Think about the last promotional item you received from a business. A pen, maybe. A tote bag. A fridge magnet. Now think about the last time you actually used any of them. Branded promotional games in Ireland are a completely different proposition — and most businesses have not even considered them yet.
A custom branded board game, card game, or jigsaw puzzle carries your logo into people’s homes and keeps it there. Not in a drawer. Not in a bin. On the table, being played with by the whole family, potentially for years. This guide covers what is possible, who it works for, and how Simply Design handles design and print from start to finish.
Why branded games work when other promotional items do not
Most promotional merchandise gets used once or forgotten immediately. A business spends money on an item, the recipient takes it politely, and it ends up at the bottom of a bag. Even useful items like a reusable cup or a USB drive rarely create any lasting connection with the brand they came from.
A branded game is fundamentally different. It gets played. People take it out repeatedly. It sits on a shelf where visitors can see it and starts conversations. When a family plays a card game with your company branding on the box, your brand appears in one of the most relaxed and positive environments possible — an evening at home, everyone enjoying themselves. That kind of brand association is almost impossible to buy through traditional advertising.
Furthermore, a game or puzzle carries significantly higher perceived value than most promotional items. A branded pen costs a few cents and feels like it. A beautifully printed custom puzzle feels like a genuine gift. That perception matters enormously for how your brand is remembered.
What can be customised and printed?
The range of products that can be fully customised with your branding is broader than most people realise. Here is what Simply Design can design and produce for you.
Custom branded board games
A fully custom board game built around your branding, your rules, and your visual identity. These work particularly well for businesses that want something truly distinctive — an estate agent creating a property-themed game, a financial services company producing a money management game for schools, or a tourism board creating a game about local heritage. Every component is included: the game board, cards, tokens, pawns, rulebook, and printed box, all produced to commercial quality standards.
Custom card games
Card games are among the most versatile branded products available. They are compact, easy to distribute, and suitable for all ages. A card game does not have to be complicated — a simple matching game, an industry quiz, or a branded version of snap or memory can all carry your logo effectively. For a more premium feel, card games can also include tokens, a small game board, or wooden pawns.
Branded memory and domino games
Memory games and dominoes are ideal for businesses targeting families or younger audiences. A set of branded memory cards featuring your products, your team, your local area, or your brand characters creates something genuinely engaging. These work particularly well as gifts for customers with children, or as educational tools for schools and community groups.
Custom branded puzzles
A branded jigsaw puzzle is one of the most underused promotional items in existence. A puzzle featuring your building, your product, a local landmark, or a custom illustration — with your logo and branding on the box — is something most recipients will actually keep and use. Puzzles are produced on solid cardboard with professional lamination and foil finishes. CE-certified child-safe materials are also available, which is important when distributing to families or schools.
Who should consider branded games and puzzles?
Almost any business can find a good use for a well-designed branded game. However, some sectors are particularly well-suited to this approach.
Estate agents and property developers. A property-themed board game or a puzzle featuring a new development is a memorable alternative to the standard brochure. It stays in the home long after the brochure goes in the recycling.
Hotels, tourism businesses, and visitor attractions. A puzzle or card game featuring local landmarks, wildlife, or heritage is both a sellable souvenir and a brand-building tool. Visitors who receive it take your branding home with them.
Financial services, insurance, and professional firms. An educational card game covering financial literacy or health decisions positions your business as genuinely helpful rather than just promotional. Schools and community groups are often very receptive to this kind of resource.
Food and beverage businesses. A branded game given away with a purchase, distributed at a market stall, or left on tables in a restaurant creates a talking point and keeps your brand visible long after the visit.
Charities and community organisations. A branded game or puzzle works as both a fundraising product and an awareness tool. It communicates your mission in a way that a leaflet simply cannot match.
Any business building a brand in a local community. This is perhaps the most interesting application of all — explored in more detail below.
Using branded games to build your brand in schools and community spaces
One of the most effective and underused local brand-building strategies in Ireland is donating branded games and puzzles to schools, crèches, community centres, sports clubs, and libraries. Businesses have always supported local communities — but this format makes that support unusually visible and long-lasting.
Consider what happens when a local business donates a branded memory game to a primary school. It goes into the classroom and gets used by every class that year. Teachers, children, and visiting parents all interact with it. The business name and logo appear repeatedly in a completely positive context — a place of learning and community. The impression created is warm, local, and trustworthy.
The same logic applies to a puzzle in a waiting room, a card game in a community centre, or a branded game gifted to a sports club for their end-of-season event. In each case, the cost per impression over the life of the product is extraordinarily low compared to paid advertising. Moreover, the context — play, family time, community — is one that most advertising budgets simply cannot buy.
For businesses actively building a brand identity in a specific town or county, this approach is worth serious consideration. It is visible, tangible, and genuinely useful to the people who receive it.
How Simply Design handles the process
Simply Design manages everything from initial concept through to finished product delivered to your door. You do not need to know anything about print specifications or manufacturing. That is our job.
We start with a conversation about your goals — the audience, the message, the budget, and how you plan to distribute the product. From there, we develop the full design covering game mechanics if needed, all artwork, packaging, and any printed materials. Once the design is approved, we manage production through our specialist printing partner.
Production timelines run at approximately four to six weeks from final artwork approval. Finished products arrive ready to distribute, with no Simply Design branding or paperwork included — the product is entirely yours.
If you already have an existing brand identity, we apply it consistently across every element. If you are still developing your brand, a game or puzzle project can form part of a broader branding package that covers your logo, colours, and guidelines at the same time.
What about costs, custom components, and quantities?
This is usually the first practical question, and it deserves an honest answer.
Everything is possible — but complexity has a cost
Almost anything can be customised — the game board shape, card stock, token material, box structure, packaging finish, size, and format. However, the more custom and complex the product, the higher the unit cost. A simple card game in a standard tuck box costs very differently from a premium box with a linen-finish lid, custom-shaped wooden tokens, and a double-layered insert. Both produce impressive results. The key is being clear from the start about your budget and priorities so the design is built around what actually makes sense for your project. We discuss all of this before any design work begins.
Quantities make a dramatic difference to unit cost
This is where custom games and puzzles become genuinely compelling. Commercial printing works on economies of scale — setup costs are spread across the entire print run, so the more units you order, the cheaper each one becomes. The difference is not marginal. Ordering 500 units instead of 100 can reduce the cost per unit by 50% or more, depending on the product. For a business with a clear distribution plan — corporate gifts, retail stock, school donations across a county — ordering in larger quantities is nearly always the smarter financial decision. We work out the numbers with you upfront so you can make an informed choice.
In any case, the per-unit cost at commercially viable quantities compares very favourably with other branded merchandise. A game that sits on a shelf for three years and gets played a dozen times delivers a completely different return than a pen that gets lost in a week.
Ready to stand out from every other business handing out pens?
If you are looking for a promotional item that genuinely reflects your brand, creates a lasting impression, and gives real value to your customers and community — a custom branded game or puzzle is worth serious consideration.
At Simply Design, we handle everything from initial concept and full artwork through to commercial production and delivery. To discuss what would work for your business, get in touch and we will talk through the options. You can also explore our board game design and printing service for more on what we produce.