TheGameCrafter Upload

Intermediate · 8 min read

Chitmunk can upload your entire project directly to TheGameCrafter (TGC) for print-on-demand production. The built-in upload wizard handles authentication, deck mapping, image rendering, and file upload, all from your browser with no intermediate steps.

Overview

The upload process uses a 5-step wizard that guides you through connecting to TGC, selecting a destination game and deck, reviewing what will be uploaded, and monitoring the upload progress. Chitmunk communicates directly with the TGC REST API from your browser, no proxy server is involved, and your credentials are never sent to Chitmunk's servers.

The wizard automatically handles:

• Rendering each card face at the correct resolution for TGC's print specifications
• Matching your component types to the corresponding TGC deck identities (e.g., Poker Deck, Tarot Deck)
• Auto-splitting large decks that exceed TGC's per-deck card limit (e.g., 108 cards for Poker Decks)
• Throttled uploads to stay within TGC's API rate limits (240 requests per minute)

Step 1: Connecting to TheGameCrafter

To start the upload wizard, open the export options from the Game Home dashboard and select Upload to TheGameCrafter.

The first step asks for your TGC credentials:

• API Key: Your TGC API key. You can find this in your TGC account settings under "Account → API Keys". If you do not have one, create a new key on the TGC website.
• Username: Your TGC username.
• Password: Your TGC password.

Check Remember credentials to save your API key and username in your browser's localStorage for future uploads. Your password is only used to establish a session and is never stored.

Click Connect to authenticate. Chitmunk will create a session with the TGC API and proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Selecting a Destination

In this step you choose where your cards will be uploaded:

1. Select a designer: Choose your TGC designer account (most users have only one).
2. Select or create a game: Pick an existing game from your TGC account, or create a new one by entering a name.
3. Map card types to decks: For each card type tab in your Chitmunk project, select an existing TGC deck or choose "Create New" to have the wizard create one. The dropdown is filtered to show only decks whose component type matches your card type (e.g., a Poker card tab will only show Poker Deck options).

If a deck already contains cards, you can choose whether to replace the existing cards or add your new cards alongside them.

Step 3: Reviewing the Upload

Before uploading begins, the wizard shows a summary of everything that will be sent to TGC:

• A thumbnail preview of each card face
• The total number of card images to upload per deck
• The target game and deck names on TGC
• Any warnings, such as decks that will be auto-split due to exceeding the card limit

Review the summary carefully. If the card count or mapping looks wrong, go back to the previous step to adjust. When everything looks correct, click Start Upload.

Step 4: Uploading

During upload, you will see:

• An overall progress bar showing the percentage of cards uploaded
• A scrollable log with per-card status indicators (pending, uploading, success, or error)
• The current upload speed and estimated time remaining

Chitmunk renders each card to a PNG image at the required resolution, uploads the file to TGC's file storage, and then creates or updates the card entry in the deck. Uploads are throttled to 4 requests per second to respect TGC's rate limits.

You can click Cancel at any time to stop the upload. Cards that have already been uploaded will remain on TGC, only the remaining cards will be skipped.

Step 5: Completion

When the upload finishes, the wizard shows a success summary with:

• Per-deck results (number of cards uploaded, deck name, status)
• A direct link to your game on TheGameCrafter website
• A retry option for any cards that failed (e.g., due to network errors)

Click the link to open your game on TGC and verify that the cards appear correctly. You can order a proof copy from TGC to check print quality before placing a production order.

Troubleshooting

Authentication errors

If you cannot connect, verify your API key, username, and password. API keys can expire or be revoked, create a new key in your TGC account settings if needed. Make sure you are using the correct API key (not an OAuth token).

Deck type mismatch

If the wizard shows no compatible decks for a card type, it means the existing decks in your TGC game do not match the component type of your Chitmunk card tab. Choose "Create New" to let Chitmunk create a deck with the correct component identity.

Upload failures

Individual card uploads may fail due to network timeouts or TGC server issues. The wizard tracks which cards failed and offers a retry option at the end. You can retry failed cards without re-uploading successful ones.

Rate limiting

TGC enforces a rate limit of 240 API requests per minute. Chitmunk automatically throttles uploads to stay within this limit. If you see rate-limit errors, wait a minute and retry. The queue will resume automatically.

Large deck auto-splitting

TGC imposes maximum card counts per deck (e.g., 108 for Poker Decks). If your project has more cards than the limit, Chitmunk automatically splits the upload into multiple decks named "Deck (1 of N)", "Deck (2 of N)", etc. This is shown in the review step before uploading.

Next Steps

• Print-Ready Checklist: Ensure your designs meet print specifications before uploading.
• CSV Data Merge: Generate unique cards from spreadsheet data for batch upload.
• Getting Started: New to Chitmunk? Start here.