Tabletop Games in the DMV

Every month Designed in the DMV highlights events featuring tabletop game designers based in the DC - Maryland - Virginia region. We’re an artist collective helping game designers improve our craft and connect with our audience.

October spotlight: Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair

A rain-or-shine outdoor market followed by a panel discussion with local game designers, including the creator and publisher of the world-famous Fluxx series of card games.

📆 Saturday, October 18
🕛 12pm-5pm: Indie games fair
🕓 4pm-5pm: “Small Games, Big Fun”: a panel discussion
📌 People’s Book
🗺️ 1014-A Westmoreland Ave, Takoma Park MD

12-4: Indie market featuring locally-designed zines, role-playing games, and board games

4-5: Panel discussion about small-format games, featuring Andy Looney (Fluxx); David Chalker (Get Bit!); and Angela Bell (How Much Do You Really Know?)

Spotlight: Surviving the Government Shutdown

We know the DMV is going through a lot of turmoil right now. Many game designers are furloughed civil servants or laid-off government contractors. Josh Heath has been running “Shutdown Game Design” livestreams to help get us through these difficult times:

Other happenings

Oct 16 (Thu)

Tarot x Gamer: Join local game designers to play with tarot cards in new ways: Crafting Rituals, Storytelling Games, RPG Design & Card Spreads for Community Repair
Silver Spring, MD: Pure Panic
6pm+

Oct 18 (Sat)

Break My Game: public playtesting event
Capitol Hill, DC: Labyrinth Puzzles & Games
11am-5pm

Oct 19 (Sun)

Break My Game: public playtesting event
College Park, MD: Game Kastle
3-7pm

Oct 28 (Tue)

Break My Game: public playtesting event
Charlottesville, VA: The End Games
6pm

Nov 1 (Sat)

DC Zinefest: Explore Journaling Games with us, Designed in the DMV!
Gallery Place, DC: MLK Library
11am-4pm

Nov 2 (Sun)

Break My Game: public playtesting event
Manassas, VA: Crossroad Tabletop Tavern
3-6pm

Nov 8 (Sat)

Break My Game: public playtesting event
Frederick MD: C. Burr Artz Public Library
12-3pm

Nov 21-23

Unpub at PAX Unplugged: play tomorrow’s tabletop hits today
Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania Convention Center

Jan 8-11, 2026

Super MAGFest Indie Tabletop Showcase: discover groundbreaking tabletop games designed by passionate indie creators
National Harbor, MD: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

Mar 12-15, 2026

Unpublished Games Festival 2026: the nation’s premiere event for board game prototypes, featuring established and up-and-coming designers
Linthicum, MD: BWI Airport Marriott

Crowdfund campaigns by DMV designers

⭐ Open for pledges: Glatisant by Graftbound Press: A duet game of purpose, pursuit, and guidance.

⭐ Open for pledges: Shores of Night by Aleks Samoylov: a hot new rules-medium take on weird, surreal, and cosmic horror roleplaying.

⭐ Open for pledges: Legends of ShenZhou by Z-McFive: A tabletop adventure blending Chinese mythology with dynamic combat and distinctive miniatures.

🏅 Funded and open for late pledges: Moonshine by Ben Goldman: Step into the Roaring Twenties with Moonshine, a thrilling TTRPG that combines the glamour of the 20s with a touch of the supernatural.

🔜 Coming soon: Gorgon’s Garden by Mothspire: A cooperative social deception game. Help mortals defy their fates and escape the attentions of Zeus and Hera.

Game Jam!

Want to get into game design but don’t know how? Game jams are the perfect onramp! Join the Break My Game community on Discord to come make a game:

Still want more?

Follow the Tabletop Designers of the DMV starter pack on BSky.

Check out the Designed in the DMV Summer 2025 catalog of as many games made by DMV-based designers as we could find.