BEHIND THE GAME
Follow the development of Project Golf Board Game from an idea on paper to a finished tabletop golf game.
We'll share the decision, prototypes, artwork, playtesting and occasional wrong turns that shape the game along the way.
THE FIRST PLAYING PIECES —
MARCH 2026
Before designing our own golfer pieces, we needed to establish the basics. For the earliest playtests, four simple pieces borrowed from a Cluedo set did the job.
They allowed us to test the size of the pieces against the playing grid, see how clearly four players could be distinguished on the course and, most importantly, start playing the game without waiting for finished components.
They were never intended to stay — but they helped us understand what the eventual playing pieces needed to do.
TRYING GOLF BALLS —
MARCH 2026
The Cluedo pieces worked, but they were far too large for the board. Our next experiment was with much smaller pieces that fitted comfortably within the playing grid.
At this stage, we were considering using miniature golf balls as the actual player pieces in the finished game, so these simple wooden beads gave us a quick way of testing the idea.
The smaller size worked much better on the course, and the different colours made each player's position easy to identify. But the question remained: should the final playing piece simply represent the ball, or should it represent the golfer?
A BIGGER COURSE — APRIL 2026
By April, the game itself was beginning to grow. Our early playtests had shown that we needed a much larger course, giving players more room to make decisions and allowing us to experiment with longer holes, hazards and different routes to the green.
The playing pieces had survived the change. We were still testing the idea of using miniature golf balls, and their small size suited the larger course much better than our original Ludo pieces.
This was also when the flag started to become a playing piece in its own right. Our first version was deliberately simple — a small wooden cube, a pin and a red flag — but it allowed us to test having a physical flag on the green rather than simply marking the hole on the board.
At this point both the golf balls and the flag were still rough prototypes. The idea of creating purpose-designed 3D playing pieces would come later.
THE FIRST GOLFER — APRIL/MAY 2026
The next step was to make the playing piece look like a golfer. Until this point we had been experimenting with simple counters and miniature golf-ball pieces, but we wanted to see how an actual golfer would look and feel on the course.
Our first 3D prototype was deliberately basic — a simple golfer holding a club on a circular base. It was enough to answer an important question: could a recognisable golfer work as the playing piece without getting in the way of the board?
The answer was yes. Seeing a golfer standing on the course immediately gave the game more character and helped move us away from the idea of simply representing each player's ball.
The original handmade flag remained on the putting green for now, but the golfer had taken its first step towards becoming a purpose-designed component of the game.
A GRID TO FIT THE GOLFER —
MAY 2026
Introducing the golfer created another challenge: the playing grid had to work with the piece. The earlier grid had been designed while we were still experimenting with much smaller ball markers, so the golfer suddenly made the spaces feel too cramped.
We tested the figure on a larger grid, looking at how comfortably it fitted within each space and whether there was enough room to move pieces around the course without obscuring the board.
The larger grid worked much better. It also brought the scale of the main course closer to our separate putting surface, helping the two parts of the game begin to feel like one system rather than two separate prototypes.
The golfer was beginning to influence the design of the board itself.
MOVING TO HEXES — JUNE 2026
The board was changing again. After testing the larger square grid, we began experimenting with hexagonal spaces to see if they would give us a better system for movement and shot direction.
The hex grid felt much more natural for the course, allowing movement in more directions without relying on the corners of square spaces. But changing the board created another problem.
Our first 3D golfer had been designed with a round base for the square grid. On the new hexes it no longer looked quite right and did not make the best use of the available space.
The hexes were staying. The golfer would have to change again.
DESIGNED FOR THE HEX — JULY 2026
Once we had committed to the hex grid, the playing piece needed to follow. The round base of our first golfer worked, but it never quite belonged on a board built from hexagons.
By late July we had new prototype golfers with hexagonal bases, designed to sit naturally within a single space on the course.
It was a relatively small change, but an important one. The piece now fitted the grid properly, its position was immediately clear, and the golfer and board finally looked as though they had been designed as part of the same game.
The board had changed the playing piece — and this version fitted.
ANOTHER DECISION — AUGUST 2026
The playing pieces were becoming more refined, but another problem had appeared. Our temporary flag had now been replaced by a purpose-designed 3D printed model, complete with a hexagonal base to match the direction we had taken with the golfer.
On the main course the hex-based golfer works well. But on the separate putting green, the smaller square grid creates a problem — the golfer is simply too large. The new flag also highlighted another issue: a hexagonal base does not look or sit naturally on a square putting grid.
That leaves us with several decisions still to make. Do we change the putting grid, alter the bases, make the golfer smaller, or rethink the player piece altogether?
One option now under serious consideration is returning to the golf ball, this time as a simple round counter-style playing piece. It could provide a smaller, cleaner way of representing each player's position across both parts of the game.
The flag will remain, but if the square putting grid remains too, its base will need another redesign.
Sometimes developing the pieces means changing the board — and sometimes the board tells us to change the pieces.
