How I prepared to Indie Games Night Market 2025
PAX Unplugged has become something of a tradition for me. It’s close to home, always packed with energy, and over the years has grown into one of those events that I just need to be part of in some way—whether as a visitor, designer, or something weird in between. Last year, something special happened: New Mill Industries organized their first Indie Game Night Market, inspired by the legendary Tokyo Game Market. It was raw, fresh, exciting, and instantly felt like a perfect home for small, quirky, handmade, deeply personal board games. My kind of thing, right? Well… kind of.
You see, I submitted two years in a row—and got rejected last time. But this year… this year I did something different.
I submitted a few things again—including my own designs—but I also added Hnefatafl. Yeah, that Hnefatafl. The ancient Viking game. But here’s the twist: I made my own version. Handmade. Wooden. Spray-painted. And with my original expansion module.
I know. “Expansion” for a 1,600-year-old Viking abstract game? That’s peak KOZAK Games. But it’s fun, I swear.
It’s not just a repackaging—it’s a love letter. To history, to tactile experiences, and to creativity that doesn’t need to scale to thousands. The idea of bringing Hnefatafl to the modern tabletop scene through an indie festival feels… poetic.
Right now, as I write this, it’s literally midnight.
I’m outside. Backyard. Hoodie on. Fingers sticky from labels and paint. Waiting for my little wooden pieces to finally stop reeking of chemical spray so I can seal them up.
Because yes—I’m doing everything by hand. Printing, cutting, assembling, packing, labeling, sanding, painting, even considering a costume (don’t ask, but it might involve a cardboard crown). This is what I love most about indie design: the hands-on chaos. The quiet obsession. The “no sleep but full heart” energy. This year’s prep doesn’t feel like a chore. It feels like a celebration.
Look, I’m not here to mass produce. I’m not chasing bestseller lists. My goal with KOZAK Games is to make the games I’d want to find in a dusty corner of a weird little store in a village you can’t find on Google Maps. Games that make you go “Wait, what is this?” Games that are played, shared, gifted, or even forgotten—but made with love, not algorithms.
Events like the Indie Game Night Market are rare spaces where this philosophy actually fits. Where hand-cut meeples and strange rulesets are welcome. Where people get it.
So yeah—I’m in. Fully in. If you stop by the booth, you’ll see weird stuff. Maybe even weirder than you expected. But it’s all real. It’s all me.
P.S. If you’re coming to PAX Unplugged 2025, stop by and say hi. I’ll have some wild games, some limited-run stuff, and probably way too many stories about Vikings and cardboard.
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