Chris Backe, game designer
I design board games and card games (my last name rhymes with hockey) that are easy to learn, quick to set up, and full of interesting decisions and player interaction. I've worked full-time in tabletop since 2021, and 15 of my games have been published so far. Every game on this site is available to sign.
- 15published games
- Best in ShowBoston FIG 2022
- Best InnovationFastaval 2026
- Full-timein tabletop since 2021
What I bring to a publisher
Games ready to evaluate
Every game on this site has a current rulebook, a sell sheet, and a video. I can demo any of them online, or in person at Essen Spiel, where 2026 is my eighth year.
Playtested properly
I wrote the book on it: Playtesting Best Practices (CRC Press, 2025). I also co-founded Virtual Playtesting, so my games reach you after many rounds with strangers, not just friends.
Built to fit a catalog
I've researched more than 1,000 publisher websites for Tabletop Publishers. I pitch the games that fit what you make, not everything I've designed.
Easy to work with
I expect a publisher to change the theme, components, or mechanics, and those changes usually make the game better. I iterate in the open, too: Starfront Scouting Academy went through roughly 40 versions.
How I design
Five things every game I pitch has to deliver:
- Strategy and replayability. Every play should feel different.
- Easy to learn and set up. Half an hour of setup only delays the fun.
- Interesting decisions, as often as possible. Not "this is the only move that makes sense."
- Players interact. As competitors, collaborators, or both.
- Fun to play, not filler. Having fun is why we play.
Awards and recognition
- 2026The Touch of Hope won Best Innovation at Fastaval.
- 2024Orbit was nominated for Best Innovation at Fastaval.
- 2022Dyna-BOOM! won Best Tabletop Game and Best in Show at Boston FIG.
- 2022Transylvanian Lottery was selected for Fastaval and took second place in the audience vote.
- 2022Spies, the first Shiny Pigeon Printables game, funded with more than 2,000 backers.
Published games
Signed with publishers around the world, plus my own print-and-play label.
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Mint-Tin Monster Mash-Up: Arenas
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Rooftop Roses
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Tiberpunk: Streets of Rome
With Robin David (with development credits to Georgij Shugol, Alexander Krys, and Oleg Meleshin)
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Mint-Tin Monster Mash-Up
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Starfront Scouting Academy
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Travelers: Tokyo
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Around the World in 15 Minutes
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Dragon vs Kingdom
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Stargazers
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Cryptomillionaire
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How Much Money?
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Snorkel
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Spies
The longer story
I designed my first game at ten, a war game called Armies and Legions, and realized many years later that I'd accidentally remade Risk. After college I taught English in South Korea, where I met my wife, and we spent years as digital nomads while I ran a travel blog and published dozens of guidebooks.
I sold the blog in 2018 and started editing and developing other designers' games. In 2021 I went full-time in the board game industry. Along the way I co-founded Virtual Playtesting (2020), launched Tabletop Publishers (2021), and started Shiny Pigeon Printables (2022), a print-and-play label with no cutting or gluing. There's more on the Projects page.
Today I live in Birmingham, England, with my wife and a 5x5 Kallax that holds more game pieces than any one person should legally own. When I'm not designing or playtesting, I'm usually running, at the gym, or doing yoga.
Are you a designer? My weekly newsletter and my services for designers live at Making Games.
Let's talk about your next release
I'm happy to walk you through a demo or send you a prototype.
Or write to chris@entrogames.com