in our latest newsletter: 
https://www.unpub.org/news/announcing-the-unpub-festival-2026-guest-of-honor

The heart melts with Dewan's colors. Its so rare to see such beautiful use of yellows. Really stellar.

the information here is very thorough, and the pics you've got are top notch, good angles.

a row of white shelves with a few shelves missing ALT: a row of white shelves with a few shelves missing

What's the last board game that forced you to buy a bigger game shelf?

#boardgames #cardgames #shelves #construction #placeholdergames

mood

love both of those, and I can see how both influenced this. so cool!

It's the fourth Monday of January already. Here at Placeholder we have our weekly meetings on Monday nights. It sets our week AND is something to look forward to after the day job is done.

You playin any board games tonight to chase away the Monday blues?

#placeholdergames #boardgames #Monday

Unpub January Newsletter Penguins and Mac in scarves and hats

Our January Unpub Newsletter just went out and has some exciting news! Check it out!

🎲✂️

ok, but that art though. it kinda gives We're Back vibes? just a little bit.

Dino Racer box art. Featuring 5 dinosaurs racing down a racetrack: red T-Rex, blue Raptor, yellow Triceratops, purple Stegosaurus, and green Brontosaurus.

Announcing!!!!

🦖 DINO RACER 🦕🍌

Dino Racer is a fast-paced card game where you’ll draft cards of five wacky dinos competing in a prehistoric race to the finish.

Expect this one to *saur* at Gen Con 2026!!!! 🎲✂️

boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/46...