Static Boards Are Better for Early Prototypes

One way that tabletop games create replayability for players is through modular boards. Catan is the classic example: by shuffling the positions of the terrain hexes and the productivity tokens on them, each game has different economic forces. Given the benefits of modular setups, you may be tempted to design a modular prototype to test different configurations. Doing so is a mistake, however, especially early in the design process.

Modularity is not free. It adds extra rules and steps to setup. Setup time is precious because it is pure upkeep for players: they are not actively playing and must pay attention to the rules explanation. When testing a new idea, you want to reach actual gameplay as soon as possible.

There is almost no benefit to modularity when playtesting. Your top priority is to ensure your game is fun the first time people play; modularity matters only on subsequent plays. If your game isn't fun with a static setup, it won't improve with a modular one. Setup variability affects player experience only over multiple games.

Even once the core of your game is working, consider whether adding a modular setup actually creates enough benefit to be worth it. Most games can be replayed on the same board dozens of times before changes matter, and changes are only worth making if they significantly impact player strategy.

Replayability only matters if you expect players to replay your game. If your game will be played only a handful of times, you do not need any modularity in the board. Given how board games are consumed nowadays, this is likely true for most games. Unless your game is a tile-placement game where building the board is part of gameplay, a static board works well for most projects.