Tabletop Game Designer

Goliath•Seattle, WA

About The Position

Goliath is an international manufacturer and distributor of toys and games, operating in 15 countries and reaching over 100 countries worldwide. At the heart of our business is a belief in great products and the magic of innovation. Our mission is to bring fun to every household, which we achieve through teamwork and clever collaboration. We are seeking a highly creative, resourceful, and organized Game Designer to invent and develop innovative tabletop games across a wide range of categories, including preschool, kids, family, party, crime and mystery, light strategy, and licensed games. The Board Game Developer will turn early-stage ideas into engaging, intuitive, and commercially viable games. This person will own concepts through iterative development—creating prototypes, testing gameplay, refining mechanics, writing rules, and collaborating with internal teams and external creative partners. The ideal candidate combines imaginative thinking with disciplined execution. They can take a loose idea and transform it into a compelling game experience with minimal supervision, while working quickly, managing multiple projects, and responding to changing priorities and stakeholder feedback.

Requirements

Professional experience in board game development, game design, product development, toy development, or a closely related creative field.
Demonstrated ability to develop a game from an early-stage idea through prototyping, playtesting, iteration, and final documentation.
Strong understanding of gameplay mechanics, player psychology, pacing, balance, accessibility, and age-appropriate design.
Excellent writing and communication skills, with the ability to explain gameplay clearly and concisely.
Experience planning, conducting, and documenting structured playtests.
Ability to turn qualitative consumer observations into specific, actionable improvements.
Excellent organizational and project-management abilities, including the capacity to manage several projects with shifting timelines and priorities.
Ability to work autonomously, exercise sound judgment, and move projects forward with minimal supervision.
Comfortable giving, receiving, evaluating, and incorporating constructive feedback.
A portfolio of published games, prototypes, instructions, or other relevant game-development work.

Responsibilities

Invent and develop original games across multiple categories using ideas from internal teams, inventors, licensors, external partners, consumer insights, and emerging trends.
Turn early-stage ideas into engaging, accessible, and commercially viable prototypes.
Manage multiple projects from concept through weekly iteration, documentation, final development, and production handoff.
Plan and facilitate playtesting with internal teams and target consumers, translating feedback and observed behavior into actionable improvements.
Write clear, engaging, audience-appropriate instructions and develop instruction-manual layouts informed by consumer testing.
Present concepts, prototypes, playtest findings, and recommendations; incorporate stakeholder feedback while protecting the integrity of the game experience.
Develop gameplay talking points and confidently demonstrate games for internal teams, licensors, and other partners.
Plan and lead structured team brainstorms, providing creative direction and documentation to move the strongest ideas into development.
Research social, cultural, entertainment, toy, and gaming trends; evaluate current, historical, and competitive games to identify innovations and market opportunities.
Attend trade shows, conventions, inventor events, and industry gatherings to find inspiration, research products, and identify potential inventors and partners.
Maintain a strong working knowledge of current and historical board games, gameplay mechanics, formats, materials, components, and construction innovations.