My climbing gym board game!

This board game is the result of my coursework in INFO 416 during Spring 2025 at the University of Illinois. As a climbing enthusiast, I was able to put my thoughts and the game design concepts I learned from the class into practice and create an actual physical game from scratch. I really appreciate that people enjoy the idea and the game itself!

Creating the Game

At the ideation stage of designing the physical game, I knew right away it had to be about climbing. Climbing has been such a big part of my life in the past year, and I felt like it was an area of culture that hadn’t really been explored much in board games. What wasn’t clear to me at the start, though, was how exactly that would look. I had once imagined building a digital climbing gym simulation game—something where players could either be climbers or gym owners, setting routes and managing the space. But as I thought more about what kind of game would actually be fun to play with friends around a table, it made more sense to center the experience around the climber: their progression, the gym environment, and the quirky moments that make climbing so community-oriented and personal.

From the start, I wanted the game to be both fun and grounded. I designed it as a kind of simulation of the bouldering gym experience. I filled the cards that the player drew with climbing jokes and references—like losing chalk to someone else in the gym, or gaining stamina by drinking Yerba Mate, which, if you’ve spent time in any climbing gym, you know is basically part of the culture.

While refining Boulder Quest, I focused on several key aspects to improve both gameplay and player experience. One of the main priorities was making sure the game remained accessible to newcomers while still feeling authentic to climbers, which meant carefully balancing the use of climbing terminology. I also spent time adjusting the overall game balance—especially the relationship between resource gain and loss—to keep the pacing engaging without making it overly punishing. I also considered the physical usability of the components; I paid close attention to how resources were tracked, how tokens were placed, and how intuitive the player boards felt during gameplay. These areas became central to my iteration process among all the concerns

Iterating the Game: Feedback & Challenges

Throughout the semester, I held four rounds of playtesting, and every session gave me something new to think about. One of the most consistent themes in the feedback was about resource balance. Players pointed out that the early versions of the game had too much loss and not enough gain—especially from the gym and training cards. Even though people found the flavor text funny, the high frequency of losses made the game feel punishing. It discouraged players from drawing those cards sometimes, which wasn’t what I wanted.

To fix this, I adjusted the math behind the cards. I increased the frequency and value of gains and softened the consequences of losses. Behind the scenes, I created a spreadsheet to simulate various draw combinations and balance outcomes across different situations. I want to make sure the game always felt like it was offering progress, even when things didn’t go perfectly.

Feedback also helped me realize that tracking resources needed to be more visible and intuitive. Originally, I didn’t even include a section on the climber’s board for skill tokens. I thought it might simplify the game to have fewer tokens to move around. That turned out to be a mistake. Without a clear place to track skills, players kept forgetting what they had, and the extra mental load made the game less enjoyable. In the final version, I added skill slots directly onto the board—and that change was well-received. It made everything more transparent and gave players a stronger sense of control over the resource allocation.

Another issue that came up during playtests was unclear placement of tokens. The layout of the climber’s board sometimes caused players to confuse where strength, skill, stamina, or chalk tokens were supposed to go. I’ve brainstormed a few potential solutions—like redesigning the board with clearer zones or using icon-based trays—but for now, I’ve included a cheat sheet and a “spectator” role to help smooth over the learning curve. The spectator doesn’t play, but they help distribute tokens, keep track of rules, and speed things up. That role ended up being helpful in longer sessions.

Aside from gameplay issues, one of the biggest challenges I ran into was producing the physical prototype. Digitally, the design process went smoothly. I built a Python script that allowed me to feed in card data from a JSON file and automatically generate all the visuals I needed. That saved me a lot of time and gave me the flexibility to make changes quickly when balancing the cards. But printing them was a different story. I couldn’t find a campus printer that could do double-sided prints on thick cardstock, so I had to get creative. I manually aligned front and back layouts, printed them out, and then glued them onto pre-cut cardboard pieces. It wasn’t the prettiest or easiest solution, but it gave the cards enough weight to actually feel good in players’ hands.

Another tricky part was managing the number of stages in the game. At first, I had three stages with different climbing grades, but that made the game drag on too long. In one session, we only played stage 1 and it cost about 30 minutes. So I restructured the stages into just two, with each wall stacking easier problems on top and harder ones underneath. It gave the game a natural sense of progression without overstaying its welcome, and the total playtime now sits at a comfortable 1 to 1.5 hours.

In the end, each challenge—whether it was a design decision or a production hurdle—became a part of the game’s story. Boulder Quest evolved not just because I had a vision, but because other people played it, questioned it, and helped me see it from different angles. That feedback loop, that collaboration, is a lot like climbing itself: you try something, you fall, you learn, and then you try again—this time a little smarter.

Vision & Shortcomings

From the beginning, my vision for Boulder Quest was to create a board game that captured the essence of indoor climbing—not just the physical challenge, but also the community vibe, the in-jokes, and the feeling of progression that climbers experience session after session. I think I was able to achieve that balance in many ways. The humor landed well during playtests, the theme resonated with climbers, and the pacing—after several adjustments—felt satisfying without being too heavy.

That said, there are still areas where the game fell short. Resource balance, while much improved, isn’t perfect. For example, in the final playtest, players struggled to collect specific resources like “body work” during the harder stages, which led to some stalling. It wasn’t a game-breaking issue, but it showed that certain card distributions still need more variety and flexibility. Physical accessibility is another area that needs more work. Token management, in particular, was more tedious than I’d like—it took up more time and attention than it should, and as the “spectator,” I found myself doing a lot of manual cleanup just to keep the game moving.

These are things I plan to address in future iterations, but I also see them as natural growing pains in a project that started from scratch and evolved through trial, error, and a lot of learning.

Core Values & Intended Experience

I wanted the game to reflect the idea that climbing isn’t just about reaching the top—it’s about the small wins, the fun moments, and the learning portions. That meant designing a game where players of different skill levels could enjoy themselves, where setbacks didn’t feel punishing, and where the gameplay encouraged both individual strategy and light social interaction. The character roles were built to reflect different climbing styles and personalities, without creating a strict power hierarchy.

The play experience I envisioned was something calm but engaging—strategic but never stressful. I wanted each turn to feel like a meaningful choice: whether to rest, push through a problem, or train for something harder. I also wanted to recreate the rhythm of a real climbing session, where difficulty builds gradually, and where players feel themselves getting better—or at least more prepared—as they go. I wasn’t aiming for intense competition; instead, I focused on friendly tension, where players can still cheer each other on, laugh at the card effects, and share a story by the end of the game. If the table ends up joking about someone hoarding chalk or trying to send a V6 with no stamina left, then I’ve done my job right.

Looking Forward: Improvements, Accessibility & Audience

There’s still plenty of room for Boulder Quest to grow in future iterations. One of the first things I want to improve is the game’s flow and progression mechanics. Right now, there’s a loophole where players could avoid climbing entirely by just drawing gym and training cards, which slows the game down and breaks the intended rhythm. I’d like to introduce incentives for attempting problems regularly. I also plan to diversify the card requirements—especially in the higher grades—so that players don’t get stuck searching for one specific type of resource. Token placement and resource tracking are still more tedious than they should be, so I’m exploring better board layouts and maybe even component redesigns to make the experience smoother. Down the line, I’d love to add random events, asymmetric character abilities, and more social mechanics to better reflect the playful unpredictability and collaboration in real-world climbing.

In terms of accessibility and approachability, I’d say the game is moderately accessible and approachable. It uses familiar mechanics like turn-taking, resource management, and character-based strategy, which helps new players get into it quickly. The theme is clear, the player aids are useful, and most people pick up the flow of the game within the first few rounds. That said, the game does have a lot of physical components—tokens, icons, boards—and that can feel overwhelming at first. I’ve tried to make that more manageable with things like the cheat sheet and the optional spectator role, but I know there’s more I can do to make the game less fiddly without losing its depth.

As for the intended audience, Boulder Quest is designed for teens and adults aged 12 and up, especially those with an interest in climbing or casual strategy games. I chose that age range partly because of the laser-cut wooden components, but also because the game requires a bit of planning and attention to detail that younger players might not enjoy as much. It’s meant for small groups—2 to 4 players—like friends at a climbing gym or people looking for a chill, thematic game night. I’ve tried to make it welcoming for both climbers and non-climbers by blending familiar cultural references with intuitive design. Ideally, the game feels like a relaxed climb session: a little competitive, a little chaotic, and something everyone walks away from with a good story.

Playtest Details & Thanks!

The current Boulder Quest has gone through 3 version of iterations:

• Version 1.0: first prototype
• Version 2.0: updated prototyped based on 1.0
  • based on the feedback from the first few playtests
• Version 3.0: final prototype

Here are some of the details for each playtest sessions:

• May 7
  • Playtesters: Dave, Zhiheng, Lizi, and Shilan
  • Play time: roughly 1.5 hrs. finished the whole game and have winner.
  • Where: Urbana Boulders
  • Version played: version 3.0
• Feb 26
  • Playtesters: Min, Aaron, Josh, and Daniel
  • Play time: roughly 40 minutes. Didn’t start stage 2.
  • Where: Urbana Boulders
  • Version played: version 2.0
• Feb 22
  • Playtesters: Yiyu, Joe, and Tommy (myself)
  • Play time: roughly 40 minutes.
  • Where: Urbana Boulders
  • Version played: version 1.0
• Feb 20
  • Playtesters: Julia, Jackson, Danny, and Yuge
  • Play time: roughly 20 minutes. Didn’t finish stage 1
  • Where: Armory 182 in class
  • Version played: version 1.0

👀 There will be more!