Digital meets analog — our Game Market 2026 Spring report
Following Game Market 2025 Autumn, we exhibited Photo Werewolf again at Game Market 2026 Spring — Japan’s largest analog game event.
This time we brought something new: Photo Werewolf Mission Mode, an analog expansion for the digital game. Adding physical cards to a browser game was the experiment. Here’s what we did in the run-up, how the days themselves went, and what we learned.
What we did to prepare
Updating Photo Werewolf (the digital game)
Based on what we saw at the 2025 Autumn event, we shipped three updates to the game itself.
Added game records. As of 2025 Autumn there was no way to record results, so you couldn’t look back on what you’d played. Now you can see your games played and wins from My Page, and follow your full game history.
Added memory images. After a game with friends, a shareable “memory image” is now generated automatically. The theme, everyone’s photos, and who the werewolves were all end up in a single image.
試遊していただきました！ みんな嘘うまい😂
人狼で勝利！ #写真人狼 #ゲームマーケット2026春
“Someone playtested it! Everyone's such good liars 😂 — won as a werewolf!”
Changed the werewolf count from a fixed 2 to 2–(n−1), where n is the number of players. You no longer know how many werewolves are out there, and it made the game far more interesting 🐺
今週末の試遊会までに《ほとんど人狼》機能をリリース予定です🐺 今まで人狼の人数は0 or 2でしたが、人狼がたくさんいても面白いゲームなのでシステム変更をします🐺 楽しみにしててください☺️
#EJPボドゲ相互PR会 #ゲームマーケット2026春
“We're planning to ship the ‘mostly werewolves’ change before this weekend's playtest meetup 🐺 Until now the werewolf count was 0 or 2, but the game is fun with lots of werewolves too, so we're changing the system 🐺 Look forward to it ☺️”
Building the analog version, Mission Mode
Our main takeaway from 2025 Autumn was that exhibiting a digital-only game doesn’t really work at Game Market. A corporate buyer gave us the same advice, so for 2026 Spring we set ourselves the goal of having something physical to sell.
We landed on the idea that an analog expansion to a digital game might be fun, and made Photo Werewolf Mission Mode.
For printing we used the “Basic Pack” from Manindou. Each set contains 36 mission cards, a rulebook, and a box. The boxes arrive assembled and the cards pre-sorted, so all we had to do was fold the rulebooks and pack the boxes (plus bagging them).
Promotion: playtest meetups and campaigns
At the 2025 Autumn event we learned that playtest meetups are held actively in the run-up to Game Market. So for 2026 Spring, we joined several.
SNS Playtest Meetup 2026 Spring
A meetup where every game you play gets posted about afterwards. We attended as players this time.
🗓️タイムテーブル公開🗓️ 5/8(金)夜にコロコロ堂上野御徒町店で開催する #SNS試遊会2026春 の各枠で遊べる作品が確定となりました✨ プレイヤーの方には、優先的に希望の作品に入ってもらえるようご案内します。 遊びたい作品をチェックして遊びに来てください！
“Timetable released 🗓️ The games playable in each slot at SNS Playtest Meetup 2026 Spring — Friday 5/8 evening at Korokorodo Ueno-Okachimachi — are now confirmed ✨ Players will be given priority for the titles they want. Check the lineup and come play!”
BBOX 2026 Spring
The first time we had strangers playtest our own game.
初めて試遊会で自分のゲームをやってもらいましたが、いろんなアドバイスをいただけて勉強になりました😊
『写真人狼』はボードゲーム系もいけるけど、インディーゲーム系も出せそう感あるとご意見いただいたので挑戦してみるかもです！
#写真人狼 #BBOX2026春
“First time having people playtest my own game at a meetup — I got all sorts of advice and learned a lot 😊 Someone said Photo Werewolf works as a board game but feels like it could go out as an indie game too, so I might give that a try!”
EJP Board Game Mutual PR Meetup
Our team lost, but it was a lot of fun.
僕もあの時人狼だったのでもっと助太刀すれば良かったです🥹 チームとして負けはしましたが楽しかったので良かったです🐺
遊んでいただきありがとうございました😊
“I was a werewolf at that point too, so I wish I'd backed you up more 🥹 Our team lost, but it was fun, so no complaints 🐺 Thanks for playing with us 😊”
JELLY JELLY CAFE mixer and playtest session
昨日はこちらの集会に参加させていただきました！ 遊んだゲームについてツリーにぶら下げます！ #ゲームマーケット2026春
“Joined this gathering yesterday! I'll add the games we played down the thread. #GameMarket2026Spring”
Giveaway campaign
We also ran a campaign on X giving away one copy of Photo Werewolf Mission Mode.
#ゲムマ2026春 プレゼントキャンペーン！！ 🎁#写真人狼 #プレゼント🎁
【 写真人狼ミッションモード 】
📸スマホ写真で遊ぶ人狼ゲーム🐺 ミッション追加でさらにカオスに！
🟧 最新作を【1名様】にプレゼント！
① @photowerewolf をフォロー ② このポストをリポスト（＋いいね）
“Game Market 2026 Spring giveaway!! 🎁 Photo Werewolf Mission Mode — a werewolf game played with the photos on your phone 🐺 Even more chaos now that missions are in! 🟧 One winner gets our newest release! ① Follow @photowerewolf ② Repost this (and like it)”
We also took part in a campaign someone else was running on X.
素敵な企画に参加させていただいております🐺
#ゲームマーケット2026春
“Taking part in a lovely project 🐺 #GameMarket2026Spring”
Looking back on the days themselves
The booth
We were at booth K35.
K35でお待ちしてます！
#ゲームマーケット2026春
“We'll be waiting at K35! #GameMarket2026Spring”
The flyer tables
Last time the flyer tables were packed and there was nowhere left to put ours, so this time we went early (though there were more tables and plenty of room anyway).
前回の反省を活かして今回はいい場所に置けました！
#ゲームマーケット2026春
“Learned from last time — we got a good spot for our flyers this time! #GameMarket2026Spring”
Playtests and sales
Roughly 30-plus groups playtested the game, as far as we could tell. Seeing everyone having a noisy good time with it was the best part.
The thing that really made our day: someone who had pre-ordered from Taiwan turned up — and bought five copies. They’d played Photo Werewolf beforehand, enjoyed it, and came to pick up Mission Mode as well. They were planning to hand them out to friends ☺️
Results and takeaways
Financially, we made a loss. The takings over the two days didn’t cover the exhibition fee and the printing, and we’d only break even once the remaining stock sells through. We priced it to be easy to pick up, while still aiming for a level where selling out wouldn’t leave us in the red.
Our biggest takeaway
In a sentence: if profit is the only goal, you can’t sustain this level of energy.
Exhibiting at Game Market isn’t just a place to sell things — it’s an activity where you find value beyond that.
For us, going to Game Market is part of getting the word out, because we think Photo Werewolf is genuinely fun and want people to know about it. Playtests let us hear reactions directly, which makes them a rare and valuable opportunity.
Having enjoyed the atmosphere from the playtest meetups onward, we had a better time than last event. At the same time, seeing just how many board game creators pour years of time and experience into their work deepened our respect for them. Making and selling your own board game is an achievement in itself, and the people who buy them and keep creators going are just as valuable. That’s what Game Market 2026 Spring left us with.
Finally
Photo Werewolf is free to play in your browser. Give it a go, and share your memory image afterwards 🐺
Photo Werewolf Play Photo Werewolf free in your browser A new kind of online Werewolf where you bluff with photos on your phone. Grab some friends. Play a round for free