2-6PLAYERS
Board Game Designer

Morty Smith

Tabletop game designer working in Seattle. Player-first, math-second, rules-obsessed.
morty.smith@example.com (206) 555-0142 mortysmith.example.com Seattle, WA

How to Play (Summary)

I design mid-weight family and hobby board games, from the first paper prototype to the final rulebook. Over 9 years I have shipped 7 published titles that sold about 140,000 copies combined across 4 languages.

I run roughly 60 blind playtest sessions per title before locking a design, and I write rulebooks that cut support emails by a lot. One reviewer called my rules "suspiciously clear," which I have decided to keep on my desk.

Career Path

1

Lead Designer · Northwind Tabletop Co.

2021–present
  • Designed and shipped 3 titles, including a route-building game that sold 52,000 copies in its first 18 months.
  • Cut average teach time from 14 minutes to 8 by rewriting the setup flow and adding a first-turn cheat card.
  • Mentor 2 junior designers and run the studio's weekly blind-playtest night (about 40 tables a month).
2

Game Designer · Copperleaf Games

2018–2021
  • Owned the core loop and balancing for a co-op deck game funded at 380% on its crowdfunding run.
  • Tuned card costs across 220 cards using a spreadsheet model plus 45 recorded playtests.
Go back 2 spaces: publisher paused the fantasy line for a year
3

Junior Designer · Maple & Meeple Studio

2016–2018
  • Prototyped 11 concepts in 2 years; 2 reached retail.
  • Wrote the studio's first internal balance checklist, still used on every project.
4

Rules & QA Assistant · Tidewater Play Lab

2015–2016
  • Edited 6 rulebooks and logged 900+ bug reports during layout testing.

Chance Cards

Advance to Award. "Harborline" named Family Game of the Year finalist at the Cascade Tabletop Awards, 2023.

Collect royalties. Two designs licensed into German and Japanese editions, about 30,000 copies overseas.

Speaking slot. Ran a 3-hour design workshop for 60 attendees at PlayCraft NW, 2024.

Print run bonus. Reprint of "Orchard Rush" hit 4 printings, 24,000 copies total.

Dice Ratings

Rulebook writing
Game balance / math
Prototyping
Playtest facilitation
Component design
Illustrator direction

Player Pieces

BFA, Game Design

Puget Sound College of Art
2011–2015

Certificate, Rulebook Editing

Tabletop Guild Online
2019

Volunteer Judge

Cascade Tabletop Awards, 22 titles reviewed per year
2020–present

Tools

Nandeck, Component Studio, Figma, spreadsheet balance models
Daily driver