Make 2026 the year you finally get your game designed, pitched, and published.
Stop thinking 'someday'. Start thinking 'now'. 12 sessions (one a month) for £199You have a notebook full of brilliant mechanics. You’ve got a folder of half-finished prototypes. You know your game is good, but you’re stuck.
Does your design progress happen in ‘fits and starts’ with months of nothing in between?
Are you overwhelmed by the real next steps or scared of getting out of your comfortable ‘playtest, iterate, playtest again’ cycle?
Do you wish you had an friendly, professional expert who could just tell you “You’re on the right track” or “Do this instead”?
Are you ready to actually see your game come to life?
If you’re tired of figuring it all out alone, you don’t need more time.
Most creators don’t fail because they lack ideas. They stall out because there’s no one keeping them on track.
Think of me as your Personal Trainer for game design.
My name is Chris Backe, and I’m a published board game design, developer, consultant, and author of Playtesting Best Practices. I’m not the best at selfies, but whatever =)
These are some of my published games:
From Virtual Playtesting to Facebook groups like the Board Game Design Lab, I’ve helped hundreds of designers just like you navigate the path from idea to publication. I’ve consulted and done one-on-one deep dives with others to help them make their game their way.
A few testimonials:
Chris Backe has been my accountability coach for the past 9 months (and counting) through monthly digital 1-on-1 sessions. I can confidently say he is an exceptional and knowledgeable accountability coach. Chris has a remarkable ability to quickly identify potential next steps based on your current progress while empowering you to explore and implement what you feel is most effective. Each meeting concludes with a straightforward action plan, which we revisit in our subsequent sessions to ensure you’re on track. The value you gain from this experience is directly proportional to the effort you invest, so I encourage you to fully commit. If you’re looking to navigate this industry, I wholeheartedly recommend Chris as your guide.
— Ahmad Salahuddin
Chris Backe, accountability coach extraordinaire, has helped to propel me along the path to publication for my next design. Each month during 2024, Chris reviewed my progress, provided insightful feedback and resources, challenged me to excel, and redirected me when I went off track. His assistance has been so vital that I decided to enlist in the program again in 2025. With the continuing check-ins, I am confident I will be in a position to get my design onto gamers’ tables next year!
— Doug Bass
“We just hired Chris Backe to consult with us before we start pitching… and it was a big help. Chris gave us a lot of helpful advice on focusing our materials more toward what publishers actually want to see… Highly recommended!”
— Brett Trout, game designer
This isn’t a course…
It’s a one-on-one, high-impact partnership designed to get you going and making real progress.
Each month, we’ll meet one-on-one in a video call. During this time, we might be:
- Set concrete, clear, and achievable goals for the next 30 days.
- Talking about staying consistent or identifying the most important next steps
- Break down your biggest design challenges and find a solution.
- Review your rulebook and tighten the language.
- Critique your sell sheet to make it publisher-ready.
- Practice your 2-minute pitch until it’s perfect.
- Brainstorm new ideas or fix a broken mechanism.
My job is to be your expert guide, your strategic partner, and the consistent deadline that keeps you moving forward.
Imagine knowing exactly what to do next.
What would 2026 look like if you had an expert in your corner?
- No More Procrastination: Knowing your check-in call is coming is a powerful motivator. You might get more done in the weeks leading up to our call than you did in the last six months.
- No More Guesswork: Stop wasting time on tasks that don’t matter. You’ll end every session with a clear, actionable “to-do” list.
- Real, Tangible Progress: Instead of a “someday” idea, you’ll have a polished prototype, a compelling sell sheet, and the confidence to start pitching.
Let’s make some awesome games in 2026.
I have 10 Accountability coaching slots available:
More testimonials
“…your meeting was extremely insightful and proved to give me tons of helpful pointers making my journey as a developer much more clear. I feel like I dodged bullets and got refined direction from you!”
“Chris has a wide breadth of game knowledge and an excellent eye for quality game mechanics. He was very comprehensive with me on the feedback he gave. He’s extremely easy to work with and I was glad I got a chance to have help me on my game.”
“I think direction was the real value. Actions I can take, are always more helpful than ideas. “Define the high level look of the game-play, and focus on creating a polishing introduction scenario experience.” In my situation, with where my head was at before, that advice was incredibly helpful.”
Chris Backe helped us develop our game Mⱥhr during the past year and it is fair to say that without his expertise we would not have brought the game to the state it is in: fully developed, playtested and ready for production. Would we recommend Chris to other game designers? Hell yeah! And we will hire him again for our next project.
Benjamin Effer, designer of Mⱥhr
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we talk about multiple games, or just one?
As many as you like! Whichever game or games you want to make progress on are the ones we’ll talk about.
What happens if I can't make a session?
We’ll reschedule to another time in the month – I’ll be as flexible as I can. If a month gets missed, we’ll spend a bit more time on a future call or have two meetings in a future month. We’ll make it work =)
Will you make my game for me?
No – it’s your game, and your job to make it. As your Accountability coach, it’s my job to help you make your game your way. That means talking through issues you’ve found, finding ways to save time / money / effort, and so on.
I do offer Development services, and I can help edit, proofread, or write your rulebook, but those are separate services.
What happens if we go over time?
Don’t worry, you’re not going to get charged extra! I’ll aim to bring the call to a close on time so we can get on with the rest of our day, but it’s no big deal if we go a few minutes long. (If you have a hard stop, then of course we’ll ensure you’re off in time.)
What's your refund policy?
I’ll do my very best to ensure you get all 12 sessions over the course of the calendar year, but I can’t offer refunds.
What should I do if I want more help?
You’re always welcome to schedule a one-hour consulting call to go deeper into your game.
Got a question not answered above? Ask below: