Petr Čáslava on Theme-First Design and Managing 10+ Games at Once

From Czech Games Edition to managing a pipeline of 10+ original titles, Petr Čáslava shares how staying focused on emotion and theme, while keeping track of multiple projects, defines his design philosophy.

When insomnia strikes most people, they count sheep. When it strikes Petr Čáslava, he designs board games.

"My most important ideas usually come at night," Petr admits. "Since I struggle with insomnia, I try to turn it into an advantage."

It's working. With published credits including Kutná Hora: The City of Silver, Dirt & Dust, and the official solo mode for Adrenaline, plus more than ten games currently in development, Petr has transformed sleepless nights into a prolific design practice. But managing that many projects simultaneously? That requires more than midnight inspiration - it requires the right tools.

From Player to Publisher-Side Designer

Petr's journey into professional game design began in 2016 when he joined Czech Games Edition. "Until then, I had been experimenting with creating my own games, but nothing tangible had come out of it," he explains. "It wasn't until I got the opportunity to work with Filip Neduk on his game Adrenaline that I reached a true milestone."

That milestone turned into a masterclass. Working on Adrenaline taught Petr the craft from the inside, and he credits it as formative to his design philosophy. "I look back on it fondly because I learned a lot, and I have a great affection for Adrenaline. I even created its official solo mode, as I felt the game truly deserved one."

Two years later, he tackled the Team Play DLC expansion, taking responsibility for most design decisions. The experience solidified his approach: start with theme, anchor to emotion, and never lose sight of the core.

The Theme-First Philosophy

Ask Petr about his design process and you'll get a methodology that's equal parts creative vision and disciplined iteration.

"I always begin with a theme—an engaging story I want my board game to tell," he explains. "From there, the cycle starts: I choose a core mechanism, implement it, and watch whether it evokes the emotions I'm aiming for in playtests. Every theme deserves emotions that fit it, and that's crucial for me."

If the connection isn't working? He adjusts the mechanics until it does. Throughout development (which can span years) Petr sets checkpoints to ensure he hasn't drifted too far from the original narrative. It's a process filled with detours, dead ends, and countless revisions, but the anchor remains constant.

Take Dirt & Dust, his rally racing game, as an example. "Rally racing games often lean on randomness—rolling dice, drawing cards, and so on. But I wanted something more strategic, a game that feels thoughtful rather than luck-driven. So I worked to design those seemingly random elements in a way that felt controlled, letting players make meaningful decisions while still capturing the excitement of rally racing."

The result is a game that captures the thrill of rally racing while delivering the strategic depth Petr's fans expect. It's theme-first design in action.

On Playtesting: Quality Over Quantity

Here's where Petr breaks from conventional wisdom. While he always recommends intensive playtesting, he admits he doesn't test that much himself, especially in early development.

"At the early stages of development, don't drown yourself in endless playtests," he advises. "And when you do test, focus on just one variable. For example, check whether a certain mechanism works, or whether players intuitively understand what to do at each stage of the game."

He believes playtesting becomes most valuable toward the end of development, when you typically have publisher support to bring the game to events and gather feedback from hundreds of people. That's when you fine-tune balance and polish rough edges.

For newer designers worried about perfection too early? Petr's advice is refreshingly simple: "Create your prototype 'dirty'—just handwriting on a piece of paper? No problem."

The Challenge of the Last 5%

Every designer knows the final stretch is the hardest, but Petr puts a number on it: "First 95% are easy, last 5% are hard to do, especially when you need to balance everything."

It's that last push, where every change ripples through interconnected systems, where one tweak to balance can unravel hours of work, that separates good games from great ones. And when you're juggling ten-plus projects simultaneously? The challenge multiplies.

How Boardssey Keeps Everything on Track

Managing a pipeline of ten-plus games means tracking dozens of moving parts: components that need testing, tasks in progress, team members across different projects, versions and iterations that need documentation.

"It helps me stay focused and keep track of several projects," Petr says of Boardssey. "I'm working on more than ten games right now, and it's easy to get lost."

For Petr, the killer feature is straightforward: team and task management. When you're context-switching between a rally racing game, a historical strategy title, and eight others, you need a system that keeps each game's world intact - its tasks, its team, its current state.

That's exactly what Boardssey's game-centric architecture delivers. Each game gets its own dedicated workspace. Each project board stays connected to the right game. Each collaborator knows exactly which game they're working on and what needs attention.

Add in the spreadsheet-friendly Components Sheets (Petr's a spreadsheet devotee: "spreadsheet is my best friend"), and you have a platform that matches how designers actually work, not generic project management retrofitted for creative work.

The Road Ahead

With historical themes calling to him ("our history is so rich, I doubt I'll run out of ideas anytime soon") and inspiration drawn from heavyweight designers like Vlaada Chvátil and publishers like Splotter Spellen, Petr shows no signs of slowing down.

He's currently tight-lipped about most of his projects in development, but hints at more content coming for Dirt & Dust, along with brand-new game ideas that push his theme-first philosophy into new territory.

And when those ideas inevitably strike at 3 AM? They'll find their home in Boardssey, organized and ready for morning light.

Want to manage multiple projects like a pro designer? Try Boardssey free: no credit card required, unlimited collaborators on every plan.

Happy gaming everyone! - Petr Čáslava

Connect with Petr:

• BoardGameGeek: Petr Čáslava Designer Page

• Facebook: facebook.com/petr.caslava

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcaslava/

Game Catalog: https://bdsy.cc/petr-caslava

Published Works:

• Adrenaline: Solo Play DLC

• Kutná Hora: The City of Silver

• Dirt & Dust

• Potemkin Villages