/
“My most given advice on balancing is to not lose track of beginner and intermediate levels of player – that is – a game can be perfectly balanced for the top level player, but if the beginners don’t have fun with it there will be no top level players.”
— Richard Garfield
/

Michael Harrison (@oldbie):

“At the Independent Board Game Survival Guide with @dicehateme @DanielSolis and Dan Yarrington. #EscapistExpo

"How to approach a game publisher? Go to conventions, be friendly, give a killer elevator pitch. If they want to play, even better.

"Know the publishers. Don’t pitch a gross zombie game to a family-friendly publishing company.

"It goes without saying that you should also know the games that the company publishes. Play them. Don’t pitch clones.

"Communities like @CartrunkEnt’s Unpub are great for getting unbiased feedback on your game. http://unpub.net”

/

Quick tips for things to consider when testing for balance:

  • Take notes throughout, but act upon the final result.
  • Good balance isn’t just fairness, but an approximately equal set of choices.
  • Always keep your design goals in mind.
  • Test with the same data before making changes.
  • Balance testing cannot truly begin until the mechanics are completed.

http://hyperbolegames.com/2012/09/14/balance-testing/

/
“When you do a game, you just take a little bit of life and just put it on the board. The better life experience you have, I think the better game designer you will be.”
— Antoine Bauza (@toinito)