Board Game Design Competition
Applications for prototypes are now closed
Online evaluations phase – 2026 April 21-30
PineCon board game festival is a perfect place to showcase (and try out) board game prototypes and meet their creators.
At the 2023 convention, participants could also vote for their favorite prototype—the winner of the New Hope nomination at the PineCon Awards was determined by attendee votes. The award went to the prototype Grybų Karas (author – Tomas Miliauskas). Before the convention, the publisher Brain Games announced that they would offer to publish one of the prototypes. The offer was extended to the creators of the Vined prototype, which later evolved into Flow, a game inspired by an Oscar-winning animated film.
In 2024, the New Hope nomination grew into the largest board game design competition in Lithuania, aiming to encourage board game creators and develop board gaming culture in the Baltics. The 2024 winner was Ecosystem (author: Andrejus Avchimovičius). In 2025, the jury was joined by professional game testers from Poland and the charismatic BOARD GAME HANGOVER duo from Latvia. The winner was Dream City (author: Tomas Miliauskas).
We are welcoming participants from all over the world, applications can be submitted in Lithuanian or English language. If your online application is selected as a finalist, you are required to present your prototype live at the convention.
PINECON Board Game Design Competition' 2026
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Jury 2025
The jury will consist of board game experts from publishers and representatives of the Lithuania’s board gaming community—they will be introduced soon. In the final stage at the convention, prototypes will be evaluated live, and the jury will be joined by guests from Latvia and Poland.
Rūta Kilienė
Rūta Kilienė, Terra Publica
Rūta Kilienė
Rūta Kilienė, Terra PublicaRūta Kilienė – leidyklos Leidykla „Terra Publica“ gamybos vadovė, sukaupusi daugiau nei 10 metų leidybinę patirtį. Rūta padeda stalo žaidimų prototipams pasiekti žaidėjų lentynas, inicijuoja leidyklos žaidimų leidybą, vertina ir atrenka prototipus leidybai.
Gintarė Makauskaitė
„Brain Games“ Lietuvos padalinio vadovė
Gintarė Makauskaitė
„Brain Games“ Lietuvos padalinio vadovėGintarė Makauskaitė – Brain Games Lietuvos padalinio vadovė, su stalo žaidimais dirbanti daugiau nei 18 metų. Profesionali žvejė, o „PineCon“ žaismo versmėje ji gaudo ir stalo žaidimų prototipų laimikį!
Tomas Miliauskas
Stalo žaidimo „Marijampolė“ (LT GAME AWARDS 2022 Geriausias stalo žaidimas ir Meninis stilius) bendraautorius ir iliustratorius.
Rokas Diržys
Rokas Diržys, stalo žaidimų kūrėjas
Rokas Diržys
Rokas Diržys, stalo žaidimų kūrėjasRokas Diržys – per du su puse metų darbo „Terra Publica“ prisidėjo prie daugybės stalo žaidimų išleidimo. Kartu su Lietuvos banku sukūrė žaidimą „Sukčių voratinklis", taip pat sudarė žaidimų seriją „Byla baigta".
Dainius Žiūkas
Board Punks
Dainius Žiūkas
Board PunksDainius Žiūkas – Asociacijos Druskininkų Stalo žaidimų klubas „Board Punks" narys, aktyvus žaidėjas, turnyrų organizatorius, „Dune“ ir „Unmatched“ fanas, stalo žaidimų bendruomenėje vertinamas už puikų taisyklių ir žaidimo mechanikų išmanymą, prisidedantis prie stalo žaidimų testavimo ir taisyklių redagavimo.
Rezultatai
| Žaidimas/Komisijos narys* | A | B | C | D | E | Viso balų: |
| 1. EKOSISTEMA | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 36 |
| 2. Phobia | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 25 |
| 3. Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė | 2 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| 4. Silverwind | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 23 |
| 5. Keturios salos / Four Islands | 7 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 22 |
| 6. Cyber street 112 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 19 |
| 7. Evelina Family Tree | 3 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
| 8. NAUJIEJI AMŽIAI | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
*tiek atrankiniame, tiek finaliniame balsavime komisijos nariai pateikiami atsitiktine tvarka.
| Žaidimas/Komisijos narys* | Viso balų: | A | B | C | D | E |
| 1. Phobia | 41 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| 2. Silverwind | 38 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 3. EKOSISTEMA | 29 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 7 | |
| 4. Cyber street 112 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 10 | |
| 5. Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė | 26 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 6. NAUJIEJI AMŽIAI | 24 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | |
| 7. Keturios salos / Four Islands | 19 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | |
| 8. Evelina Family Tree | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 9. MEDINUKAS | 15 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 | |
| 10. Fantizator | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 11. Jail Fodder | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 12. Trūlas | 6 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 13. EnGarde | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 14. Kosminės ginklavimosi lenktynės (darbinis pavadinimas) | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 15. M.I.S.K. | 1 | 1 |
*tiek atrankiniame, tiek finaliniame balsavime komisijos nariai pateikiami atsitiktine tvarka.
Visi 2024 m. konvento prototipai
Žemiau pateikiama visų konkurse dalyvavusių prototipų pagrindinė informacija (tokia, kokią ją pateikė autoriai). Konkurso dalyviai taip pat turėjo galimybę pateikti ir papildomos informacijos, tokios kaip nuotraukos, taisyklės, sale sheet’ai, video ir kt. – ši informacija puslapyje www.pinecon.lt neskelbiama. Susidomėję konkrečiais prototipais, susisiekite – nukreipsime jus autorių kontaktais.
Rules of the "New Hope" Prototype Contest
I. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BOARD GAME PROTOTYPE
1. Each author may submit one board game prototype application (however, they may be a co-author on multiple submissions).
2. The submitted prototype must not have been published, have an existing publishing agreement, or have participated in the New Hope contest previously.
3. The organizers reserve the right to reject submissions that violate laws, promote hate, or otherwise contradict ethical standards.
4. Any participant found guilty of plagiarism will be disqualified from the contest without the right to submit another entry.
II. CONTEST STAGES AND PROTOTYPE SUBMISSION PROCESS
1. To participate, contestants must submit a digital application form in Lithuanian or English.
2. The application deadline is April 20, 23:59.
3. After reviewing and evaluating the digital applications, the contest jury will inform participants whether their prototype has been selected for the final stage.
4. The final stage will take place at the PineCon board game festival in Druskininkai, where selected participants will present their prototypes live to the jury and event attendees.
5. Other participants will also have the opportunity to showcase their prototypes at the festival; however, only the selected finalists will be evaluated by the jury and eligible to win the New Hope award. Further details will be provided.
6. The jury will evaluate prototypes based on innovation, uniqueness, integration of mechanics and theme, overall completeness and other criteria. In the initial stage, presentation quality, the ability to highlight the prototype’s uniqueness, and engagement skills will also be important.
7. The prototype that receives the highest jury score in the final evaluation will be declared the winner, receiving the New Hope award and sponsor prizes. Selected finalists will also be awarded sponsor prizes.
For further inquiries, contact info@pinecon.lt.