Sponsored.  A vital element of almost every board game is its art.  From jaw-dropping illustrations that make you want to pause for a moment to admire them, to simple icons that help convey what's going on, to boards that immerse you in the world, art shapes so much of the board game experience.  We wanted to take a moment to show some love for the artists behind our games and learn about their journeys, favorite pieces, inspiration, and more!  Read on to meet our artists and learn a little bit about them, and check out the gallery to see more of their work!

River of Gold has an extremely unique board, with a detailed map drawn in sumi-e style that immediately catches your eye.  The artist and cartographer behind it, Francesca Baerald, has also worked on such titles as Dragon Age, Game of Thrones, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Assassin’s Creed, and Lord of the Rings!  She excels at using watercolors and ink to bring worlds to life, and in doing so, builds a deep connection with the piece she's working on.  If you want to read a whole interview where she talks about her inspiration for focusing on maps and cartography, her favorite maps she's illustrated, hiding "Easter eggs" and secrets in maps, and more, you can find that interview here!

Elaine Ryan is the illustrator behind The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game™, and she used a striking stained glass style that leaves players staring at each card as they come up.  From using the same color palette and tree in Aragorn and Arwen's art in order to allude to their connection and proposal, to Galadriel looking squarely at the viewer to evoke her powers of telepathy and sight, the art in the game is filled with homages to this beloved literary franchise.  Whether you love the books/movies and want to study each card looking at all the nods to the source material, or are completely new to the franchise, Elaine's stunning art helps to immerse the players in the world of Middle Earth!  Read about Elaine's inspiration, journey, thoughts on second breakfast, favorite illustration for the game, and more in her interview here.

Word Traveler lets players see the four cities (Paris, New York, Tokyo, and London) through the eyes of four different artists!  Clémentine Guivarc'h created the board for Paris, and she used her own experiences— from wandering around randomly and finding new charming streets to sitting on a terrace and enjoying a coffee while looking out at the city – to make the city feel authentic in the game.  Tokyo's map was created by Mario Reyes Jr., who talked about how cherry blossom season is truly breathtaking, but the delicious and iconic food of Tokyo is a comparably huge draw for tourists.  Find those breathtaking sights and mouth-watering treats in his map in Word Traveler!  Pete Slattery created the London map, and he started with an adorable (and goofy) corgi with a crown, which defined the tone for this map that includes sights from awe-inspiring to chuckle-inducing.  Baily Crawford created the map for New York City (with some help from her dog, Pamplemousse), and talked about how the sheer variety included in the city rivals or even exceeds some of the popular destinations.  She encourages an aimless walk on a sunny day to see just how much NYC changes from neighborhood to neighborhood, and highlights it as one of the defining elements of the city.

All of our games are elevated to the next level by the incredible art that goes into them.  Thank you so much to all the artists who make board games more beautiful, more immersive, and even easier to understand through their art!  The community is better for it.  Thank you all for the passion, expertise, and joy you bring to the games we know and love!

Click on Gallery below for full-sized images.