How AI Is Reshaping Tabletop Design: New Research from Manchester Game Centre
Artificial intelligence is often discussed in relation to digital games, but its influence on analogue and hybrid play is growing just as quickly. A new report authored by Manchester Game Centre researchers for STRATEGIES offers the most detailed study so far of how AI is being used in board game design, development, and distribution—and what this means for sustainability.
A rapidly changing design landscape
Board games have always been shaped by experimentation, prototyping, iteration, and collaboration. Recently, however, designers have begun to adopt AI tools for everything from rules writing and world‑building to artwork generation and solo‑play systems. Meanwhile, crowdfunding platforms increasingly require creators to disclose any use of generative AI in their campaigns.
The new report traces these developments across hundreds of published games, Kickstarter projects, and digital‑physical hybrid ecosystems.
Key insights from the report
The research reveals:
How AI tools are being used by designers to assist rule-writing, narrative generation, component creation and illustration.
The rise of paper‑AI and hybrid systems that blend machine‑led decision‑making with physical gameplay.
Patterns in AI usage declarations in crowdfunding and their implications for trust, labour and transparency.
The sustainability concerns raised by AI adoption in analogue play, including material production, platform infrastructures, and IP governance.
By analysing this diverse ecosystem, the report demonstrates that AI’s sustainability challenges extend far beyond digital games. Even in the world of cardboard, print, and plastic, AI raises complex questions about resource use, energy consumption, creative labour, and accountability.
Manchester Game Centre and the future of hybrid play
This research builds on the Game Centre’s long‑standing interest in board game studies, hybrid play cultures, and material game design. By combining close reading, corpus analysis and sustainability frameworks, Game Centre researchers contribute new knowledge that will support designers, educators, and cultural organisations navigating this emerging terrain.
As AI becomes a normalised tool in analogue game design, this report calls for careful governance, transparent communication, and critical awareness of the environmental and cultural stakes.