Designing Tech Race has been one of the most exciting, humbling, and educational experiences of my life. It began as a passion project inspired by my love for board games and fascination with the tech world. What started as an idea to reflect the thrilling chaos of startups has evolved into a polished game filled with strategy, humor, and meaningful choices. In this first installment, I’ll take you through the early stages of design—from ideation to the first prototype—and share what I learned along the way.
The Birth of an Idea
The seed for Tech Race was planted during a brainstorming session. I wanted to create a game that was modern, relatable, and fun. Tech startups seemed like the perfect theme—not only are they transforming our lives every day, but their fast-paced, high-stakes nature felt ripe for gamification. Also, as I have worked in business and the tech industry for over a decade, I feel an urge to bring my experience into a game that gives people a sense of thrill by running a tech startup.
One of the games that gave me a lot of inspiration is Food Chain Magnate. I’ve always admired its business-centric theme but felt it was too complicated for casual players. What if I could design a more accessible alternative, combining the universal appeal of games like Monopoly with the strategic depth of running a tech empire? My goal is to create an approachable game that anyone could enjoy.
The vision for Tech Race became clear: players would become CEOs of parody tech companies, making decisions about hiring, marketing, and innovation while navigating the unpredictable challenges of the startup world.
Turning Vision into Gameplay and Mechanics
To transform this vision into a playable game, I followed a design framework I’d learned in a workshop. By answering key questions, I began to shape the core features of the game:
What’s the goal of the game? Increase your startup’s valuation by earning points through strategic decisions.
What obstacles stand in the way? Limited market demand and tech resources, high employee costs, and fierce competition.
What choices can players make? Just like real tech companies, players can hire employees, expand offices, develop tech, steal customers, or lobby the government.
When does the game end? To simulate the thrill of competition, the game ends when someone reaches 100 points or after a set number of rounds.
Where’s the fun? Cheeky parody company names and unpredictable policy cards inspired by real-world events.
Answering these questions provided a solid foundation for the game. From there, I selected these mechanics: engine building, resource management, trading, and bidding. Each was thoughtfully selected to reflect the dynamics of running a tech startup:
Engine Building: Engine building aligns perfectly with the concept of growing a company. In this game, the “engine” represents the structure and talents of the player’s company. As the CEO, players must strategically decide whom to hire or train, balancing skills and costs to build an efficient team. Each decision contributes to the company’s growth, enabling it to scale operations, tackle challenges, and generate more value over time.
Resource Management: Startups operate under constant constraints, making resource management critical. This mechanic challenges players to prioritize and allocate their limited resources effectively – whether financial, technological, or human – mirroring the real-world need for strategic planning and tough decision-making.
Trading: The addition of trading introduces an interactive layer where players can exchange resources or advantages with one another. It’s not just about making deals -it’s about knowing when to cooperate and when to compete. This mechanic reflects the collaborative and competitive nature of real-world business ecosystems, where partnerships and negotiations often play a key role in success.
Bidding: To inject even more excitement and humor, I developed a “government lobbying” feature with a unique bidding mechanic. Players secretly bribe the government to push their preferred policy, and the policy with the highest combined bribe from all players is selected. Regardless of whether a player’s chosen policy wins, they still have to pay their bribe to the government. This mechanic adds an unpredictable and strategic layer to the game, where players compete to sway policies in their favor. The bidding is designed to be playful and competitive, blending the thrill of negotiation with the absurdity of lobbying in the tech world. It encourages bluffing, overbidding, and even collusion, leading to unexpected alliances and rivalries.
Together, these mechanics create a dynamic and immersive gameplay experience, blending strategic depth with moments of humor and unpredictability. By simulating the challenges and opportunities of the startup world, the game captures the thrill of building a company from the ground up.
I drafted my first rulebook by imagining how I would play the game. Two weeks later, I had a working document and a clear path forward.
The Scrappy Beginnings
My first prototype was as low-tech as it gets. I designed the components using PowerPoint, printed them on my home printer, and then spent hours meticulously cutting out cards and cash bills by hand. The end result? A rough, handmade version of the game that was functional enough to test the core mechanics but far from polished.
The first playtest was an eye-opener. I invited a group of friends to a game night to test Tech Race, and while their feedback was invaluable, it was clear the game needed work. The session lasted over 3 hours, and explaining the rules took nearly 1 hour. Some players found the game overly complex and overwhelming at times, but others saw real potential, particularly in the hiring mechanic, which they found engaging and innovative. Their honest feedback highlighted areas for improvement, while their enthusiasm and encouragement gave me the motivation to keep refining the design. It was a pivotal moment that underscored the importance of iteration while reinforced my belief that I was on the right track.
The Road to Sampling
Creating a polished prototype was a journey of continuous learning and improvement. Early on, I hired a talented designer, Oksana, who transformed my vision into stunning sci-fi-inspired artwork. While her work was a milestone, it was just the beginning. Bringing that vision to life in physical form posed its own set of challenges.
Finding the right manufacturer, however, proved trickier than expected. I dove into the technicalities of CMYK printing, UV coating, and punch boards, producing three prototype iterations along the way. Each version brought significant improvements but also revealed the complexities of the production process. Delays, miscommunications, and unreliable vendors tested my patience and taught me hard lessons about vetting partners carefully.
Ultimately, those setbacks made the final product stronger. They reinforced the importance of resilience, adaptability, and relentless iteration. Every adjustment and every obstacle deepened my understanding of what it takes to create not just a game, but an experience worth sharing with players.
In Part 2, I’ll dive deeper into the challenges of balancing accessibility and depth, the lessons I learned from turning a game idea into reality, and how Tech Race has grown into a game that captures the chaos and creativity of the tech industry. Stay tuned!
