Designing around a core mechanic: thoughts for how to integrate your core mechanisms within a broader framework:

http://www.funstormgames.com/blog/2012/06/designing-around-a-core-mechanic/

(Written mainly for video games but applicable to board games as well.)

HT Neil Roberts (@pottedmeat)

Jason Tagmire (@JTagmire) discusses why game designers need to be jacks of all trades, how important preparation is for a Kickstarter campaign, navigating the publication process and more:

http://bellwethergames.com/featureddesigners/203-jason-tagmire-interview.html

Minion Games (@MinionGames) offers some more insight and advice for planning, running and delivering on a board game Kickstarter campaign:

http://kickstarter-conversations.blogspot.com/2013/01/hegemonic-interview.html

SEE ALSO:

http://cardboardedison.tumblr.com/post/38961274072/what-does-it-take-to-deliver-on-a-board-game

The cost of being a game designer: Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd) breaks down his 2012 expenses for designing and promoting his games, and his income from licensing and sales:

http://www.cheveedodd.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=136

The Boardroomers discuss what happens when players’ actions are at odds with the designer’s intentions

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources of 2012

The past year has given us a wealth of sage advice and valuable resources for board game designers. We’ve been putting together monthly lists of our favorites for a while, but now, as the end of the year approaches, we’ve gone through our archives again and pulled out the best of the best.

The following posts about game design theory, prototyping, publishing, the design process and more are the ones that we’ve found to be the most helpful, insightful and inspiring for our own games. We hope they’ll help you too.

Happy New Year!

– Chris & Suzanne Zinsli, Cardboard Edison

#industry:

• What would you learn about board game design if you created and published a new game every month for 10 years?
• A warning for new designers: why your actions are more important than your intentions

#process:

• “Play some games you’re excited about with people who you love to play with. Win or lose, enjoy yourself, be epic, do epic stuff, and you’ll be inspired with your game designing.” – Bryan Fischer (@bryanfischer)
• “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.” – D. Brad Talton Jr., Level 99 Games (@Level99Games)
• James Ernest (@cheapassjames) on the biggest obstacle to becoming a game designer
• How to create an “idea machine”
• “Focus is the key to move from someone with a great game idea to a game designer with a great game.” – Jesse Catron (@ktronod)
• “Never give up. Rejection is part of the process.” – Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd)
• “If you never make mistakes, you are not working on challenges that move you further. And that’s a BIG mistake.” – Reiner Knizia (@ReinerKnizia)
• “The single hardest lesson I learned is not letting perfectionism become a roadblock to success.” – Doug Bass of Meridae Games (@MeridaeGames)
• “Don’t pin all your hopes on just one game idea. If you’re creative enough to come up with one game idea, you’re creative enough to come up with a half dozen game ideas.” – Keith Meyers
• “If you are not enjoying the creative process then it might not be worth your time.” – Trevor Clifford

#theory:

• Things to avoid in game design. Thou shalt not…
• Giving players meaningful choices to make
• “Look for the central tension in whatever you’re trying to evoke, and concentrate on this.” – Sam Liberty (@SA_Liberty) & Kevin Spak (@Captain_Spak)
• “Don’t confuse depth with complexity.” – Grant Rodiek (@HerrohGrant)
• A BoardGameGeek forum discussion about creating games with traitors

#prototyping:

• Free icons to use in your game
• “Making a prototype is like making a pinata; you labor over it, but you know it’s going to be smashed to pieces the first time it’s used.” – Kevin Spak (@Captain_Spak)

#rules:

• Do’s and don’ts for creating modern rule books

#licensing:

• Lists of publishers that are accepting submissions
• “It is the sparkle in your eye that will sell your game. If you don’t believe in it first no one will.” – Michael Coe (@Crash_Games & @Gamelyn_Games)

#publishing:

• The secret to creating a sustainable game publishing business
• Free spreadsheet for calculating a cost/benefit analysis for your Kickstarter project
• Caring for your game after release: keeping the community happy

What does it take to deliver on a board game Kickstarter? Minion Games talks about its experiences:

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/board-games-by-the-numbers-what-it-costs-to-kickstart-produce-and-ship-a-ne

Bryan Fischer: Game Design Challenge!→

fischer:

We’re having an unofficial UnPub3 Game Design Challenge! By “unofficial” I mean it has nothing to do whatsoever with the official UnPub3 event. Basically, a few game designers are creating games quickly (deadline is UnPub3 in January) using very limited quantities of components. We will meet…

Best practices for working with freelancers on your board game:

http://www.suntzugames.com/1/post/2012/12/freelancers-on-your-board-game-production.html

“Instinct and heuristics to create the game. Metrics and heuristics to tune it. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to a “formula.””

— Eric Lang (@eric_lang)

“Play some games you’re excited about with people who you love to play with. Win or lose, enjoy yourself, be epic, do epic stuff, and you’ll be inspired with your game designing.”

— Bryan Fischer (@bryanfischer)

Uwe Eickert of Academy Games joins the Board Game Design Round Table podcast to discuss running a tabletop game publishing company, modern game mechanisms, creating anticipation and rewards for players, and more:

http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2012/12/18/episode-6-running-a-game-company-with-uwe-eickert-2/

“Persistence: You’re going to get knocked back repeatedly. If you want to be a designer, you have to keep at it.”

— Martin Wallace, on the most valuable piece of advice he has for aspiring designers

Martin Wallace joins the Ludology podcast to discuss his working process, making a living as a designer, player elimination, blind playtesting and more:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-46-getting-down-to-brass-tracks

The Mensa Mind Games 2013 event takes place April 19-21, 2013, in St. Louis, Mo.

http://news.thegamecrafter.com/post/38468725516/mensa-mind-games

http://mindgames.us.mensa.org/manufacturers/

Dominion designer Donald X. Vaccarino discusses getting your game in front of publishers, simultaneous decisions vs. turns, his development process, working with publishers and more:

http://dominionstrategy.com/2012/12/20/interview-with-donald-x-vaccarino-part-i-boardgame-design/

Step-by-step instructions for creating a prototype game board:

http://www.suntzugames.com/1/post/2012/12/how-to-create-a-board-board-game-prototype.html

U.K. game-designers group Playtest (@playtestuk) has updated its print-ready feedback sheet for playtesters:

http://playtest-london.blogspot.com/2012/12/designer-playtester-feedback-forms.html

The couple behind Cardboard Edison visits the Building the Game podcast (@PodcastBTG) to discuss the games we’re developing, the design process and more, including a great resource for public-domain art:

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2012/12/19/bonus-episode-8-cardboard-edison-interview/

How will the convergence of tabletop games and video games happen? Jon Shafer (@JonShaferDesign) discusses current trends:

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2012/12/19/the-digital-tabletop-convergence/