Why We Decided to Sponsor the 2026 1-Card Print & Play Contest
At Kozak Games, we have always believed that some of the most interesting ideas in board gaming appear when designers are challenged by limitations rather than unlimited possibilities, which is one of the reasons why the 2026 1-Card Print and Play Contest immediately caught our attention and inspired us to become one of its sponsors.
The concept behind the contest is beautifully simple: designers are asked to create a complete gaming experience using only a single poker-sized card, while still being free to experiment with mechanics, themes, interaction, and presentation in almost any way they can imagine. What makes this especially exciting is that such a small format often pushes creators toward their most elegant and inventive ideas, because every symbol, every rule, and every decision must justify its place within an incredibly limited space.
For us, however, sponsoring this contest is about much more than simply supporting an interesting design challenge. The main reason we wanted to be involved is because communities like this are where passionate and talented designers emerge, develop their skills, and begin building connections within the industry. Many participants may still be at the beginning of their journey, creating prototypes late at night or publishing their first public designs in basement, but those same creators could eventually become collaborators on future projects, contributors to larger games, or important voices within the hobby itself. We genuinely believe that discovering new designers early and giving them opportunities to grow is one of the healthiest things a publisher can do, especially in an industry where creativity depends so heavily on fresh perspectives and experimental ideas. Contests like this create an environment where people are encouraged not only to finish games, but also to test unusual concepts, receive feedback from real players, and learn how to communicate their ideas clearly through design. One of the aspects we appreciate most about this contest is how welcoming it feels to first-time designers, since the one-card limitation naturally lowers the barrier to entry and allows creators to focus on gameplay rather than production scale or expensive components. Instead of needing dozens of cards, miniatures, or a polished commercial presentation, participants can concentrate entirely on creating a clever and enjoyable experience, which makes the contest approachable even for people publishing a game for the very first time.
That accessibility is extremely important, because many designers simply need a first opportunity to participate, share their work publicly, and gain confidence through interaction with the community. Sometimes all it takes is one successful contest experience, one encouraging comment, or one memorable playtest for someone to realize they truly want to continue designing games. If supporting this contest helps even a small number of creators take that first step, then we already consider the sponsorship worthwhile. Another reason we wanted to support the event is because of the philosophy behind it, which goes far beyond competition and focuses heavily on collaboration, feedback, and community participation. Participants are encouraged not only to submit games, but also to actively play other entries, provide meaningful feedback, discuss ideas, and help fellow designers improve their projects throughout the development process. That culture of mutual support is something we strongly admire because healthy creative communities are built through interaction, generosity, and shared enthusiasm rather than simple competition alone.
The amount of work required to organize a community-driven contest like this is also something that deserves recognition, especially considering the effort involved in coordinating submissions, maintaining rules, answering questions, organizing voting, and keeping hundreds of participants engaged over several months. People like Ben Morayta and everyone involved in maintaining these events help create opportunities that benefit the entire hobby, even if much of that work happens quietly behind the scenes. For that reason, our sponsorship is also meant as a gesture of appreciation toward the organizers and contributors who continue investing their time and energy into spaces where creativity can thrive. Communities do not sustain themselves automatically, and events like this continue to exist only because passionate people care enough to organize them year after year while encouraging designers and players alike to participate, experiment, and support one another. More than anything else, this contest represents the kind of energy we love seeing in tabletop gaming: creativity driven by passion, people experimenting with unusual ideas, designers learning from one another, and players becoming part of the development process by testing and discussing games together. Some entries may eventually evolve into larger projects or future commercial releases, while others may remain small experimental works, but every single one contributes something valuable to the broader design community. We are genuinely excited to follow this year’s entries, discover new creators, and see what kinds of experiences can emerge from such an elegant design limitation, because historically some of the most memorable ideas in gaming have started from deceptively simple concepts and small creative experiments. To everyone participating in the contest this year, we wish you good luck, successful playtests, constructive feedback, and most importantly, a genuinely enjoyable creative experience, because in the end that spirit of experimentation, collaboration, and shared passion is exactly what makes communities like this so valuable for the future of board games.
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