Relive the moment when play brings us together.
First, there were friends. Then came Play With Us Design.
It began with friends around a café table.
Play With Us Design was founded in Taiwan in November 2015, although none of us had set out to start a company. We were friends from different backgrounds, meeting regularly in cafés and imagining what we could make together. We explored short films and a mobile game before finding tabletop games. What brought us together was the wish to help one another turn ideas—and a few dreams—into something real.
Our first game was meant to be distributed by an established publisher. We formed a company to make that partnership possible. When its direction changed, we had a choice: abandon the artwork, packaging and production already completed, or publish the game ourselves. We chose the latter, becoming an independent publisher almost by accident and learning each part of the process by doing it.
There were doubts. We kept going.
The first six months after release brought almost no income. We wondered whether we had made a mistake. Then we took our game to Game Market 2016 Autumn in Japan. Players’ responses gave us the first proof that a small studio from Taiwan could connect with people beyond languages and borders. We returned with the confidence to continue, gradually releasing one or two games each year.
The journey remained difficult. Production setbacks, financial uncertainty and the pandemic tested how much a small team could withstand. Those difficult times also made it clearer what we want to share with players through tabletop games: curiosity, laughter, beauty, challenge and hope.
Different games. A shared belief.
Our games range from party games and social deduction to abstract strategy and puzzles. Vitamors Conspiro explores trust when information is incomplete. Soulaween grew from our love of the Taiwanese animated short Deathigner, extending its characters and world into a physical board game in collaboration with its creators. By bringing it to international conventions, we invite players around the world to experience original Taiwanese design firsthand. Doodle Puzzle turns imperfect communication into surprise and shared laughter.
Our persistence has also brought international recognition. Vita Mors received the UK Games Expo 2023 Best Card Game (Strategic) Judges Award. Multilingual editions, overseas licensing and conventions have introduced our games to new players. Across these different experiences, we seek games that are approachable, distinctive and worth returning to.
A game becomes complete when people gather.
Rules, artwork and components are only part of a game. It becomes complete when people gather around it. We do not expect players to discover one intended message. We leave room for their own memories and interpretations.
“Relive the moment when play brings us together.” The first such moment was ours, around café tables. Today, every game is an invitation to experience your own: a laugh, a discovery, a difficult decision, a challenge accepted or a brief but genuine connection worth returning to.
Milestones
- 2015
Founded in Taiwan in November as an independent tabletop game publisher.
- 2016
First appearance at Game Market Autumn in Japan.
- 2018
Animania wins first place for Best Game Mechanism at the Taiwan Boardgame Design expo.
- 2019
Soulaween wins first place for Best Art and second place for Best Game at the Taiwan Boardgame Design expo.
- 2022
Aves receives the Major Fun Award in the United States.
- 2022
Soulaween launches on Board Game Arena (BGA), bringing players around the world together online.
- 2023
Vita Mors wins the UK Games Expo Best Card Game (Strategic) Judges Award.
- 2025
Doodle Puzzle is licensed to Korean publisher Mandoo Games for production and publication of the Korean edition, with promotional support from Asmodee.
- 2026
At our first Gen Con, every game we brought to sell sold out.
Easy to begin
Inviting rules open up new ways to spend time together.
Made to replay
Compact designs leave room for choices, surprises and another round.
Good things travel
Thoughtful boxes and components bring form, play and portability together.