Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - September 2012

Here’s our monthly roundup of the board game design tips and resources that we’ve found the most useful.

This month, we’ve got guides for navigating the industry, surviving the design process, pitching potential publishers and more.

Industry:

• What publishing and distribution options are available in today’s board game industry, and what are the pros and cons of each?

Process:

• “Get the game on the table. You can tweak the rules forever, but it’s meaningless unless you print the game and play it.” - Benjamin Rosset
• “The single hardest lesson I learned is not letting perfectionism become a roadblock to success.” - Doug Bass
• “Game designers need to have courage to throw ideas to the bin and start right from the beginning. That what game design is - no mercy.” - Ignacy Trzewiczek
• James Ernest on the biggest obstacle to becoming a game designer
• “You can absolutely NEVER predict the reaction of the public! So, it’s important to never forget this and to continue designing with your own pleasure in mind.” - Serge Leget
• What components, themes, complexity levels, and marketing tactics should you use to reach your game’s target audience?

Playtesting:

• “Call all the local game stores in your town and find out which ones have a ‘board game night’ and then go to it. Having a community of game-lovers at the ready that gather on a regular basis makes playtesting with a wider range of individuals a whole lot easier.” - Ian Steadman

Licensing:

• Some unexpected advice from an industry veteran for pitching your game

How to Make a Good Expansion–tips from a designer of Alcatraz:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/12605/designer-diary-alcatraz-maximum-security-or-how-to

SEE ALSO:

http://cardboardedison.tumblr.com/post/30466346166/some-principles-for-creating-an-expansion-from

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

How to make a game box:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/13766/how-to-make-a-game-box

The two most common pieces of advice that Jamey Stegmaier (@jameystegmaier) received from his Kickstarter backers:

1. Convey Your Passion
2. Communicate Consistently, Honestly, and Openly

http://jameystegmaier.com/2012/10/what-i-learned-from-my-kickstarter-backers/

Lewis Pulsipher (@lewpuls) discusses economies in war games:

http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/2012/10/maintenance-based-economies-vs.html

“I think the key for any game is that you have people try to break the game at every step of the way. Once you get to the point that it can’t be broken, you’re golden.”

— Jamey Stegmaier (@jameystegmaier)

Dave McEnzie of Clever Mojo Games (@CleverMojoGames) talks about running a board game publishing company, learning from Kickstarter campaigns for both board and mobile games, and more on the G*M*S Magazine podcast (@gmsmagazine):

http://www.gmsmagazine.com/podcasts/the-gms-magazine-podcast-episode-59-clever-mojo-games-with-dave-mckenzie

“Know your weaknesses and find or hire people to help you overcome them.”

— Marc Aranha of WarSpider Entertainment

Minion Games (@MinionGames):

We are looking to start a line of “DESIGNER” games at DriveThruCards.com that are released as PnP and POD. R U a designer? Let us know!

Board Game Design Forum’s October 2012 Game Design Showdown - “Intellectual Property”

This month’s showdown challenges you to create a game as if you were employed by an IP owning company to create a boardgame for one of their newly acquired properties.

http://www.bgdf.com/node/7189

Stephen Buonocore of Stronghold Games discusses the board game industry, presenting at a convention and more on the On Board Games podcast (@OnBoardGames):

http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/obg-91-stephen-buonocore-takes-over-the-world

“You need to be able to be honest with yourself. You need to be able to take a knife, axe, or even explosives to your game to make it better.”

— Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd)

Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd) on the elements of great games, take-that mechanics, the importance of objectivity, using playtesters’ feedback and more:

http://bellwethergames.com/featureddesigners/194-chevee-dodd-interview.html

“I have an idea for a tabletop game. How to get such a thing published?”

John Kovalic (@muskrat_john) fleshes out his 17-tweet guide:

http://www.dorktower.com/2012/10/01/game-publishing-in-17-tweets/

What are the best rewards from a Kickstarter campaign? Michael Mindes of Tasty Minstrel Games (@TastyMinstrel) responds:

http://www.quora.com/Kickstarter/What-are-the-best-rewards-from-a-kickstarter-campaign/answer/Michael-Mindes?srid=5wfw&st=ns

Keith Burgun (@keithburgun) offers four ways to NOT spice up a game with ambiguity:

http://keithburgun.net/instant-ambiguity-sauces/

“DESIGNERS: Save all your bad ideas. Sometimes tiny good ideas are hidden inside them. They add up.”

— Stephen Glenn (@spielfriek)

The latest episode of Ludology tackles subjects including puzzles vs. games and the future of board gaming:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-41-listener-spectacular-2

A free webinar covering the basics of launching a Kickstarter project, on Oct. 2, 2012, by Richard Bliss (@GameWhisperer):

http://www.thegamewhisperer.com/2012/09/next-free-kickstarter-and-crowdfunding-webinar.html

A.J. Porfirio (@VanRyderGames) shares his top 10 lessons learned from Kickstarting If I’m Going Down…

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/13603/the-if-im-going-down-kickstartermy-top-10-lessons