November 08, 2012 November 08, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

A new website, TableTested.com, is accepting games for review:

http://www.tabletested.com

November 08, 2012 November 08, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Eric Lang, the designer of Star Wars: The Card Game, discusses how to create a “cinematic experience” in a card game:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3717

November 08, 2012 November 08, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

“Make a game for yourself and you’ll be more successful.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGames)

November 07, 2012

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - October 2012

November 07, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Once a month, we put together a list featuring the board game design posts that we found the most useful.

October was a slow month overall, but there were still plenty of excellent tips and resources to be found. Here are our favorites:

#industry:

#process:

Reaffirm your motif: Do one thing and do it well
“Save all your bad ideas. Sometimes tiny good ideas are hidden inside them. They add up.” – Stephen Glenn (@spielfriek)
A simple exercise to inspire creative thinking about your components
“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)

#theory:

November 04, 2012 November 04, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

“Theme matters but is mutable. Don’t let your mechanics suffer for your theme. Iterate toward symbiosis.”

— Jay Treat (@jtreat3)

November 04, 2012 November 04, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

“You’re the worst person to judge the complexity level of your game because you grew up with it.”

— James Ernest (@cheapassjames) at Metatopia 2012

November 04, 2012 November 04, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

“If you have to bribe your testers to play your game, maybe you shouldn’t finish that one.”

— James Ernest (@cheapassjames) at Metatopia 2012

November 03, 2012 November 03, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

“Note to self: Include multiple copies of the rules when submitting prototypes.”

— Jay Treat (@jtreat3)

October 28, 2012 October 28, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Carlos Moreno Serrano, the designer of Kalua, discusses commissioning artwork, writing rules, dealing with manufacturing delays and more:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/1255/designer-diary-kalua-from-the-tundra-of-self-publi

October 28, 2012 October 28, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Google+ Hangout on Indie Game Design

Monday, Oct. 29, 7PM-9PM EST

http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/indie-game-design-panel.html

October 26, 2012 October 26, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Geoff Engelstein (@gengelstein) on how to raise game-designer children:

“Play lots of games. We started playing games with them at an early age, taking them to cons, and just introducing them to that world. … It’s been nice to show the kids that you can have a project, sketch it on a piece of paper, and turn it into a product on store shelves that people can buy. It’s a great lesson to show them that this sort of thing is possible in your life, whether you want to design a game, write a book, etc. You don’t have to wait for something to fall in your lap, you can just go ahead and do it.”

http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/10/26/space-cadets-interview/

October 24, 2012 October 24, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Raph Koster (@raphkoster) revisits his “Theory of Fun” 10 years later

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/179928/Video_Raph_Koster_revisits_his_Theory_of_Fun_10_years_later.php

October 24, 2012 October 24, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

What it means to include a board with your game: some benefits and drawbacks to consider:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2012/10/23/benefits-of-the-board/

October 24, 2012 October 24, 2012/ Cardboard Edison

Why does it take publishers so long to respond to designers? Designer Lewis Pulsipher (@lewpuls) explains by describing the state and setup of the board game industry:

http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/2012/10/can-we-characterize-tabletop-game.html