Welcome to the New KaiyootDesigns.com!

First, a proper introduction: I'm the owner and creator of Kaiyoot Designs Inc. The story began in the summer of 2019 when I finally finished building my first custom gaming table. I'd spent the previous four years researching, planning, and dreaming about it—then one day I bought the wood and hardware and hauled it home to start construction.

Once it was complete, family and friends were blown away. "You should build and sell these!" they said. Around the same time, life threw some curveballs, and I found myself needing new employment opportunities—so I turned to contracting. I launched Kaiyoot Designs Inc. to handle my "new" contracting job by day while pursuing my passion for board gaming and woodworking by night (and most weekends).

Now that I had a company focused on board game tables, I needed a way to promote it. I secured my domain and built a very basic website showcasing photos of that first table and its standout features. Combined with a few YouTube videos, it generated surprising interest. Weekly I'd receive questions from people asking about the tables and if I sold plans—which I didn't... yet. But I was open to the possibility depending on how well things went.

That feedback inspired me to create detailed build plans for a "Kallax-style" board game shelf, which I named the IBAIM Shelf (It's Big And It's Moveable). I placed it on an Etsy store I created to sell my ideas. At the same time, I began designing 3D-printed accessories for my favorite games, which sparked even more requests and ideas. Etsy was a great place to start, but the platform's fees and policies quickly became a major frustration. I wanted low fees, full control over the website and policies (why was Etsy charging me a shipping fee when I wasn't even using their shipping solution?), a proper storefront, and a blog section to discuss my thoughts and explain what I was working on—so I started looking for better solutions.

I explored alternatives like Shopify and Squarespace, but their monthly fees were drastically worse than Etsy's structure. Then I found open-source platforms like WooCommerce and OpenCart. They had potential but would require much more effort from me to design and manage. After more research, I chose OpenCart and started building the new website, part by part. It proved to be a bigger challenge than expected—months of learning, tweaking, and troubleshooting—but here we are with this fresh, custom-built site that includes both a storefront and a blog for sharing my latest creations.

A Quick Note on AI and Its Use on This Site

This seems like a good place to discuss AI. I'm a software/electrical engineer who often dabbles in the mechanical world—like designing and building my fancy game table. In my daily job, AI is used all the time: it speeds up programming, offers suggestions on how things can be done, and assists with code reviews by catching errors that might otherwise be missed. As cool as AI is, it's not a replacement for people and their creativity. It's a tool that requires you to have a clear understanding of the issue you're trying to solve. AI can easily go off the rails and end up so far in the weeds that more time is spent fixing its "solution" than doing the work yourself from scratch.

That said, AI does a great job of cleaning up my writing. I use it to help tighten my grammar and thoughts, and it also assists with site coding and some image manipulation. Every blog is written by me in my own words, then polished so it reads easier and is more enjoyable for you. I often go off on tangents, so it helps keep me on track. I will never use AI to write a blog from scratch just because I'm having an off day. Every post here comes from my own thoughts—with a quick "checkup" to ensure it flows and maximizes your enjoyment while reading it.

I also take my own photos and use AI to help remove backgrounds and do other image cleanup, or to brainstorm ideas I have. I have a very defined goal with how I want things to look, and AI helps me achieve those goals in less time so I can do more. It's a tool to improve my work—not replace it.

KaiyootDesigns.com Goals...

My goal with this site is simple: to share my board game experiences with you. This will include occasional reviews of games that have really hit the spot, as well as my designs and improvements for games I'm playing. If a company has hired me to create a review or other item, I will make that clearly visible at the top. Even so, I will always speak the truth of what I believe. If that doesn't align with what the company is paying me for, I will reject it. I will not be a paid shill to promote the next hot thing that actually sucks (in my opinion).

I want to be clear: if I'm writing about something, you will be reading my genuine thoughts—not echoing some corporate ideology I don't necessarily agree with. This also means I don't want to bad-mouth a product that doesn't resonate with me. All games have an audience. Sometimes I fall in that group and love a game. Other times it doesn't click. I'd prefer to write about the games I like, so this will most likely involve more positive write-ups about things that excite me. If I wrote about something, there's a very high chance I really liked it—and if I liked it, there's a very high chance I'll design something to make it better.

For instance, my favorite game is Keyflower—one of the first games I actively searched for and bought after my first play of a friend's copy many years ago. After getting my own copy, I was less than happy with the plastic bag storage system and thought up a solution to fix it. This was the first insert I designed and 3D-printed. The game has two big expansions and many mini-expansions (mostly new tiles). My primary goal was to fit everything in the main box with room to spare for more minis—Richard Breeze loves supporting this game with yearly tile releases. The design shown has space for many more individual tiles, so I should be good for the next few years at least. This insert will be available to purchase soon—I just need to clean it up and tweak a few things. There's much more to it than what you see in the image!

We also can't forget about showcasing the custom gaming tables and shelving units I've designed and built. This was, after all, the reason I created the website in the first place! The updated site makes it easy to reach me directly if you're interested in securing your own Dream Table. And yes—I’ve designed some matching chairs that look fantastic too! They can be customized to some pretty crazy extremes that should satisfy most of you.

The Blog...

I've split the blog into three sections so you can focus on what interests you: game reviews, design ideas, and off-topic extravaganzas (where everything else will fit—like this first blog). Check back occasionally, or better yet, sign up for the newsletter so I can email you when something new drops.

The Storefront...

I'd like the site to support itself, which is why I have a storefront to sell my ideas and the occasional items I make. It would be wild if this took off and I could dedicate 100% of my time to adding new content and new products that increase everyone's enjoyment of board games. We all love board games (or you probably wouldn't be here), so hopefully you enjoy my thoughts and support me by purchasing something that intrigues you.

Possible Upcoming Table News...

I'm working on a potential partnership with a large U.S. table manufacturer to handle production and shipping of my Kaiyoot Designs branded gaming tables. Building these as a solo weekend project limits how many I can complete, so scaling up with a professional partner would make Kaiyoot Designs furniture more accessible to everyone.

In Summary...

Ultimately, I hope this site brings you entertainment, inspiration, and maybe a few purchases along the way. It would be great if the traffic and sales help keep everything running smoothly. Drop any ideas or topics you'd like me to cover in the comments or via email—I'll do my best to fit them in.

Be kind to one another, celebrate our differences, and remember to share our love of board gaming. Let's keep that front and centre.

Till Next Time!