“To design good games, you need peace in your heart - even for a first-person shooter.”

— Reiner Knizia (@ReinerKnizia)

An experiment showed that people often lie about the result of a secret die roll if it benefits them. 

The takeaway for board game designers, according to BoardGameNews:

“If you want someone to be honest, then do not allow him to roll a die in secret.”  

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/9382/links-flash-mob-game-reviews-the-hasty-cheater-ye

RELATED:

Preventing cheating: Is the honor system sufficient?

http://cardboardedison.tumblr.com/post/19570523236/preventing-cheating-is-the-honor-system

Hidden information: When to give players access to it, and at what cost?

A BoardGameGeek discussion:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/787704/hidden-information-access-to-it

“Game design and storytelling often reside at opposite ends of the creative spectrum.”

Crafting a Story through Design - by Benny Sperling (@Benny275)

http://hyperbolegames.com/2012/04/06/crafting-a-story-through-design/

The runaway leader problem: How to recognize it, how to get rid of it? 

http://www.bgdf.com/node/6320

Should all games be designed from scratch as original works, or is it OK to build upon an existing game?

Members of the BoardGameGeek designers forum weigh in:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/787281/starting-a-new-and-unique-design-from-an-existing

“Contacting an industry professional for the first time? Don’t ask for anything. OFFER value. Start a relationship. Ask later. …maybe.”

— Chris Oatley (@ChrisOatley)

Games of maneuver vs. games of “combat dominance,” by Lewis Pulsipher (@lewpuls):

http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/2012/04/games-of-maneuver-vs-games-of-combat.html

What makes a game replayable?

http://gfbrobot.com/2012/04/03/errata-games-with-replayability/

Some non-US Kickstarter alternatives:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/785982/kickstarter-alternatives-for-those-of-us-who-arent

“Every day, starting tomorrow, create a quick pitch for a game.”

How to create an “idea machine”:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2012/04/02/the-idea-machine/

by Todd Edwards (@Wininoid)

“When I write a design, I always start with goals. It makes my designs more focused, and it helps me think more creatively.”

— Ray Mazza (@GameDesignFTW)

“Designing a game is like raising a child. You cannot change its personality, but you can help maximize its potential.”

— Reiner Knizia (@ReinerKnizia)

“Game design protip: When creating many more rules to justify an exceptional case, remove the exception from the rules instead.”

— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)

“Never succumb to the tyranny of reasonable voices. What do I mean by that? There will be a cacophony of well meaning people in your life who will tell you to stop playing games or buckle down and quit scribbling away in notebooks and generally remind you that you need to grow up and be responsible. The life of a designer or an independent contractor in general is not the life for everyone. There are no regular paydays, no paid vacations, and no health care. All of this can convince you that the reasonable voices have it right on more than one occasion, but you have to persevere beyond all of that. When you do what you love, you won’t need to get pumped up or motivated to get to work. You can expect to be disappointed, criticized, disheartened, and frustrated on your worst days. You can also look forward to feelings of satisfaction, triumph, vindication, and elation when something you formed out of your own head and crafted with your own hands is understood, embraced, enjoyed, and even championed by someone else.”

— Levi Mote (@LeviMote) of Bonsai Games, on The Game Crafter

Is Kickstarter encouraging us to short-change small games? AJ Quinn crunches the numbers. His conclusion:

“One conclusion is that we’re overly rewarding expensive games. I think a more important conclusion is that we’re encouraging makers of simple, fun, cheap games to complicate them and start adding on unnecessary features to justify a higher purchase price because without a higher price they will fail. That’s a huge bummer.”

http://www.scratchtheline.blogspot.com/2012/03/take-that-little-guy.html

Challenges in designing games for big groups, by Alex M. Weldon (@benefactumgames):

http://www.benefactum.ca/?p=148

Plan for “worst-case success”: @kickstarter tier pricing and expenses, by @fredhicks

http://www.deadlyfredly.com/2012/03/kickstarter-plan-for-worst-case-success/

UPDATE:

Fred Hicks discusses the subject further on the Game Whisperer’s (@GameWhisperer) Funding the Dream podcast:

http://www.buzzsprout.com/4646/44967-funding-the-dream-ep-45-kickstarter-worst-case-success

“Start by designing the game you want to play, and then remove everything you don’t like, and what you are left with is a game that other people want to play.”

—

Chris Urinko (@Battlejack) on @GamesAndGrub

Curious how an established publisher gets a game from concept to store shelf? 

Asmodee shares its process in its “Making of a Game” series:

Part 1, prototype to project:
http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/making-a-game-from-prototype-to-project.php 

Part 2, theme and graphics:
http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/the-making-of-a-game-chapter-2-theme-and-graphics.php

Part 3, visualization to realization:
http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/the-making-of-a-game-part-3-from-vision-to-realization.php

Part 4, final touches:
http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/articles/the-making-of-a-game-part-4.php