Proto ATL 2025

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend Proto ATL, a convention for board game publishers, designers, artists, and playtesters! I went in as a playtester/media and had an absolute blast! 

What is Proto ATL?

Proto ATL is a board gaming convention where board game designers can pitch their ideas to publishers while also getting feedback on their current prototypes from the playtesters and other designers who are in attendance. As a playtester I had the opportunity to try out a bunch of awesome games! 

The beauty of Proto ATL is that they have games from all stages of the creation pipeline. A few of the games I played were completely finished, some were almost done, and some were prototypes being tested before any production. It was a lot of fun seeing the range in these games and being a part of the playtesting phase of each!

Proto ATL also puts on a few incredibly informative panels on topics such as self publishing and the greatest challenges with getting a game picked up by a publisher. 

What games did I try?

During the course of the convention, I tried almost a dozen games! Some by publishers I knew, and others by designers I had not known of. Here are a few of my favorite games I tried over the weekend:

Pocket Parks: 

Pocket Parks is a pattern recognition game like no other! It’s a game I can best describe as the Phase 10 of national parks. After trying out almost a dozen games at Proto ATL, I can say that Pocket Parks was my favorite game of the weekend. I am so excited for this game to be released, and will be picking up a copy when it’s available!

Pond:

Brother Ming games never disappoint! Pond is a game of area control from the publishers behind Genshin Tarot. I am a really tough critic when it comes to area control games, but Pond’s addition of card management and the mechanics of the game give me hope for a better tomorrow in the world of area control! Also, who doesn’t love frogs???

Huenabi:

From the creators of Hues and Cues comes a new party game where players will be working collaboratively to recreate the color chart with the cards from their hand. I thought the game is a great sister game to Hues and Cues and requires a lot more communication, which I really enjoyed.

Luminous: 

Luminous is a card game with aspects of counterplay and resource management. I really enjoyed how players take on the roles of factions and the design of orb cards having to be managed in a way that is productive to your game. My favorite thing about Luminous is how the creators work with multiple artists to create the separate faction cards.

Dog Star Shippers:

One thing about me is I love a good solo game! Dog Star Shippers might come in a small box, but there is a lot of game to unpack! My favorite aspect of Dog Star Shippers would have to be the reputation marker which helps explain which factions you encounter are friendly, and which are foe. There are so many aspects to manage in this game and I absolutely love it!

Overall I had an amazing time at Proto ATL and cannot wait until next year!!! I was lucky enough to be given a Media pass to this event, and while I did not pay to attend, all of my opinions remain my own!

– The Board Gaymer