Inside Up Games is a Canadian board game design and publication company with one simple goal, to create exciting and entertaining games, so you can have fun with your family and friends! We believe that everyone deserves a spot at the table, and strive to create gaming experiences that are enjoyable and inclusive.
The company began when Conor McGoey, our founder and “Decider of All Things” successfully launched and funded Summit: The Board Game in July 2016. After its completion and release in early 2017, it was followed up quickly with the release of Yeti, Summit’s first expansion. 2017 also saw the successful funding of our second game Vault Assault which was released at Essen Spiel at the end of October.
2018 was a year of milestones for Inside Up Games. Our first print runs sold out, we re-ordered our entire catalog of games, and successfully funded our third Kickstarter project, and fourth title: Gorus Maximus.
2019 was a big year with 3 successful Kickstarters including Teams (the second Summit expansion), 7 Souls (our first foray into the Lovecraftian universe), and The Quick and The Undead (our first game from outside designers). In 2020, we Kickstarted City Builder by Andrei Filip and released Sea Change, a family-friendly version of Gorus Maximus. 2021 started with the explosion of Block and Key, a puzzling family game by designer David Van Drunen.
In 2022, we launched Earth and were met with unprecedented support by the tabletop gaming community. An open-world engine builder by Maxime Tardiff, this beautiful game broke all of Inside Up Game’s previous crowdfunding records raising CA$ 731,072 from over 10,500 supporters! Later in the year, the final installment of Summit: The Board Game – Sanity was funded on Gamefound. This project was followed by our first roll & write game Draft Write Records.
The company has many exciting titles in the pipeline, so make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media for the latest news. We look forward to providing you with countless hours of fun, and unforgettable memories!
Meet the Team
How did you get into the hobby?
A friend reintroduced me to hobby games in my mid-twenties. I fell in love and enjoyed spending “free time” playing games with family and friends. To distract myself from the stresses of my (old) day job I created Summit while waiting to fall asleep… the rest is history.
What should people reach out to you for?
Feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in localizing one of our games, or think one of your games would be a good fit for localization into the English market.
Conor McGoey
Decider of All Things
How did you get into the hobby? After a childhood filled with tabletop RPG's, I discovered Catan in 2010 - a common entry point into our hobby! My friends and I consumed every game we could find over the next few years. We were absolutely hooked! In 2014 I began creating content for board games which led to an introduction to Conor & Inside Up. The rest, as they say, is history.
What should people reach out to you for? I manage production as well as day-to-day operations at Inside Up Games. I'm proud to call the amazing group of people on this page my team and if I can't help you with something, I can certainly find someone who can.
Brandon Nall
Hand of the King
How did you get into the hobby?
My family played games a lot growing up! I’ve always loved them, but like many people, had only played the “classics” (Clue / Phase 10). A few years ago, I was looking for an inexpensive date night idea and came across Dice Tower on Youtube. That led me down a rabbit hole of board games, BGG, and crowdfunding! I’m a sucker for theme, upgraded components, worker placement, and set collection.
What should people reach out to you for?
I handle most of our social media content, so if you’d like to be featured on our feed send us a DM! I also coordinate with content creators, and communicate with our amazing crowdfunding backers.
Jenna Muir
Master of Marketeering
How did you get into the hobby?
As a stay-at-home dad, I needed a creative outlet. I started working on creating YouTube videos about board games which connected me to Conor and IUG. A few conventions and a pandemic later, I started helping Conor behind-the-scenes. As we grew, I started focusing more on game design and reviewing game proposals for the company.
What should people reach out to you for?
If you are an aspiring designer, feel free to reach out through our design form and you’ll most likely hear from me soon after. Especially worker placement games (my favorite mechanic!)
Chris Walters
Commander of Coordination
How did you get into the hobby?
Our house was full of games and puzzle growing up (strict TV rations!) and I’ve always had a curiosity for how things are constructed and taken apart. As a professional product designer for the past 15 years, I’m excited to apply some design and material magic to the board game world.
What should people reach out to you for?
My fingers are securely placed in all our graphic and physical design pies, so get in touch with me if you have any questions on artwork, game components, or pies.
David Shaw
Wizard of the Workshop
How did you get into the hobby?
While growing up I played lots of games with my family, but as I got older that died down. After getting the opportunity to work for Inside Up Games through the Interactive Media Development program at Confederation College, I began playing them a lot more. I now have tons of fun bringing board games home to play with family and friends.
What should people reach out to you for?
My focus is on graphic design, motion design, and video editing, so feel free to reach out about any of those.
Riley Lem
Artisan of Imagery
How did you get into the hobby?
I never used to be a big fan of board games until I started working with IUG. Playing different games with various strategies and storylines sparked my interest in the hobby. It’s exciting to experience new endings with every game I play.
What should people reach out to you for?
If you need someone to create visually interesting graphics, in both 2D and 3D, just shoot me a message!
Katie Hoang
Apprentice of the 3rd Dimension
How did you get into the hobby?
All throughout my life I've enjoyed playing boardgames. From begging my parents to play Risk / Monopoly with me as a kid, to playing hours and hours of Hero Quest with my brother (Hudson) and our friends, to having regular game nights with none other than Conor. He was the one who started to show me “heavier” games, such as Terra Mystica & Scythe, which I now view as classics. Over the years he roped me into many different playtests and balancing sessions for his own games until he finally brought me onto the IUG team for just that!
What should people reach out to you for?
My main role is in game testing and design, so if you ever need rules clarifications, I’m likely your guy!
Carter Morash
Adjudicator of Adjustments
How did you get into the hobby?
Meet Joe, the board game world’s version of the guy who goes to a music festival but only knows the hit songs. Joe was thrown into the world of strategy and competition and little wooden pieces when Conor’s enthusiasm and passion and aggressive persistence overwhelmed all of his sensibilities. And while he may not spend every waking moment playing board games, Joe sure knows how to turn passion into profit.
With his decades-long friendship with Conor, this duo is making waves in the board game design and publishing world – just don’t ask Joe for game strategy tips. He’ll probably just tell you to put your money on the table instead.
Joe Saliba
Maker of Rain
How did you get into the hobby?
As someone who was not initially part of the hobby, I can honestly say I am grateful for the experiences and the people I have come across while exploring this world! Board games bring people together!
I try to bring different viewpoints and ideas to the team’s creative process and the development of our games.