by Alik Shy

A few moments in life feel so significant that you remember the exact date they happened. For me, one of those moments was deciding to make a board game — and I remember not just the day, but the time.

It was March 8th, 2023. A friend from abroad was visiting me in Amsterdam. On his first day, we decided to take it slow and crack open one of the many new board games I had just gotten. What was supposed to be a light-hearted, hour-long session quickly turned into...something else.

Two hours of learning rules. Three hours of gameplay. And still, we didn't even finish the game. By the end, it felt like we weren't even playing a game anymore; we were just competing at who could throw dice better. Frustrated and a little disenchanted, I found myself thinking, "If I were to make a board game, it would be veeery different..."

And that thought never left.

What started as a frustrating gaming session turned into a spark of inspiration that would change my life. That day, Heroes of Timeline was born — or at least, the idea of it was.

Vision

That day, I landed on what I now see as the cornerstone of game design philosophy: the core principles of the future game. I knew I wanted to create a game that would be easy to learn (and teach!), a game completely independent of luck with no frustrating dice rolls, no unfair card draws — just pure skill and strategy. The game needed to be hard to master, a challenge that would reward players for improving over time.

As a huge fan of fantasy, I also couldn't resist adding asymmetric factions with unique gameplay styles. That's how Heroes of Timeline started to take shape.

First Steps

Fast forward a few weeks, and the first prototype of Heroes of Timeline was complete. Only one delivery box had to be sacrificed in the process.


It was an exciting moment: the first test play — the moment of truth when the whole concept hung in the balance. Luckily, the prototype worked! Even with its humble cardboard cutouts, the potential for strategic depth was clear. It was a small but monumental step on this journey of bringing the game to life.

Playtesting

Now came my favorite part of game development: playtesting. It was time to polish the mechanisms, refine the balance, and watch players break the game in ways I'd never anticipated.

At its core, Heroes of Timeline is simple: The goal is to either eliminate all enemy heroes or control the bigger part of the board. Heroes maneuver around the hexagonal tiles, positioning themselves so that their vulnerable sides (with no armor) are protected. Ranged attacks eliminate unprotected heroes outright, and melee attacks can overpower them through regular armor. It's easy to learn, much like chess once you grasp how the pieces move.

But the magic happens in the layers of strategy. Each team comes with its own identity, unique heroes, and team skills that slightly bend the rules. For example:

• The Hidden Temple ninjas are fast and aggressive, focusing on offense.
• The Guards of Witgat rely heavily on their armor and defensive strategies.
• Individual heroes bring their own twists, such as a mighty Knight walking through walls or a Golem absorbing armor from defeated foes.

These asymmetries create a depth of strategy that makes every game feel challenging.

A Glitch in the System

But there was an unintended side effect. During the test plays, I noticed something fascinating: every player was paralyzed. The layers of decisions — balancing attacks, defenses, and hero abilities — pushed their strategic thinking into overdrive. Just look at the faces in these photos! (Spoiler: I was no different.)





A year into development, I realized something hilarious: I'm still not great at my own game. Even after countless matches, I continue to discover new ways to approach each team's skills and abilities.

FID: The Scary Part

Realizing that the game was complete was the moment I had to take the final investment decision (FID). I knew Heroes of Timeline wasn't the type of game most publishers were looking for. To bring the game to life and share it with a wider audience, I made the bold decision to self-publish.

What followed was a daunting yet rewarding challenge. I had to tackle production, shipping, marketing, and every other aspect of bringing a board game to market — all on my own.

This journey was a roller coaster of "learning moments": production mix-ups, shipping delays, tax hurdles, rules video editing, social media promotion, and travel to play with reviewers across Europe.

Here's a highlight: The factory somehow printed one thousand copies of the rulebook...in Comic Sans. Yep. Every single copy in the first batch had to be repacked and replaced. A delay, for sure, but definitely a story to tell.



Release

After all the hurdles, Heroes of Timeline officially launched in November 2024. Seeing the game in its final form, ready to be played and enjoyed, feels surreal. It's the culmination of countless late nights, unexpected challenges, and a passion for creating something unique.

Sometimes it's hard to believe the journey is over — or perhaps, it's just beginning. Heroes of Timeline is out there now, and I can't wait to see how others experience it. Just look at this beauty in its final glory:


Conclusion

Sometimes, once an idea takes shape, it feels like it needs to exist — like it's guiding you rather than the other way around. With a clear vision of what I wanted Heroes of Timeline to be, the rest just followed.

Creating something can feel daunting, but when you know the core of what you want to make, the obstacles become part of the process, not the roadblocks. If you've ever had that spark, trust it. Sometimes, all it takes is to start — and let the idea lead the way.

Alik (Oleh) Shyianovskyi

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