Games vs. puzzles: considering what makes them distinct—and what they have in common:

https://www.wericmartin.com/games-puzzles-and-everything-in-between/

Two quick tips for how to make sure your board game’s box stands out on stores shelves and in online stories (video):

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rlrjbzLpVGM

A conversation digging into all the ins and outs of submitting to board game design contests… like the Cardboard Edison Award (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwtIuGXKlys

A counterintuitive tactic for new board game designers: trying to make an intentionally bad game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj3IZtxw_PI

A conversation about a tricky aspect of designing a multivictor game: balancing it to accommodate both cooperative and competitive play (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjFR6lWrGWc

Getting a board game to your crowdfunding backers: what to do after you manufacture your game, from warehousing to freight shipping to customs to delivery and more:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/7-steps-to-delivering-your-kickstarter-board-game/

A pair of short videos with quick tips for making two essential elements for pitching a game design to publishers:

How to make a pitch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkqgouPT9Pw

How to make a sell sheet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uan_taJqOqw

Designing your first game? Here are 5 types of games that are ideal for beginning game designers to try making:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbhiLMrE3Ig

A short thread describing a method of playtesting called “split testing” that pits two game designs against each other:

https://bsky.app/profile/nickbentley.bsky.social/post/3mcigqlnhxs2f

10 lessons about the process of designing board games from 2025 (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62zLZONQc4Q

Notes on efficiency and chunking in scoring, and how they can shape player experiences in sports and games:

https://gametek.substack.com/p/game-set-match

Some trends that shaped the board game industry in 2025 and what they have meant for game designers (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH4o2alaNoA

Our annual Cardboard Edison Best Practices booklet, filled with board game design tips and resources for every step of the process, is back!

In this edition, you’ll find:

• How to make the most of a playtest group

• What should be in a pitch video—and what shouldn’t

• Mistakes to avoid with your prototype’s art

• Onboarding players more smoothly

• How to prepare for indie game markets

…and lots more!

A short thread about how players often get the rules wrong and what that means for designers:

https://bsky.app/profile/nickbentley.bsky.social/post/3mboz4k23y22o

How to give useful game-design feedback by matching your advice to the designer’s experience level (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywqaNcaZPBE

Thoughts on how the players themselves affect the gameplay experience—and what that means for designers:

https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2025/12/30/socially-afflicted-how-people-affect-gameplay-experience-topic-discussion/

Writing your board game’s rulebook can be a chore—here’s a process for breaking up the task into manageable chunks:

https://discocandybar.com/2026/01/02/making-the-game-rules/

A good problem to have as a designer: How to deal with multiple publishers wanting to sign your game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVqfMec6YCM

Three publishers on how they’re using—and paying to include—fan designs in their releases:

https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2025/12/16/board-game-publishers-stonemaier-cmyk-and-eurydice-games-on-how-theyre-utilising-and-paying-to-include-fan-designs-in-their-releases/

A history of board game design (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTr3kVXd6LY