Steel yourself! ⚔️
The Hidden Village Kickstarter Pre-Launch page is live! The plan is to launch Fall 2026.
Click that big "Notify Me On Launch" button to make sure you don't miss out! Link in bio, or go to
/projects/pickitupgames/hidden-village
Thanks for all the support up so far 🤘
#HiddenVillage #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner #2playergames #tabletopkickstarter
The Hidden Village Kickstarter Pre-Launch page is live! The plan is to launch Fall 2026.
Click that big "Notify Me On Launch" button to make sure you don't miss out! Link in bio, or go to
/projects/pickitupgames/hidden-village
Thanks for all the support up so far 🤘
#HiddenVillage #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner #2playergames #tabletopkickstarter
Quit monkeying around! 🐒
The Hidden Village Kickstarter Pre-Launch page is live! The plan is to launch Fall 2026.
Click that big "Notify Me On Launch" button to make sure you don't miss out! Link in bio, or go to
/projects/pickitupgames/hidden-village
Thanks for all the support up so far 🤘
#HiddenVillage #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner #2playergames #tabletopkickstarter
🍃 Designing the Wind Wielder was lots of fun, and he actually went through several designs before I landed on this one. The Kasai clan are wild and love playing with fire, so he needed that energy. Of course, he also needed to be whipping through the air surrounded by sharp wind. I think this pose ultimately captures all of that.
Now I just gotta shape his lore some more, and if you're interested in helping with that, or playing Hidden Village, join the Discord (Link in bio) and we can do both!
#HiddenVillage #2playergames #indietabletopgamedesigner #kickstarterboardgames #tabletopgames
This week's #boardgameprotohype is Obstacle, so I'm sharing two characters in Hidden Village that provide big obstacles.
First is the Shiitake Shinobi, who uses his spores to prevent his foes from using their Ki. Ki is a wild die that can be used for either melee or ranged strikes, so this can really limit your opponent's options. It also helps you feel more secure, especially if your opponent rolled a bunch of Ki this round.
Then we have the Umbrella Adept, who shields her allies from her enemies' tools. Again this both limits what your opponent can accomplish with their resources and protects the Shinobi you place with her.
If you're interested in trying out either character, join me in the Hidden Village Discord (link in bio), and we'll set up a playtest!
#HiddenVillage #tabletopkickstarter #2playergames #indieboardgamedesigner
The Fujibayashi clan focuses on manipulating the dice, both in their favor and to stifle their opponents. The dice are resources representing the energy your Shinobi need for their strikes, and the Fujibayashi are masterful at controlling that natural energy.
This video showcases Hidden Village as seen on Screentop, a free online playtesting platform. If you're interested in trying Hidden Vintage yourself, join the Discord (link in bio), and we can set up a playtest in Screentop!
#HiddenVillage #2playergames #indiegamedesigner #kickstarterboardgame #tabletopgames
Also, Happy Mother's Day!! 🌸
The final of 6 territories in Hidden Village: the River!
This turned into one of my favorite illustrations, and genuinely makes me feel calm when I see it. As you can see in the timelapse, it came together pretty easily, and I'm tempted to paint more like this for personal use.
The river is a fun territory in the game because it lets you move Shinobi to new territories during combat (ostensibly connected by a river), something you normally wouldn't be able to do.
The art for the game is done, now, but there's still much to do! Join me on the Hidden Village Discord (link in bio) and help plan the future of the game, from marketing strategy, to crowdfunding options, to world-building, there's plenty left to get done!
#HiddenVillage #riverart #IndieGameDesigner #kickstarterboardgame #2playergames
This week's #boardgameprotohype is Family, so I had to feature my #1 playtester: my son!
I certainly couldn't and wouldn't be so far along in this process of creating a board game if not for the support of my family. They're rooting for me every step of the way (even if some aren't old enough to technically play my game). Shout out to my wife, Sam! To my mom and and in-laws, my brother and sisters, and my closest friends who follow and support me in this journey!
Also to the Boardgame Protohype community, who have been super helpful and uplifting during this process. If you're interested in joining, just let me know or head over to the @boardgameprotohype account.
#HiddenVillage #boardgamefamily #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner
These are my favorite characters that I've created for each of the Shinobi clans. Which one is your favorite?
🌿 Fujibayashi - The Shiitake Shinobi is so rad! Look at that mushroom head 🍄 Designing him was so fun, and his pose came out perfect. Plus, I'm a fan of the Kakashi-style mask.
⚔️ Fūma - Of the core characters, I was torn between Fūma Sagami and the Master Archer, but again, that pose came out so well with the bow! It was unintentional, but actually all three ladies of the Fūma clan have the same pose 😂
🪭 Hattori - Temari is one of my favorite Naruto characters, and the Umbrella Adept is highly influenced by her design. Plus the color of her magic is 🔥🔥
🔥 Kasai - Probably my favorite art of all the characters, and the Flame Master was also the first one I designed in the current style, so it holds a special place in my heart. She set the tone for everyone else!
🐒 Sarutobi - Notably, the only Jōnin in my picks. Sarutobi Sasuke was inspired by Sun Wukong designs, and the whole clan took on his Japanese macaque appearance after that. I love the mischievousness that comes across in his smile.
👊 Taiku - The Tattoo Monk is one of the OG characters I created, before there were any designs. I always imagined his tattoos coming off his body, but I was worried how I'd pull it off. I'm much relieved to see the effect come to life, though! 🐉
Each of these characters' personalities was highly determined by how their art came out, but right now there's only the art and a bit of flavor text. Head over to the Hidden Village discord (link in bio) to help me flesh out their lore!
#HiddenVillage #twoplayergame #IndieGameDesigner
#kickstarterboardgame #cardgameart
I've been on Instagram for 5 1/2 months and Substack for 6. In my latest blog post, I dive into what this promotion process has been like, specifically focusing on organic growth.
Head to the post on the Hidden Village blog (link in bio), or go to pickitupgames.substack.com to read about the journey. Honestly, it has had its challenges, but the support from the community, both online and offline, has been tremendously encouraging. Even if there is much more for me to learn, I've no doubt I'll be launching Hidden Village successfully. Just gotta keep at it!
If you're interested in helping Hidden Village grow, please join the Discord server (link in bio). You can help with playtests, promotion, world-building and more!
#HiddenVillage #2playergames #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner #tabletopgames
This week's #boardgameprotohype is Cards and Hidden Village has plenty of those! This week I wanted to show off the Clan Technique cards, which are new to the design. Each clan has a unique technique that all of their Shinobi can use, and can even be combined with another clan's technique for more advanced play.
Each clan starts with one technique, but when their Hidden Village is revealed, you flip the card over to the Village side, and now have access to two techniques! This was a simple way to give the simple Genin units unique abilities while also keeping them universal for each clan. Plus, people enjoy having a power unique to them.
If you're interested in trying Hidden Village, join the Hidden Village Discord server (link in bio), and I'll help set up a playtest (both online or offline).
#hiddenvillage #2playergames #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner
Had a great time at @kicexpo on Saturday! It was a truly uplifting and reinvigorating event, with so many cool people to meet and talk to, including some other local game designers. Hidden Village was the only board game at the event, which was rad since it helped me stand out and got people excited to see something different.
I tried to keep stats as I interacted with folks, but I may be off because it's hard to juggle everything at once. That said, I interacted with about 70 people, 42 of which were interested enough to either take a business card, sign up for my email list, or sit down and play a demo. I ran 11 demos, including one with my son, his first time playing!
It was really exciting to share the game with everyone and see how much people really enjoyed the latest iteration, which I think has finally landed just as I wanted. Enjoy the photos!
Also shout-out at the end of this post to @amoeda who was my convention neighbor!
#HiddenVillage #twoplayergame #kickstarterboardgame #indieboardgamedesigner #tabletopgames
