We are excited to be welcoming Nicole Zheng and Matthew Caron to this year’s Designer Alley at #G2S2025!

Growing up in the 70’s we had the standard board games that everyone had. Monopoly, Life, Clue the usual suspects. Sit down, set up, play, “Dad, why do you have 3 $100.000 bills tucked under the couch?!”, win or lose, and pack up.

I'm a New Hampshire native who loves board games and always wanted to make my own. About a year and a half ago I joined the Game Makers Guild, started attending conventions, and now have my first game under contract, coming out in 2026!

Hello G2Sers!  I am Lisa Reinke, a lifelong gamer and a regular attendee of Granite Game Summit from New London, New Hampshire.  Over the years, I have created some game components, variants and modules to enjoy with friends, but I have never developed a free standing game. 

Designer Alley is happening Saturday March 9th from 10am to 4pm. This is our finalized designer schedule for #G2S2025. Make sure to check out each designer’s feature. Come join in the fun!

Nolan is a creative with a variety of interests- such as visual arts, animation, music, and game design. He’s often sequestered at home working on some project, even if the weather is really, really nice out.

A lifelong gamer, I began designing games in 2022 after returning from PAX East and realizing that the games I wanted to play didn’t seem to exist yet. As a UX Designer/HCI Engineer by day and an artist at heart, I had long wanted to get into game design but just hadn’t found the right time.

We sit down with Danny to talk about Ravensburger’s latest projects, favorite gaming moments, and what makes board games such a special part of our lives. Read on to hear his insights, stories, and maybe even discover your next favorite game!

Bloom-i-nation is an area control game about bees competing to pollinate flower patches. Players draft their turn order between rounds and spend notes to perform actions and allow their bees to dance.

Cattycombs of Rhyorr:  Cattycombs of Rhyorr is a light euro with tile placement, resource management, and some asymmetry. It has a mix of strategy and randomness, but what would one expect from a game about mice with backpacks eating cheese and reclaiming trinkets that were stolen by pesky cats?

Arbor Falls: It’s time for a change, so you move out of the bustling city, to the quiet, small town of Arbor Falls. You set out to collect quirky furniture to decorate your empty home. Along the way, you help your neighbors, meet new people, and clean up the town.

Bao Wow Wow: Bao (Pronounced Bow) Wow Wow is a game that was born out of a dare and brought to life during an epic road trip. In Bao Wow Wow, unleash the power of rhyme as you strategically play item cards (think Bao, Cow, Now, Mao, Tau, and Wow) to fulfill contracts and rack up points.

Starfarer is an abstract strategy game for 2 players. You and your opponent will take turns sighting stars in the night sky to form larger constellations. When you match the shape on an available constellation, you may claim it to earn points.

EXIT!: Run for your life! You are trapped in a corridor and chased by a monster. Go through doors and find clues to find the secret exit. Light, family, mass-market game with yomi for 3-9 players.

Cubism: the Card Game: Eccentric art enthusiasts compete to build the best collections of cubist paintings in this 30 minute, introductory deckbuilding game!

I am a game designer from Massachusetts. I enjoy making prototypes of games using a variety of themes and with my own artwork. I do many forms of art, including crafts, drawing, dance (and choreography), singing, acting, and playing the flute.

My wife and I and two kids live in NH and enjoy playing games together. I am an editor by trade, in the education industry for the past 15 years, after 15 years in newspapers and magazines. I’ve played games my whole life.

Postcards: In Postcards, you're a group of friends who took trips to different locations and mailed postcards that fell apart on their way home. Now, you must work together to match postcard pictures with the messages on their backs by ‘writing’ and sorting clues.

I am a lifelong gamer, who started primarily in the trading card space with games like Magic: the Gathering. At age 11, I made my first game with a friend, which was basically just a riff on Yu-Gi-Oh.

I am an LGBTQ+ game designer located in Springfield, MA. Currently, I work for Underdog Games as their Head of Kids Game Design & Development where I help inspire curiosity designing family games. Beyond my day job, I am the host of a podcast called “Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication'' hosted on the Know Direction Network.