I have a question for tabletop creators

How can we best cater to you in virtual events?

First, some background.

Jeremy Tan - Pictoria League of extraordinary game designers - 27 July 2026

Introduction

Who is asking?

Jeremy Tan

Software developer building Pictoria, a platform for creating virtual worlds.

01

Started coding at 14

I got into NUS Computer Science but dropped out due to health issues, then spent years coding independently.

02

Made and shared software

I released an Android game, contributed to open source, and built the only C# to Node.js interop library, jering.javascript.nodejs.

03

Low-level tinkering

I reverse engineered Valve's item trading protocol and built Best Price Shop. It was the biggest Dota 2 item trading shop and was automated using a fleet of bots. It maxed out at 60,000 members.

04

Why Pictoria

Being alone and isolated for a long time made me want to create social virtual spaces like those I grew up with. Pictoria is a platform that enables anyone to build their own spaces at low to no cost.

01

Software
developer

</>

02

Tinkerer

◇

I left NUS Computer Science when I was 20 because of health issues. I kept learning by making things on my own, including an Android game, open source projects, and a C# to Node.js interop library.

I also reverse engineered Valve's item trading protocol and built what became the biggest Dota 2 item trading shop at the time. Its Steam group peaked at around 60,000 members. The shop closed about a decade ago, and the group still has around 20,000 members.

Those years were also a lonely period for me. Pictoria began with a simple goal: make it possible for anybody to create an online social space at low or no cost.

I am also a tabletop co-designer. I designed and produced a game with my nephew, so I know that physical games have needs that do not map neatly onto digital game booths.

Virtual events

Before we get into how we can cater to tabletop games in virtual events, here is some background on the kinds of virtual events we do.

The proof of concept

Virtual Ideas Fest showed us that virtual exhibitions are viable

We hosted 61 projects, gathered for a shared launch, had 209 active visitors in total, and received 827 messages across the projects.

Created visibility Facilitated interaction Had fun in the process

Tabletop creators were there.

Nich, Suren and others participated actively. We're very grateful for prize contributions from them and Tembusu. Many from the community joined the opening, and we're grateful for their support.

Round 2

Virtual Playtest Party

An iteration on the physical Playtest Party.

In collaboration with

Game Dev Guild Singapore and other organisations in the digital gaming space.

First, what is the physical Playtest Party?

5 physical events
May 2025 - Jun 2026

12 games
Jan 2026

19 games
Apr 2026

24 games
Jun 2026

Virtual Playtest Party

What we're trying to capitalise on with the virtual format

01

No room-size bottleneck

More projects without squeezing another table into a library zone.

02

Break the local bubble

Creators and players can join from outside Singapore.

03

Keep booths discoverable

The world can stay online after the live three-hour party.

Why tabletop?

Before we finally get to how we can cater to tabletop games in our virtual events, we should clarify one thing. Why do we want to include tabletop in our virtual events?

Why include tabletop?

Why we want tabletop in our virtual events

01

The community was already engaged in Virtual Ideas Fest

People from the tabletop community were engaged and reported being happy with the event in the post-event survey.

02

A larger community benefits everyone

Bringing tabletop and digital game communities together creates more visibility, feedback, and connections for everyone involved.

03

I am partial to tabletop development

I designed and produced a tabletop game with my nephew as a hobby project, then played it with our extended family on holiday. I don't play all that much, but I respect the format and see its value.

Finally, the question

How can virtual events best cater to tabletop games?

WORK IN PROGRESS

Digital games

At Virtual Playtest Party, digital games have arcade machines that can link directly to their online demos.

Tabletop games

We are using board game boxes and building a cafe with shelves lined with board games to create a nice atmosphere.

The open question

How can virtual events best serve tabletop games?

01

A digital tabletop?

Tabletop Simulator requires every player to own it. Are there more accessible alternatives?

02

Longer videos?

Would longer videos help visitors understand the game and decide whether they want to play?

03

A walk-through space?

Pictoria supports custom art. We could build your board game in Pictoria so visitors can "walk through it". Actually making it playable would be a significant undertaking. We would need to make setup easy enough for the effort to match the output.

04

Other ideas?

What else would be useful for showing, explaining, or playing a tabletop game in a virtual event?

You do not need to answer now. There is probably not enough time for significant changes to this Virtual Playtest Party, but I am happy to consider any suggestions. If we can turn "why not" into "must do", that would be great!

Thank you

Stay in touch

dev@pictoria.world Instagram - @pictoriadev

Virtual Playtest Party

Date Saturday, 15 August 2026
8 - 11 PM SGT

Sign up your project playtestparty.pictoria.world

Event page pictoria.world/s/VirtualPlaytestParty