Attila Kerek
2025. July 30.
Ever wondered how players instantly know what a symbol means in a complex board game? That’s the power of iconography! But what makes iconography essential in board game design? In this blog post, I will take a look at how symbols improve UX, simplify rules, and broaden international reach with real examples from your favorite board games.
What is iconography?
I bet iconography is already quite familiar to you, since it is all around us in modern society. Wherever we look, we are surrounded by it. Without going into full detail, just take a look at any of your smart devices, such as a digital watch, smartphone, or laptop, as well as the applications, websites, and webshops you use. Some icons change with new generations and technological innovation, while others remain the same over time.
When it comes to real-world examples of icons, think about traffic lights, traffic signs, or airports, which use complex yet simple icon systems that everyone can understand quickly and easily.
The way I like to describe it is: iconography is a set of images that form a system within a given domain. These images convey specific information or meaning to the viewer. It functions as a visual language. When we look at it this way, we can clearly see how iconography connects to the world of board games.
Why does icon design matter?
Information, user experience, immersion
Iconography builds a bridge between the player and the game. Symbols are designed to convey information as quickly and intuitively as possible. When used effectively, even complex game states can be communicated through simple, recognizable icons. This reduces cognitive load and enhances immersion in the user experience. As a result, decision-making and overall playtime can become faster. Once players are familiar with the iconography, they can interpret cards and game states at a glance, without needing to read long blocks of text.
Printing Benefits and Localization Advantages
Iconography can also be beneficial from a printing perspective. When certain graphical assets rely solely on icons, they become fully language-independent. This can significantly reduce translation time and costs, since only the rulebook and some packaging elements need localization. In addition, language independence helps make the game more accessible to international audiences.
Of course, these advantages are only possible when best practices are applied correctly. Let’s take a closer look at some of them in action.
Effective iconography in board games blends art, science, and UX design principles
Iconography in board games is not just about art, but also about science. Creativity, semiotics, visual hierarchy, and usability all play an important role in designing meaningful and functional symbols.
Simplicity and visual clarity
Strong icons are effective when they are clear and readable at any size. During the design process, we must consider the visual distance between the player and the components. For example, elements on the main board are typically farther away from the player than those on the player board or the cards they hold in their hand. Icons need to remain readable at all those distances.
Icons should be simple and visually distinct. Designers should favor silhouettes and bold lines over detailed illustrations. Overly complex icons not only reduce clarity but may also create printing issues. When scaled down, fine lines and intricate details can become unreadable or unprintable. If you're unsure about sizing, print out your design using a basic home or office printer. This quick test helps you see whether adjustments are needed or if your icons are ready for production.
Shape and colour considerations
Shapes
Choosing the right shape is essential in iconography. Icons contribute to a game's visual
design and help establish thematic cohesion. For example, in a science fiction game, futuristic-looking symbols can support the setting, while in a medieval game, heraldic or hand-drawn iconography may better match the theme.
I previously mentioned icons that remained the same throughout time. Take a simple plus sign, for example - what comes to your mind without any further context? Most people associate it with receiving some reward, or gaining something, or that there is some additional condition. A minus sign, on the other hand, might suggest that something is discounted, or you have one less condition, or you lose something, or some type of reduction. Depends. However, designers can build upon these existing, universal associations and reinforce them with colours or can go around them and establish something completely new. The choice is yours to make, though hopefully it follows the theme of your board game.
My favourite example is from our own board gam, Anachrony. It has its own elegant system for representing rewards and payment costs. Everything you see on these assets on its own is usually a reward for you to collect. On the other hand, if these icons have a black hole under them, it means that's the cost you have to pay in order to have the desired effect. After you are introduced to this simple visual representation, you can tell at a glance what actions reward you and when you need to pay a cost.
Colours
Because of shared visual history, we also have associations with certain colours. Think about it, red often signals danger or something forbidden, green suggests growth or permission, yellow is used for attention, while blue is associated with science/technology. Again, traffic lights and road signs are good examples of these color uses.
Colour can be a powerful tool to group or distinguish visual meanings, but it should be used carefully. Overusing colours can make your design visually overwhelming or hard to interpret. Also, colorblindness is an important concern, so I would heavily recommend testing your colour palettes to see whether your colour choices can be distinguished from each other or not. There are plenty of websites out there on the internet nowadays that can help you with that. Here is one, for example.
In general, neither shape nor colour alone should serve as the only distinguishing feature. Use them together in a balanced way to expand your options and improve clarity. For example, if an ability lets players draw from multiple card types, don’t just differentiate the card backs by colour. Assign a distinct icon to each type as well, so players can clearly understand the difference without relying solely on colour.
Redundancy and contextual clues
Combining shape, color, and context with text enhances clarity, especially in more complex games. Many games use icon-text hybrids like “gain 1 VP” where the VP=Victory Point is depicted with an icon. This allows players to learn through association and can accelerate the process of understanding. In the example below, this grey and white crown-like symbol represents the end game victory points.
Consistency and stylistic unity
Once we represent something with a specific icon, we should maintain it across all modules of the game. For example, if an icon stands for “energy,” it should consistently mean the same thing in every context. Otherwise, it becomes confusing and counterproductive. In the example below, “producing energy” is always shown as a yellow circle with a white lightning bolt, and its meaning stays consistent throughout the game.
Icons should be easy to remember. As mentioned earlier, unique shapes, distinctive contours, and deliberate visual contrast help players recall what a symbol means, even after only a few encounters. The entire icon set should share a common aesthetic style (line thickness, color usage, stroke patterns, etc.) so that they feel like a coherent part of the same world. This helps immersion and lowers visual noise
Cultural neutrality and association
If your resources allow, consider cultural differences in symbol interpretation. Some visual elements may carry different meanings in other countries. For example, when you think about hand gesture icons, like the thumbs up, it is a positive gesture in many Western countries, but it is considered an insult in Greece, West Africa, and parts of the Middle East. It is worth using universal symbols that are clear despite cultural differences.
Testing
This hardly needs an introduction - testing is just as essential for iconography as it is for any other element of board game design. UX testing helps ensure that your symbols communicate meaning clearly, especially to new players. After explaining the core rules and concepts, give testers the board game assets you would like to test out without telling them further context, and ask them to explain what they believe the icons represent. If their interpretation is off, you might consider redesigning some icons.
Examples of excellent iconography in board games
Wingspan
It uses simple, clean iconography, which also resonates with the theme:
- Eggs
- Food typical for birds (berries, fish, grain, insects, rodents)
- Habitat (forest, field, lake)
Root
Illustration-based, but easily distinguishable iconography.
- All factions have unique icons
- Tokens, meeples, and components also have striking colors, which is important when it comes to area control games.
Everdell
The base game comes with minimalistic resource choices, which are illustrated with easily recognisable iconography.
- Raw materials: wood, stone, resin, berry
- Victory points: gold coins
- Card categories
Brass Lancashire
The building tokens are precisely categorised and divided by levels and colors.
They each have:
- a building cost,
- a production yield,
- a victory point printed on them.
Vibrant game colors are visible against the darker color scheme used for the Industrial Revolution theme.
Conclusion
Iconography in board games is more than just a decorative or technical detail. It is a fundamental design element that shapes how easily players understand the game and how deeply they engage with it. In modern board game design, effective iconography is essential. It allows components to carry meaning and information at a glance, supports intuitive gameplay, and enhances the overall flow of the game experience.