From Prototype to Product:
Based in Sunnyvale, California, Brieger Creative is an independent studio of board game developers working with publishers and licenseholders to turn prototypes into great games.
We believe that development should center on understanding the player experience. Our team leverages our deep knowledge on product development processes & design research to get your game rigorously tested with a broad set of players covering your target audience. The insights from those testing programs form the core of our studio's process.
Read more about our team below.
Services & Rates
We currrently offer services in two main areas: Game Development and Commissioned Design.
Game Development
- Game Development (taking a prototype and refining it for publication)
- Solo mode & player count expansion development
- Playtesting & playtest program coordination
- Kickstarter and product consulting
- Rulebook usability testing and game learnability consulting
- Content Design
Commissioned Design Work
- Contract Game Design (taking a concept and designing a game)
- Expansion & Line Extension Design
- Games based on Intellectual Property or Licenses
- Promotional or Kickstarter Add-on Gameplay content
Games vary widely in scope and services — let's set up some time to talk about yours! Initial consultation is free, so send us an email from our contact page and we'll set up some time to talk.
We work on a flat fee on a project by project basis for most development and production work. Commissioned design work typically involves a flat fee and a low royalty. Quotes upon request.
Our Core Team
We maintain a flexible team size and have a great network of contractors, subject matter experts, and colleagues across the industry that we pull into our work based on each project's needs. Each game usually has 2-3 team members assigned from our side. Our core team members below are all consistently working across multiple projects for Brieger Creative.
John Brieger — Studio Head and Developer
John Brieger is a board game developer with a background in qualitative research. His recent clients and licensees include Allplay, Renegade Games, Perplext and many more. You can usually find him nattering on about time loops, reading a romance novel, or hanging out with California's shaggiest dog, Poppy.
Tina Marie To — Director of Business Administration
A deeply knowledgable hobby gamer and administrator, Tina balances business operations with hands-on project management for our design and development initiatives. When not orchestrating company operations, Tina can be found kayaking the Bay Area's waterways with her family.
Velgus — Senior Developer, Puzzle Designer
John Velgus, also known as "V", is a game designer and developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Clients include Underdog Games, Everything Epic, Perplext, Allplay, and more. While tabletop games are his focus, he works on engaging experiences in many forms including escape room style puzzles, LARP quests, teambuilding events, video games, and activity books. Velgus enjoys all sorts of games and is serious about fun.
Jordan M.A. Johnson — Developer
An admitted card game junkie, Jordan M. A. Johnson (A.K.A.: Jordan) lives for getting reactions out of people. Whether it's cracking a terrible dad joke, cooking for friends and family, or creating games for others to play, he loves seeing what kinds of emotions creative pieces can elicit from people. Jordan has recent credits in both board games and mobile video games including Kabuto Sumo: Sakura Slam, Unstoppable, Pack O' Games, and more.
Breeze Grigas — Developer
Breeze is a tabletop games designer and developer with a vast, varied knowledge of pop culture IPs. He leverages that in his work to make great games for fans of those properties. In addition to his work with Brieger Creative, Breeze runs Zephyr Workshop, publisher of AEGIS Combining Robots. Previous development clients include IDW, Everything Epic, Perplext, and more.
Basheer Ghouse — Writer, Developer
Basheer Ghouse is an Ennie-winning, Nebula-nominated tabletop games designer, consultant, and freelance writer based in Richmond, VA. He's worked extensively across the Tabletop RPG space, with recent clients including Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Critical Role, and Kobold Press. When not writing for work, he plays a concerning variety of wargames and writes for fun.
Bryan Lue — Developer
Bryan, also known as "Duckie" is a professional TCG player and developer specializing in card games and evoking strong emotional experiences through play. He loves games with deal-making, politics, and heavy player interaction. Clients include Allplay, Weird Co., and more
Collette Quach — Writer, Developer
Collette is an award-winning Chinese-Cambodian game designer and writer, specializing in tabletop roleplaying games. Their work highlights their cultural heritage through mythology and speculative fiction. While they've written in various genres and tones, their focus is on player agency, collaborative storytelling, identity, and introspection. Collette has previously worked with clients such as Cryptozoic Entertainment, MCDM, Modiphius, and Paizo.
Brian McKay — Developer
As a designer, Brian focuses on two-player games with streamlined rules, and he brings his extensive knowledge of game balancing and content design into our team. He also brings his adorable dog Pepper. Brian loves social deduction games and manages a community of Blood on the Clocktower players.