Welcome to PAX Collaboratory! Here, rising from primordial ooze, still dripping with the viscous goop of creation, come the prototypes of fledgling board games. Presented by their creators for your playtesting pleasure, join them in bringing to life the next generation of board games! And since it’s all online, you don’t need to worry about the weird evolution goop!

Head on over to the PAX Online Discord, where these genius designers will be running demos of these games for all 9 days of the show.

DRIFT by James Allen

Feel the thrill of racing like never before with DRIFT, the next level in tabletop racing games for 2-4 players, featuring the exciting world of drift racing!

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60 mins

Winning Love by Daylight by Cutlass Boardgames

Tired of fighting monsters by moonlight? Winning Love by Daylight is a magical girl inspired board game where you attempt to juggle all of your school work, dating and social life!

Players: 4, Duration: 30 mins

Tanari by Centennial Games

Tanari is a game about foraging foods from the forest, building up a homestead and worshiping local forest spirits.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60 mins


The Feelings Game by Amble Studio

Explore the maze, avoid the Gremlin, find the treasure. The Feelings Game helps kids and adults get more comfortable using words like “sad, anger, fear, joy” by embedding them in a fun adventure. 
Players: 2-4, Duration: 90 mins

Onikuma by Blue Box Game Designs

Onikuma is a family-friendly simultaneous play card game. Play as a family of bears as you compete with other players to steal food from the local village. The biggest bear usually wins! Unless the village has hired a Trapper to defend their food supply, in which case you’ll need to try and out think your opponents to avoid getting captured!

Players: 2-6, Duration: 30 mins


Secret Recipe by Entro Games

Secret Recipe is a logic and deduction game with a family-friendly theme and a little bit of luck. Take notes, ask good questions, and guess wisely!

Players: 2-6, Duration: 60mins

Espalier by Lazy Arvo Games

Espalier is a simultaneous play, family-friendly experience that turns the tile-placement genre upside-down. The game artfully grafts a gardening theme to the tile-laying mechanic with its simple concept and intense strategy. Feel the tension as your branches line up (or not!) and you compete to make the most fruitful tree in the garden!

Players: 1-6, Duration: 60mins

Dark Frontiers by HALF-MONSTER GAMES PTY LTD

Play an evil alien creature on the galactic frontier, and a group of elite mercenaries sent to destroy it. Using hidden movement mechanics to navigate derelict ships and stations, you are both hunter and hunted.

Players: 2-5 players, Duration: 60mins


Trust Me, I’m a Superhero! by HALF-MONSTER GAMES PTY LTD

You’re not the Best, but you’re all that’s left. Create your terrible superhero, convince everyone why you’re the best choice in this debating game.

Players: 3-6, Duration: 60mins


Too Many Cooks by Jarrah Bloomfield

Work together to solve everyone’s secret dietary requirements! A fast-paced simple cooperative problem solver where each player only knows part of the puzzle. Ages 12+

Players: 2-6, Duration: 60mins


Friendly Fish/Feisty Fish by Josh Lawrence

A light/medium spatial strategy game of simultaneous choices & thoughtful actions. Compete to collect the perfect fish for your display tank, then add them in the right order to trigger amazing combos

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60mins


Hieroglyph Ink by Lost Treasure Games

Hieroglyph Ink is a puzzly flip and write game. Players must scribe Hieroglyphs onto their board using a unique card driven action selection. Players will gain points from pattern building, completing objectives and performing well in their own unique God board.

Players: 1-6, Duration: 30 mins


Ape-X by Lost Treasure Games

Ape-X is a mid-weight worker placement engine builder. You are mad scientists that have built unique and upgradeable robot workers required to efficiently create multi-functional experiments.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 120 mins or more


Hieroglyphs by Lost Treasure Games

Hieroglyphs is a card drafting, pattern building, tableau builder where you are Egyptian priests trying to gain the most favour from the Gods. Use the dual-purpose cards and the power of the Gods to manipulate your board and the play area to win.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60 mins


Runes by Lost Treasure Games

Runes is a card drafting, polyomino pattern building game where you are scribes trying to gain the most favour from the Norse Gods. Draft the dual-purpose cards to place specific Runic polyominos on your board, creating patterns to score points and use the power of the Gods themselves to manipulate the your board and the play area to win.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60mins


Hatching Dragons: Fire Stones by Gleeson Games

Hatching Dragons is a worker placement game. Compete to hatch Dragons from eggs using crystals and fire stones, while completing special orders to earn extra coins.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 30 mins


Cauldron Bubble by Gleeson Games

In Cauldron Bubble you play as witches in a coven. Forage for ingredients, brew potions, and use them to improve your power. Brew the 4 advanced potions to win.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 30 mins



Sungem Run by Darwin Games

Trickery and misdirection under the cover of darkness! Stay hidden and steal those Sungems before anyone realises your tribe was even there. This is Sungem Run!

Players: 3-8 (with 2 player modified rules), Duration: 30 mins



But First, Coffee by SallyScribe

Get shit done with the world’s greatest power-up. A game of coffee and to-do lists. The person to complete their tasks first wins, but beware you don’t get the jitters or get overwhelmed!

Players: 2-8, Duration: 60 mins

Tribes of Korash by Paddy Boylan

A game of skirmish, sandships and boarding actions for 2-6 players in the hostile Korashi deserts.

Players: 2-6, Duration: 90 mins


Movin’ to the Country by Ark Angel Games

Movin’ to the Country is a card drafting / Set Collection game where players draft domino style cards choosing one of the 2 halves to add to their country landscape. Once all players have chosen a card, they simultaneously reveal and tuck their card under their player board or previously played card, leaving only the chosen half visible. Cards have Animals, Train Stations, Wheat, Flowers, and Peaches on them that each score in different ways, allowing for varied strategies and avenues to explore game after game.

Players: 2-5, Duration: 30 mins



The Bath House by Ark Angel Games

Players take the roll of employees in a Japanese Bath House, collecting ingredients from a tableau, pampering guests’, cleaning baths, and completing guests’ treatments in this delightful card game for 2-5 players. Guests are worth different values of points depending on the number of requirements they have. If you meet a Guests’ requirements exactly will earn you additional gold pieces. As Guests leave, baths will need to be cleaned before new Guests can be welcomed to them. Spread throughout the Guests Deck are Staff cards. As these are revealed, they modify the rules of the game. For example, increasing gold pieces given, giving extra ingredients, etc. Once a certain number of Staff cards have been drawn from the Guest Deck, the game ends immediately. Players score points for the Guests’ they have collected, gold pieces they have received, and points for collecting both matching and unique sets of Guests. Who will earn the most tips at the end of the day? Find out in the Bath House.

Players: 2-5, Duration: 60 mins

Dig Dwarves Dig! by Ark Angel Games

Throw some dice and heckle your follow miners in Dig Dwarves Dig! Players take the roll of a party of dwarves exploring deeper and deeper into a mine, looking for gems to collect for themselves! Make sure you don’t end up with too much coal and watch out for the dragon! Dig Dwarves Dig is made up of 3 levels of dice, Deep, Deeper, and Deepest. The deeper you are in the mine the greater the reward, with high value gems and even multipliers, if you don’t stumble upon the dragon first! Each turn you are passed the dice from the previous player, continuing from the depth that they have explored to. You roll the dice, taking any coal you roll, and choosing whether to keep gems found or push on. Most gems will require two halves to score any points. If you roll a mine shaft, that dice is replaced with the next depth, down deeper, and deeper. If you wake the dragon in the deepest depths of the mine, you bust! With all players fleeing the mine and trying their luck in a fresh mine.

Players: 3-7, Duration: 30 mins


The Syndicate – a Vague World Game by Ark Angel Games

Come explore the darker corners of the Vague World in The Syndicate. 4 ambitious racketeers compete to impress the big City syndicates by taking control of their village, their town and the city. Each turn, players use their resources to blackmail businesses to their books. With every new business you ‘acquire’ you hone your skills, making it easier to pull future rackets. You also have access to powerful henchman who offer various services for hire. Each turn, you move around the rondel that makes up your village, town or city (depending on your progress through the game) collecting payment from businesses as you go. Next, if you have the correct resources, you can ‘convince’ other business to receive your ‘protection’. At the end of the game, players earn points for how well accomplished they have been to determine the leader of the Syndicate.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60mins


Utilities! by Telomander Games

Compete against other construction companies in this fun race to be the most successful utility provider in the city! Excavate, Draw on the board, get on the way of your opponents, but keep an eye on your budget or you will end up with a Loan to pay! Flip tiles and draw over them to complete projects and gain experience!

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60mins


As The Earth Crumbles by Slinky Gibbon Games

A post-apocalyptic, steampunk, tile-taking engine-builder.

Players: 1-4, Duration: 60mins


Treasuremania by SallyScribe

You are treasure hunters, travelling through a psychedelic, multidimensional universe full of cool stuff. Outwit your opponents to win in this hilarious tactical game featuring modular worlds and team game mode.

Players: 2-6, Duration: 90 mins

Shifters by Galaxybrain Games

Deep in an undersea research facility, illicit experiments unleash dangerously convincing shapeshifters, whose one goal is to escape back to human civilisation and multiply. These Shifters are made of Shifter Goo, a substance discovered on the ocean floor that is capable of being rapidly moulded into complex forms. This facility pushed the boundaries of what could be created…  But it’s all gone wrong and the only way out was sabotaged. Now, you must gather salvage and create your own means of escape.  Everyone wants to escape, but who can be trusted?

Players: 5-8, Duration: 90 mins


The Odysseys by SeeThrough Studios

The Odysseys is a semi-cooperative game in which Mortals, returning home from Troy, play alongside the all-powerful Fate, who strives to ensure that every Mortal meets their Destiny.

Players: 4-5, Duration: 60mins

Awesome New Project by Amble Studio

Your crew has a killer idea, and you need to make it real. Awesome New Project is a cooperative game of smashing project goals and tackling challenges, before your motivation runs out.

Players: 2 to 4, Duration: 60 mins


Extrication by Gleeson Games

Global warming is out of control. It is up to you to extricate the citizens of earth. Launch spacecraft carrying people, organic material, and a range of technologies to succeed.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 30 mins


PRISM Arcologies by Aaron Lim

A city-building card game where you use multi-purpose contracts to build districts and upgrades in a city or exchange them for temporary boosts.

Players: 2-4, Duration: 60mins

Dungeon Whatever by Aaron Lim

A tongue-in-cheek fantasy roleplaying game using a rules-light and collaborative system to enable dynamic storytelling and worldbuilding..

Players: 2-4, Duration: 90 mins

Matchbox Empires by Board Citizen

3D civilisation game where players each control 3 Heroes, explore lands and build a colony. Create industry and harvest resources to grow your economy then develop a military to crush your opponents!

Players: Up to 4. Duration: 30 mins