Guests of Honor

Helaina Cappel

Helaina Cappel is a school teacher and a lifelong board game fan.

In 2015, Helaina founded Kids Table Board Gaming (KTBG) after looking for interesting games to play with her kids and deciding she would just make some herself. Teaming up with her husband, together they designed, funded, and published games including Foodfighters and Haunt the House.

In the decade following her first game, Helaina went on to publish dozens of tabletop game titles, earned numerous industry leadership awards, and founded two additional publishing brands, including the sibling brand to KTBG, Burnt Island Games.

In 2025, Helaina achieved recognition for Endeavor: Deep Sea, which won awards for design, production, and for maintaining the game’s environmental theme in line with its plastic-free product.

Helaina is committed to paving new roads and providing opportunities for marginalized communities in the board game industry. Her next project is “Play The North”, a series of national retailer events focused on celebrating Canadian designers, artists, and publishers.

Follow Helaina’s tabletop adventures on Instagram (@kidsstablebg, @burntislandgames), Facebook (@kidstablebg, @burtislandgames), and Bluesky (@kidstablebg.bsky.social, @burntislandgames.bsky.social).

Geoff Engelstein

Geoff Engelstein s an award-winning tabletop game designer and educator. His game titles include Space Cadets, The Expanse, and the Super Skill Pinball series.

Geoff is a published author of several books, including Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design, Achievement Relocked, and The Universe Explained with a Cookie.

Geoff’s podcast credits include the long-running GameTek series on The Dice Tower and Ludology. Geoff is a member of the NYU Game Center faculty.