Best in Play develops original games, licensed products, and market-ready tabletop concepts for partners who want more than another box on a shelf.
From first spark to polished pitch, Best in Play helps shape tabletop games with memorable hooks, clean systems, commercial clarity, and a strong sense of audience.
Best in Play brings together experienced creators, developers, strategists, and industry partners with a shared focus on games that work creatively, commercially, and at the table.
Director of Play
Daryl Andrews is best known as the co-designer of the award-winning tabletop game Sagrada. His career also includes work with major entertainment and consumer properties, including Batman, The Oregon Trail, and Marvel, as well as numerous original and licensed tabletop projects through 90+ different publishers.
Director of Fun
Jacob Way is a Michigan-based tabletop game professional with experience across every stage of the industry. His background spans retail, product manufacturing in Asia, game design, licensing, and business development. He has designed games for major entertainment intellectual properties, raised millions of dollars through crowdfunding campaigns, and helped bring products to major retailers, including Target.
Director of No Fun
Scott Brady is the inventor of Hues and Cues, a successful color-communication game that has sold millions of copies. He is also the original founder and organizer of tabletop publisher Play to Z. Before focusing on the games industry, Brady served as general manager and owner of a Los Angeles-based secure specialty printing company with approximately 100 employees, giving him significant experience in business leadership, production, operations, and organizational management.
Strategic Contributor
David Gordon is an award-winning board game designer. He co-designed Finspan, LEGO Monkey Palace, Clash Royale: The Grand Arena, Floristry, Pinched!, Crafting The Cosmos, Scurry Up!, and other games that have collectively sold nearly one million copies worldwide. He is also the co-founder of UP Games, which partnered with Asmodee for the worldwide release of Floristry and launched as Game of the Month at Barnes & Noble.
Controller of Fun(ds)
Nicole Brady brings deep experience across tabletop media, events, marketing, and industry leadership. She serves as Media & Events Director and President of the GAMA Board of Directors, is a committee member for the American Tabletop Awards, and is a founding investor with Play to Z. Her past influencer and ambassador work includes projects with Disney, Nintendo, Netflix, Domino's, Dr Pepper Snapple, K'NEX, Chick-fil-A, HP, Dell, and McDonald's.
Strategic Contributor
David Du is the founder and CEO of Eastar Game Manufacturing, a leading global board game production company that specializes in transforming creative game ideas into high-quality, market-ready products.
Strategic Contributor
Erik Dahlman is the founder of Albino Dragon, a tabletop company specializing in licensed playing cards and board games. He has managed more than 30 Kickstarter campaigns and produced licensed products under agreements with Sony, Warner Bros., Hasbro, and other major entertainment studios. He also brings more than 25 years as a software engineering leader, giving Best in Play depth in digital product development and interactive play experiences alongside traditional tabletop.
Flexible support for partners who need original thinking, experienced development, and a practical path from concept to product.
Concept creation, mechanisms, prototyping, rules, playtesting, refinement, and product-focused iteration.
Tabletop adaptations that translate characters, worlds, stories, and brand identities into experiences that feel native to the property.
Sell sheets, prototypes, pitch materials, rules documents, and development roadmaps designed for partner evaluation.
Guidance on audience fit, format, component scope, price point, complexity level, and line-extension potential.
We are not here to sell one game. We are here to build the right game for the right market.
Our team brings experience across tabletop design, product development, licensing, publishing, and mass-market play. We understand how to balance originality with clear rules, practical production, strong positioning, and commercial appeal.
Concepts are shaped with partner review, positioning, and audience clarity in mind.
Clean rules, strong hooks, and satisfying player moments lead the process.
Development can flex for mass-market, specialty, hobby, promotional, or licensed needs.
Best in Play works with organizations that need tabletop expertise, fresh concepts, or a smarter way to bring brands and game experiences together.
New concepts, pitch-ready prototypes, rules refinement, product tuning, and development help for existing titles.
Games that create new ways for fans to engage with beloved characters, worlds, stories, and brands.
Promotional products, campaign-driven concepts, experiential play, and strategic extensions beyond traditional merchandise.
A simple framework for exploring whether a game, brand, or property has the right tabletop opportunity.
Clarify the audience, partner goals, property strengths, constraints, and commercial opportunity.
Define format, complexity, player promise, core hook, and product direction.
Create systems, prototypes, rules, components, and the first playable experience.
Playtest, refine, simplify, tune, document, and prepare for meaningful partner review.
Package the concept with clear materials that support licensing, publishing, or production decisions.
Let’s talk about what it could become on the table.