Thank you for being interested in becoming a mentor! Being a mentor can be a demanding role to fill. Your mentee will look up to you, and you may be seen as a role model. Don't feel like you need to be perfect or have all the answers. All a mentor has to do is listen to their mentee and do their best to guide and support them towards their goals.

What a mentor is

Mentors are people who want to share their knowledge and experiences with someone who is new to the field. Mentors are willing to meet with their mentee at least twice a month for thirty minutes to work on their mentee's goals for a total of at least three hours over the course of the mentorship. They provide support, advice, and guidance as much as they are willing to give.

What a mentor is not

A mentor is not someone looking for an equal stakes partnership. A mentor is not automatically a co-designer or a business partner. That is not to say that a mentorship can't end up in that area if both parties agree, it just means that it should not be assumed that it will start out or end up that way.

Are you qualified to be a mentor?

If you are reading this right now, the answer is probably an enthusiastic YES!

Think back to when you started out. Are there things you know now that you wished you knew then? If so, then you are absolutely qualified to be a mentor. Being a mentor gives you the opportunity to pass on all the things you've learned and are still learning, guiding someone else around all the roadblocks you encountered.

We will do our best to pair mentors with mentees who would benefit from your specific areas of knowledge - if you're not sure you're qualified, apply anyway and we will do our best to pair you with the right mentee.

You do not have to be earning income from tabletop. You do not have to be published or well-known. If you have experience you would like to share, if you are good at listening and encouraging others, and if you are excited to build a relationship with someone seeking guidance, we encourage you to sign up as a mentor.

What past mentors want you to know

"It won't consume much of your time. It'll help you assess your knowledge on many issues. You'll help people. You'll help shape the industry you love. You'll spread good karma. Need more reasons?" -Álvaro

"It's a way to make yourself accountable to another person and to spread the knowledge you've accumulated over time. Plus, teaching is the best way to learn, so you're learning all about how to evaluate a game's design based on a description or reading the rules or playing a prototype and how best to solve problems your mentee might be running into." -Rob Newton

"Don't hesitate to sign up!" -Matt Wolfe

"It was good for me to learn/see how similar we all are in terms of navigating the treacherous creative process, but also that we all approach different projects differently, with different strengths, weaknesses, and skillsets. I was able to benefit by having an "accountability partner" in the form of my mentees, as well--I would update them on my own progress creatively so they could see what a working freelancer's life was like." -Katrina Ostrander

"As a mentor, you can help others and give back, which is what this community is all about." -Joe Slack

"One of the best things you can do as a designer is connect with other designers, and this program creates a nice structured relationship to do that and to improve your games while likely making a new friend." -Stefan Barkow

"Do it! You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain." -James Hewitt

SIgn up Here