If you’ve ever wondered how new board games come to life, it’s rarely the lightning-bolt moment people imagine. Most of the time, it’s a slow crawl through trial and error, bursts of inspiration, and moments of “what if?” that somehow turn into something real. That’s exactly the story the design duo behind Tolleno shares in their Designer Diary on BoardGameGeek News — a peek behind the curtain of a game that grew out of an obsession with logistics, connections, and tough decisions made under pressure.
The Spark
Tolleno didn’t start as a polished vision. It began as an experiment — a challenge to blend heavy, strategic Eurogame depth with short turns and streamlined iconography. One of the designers had a fascination with supply chains: not just trucks and warehouses, but the invisible networks of dependency and flow that keep systems running. That idea — movement over production — became the heartbeat of the game.
Early prototypes used modular boards where players drew lines connecting different nodes. It looked neat, but something was missing: players weren’t really bumping into each other. It wasn’t until later versions, when routes started crossing and forcing confrontations, that the magic happened. Suddenly, Tolleno became a tense “logistical chicken race,” full of tactical blocks and clever maneuvering.
Building the Design Rules
The designers set themselves three firm goals:
- Keep it clear but never shallow. The rules should take no more than ten minutes to explain, but the strategy should unfold only through player choices.
- Create competition without conflict. No direct attacks — just shared spaces where every move matters.
- Balance pace and scope. The early game should feel tight and immediate, while the endgame should reward long-term planning.
Getting that last goal right proved tricky. Early playtests showed that whoever built an efficient network first tended to dominate the rest of the game. So, the team added a shifting demand system: as the market changes, players have to continually rethink their routes and strategies. It introduced just the unpredictability they needed.
Where Theme Meets Mechanics
One of the hardest things in modern Eurogame design is making the theme feel real rather than pasted on. According to the diary, Tolleno manages this beautifully. Every decision you make on the board literally changes how the system’s flow looks and behaves. You can see bottlenecks forming, watch your network pulse with activity, and immediately get why your choices matter.
The visual design follows that same philosophy — clean lines, calm colors, and nothing that distracts from the information you need to see. The creators cite Brass: Birmingham and Pipeline as influences but aim for something snappier, a game that feels strategic yet stays quick on its feet.
Playtests, Tweaks, and Turning Points
Testing Tolleno turned out to be almost a logistical puzzle itself. Early on, the scoring felt too predictable — every network improvement yielded a similar reward. The fix? Specialization cards, unique bonuses that interact with how your network develops. They brought asymmetry and individuality to each player’s experience.
Then came another issue: the midgame slump. Some testers felt trapped by their early decisions. The solution was as elegant as it was thematic — a “reconstruction” mechanic that lets players dismantle parts of their network for a cost, trading efficiency for flexibility. That one change added drama and late-game tension that the design had been missing.
The Big Picture
For the creators, Tolleno was never about building the perfect engine. It’s about living with trade-offs — managing what you can’t do as much as what you can. Every efficient route cuts off another path, every success reshapes your choices. In their eyes, it reflects something deeply human: logistics as a metaphor for life itself.
The game is expected to launch later this year, and early buzz from BoardGameGeek reviewers is strong. Fans of complex yet elegant titles like Barrage or Clan of Caledonia — where competition happens through pressure, not aggression — will likely find a lot to love in Tolleno.
Final Thoughts
At its core, Tolleno is about clarity meeting complexity. It’s a study in how theme, mechanics, and player psychology can come together to form something cohesive, tense, and very human.
So, here’s the lingering question: which other Eurogames do you think strike that same perfect balance between theme and mechanics — and where do you think Tolleno might fit among them?