The Unsung Heroes of Board Gaming

October 06, 2025

The Unsung Heroes of Board Gaming

Board Game Geek recently released their first Board Game Quiz on their YouTube channel. As of this writing, the video has had over 6,000 views with many viewers commenting with their scores.

Players get 3 points for identifying the game, 1 point for identifying the designer(s), and 1 point for identifying the publisher. Scores seemed to average around the 50s with a few industry folks (like us) scoring well into the 80s and 90s. And yet, no points were awarded for identifying the true unsung heroes of board gaming - board game manufacturers.

Board game publishers and designers dream up sophisticated and fantastical games, but it’s the manufacturers who help make those dreams possible.

As we move forward into the second half of the 2020s, it’s become more clear than ever that clever and unique mechanics and gameplay aren’t enough. More and more board games need table presence and Instagramable components to help further distinguish themselves from the ever growing market.

Z-Man Games recently published The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship which comes with a 3D punchboard Tower of Orthanc complete with the lidless Eye of Sauron. (Image from BoardGameGeek)

Manufacturers help engineer the next generation of quality components to dazzle gamers each year. In a single lifetime, we’re gone from simple mono-color plastic pawns to intricate injection molded miniatures with detailed shading. And there’s no going back.

Gamers can easily identify popular board games, publishers, and even designers, but we don’t take enough time to celebrate the manufacturers who help bring these dreams into the real-world and onto the gaming table.

Bézier Games is proud to be working with Panda Game Manufacturing (and designer Ben Rosset) to change this with the release of The Game Makers - an epic Kickstarter-funded board game where players take on the role of board game manufacturers and build some of the greatest games of all time. With over $1,000,000 pledged from over 6,000 backers, The Game Makers proved to be wildly successful.

Ben Rosset, who has worked for Panda Game Manufacturing for over 10 years, has been working on a board game that celebrates board game manufacturers for quite some time. He felt that manufacturers needed to be highlighted more for their contributions to the industry. He wanted players to experience the sense of urgency manufacturers feel when it comes to building board games, gathering components, and upgrading their facilities. Players aren’t moving humans (or animals) around the component warehouse but instead move forklifts to further simulate the chaotic ballet of a factory floor.

Using real-world board games proved to be the hook needed to lure gamers into the world of The Game Makers. Sure. You could build any game, but why not build modern classics such as Pandemic Legacy, Gloomhaven, Ark Nova, Brass: Birmingham, or Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition? Gamers responded strongly as each card draw in The Game Makers is filled with nostalgia and passion.

The next time you gaze upon your gaming shelf, take a moment to inspect your favorite board games and see who manufactured them. Reach out to publishers and let them know you appreciate the quality of those components and give praise to their choice of manufacturer. It’s important to dream of castles in the sky, but it’s also important to engineer the foundations to support those dreams.

Hear from Ben Rosset (designer of The Game Makers), Michael Lee (CEO of Panda Game Manufacturing), and Renée Harris (licensing manager of Bézier Games) on what The Game Makers means to them and how such a game was possible.

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