Themed game publishing
From theme to box: Outside Mind Games designs, develops and produces bespoke board games. They are designer games that showcase a theme, a region or a cause and that people play for pleasure, not out of obligation.
What we do
The organisation chooses the theme it wants to showcase and Outside Mind Games turns it into an original game, created by a published game designer.
It takes care of the whole process: research, mechanics, prototypes, playtesting, illustration, graphic design, rulebook and production.
Not textbooks dressed up as games
There’s no teaching material dressed up as a game here, nor yet another question-and-answer or roll-the-dice game. These are modern games, in which the player makes the decisions and the theme gives meaning to every move. That’s what brings a game back to the table and the theme along with it.
Published games
An ecosystem and a global cause: two themes brought to the table in bespoke games.
Municipality of Coruche
A card game about the biodiversity of the montado, a unique Portuguese oak woodland ecosystem. Each player builds their own montado, species by species.
2 to 4 players · 30 to 40 min · ages 8+
Eugénio de Almeida Foundation
A card game about the Sustainable Development Goals, in two versions. Each player is a world leader deciding how to solve the planet’s problems.
2 to 4 players · 20 to 30 min · ages 6+
Who it’s for
For organisations that want to bring a theme to more people, in a memorable way.
To showcase the region, its heritage and local identity.
To bring a cause, a tradition or a theme to new audiences.
A resource people use because they want to: with the family, in the classroom or at the club.
An object of lasting value that represents the organisation long after the event.
Our games
Six principles guide every game, from the first idea to the box.
The gameplay experience is at the heart of everything: interesting, rewarding and memorable decisions.
For diverse audiences, with no prior knowledge of the theme needed. Ideally, from reading age.
Contemporary mechanics and the best practices of 21st-century designer games.
The theme is in the rules, not stuck on top. That way, people learn more and remember better.
More than a game: a cultural product that recreates contexts and conveys values.
Designed to excite the board gaming community and reach further, with the help of content creators.
A giveaway is used once. A good game comes back to the table for years.
How we work
A game like this isn’t written: it’s built, tested and reworked many times. That’s why the process has four stages.
Research into the theme and creation of the game mechanics.
Playtesting with different player profiles and player counts, then fine-tuning the rules.
Illustration or photography, graphic design and rulebook: writing, layout and proofreading. It ends with the final artwork.
Manufactured in a European factory with CE certification and delivered ready for distribution. If the organisation wishes, there can also be a public presentation.
What’s included
Outside Mind Games takes care of the whole process and the organisation approves the key stages.
Created from scratch, with rules in Portuguese.
Game design, illustration, graphic design and proofreading.
With different player profiles and player counts.
In a European factory, with CE certification.
No plastic shrink-wrap.
Attendance at the launch event.
Just start with a conversation about the theme, the audience, the goals and the print run. Outside Mind Games will prepare a preliminary bespoke proposal, with no obligation.
+351 969 678 233 (phone and WhatsApp) · geral@outsidemindgames.com
