Board game designers, hobbyists on Long Island make their mark in booming industry
Jesse Harchack and Laura Erwin set up a prototype of Erwin's new game at Murph's Restaurant & Bar in Franklin Square, where board game designers gather on Tuesday evenings. Credit: Jeff Bachner
Every Tuesday night, a group of Long Islanders gathers in the back of Murph’s Restaurant & Bar in Franklin Square. Amid the clinking of beer glasses and the rattle of dice, they brainstorm board game prototypes and discuss the business of tabletop gaming.
"You get to flick the dice again," says Zach Connelly, a 40-year-old West Hempstead board game designer, one evening in November as he directs a handful of group members testing his newly published creation, Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House.
Cardboard monsters litter the multitiered board as players send dice tumbling down the colorful causeway, trying to avoid obstacles and land on score multipliers.
"Now you get a clue token you can hold onto for bonus points at the end of the game," he tells one lucky player.
Connelly and others in the group — nearly a dozen designers, playtesters and publishers — are working to make their mark in what industry leaders say is a booming $2.89 billion tabletop gaming market in North America. Locally, these designers represent the vibrant heart of a hobby supported by more than a dozen game stores, several conventions and two game distributors on Long Island. Researchers say the market is projected to grow globally by more than 84% over the next four years, though a crowded field of competitors poses challenges in the niche market.
“There’s a lot of designers on Long Island,” said group member Jesse Harchack, 33, of West Hempstead, who also organizes the Island's annual Tabletop Gaming Expo. “It ranges from hobbyists like me to people [for whom] it's their full-time job."
Tabletop gaming includes traditional board games, miniature war games, collectible trading card games like Pokemon, role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and so much more. Many games on the market feature an aspect of storytelling, be it science fiction, horror or medieval fantasy genres. Others simulate mundane or real-life scenarios such as running a bar or building a piece of Ikea furniture amid relationship struggles.
The industry has grown significantly in recent years.
Sales of tabletop games grew at a steady rate in the 2010s before seeing major upticks in recent years, said Milton Griepp, CEO of ICv2, a trade publication that tracks industry trends. A major factor in the industry's growth has been the rise of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter.
Crowdfunding gave many first-time game designers and publishers access to capital they otherwise would not have gotten, while simultaneously acting as marketing vehicles for unreleased games, he said.
The pandemic also accelerated sales growth. “People were locked in their houses with their families, and they were all driving each other nuts and needed something to do. So, they bought games," Griepp said.
In 2019, the industry hit an estimated $1.68 billion in North American sales. By 2020, sales jumped to $2.03 billion, a roughly 25% increase, Griepp said.
Griepp said stimulus checks during the first year of the pandemic also gave many consumers disposable income to invest in collectibles like trading card games.
The global tabletop game industry is projected to grow to $29.2 billion in sales by 2028 from an estimated $15.8 billion in 2024, according to the Business Research Company, a global market research firm.
Yet, challenges persist: a saturated market, limited shelf space and picky consumers.
“Everyone is chasing the evergreen, a game that always sells,” said Eric Alvarado, 52, of Melville, a board game designer-turned-publisher who owns tabletop game publishing house Talon Strikes Studios.
Alvarado said it has become harder to make a standout title that retailers and consumers are willing to keep on their shelves.
Those hurdles underscore the perks that the designer group offers its members — a space to talk shop about their niche, competitive industry and the opportunity for valuable feedback that can help bring their ideas closer to reality.
The dozen or so designers who meet at Murph's range from hobbyists and up-and-comers with few or no published games to industry veterans with long portfolios.
“I’ve always had games in my head,” said Emerson Matsuuchi, 49, a New Hyde Park father of three who works full-time as a board game designer and is part of the designer group.
Games have been a part of Matsuuchi's life, but what started as a childhood fascination and creative outlet turned into a full-blown career in 2013 when he left his job as a software consultant to design games professionally.
“It was a big change for someone who comes from a programming background, who is always given very well-defined specifications and goals,” Matsuuchi said. “Everyone has a different experience of what is fun and enjoyable.”
To date, he has designed 15 published games — not counting expansions or reprints — including his signature Century series of games, which ranks No. 260 on BoardGameGeek.com, a popular board game review site.
These days, Matsuuchi doesn’t have to pitch many games. Most of his work comes from publishers hiring him to design games for intellectual properties they’ve acquired.
Some of his recent work includes Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, a tabletop version of the popular video game series of the same name, and Halloween, a game based on John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic.
For Laura Erwin, 30, of West Hempstead, game design began as a personal project after a breakup in 2017.
“I found myself with [plenty] of time to pursue my own hobbies,” Erwin said.
She'd studied fashion design in college and said she always enjoyed "making things." Seeking advice for beginners, she said she became a big fan of the Board Game Design Lab podcast. That inspired her to start working on her first game, Roller Wreckage, a roller derby-themed card game. After creating a prototype, Erwin said she needed playtesters so she turned to the group that meets at Murph's.
“They were very supportive of my very bad game,” Erwin said wryly.
Erwin, who works full time as an education manager at the Old Westbury Gardens Museum, has self-published Potions Please, a two-to-four player card game where players take on the role of witches trying to be the first to brew four elixirs and become the head witch. Her work often features designs she describes as "really girly and very pink." As one of the few women in board game design, she said she’s able to offer something different.
Earlier this year, she sold two other designs to publishers, including her roller derby game, now called Claws and Paws.
For Connelly, designing board games doesn’t pay the bills, but it is incredibly rewarding.
“I like to say I have a hobby that doesn’t lose me money,” said Connelly, a founding member of the group and a handyman.
Board gaming became a passion in 2013 after he and his wife traded movie nights for game nights. They started with playing a card game titled Munchkin. Connelly was hooked. He began visiting local game stores and working on his first game, Main Event: A Card Game Battle Royale. Connelly published Main Event through crowdfunding obtained via Kickstarter in 2014.
In 2017, he published a robot fighting game, DeathBot Derby, which he said was well received. Connelly, a father of two, said his focus in recent years has been on simple games for the whole family.
One of his biggest hits to date is Lots: A Competitive Tower Building Game, released in 2020. The game is a three-dimensional puzzle that uses differently shaped colored blocks players must stack in the correct sequence to score points and avoid toppling the tower.
“As I became a father, I realized I kind of wanted to get away from games about fighting,” he said.
The Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo has steadily grown since it first launched in 2018, said expo organizer Harchack. The weekend-long event, held each April at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale, drew about 2,200 attendees last year. The convention, an offshoot of the video game-focused Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, features a large library of board games and instructors, card and board game tournaments, fan panels and vendor hall to buy from local designers and shops.
Tickets to the two-day weekend event range from $36 for a single Sunday adult day pass to $57 for two-day access. Vendors pay a $200 to $300 fee to participate with options to sponsor the event.
“We like to put on the show we would want to go to as gaming nerds,” said Harchack, who works full-time as a public school teacher in Brooklyn. “It’s a very community-based experience.”
Part of the appeal, Harchack said, is the face-to-face connection tabletop games offer — a stark contrast to even the best online video games.
“Just being in person, hanging out with your friends … a lot of people look for excuses to do that,” he said.
The pandemic played a surprising role in boosting interest. When Brothers Grim Games & Collectibles reopened after several months of lockdown, owner Gil Rappold, saw a surge in customers.
“Once we opened back up it was crazy busy,” said Rappold, who’s had his store for 17 years. “You had families getting together, sure, but friends were getting together in groups just not in public.”
Despite that spike, operating game shops comes with challenges that make it harder for designers to get their games on shelves.
Rappold's store focuses primarily on collectible card games, such as Magic: The Gathering. Pokemon alone accounts for 20% of the store’s sales, while board games account for 1%.
Part of the reason his store doesn’t focus too heavily on board games is increased competition from online retailers.
“Amazon is killing us on board games,” Rappold said.
E-commerce giants like Amazon often sell games at prices far below manufacturer’s suggested retail price, making it impossible for business owners to compete on price, he said.
Additionally, “space and money” are concerns, he said. “Board games aren’t cheap anymore. Most of these games are in the $50 to $200 range and they take up a lot of room."
The estimated 3,000 to 5,000 games that hit the market each year means consumers are flooded with options.
Between consumers’ “disposable income levels, their attention spans, their space, and the newness factor, it is a very finicky industry,” said Alvarado of Talon Strikes Studios.
Competing factors make it essential that games stand out to succeed in the marketplace, Alvarado said.
While it's uncertain at what pace sales will grow, some in the industry like ICv2's Griepp, said there are stateside concerns that could limit the growth of hobby games domestically. Namely, the potential impact of tariffs on Chinese imports being floated by the incoming Trump administration.
“Almost all board games are imported and a high percentage come from China,” Griepp said. “If those get hit by 50% tariffs, there’s going to be pain."
Other trends, too, including the use of digital companion apps for tabletop games, consolidation among publishers and a push toward less expensive games all weigh on the minds of those working in the industry, Griepp said.
“I think we are feeling some of the growing pains of having so many publishers in the space," said Matsuuchi, who has seen consolidations among an increasing number of publishers. “I think we’re going to see more companies fold.”
But in an industry dominated by fans-turned-entrepreneurs — where most businesses are founded by the very consumers they are trying to attract — competitors leaving the market isn't seen as an opportunity but a loss.
“There is so much good will between everyone within the industry,” Matsuuchi said. “You work for a company, but you are buying products from your competitors, and you are excited by the products they make.”
“That sense of competition takes a back seat to just wanting to see new products out there," he said. “It is definitely a passion-driven industry."
Every Tuesday night, a group of Long Islanders gathers in the back of Murph’s Restaurant & Bar in Franklin Square. Amid the clinking of beer glasses and the rattle of dice, they brainstorm board game prototypes and discuss the business of tabletop gaming.
"You get to flick the dice again," says Zach Connelly, a 40-year-old West Hempstead board game designer, one evening in November as he directs a handful of group members testing his newly published creation, Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House.
A prototype of Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House, at left, designed by Zach Connelly and published by Pandasaurus Games of Austin, Texas, and at right, the final retail version. Credit: Pandasaurus Games
Cardboard monsters litter the multitiered board as players send dice tumbling down the colorful causeway, trying to avoid obstacles and land on score multipliers.
"Now you get a clue token you can hold onto for bonus points at the end of the game," he tells one lucky player.
Connelly and others in the group — nearly a dozen designers, playtesters and publishers — are working to make their mark in what industry leaders say is a booming $2.89 billion tabletop gaming market in North America. Locally, these designers represent the vibrant heart of a hobby supported by more than a dozen game stores, several conventions and two game distributors on Long Island. Researchers say the market is projected to grow globally by more than 84% over the next four years, though a crowded field of competitors poses challenges in the niche market.
“There’s a lot of designers on Long Island,” said group member Jesse Harchack, 33, of West Hempstead, who also organizes the Island's annual Tabletop Gaming Expo. “It ranges from hobbyists like me to people [for whom] it's their full-time job."
Tabletop gaming includes traditional board games, miniature war games, collectible trading card games like Pokemon, role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and so much more. Many games on the market feature an aspect of storytelling, be it science fiction, horror or medieval fantasy genres. Others simulate mundane or real-life scenarios such as running a bar or building a piece of Ikea furniture amid relationship struggles.
Factors behind industry's growth
The industry has grown significantly in recent years.
Sales of tabletop games grew at a steady rate in the 2010s before seeing major upticks in recent years, said Milton Griepp, CEO of ICv2, a trade publication that tracks industry trends. A major factor in the industry's growth has been the rise of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter.
Crowdfunding gave many first-time game designers and publishers access to capital they otherwise would not have gotten, while simultaneously acting as marketing vehicles for unreleased games, he said.
The pandemic also accelerated sales growth. “People were locked in their houses with their families, and they were all driving each other nuts and needed something to do. So, they bought games," Griepp said.
In 2019, the industry hit an estimated $1.68 billion in North American sales. By 2020, sales jumped to $2.03 billion, a roughly 25% increase, Griepp said.
Griepp said stimulus checks during the first year of the pandemic also gave many consumers disposable income to invest in collectibles like trading card games.
The global tabletop game industry is projected to grow to $29.2 billion in sales by 2028 from an estimated $15.8 billion in 2024, according to the Business Research Company, a global market research firm.
Yet, challenges persist: a saturated market, limited shelf space and picky consumers.
“Everyone is chasing the evergreen, a game that always sells,” said Eric Alvarado, 52, of Melville, a board game designer-turned-publisher who owns tabletop game publishing house Talon Strikes Studios.
Alvarado said it has become harder to make a standout title that retailers and consumers are willing to keep on their shelves.
Those hurdles underscore the perks that the designer group offers its members — a space to talk shop about their niche, competitive industry and the opportunity for valuable feedback that can help bring their ideas closer to reality.
From players to pros
The dozen or so designers who meet at Murph's range from hobbyists and up-and-comers with few or no published games to industry veterans with long portfolios.
“I’ve always had games in my head,” said Emerson Matsuuchi, 49, a New Hyde Park father of three who works full-time as a board game designer and is part of the designer group.
Designer Emerson Matsuuchi, of New Hyde Park, demos his design of Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game at Indianapolis' Gen Con in 2019. Credit: Adam B. Metal
Games have been a part of Matsuuchi's life, but what started as a childhood fascination and creative outlet turned into a full-blown career in 2013 when he left his job as a software consultant to design games professionally.
“It was a big change for someone who comes from a programming background, who is always given very well-defined specifications and goals,” Matsuuchi said. “Everyone has a different experience of what is fun and enjoyable.”
To date, he has designed 15 published games — not counting expansions or reprints — including his signature Century series of games, which ranks No. 260 on BoardGameGeek.com, a popular board game review site.
These days, Matsuuchi doesn’t have to pitch many games. Most of his work comes from publishers hiring him to design games for intellectual properties they’ve acquired.
Some of his recent work includes Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, a tabletop version of the popular video game series of the same name, and Halloween, a game based on John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic.
Jesse Harchack and Laura Erwin set up a prototype of Erwin's new game at Murph's Restaurant & Bar in Franklin Square, where board game designers gather on Tuesday evenings. Credit: Jeff Bachner
For Laura Erwin, 30, of West Hempstead, game design began as a personal project after a breakup in 2017.
“I found myself with [plenty] of time to pursue my own hobbies,” Erwin said.
She'd studied fashion design in college and said she always enjoyed "making things." Seeking advice for beginners, she said she became a big fan of the Board Game Design Lab podcast. That inspired her to start working on her first game, Roller Wreckage, a roller derby-themed card game. After creating a prototype, Erwin said she needed playtesters so she turned to the group that meets at Murph's.
“They were very supportive of my very bad game,” Erwin said wryly.
Erwin, who works full time as an education manager at the Old Westbury Gardens Museum, has self-published Potions Please, a two-to-four player card game where players take on the role of witches trying to be the first to brew four elixirs and become the head witch. Her work often features designs she describes as "really girly and very pink." As one of the few women in board game design, she said she’s able to offer something different.
Earlier this year, she sold two other designs to publishers, including her roller derby game, now called Claws and Paws.
Zach Connelly, a founding member of a local gaming group, said, his is a hobby "that doesn’t lose me money." Credit: Royal N Games
For Connelly, designing board games doesn’t pay the bills, but it is incredibly rewarding.
“I like to say I have a hobby that doesn’t lose me money,” said Connelly, a founding member of the group and a handyman.
Board gaming became a passion in 2013 after he and his wife traded movie nights for game nights. They started with playing a card game titled Munchkin. Connelly was hooked. He began visiting local game stores and working on his first game, Main Event: A Card Game Battle Royale. Connelly published Main Event through crowdfunding obtained via Kickstarter in 2014.
In 2017, he published a robot fighting game, DeathBot Derby, which he said was well received. Connelly, a father of two, said his focus in recent years has been on simple games for the whole family.
One of his biggest hits to date is Lots: A Competitive Tower Building Game, released in 2020. The game is a three-dimensional puzzle that uses differently shaped colored blocks players must stack in the correct sequence to score points and avoid toppling the tower.
“As I became a father, I realized I kind of wanted to get away from games about fighting,” he said.
Gaming trends
The Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo has steadily grown since it first launched in 2018, said expo organizer Harchack. The weekend-long event, held each April at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale, drew about 2,200 attendees last year. The convention, an offshoot of the video game-focused Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, features a large library of board games and instructors, card and board game tournaments, fan panels and vendor hall to buy from local designers and shops.
Tickets to the two-day weekend event range from $36 for a single Sunday adult day pass to $57 for two-day access. Vendors pay a $200 to $300 fee to participate with options to sponsor the event.
“We like to put on the show we would want to go to as gaming nerds,” said Harchack, who works full-time as a public school teacher in Brooklyn. “It’s a very community-based experience.”
Part of the appeal, Harchack said, is the face-to-face connection tabletop games offer — a stark contrast to even the best online video games.
“Just being in person, hanging out with your friends … a lot of people look for excuses to do that,” he said.
Gil Rappold, owner of Brothers Grim Games & Collectibles, said the pandemic played a surprising role in boosting interest in board games. Credit: John Roca
The pandemic played a surprising role in boosting interest. When Brothers Grim Games & Collectibles reopened after several months of lockdown, owner Gil Rappold, saw a surge in customers.
“Once we opened back up it was crazy busy,” said Rappold, who’s had his store for 17 years. “You had families getting together, sure, but friends were getting together in groups just not in public.”
Despite that spike, operating game shops comes with challenges that make it harder for designers to get their games on shelves.
Gamers at Brothers Grim Games & Collectibles in Selden on Dec. 2. Credit: John Roca
Rappold's store focuses primarily on collectible card games, such as Magic: The Gathering. Pokemon alone accounts for 20% of the store’s sales, while board games account for 1%.
Part of the reason his store doesn’t focus too heavily on board games is increased competition from online retailers.
“Amazon is killing us on board games,” Rappold said.
E-commerce giants like Amazon often sell games at prices far below manufacturer’s suggested retail price, making it impossible for business owners to compete on price, he said.
Additionally, “space and money” are concerns, he said. “Board games aren’t cheap anymore. Most of these games are in the $50 to $200 range and they take up a lot of room."
The estimated 3,000 to 5,000 games that hit the market each year means consumers are flooded with options.
Between consumers’ “disposable income levels, their attention spans, their space, and the newness factor, it is a very finicky industry,” said Alvarado of Talon Strikes Studios.
'A passion-driven industry'
Competing factors make it essential that games stand out to succeed in the marketplace, Alvarado said.
While it's uncertain at what pace sales will grow, some in the industry like ICv2's Griepp, said there are stateside concerns that could limit the growth of hobby games domestically. Namely, the potential impact of tariffs on Chinese imports being floated by the incoming Trump administration.
“Almost all board games are imported and a high percentage come from China,” Griepp said. “If those get hit by 50% tariffs, there’s going to be pain."
Other trends, too, including the use of digital companion apps for tabletop games, consolidation among publishers and a push toward less expensive games all weigh on the minds of those working in the industry, Griepp said.
“I think we are feeling some of the growing pains of having so many publishers in the space," said Matsuuchi, who has seen consolidations among an increasing number of publishers. “I think we’re going to see more companies fold.”
But in an industry dominated by fans-turned-entrepreneurs — where most businesses are founded by the very consumers they are trying to attract — competitors leaving the market isn't seen as an opportunity but a loss.
“There is so much good will between everyone within the industry,” Matsuuchi said. “You work for a company, but you are buying products from your competitors, and you are excited by the products they make.”
“That sense of competition takes a back seat to just wanting to see new products out there," he said. “It is definitely a passion-driven industry."
Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.
Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.
