Woodland Dev Log #1 – The Grid, The Animals, and Feeding Time

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Dev Log #1 for Woodland — our cozy (but secretly competitive) zoo-building board game where every tile placed matters, and every animal is more than just a pretty face.

The Grid Is Real

We finalized the core layout of the game board: a 9×9 grid, with each square exactly 1 inch. Clean, simple, and just enough space to cause chaos. Around the edges, we’ve added slots for gates — little zones where players place small blocks to open up new strategies, sneak in new animals, or trigger bonuses (more on that in a future update).

If you’re a prototype nerd like us: yes, we now have a fully scalable transparent overlay grid for playtesting. Clean lines. No excuses. Only grid glory.

Animal Cards – Coming to Life

The real star of this week? The art.

We’ve started bringing the animal cards to life. Each one is hand-drawn and paired with its unique shape — some simple, some hilariously complex. We’re making sure that every tile feels like a puzzle piece with personality. Here’s a sneak peek at two of the early designs:

With 50 animals (each requiring a unique Tetris-style shape and color requirements), we’re carefully balancing fun, difficulty, and aesthetic.

What’s Next?

More card art!
Finalizing facility and board designs (anyone know a good graphic artist?!?)
Possibly crying over iconography spacing

Thanks for being here for the journey. We’ll be back with more behind-the-scenes soon, and if you’re on the email list — keep an eye out for exclusive sneak peeks and maybe even a chance to vote on a new animal.

Until then: stay wild.

– The Woodland Team