Chris Porter: Chris Couch Games.

Written by: Leslie Weeks

Board games have been around for centuries with some games being commercially available in the United States in the 1800’s. In 1860, Milton Bradley, introduced certain game themes shaping American play.

I’d like to introduce a modern board game creator, Chris Porter,owner of Chris Couch Games. As the holidays approach, be sure to gather your family and friends for this game creator’s new Christmas Holiday Hills game for new adventure. 

Chris shares he didn’t get into board games until he was an adult.  He ads he mostly played video and computer games as a child. However, the most memorable part for him was not the game itself, but the friendship that came with them. He remembers going over to a friend’s house to play games all night at a sleepover or sneaking on a computer to play Star Wars whenhe wasn’t supposed to. Those memories spurred him into trying to play board games as an adult to continue making memories. 

Chris also shares he was influenced when he noticed a colleague of his was launching his board game on Kickstarter.  Seeing how his colleague expressed his creativity in that way gave Chris the motivation to try it out for himself. Chris plans to have created six core board games and tons of expansion content for each of them by the end of 2026.

As for holidays, Christmas is a favorite for Chris. He shares that he wanted to make a unique game and wanted to honor his late grandmother and grandfather who created some incredible memories for him during the holidays. He admirably shares that his grandparents were the glue to a lot of their family traditions, and he wanted to honor them by creating a game that could bring more family traditions to others through a board game.

Chris faced a few challenges during the creating process. He expresses reaching out to manufacturers was one of hardest things to manage because of the time difference and language barrier. He shares manufacturers are typically in China, although some are in Europe as well. He also shares conversations that hecould have had on a zoom call in the United States sometimestake a full week because of email replies and miscommunications, however, once you know how a manufacturer operates, you can more easily coordinate with them regularly. Even with a few challenges Chris shares, making games is one of the most fun things you can do. He shares it’s a blast to see something you make in people’s hands, and them learning it on their own without you.

Chris shares some advice for anyone wanting to create their own game is to start small and work your way up. Don’t feel the pressure to create the world’s most innovative and life-changing game. Make a game that you and your friends enjoy, and it’s more likely to resonate with many other people. The pressure to always create can be overwhelming but take your time and do your game justice by going through the creative process.

Although Chris stays busy, he does make time to watch and play soccer. He also enjoys cooking, walking in the park and being around friends.  Chris Couch  games can be purchased online at www.chriscouch.games, and some of his games will be at Barnes and Noble this fall available for purchase.

Social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok andYouTube. Chris also runs his own board game review channel called The Nerdy Sole.

So, what’s next for Chris? He shares that he and his team have a full slate lined up for 2027 with hopefully 3-4 releases happening next year.

This year, his team will be releasing Garden Club, Petal, and Headliner!