Jesse Catron (@ktronod) on chrome rims on games, having a repertoire of mechanics, deck-building, the importance of focus and more:

http://bellwethergames.com/bellwether-resources/featureddesigners/192-jesse-catron-interview.html 

Legal considerations for board game designers and publishers, including Kickstarter projects, registering a business, working with freelancers, trademark issues and more:

http://lawofthegeek.com/2012/08/27/lotg-23-law-for-geeks-a-gencon-panel/

Wolfgang Kramer on changes in the board game industry, originality in game design and more:

http://meepletown.com/2012/08/game-designer-interview-wolfgang-kramer/

“Many designers, myself included, have a tendency to add on this cool idea or that to the games core. Sometimes it meshes well but often it’s cumbersome and detracts from the game experience. It’s like putting a giant spoiler and spinning chrome rims on an Aston Martin; it may seem cool at the time but you are destroying a thing of beauty.”

— Jesse Catron (@ktronod)

Questions you should ask playtesters

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/848671/playtesting-questionnaire-creation

What determines a game’s optimal length?

http://keithburgun.net/a-games-optimal-length/

“If you want to go fast, work alone. If you want to go far, work with someone else.”

— Bruno Cathala

Friday is the deadline for The Game Crafter’s Steampunk Design Challenge:

http://news.thegamecrafter.com/post/26404680048/steampunk-design-challenge

Some principles for creating an expansion, from Scott Caputo (designer of Kachina/Völuspá):

1. It has to be desirable.
2. It has to feel like part of the original game.
3. It cannot make the game feel overly long.
4. The new [components] have to work well together.
5. It needs to allow for more planning.

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/12929/designer-diary-voluspa-or-how-a-native-american-su

SEE ALSO:

Lessons learned designing an expansion, by Grant Rodiek (@HerrohGrant):

http://cardboardedison.tumblr.com/post/19177839103/lessons-learned-designing-an-expansion-by

Special considerations when designing and publishing solo games:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/12931/designing-solo-games-a-fools-errand

Unpub Protozones by Cartrunk Entertainment (@CartrunkEnt) headed to conventions in N.C., Arizona, Maryland, N.J. & Michigan:

http://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=555654fce7a68d736c015d4ec&id=707174f2bd

What is your paper of choice for making prototype cards? Tips from the BoardGameGeek design forum:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/848147/what-is-your-paper-of-choice-for-making-prototype

SEE ALSO:

http://cardboardedison.tumblr.com/post/20806040669/what-to-use-for-prototype-cards-some-ideas-on 

Uwe Rosenberg discusses self-publishing, making good game expansions, the worker-placement mechanism and more in an interview on MeepleTown:

http://meepletown.com/2012/08/game-designer-interview-uwe-rosenberg/

A roundup of Kickstarter advice. Top of the list: Don’t pay for Kickstarter advice.

http://gmskarka.com/2012/08/27/insurgent-creative-never-pay-for-kickstarter-consulting/

“Totally uncontrolled aggression can unbalance a game and unbalance a social environment alike.”

The problem with naked aggression by players, and how to contain it:

http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2012/08/27/the-problem-with-naked-aggression/

“A couple iterations of prototypes are well worth the investment. They give you the opportunity to work out the fine details and minor kinks that make all the difference between a passing fancy and a really successful game.”

— Drew Bancroft of Pope Street Games

Do’s and don'ts for creating modern rule books. Chris Kirkman (@dicehateme) visits the On Board Games podcast (@OnBoardGames):

http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/webpage/obg-88-the-rules-of-rules

Want to get your game playtested… in Denmark?

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/844234/got-game-go-to-denmark

Registration is now open for Cartrunk Entertainment’s 2012-2013 Unpub program:

http://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=555654fce7a68d736c015d4ec&id=e1724ad618

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources – July 2012

Once a month, we go back through all of the board game design tips and resources we’ve found to pick out the most useful of the bunch.

Here are our picks for July 2012:

#industry:

• What’s a realistic goal for making money in the board game industry?
• A solid overview of the history of board games, the current industry, design process, theory and more, from Jeffrey D. Allers
• A wide-ranging interview with Richard Garfield

#process:

• “Failed designs are part of the process, so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work!”
• “Making games is like sports or music, you have to practice and you really need to beware of what’s been done already if you want to be the best.”
• “Look at the games you like, and see what works, and what doesn’t work. Sharp analytical skills are a game designer’s best tool.”

#licensing:

• “It is the sparkle in your eye that will sell your game. If you don’t believe in it first no one will.”

#publishing:

• Need an artist for your game?

#rules:

• “Designers: Use band-aid rules sparingly. Remember, we have the power to reverse time and prevent the boo-boo from ever happening.”

#theory:

• Pros and cons of cards as a game component
• How important is it for a strategy game set in the real world to be factually accurate?