Getting Started

Beginner 10 min read By Chitmunk Team Updated

Chitmunk is a browser-based card designer for board game creators. Nothing to install. This guide takes you from nothing to a printed card: create a game, add text and a picture, link one column of a spreadsheet, check the card in Proof, and print it once. Everything here is on every plan, including the 7-day free trial.

Create Your Game

Go to chitmunk.com/home and choose New game. The form is short:

  1. Game name: the only required field, for example "Dragon's Gambit".
  2. What are you making? Pick a card size. A few common sizes show first, and the one most people start with is marked. Choose Show all sizes to search the full list. You can change the size later from the game menu.
  3. Where should it live? Chitmunk Cloud syncs between devices and lets you share the game. This browser only keeps it on this computer, and it is gone if you clear your browser data.
  4. Press Create and start designing. Players, play time, a description and a cover image sit behind Add details (optional).
The New game form with a game name field, a row of card size cards with Poker marked as the one most people start with, and the Chitmunk Cloud and This browser only choices
The New game form: a name, a card size, and where it should live.

The editor opens on an empty card with the question Your first card and three buttons: Start from a template, Add a title, and Drop in artwork. The orange edge on the card gets trimmed by the printer, so keep words inside the dashed line. There is no welcome dialog and no automatic tour; the guided tour is under Help in the top bar whenever you want it.

The editor on a new game showing an empty card with the Your first card message and the Start from a template, Add a title, and Drop in artwork buttons
The empty card offers three ways to start.

Tip: Chitmunk saves as you work, to the place you chose when you created the game. Change it any time from Where it's saved in the game menu.

The Editor at a Glance

The Chitmunk editor with a card on the canvas, the bar with stage tabs across the top, the Add panel on the left, and the properties panel on the right
The editor: the bar on top, the Add panel on the left, your card in the middle, the properties panel on the right.

Note: On macOS, use Cmd instead of Ctrl for all keyboard shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full list.

Add Text and a Picture

Press Text in the Add panel (or press T) to put a text box on the card. Then:

  1. Double-click the box on the card and type.
  2. Use the small toolbar that floats above the box, or the properties panel, to change the font, size, weight, color and alignment.
  3. Drag the corners of the box to resize it. Switch on Shrink when it overflows in the text settings if you want long text to get smaller to fit.
A new text box selected on the card, with a floating toolbar above it for font, size and alignment and the text settings in the properties panel on the right
A new text box with the quick toolbar above it and the full text settings on the right.

Press Image in the Add panel and choose a picture from your computer, or drop an image file straight onto the card. In the properties panel, Fit chooses whether the whole picture shows, the picture fills the box (and crops the edges), or it stretches. For ready-made art, Clip art opens icons, board game pieces and patterns. See Asset Browser and Image Editing.

To select, move and resize: click an element, drag it to move it, and drag a corner to resize it (hold Shift to keep its proportions). Hold Shift and click to select several, or drag a box around them. The round handle above a selection rotates it, and Shift snaps to 15 degree steps. Arrow keys nudge by 1 pixel.

Link a Spreadsheet Column

One template can make a whole deck when its text comes from a spreadsheet.

  1. Open the Data tab. Choose Data source, then Upload CSV or Excel file (or Local spreadsheet under Create new to start blank and type rows in Chitmunk).
  2. Go back to the Design tab. The Add panel now shows From your spreadsheet with one field for each column.
  3. Select a text box on the card, then click a field. The box is now linked: it shows {{Column Name}} and fills in with each row's value.

With no text box selected, clicking a field adds a new linked text box instead, and you can also drag a field onto the card. Use the card counter at the bottom to flip through your cards and see each row's version. A green dot beside a field means it is already on the card. See CSV Data Merge.

The Design tab with a text box selected on the card and the From your spreadsheet fields listed in the Add panel, one field marked with a green dot
Select a text box, click a field, and the box fills from your spreadsheet.

Check It in Proof

When a card has something to fix, a to check chip with a count appears beside the card, and the same number shows on the Proof tab. Open Proof to see each problem in plain words, such as text outside the safe area or a picture that will print soft. Each one has a Go to button that selects the element. The chip hides itself when the card is clean. See Print-Ready Checklist.

The editor with a to check chip beside the card and the Proof tab showing the same count in the top bar
The chip and the Proof tab share one count.

Print It Once

Open the Export tab and choose Print at home. Leave How will you print? on Fronts only, look at the preview of your real cards, and press Make my PDF. Print at Actual size (100%). A first print on plain paper is the cheapest way to find out whether the text is big enough. See the Print at home guide for two-sided printing and every option, and Export Options for the other exports.

The Export page with one row each for Print at home, TheGameCrafter, Print-shop PDF, Play online, and Card images
The Export page has one row for each job.

Next Steps

Ready to try it?

Open the editor and make your first card. Free to try for 7 days.

Start Designing