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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • About Us/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
    • Industry Reports
    • Tariffs Report
    • Playtest Groups
    • Virtual Tabletops
    • Contests
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    • Interviews
    • Game Design Checklist
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featured
theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
rules
licensing
publishing
industry
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April 03, 2013 April 03, 2013/ Cardboard Edison
“There is truth in all feedback. That doesn’t mean you have to change your game… rather, it means that you get to the source of the truth, look at it from the feedbacker’s perspective, and decide what you want to take away from it.”
— Jamey Stegmeier (@jameystegmeier)
April 03, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 03, 2013 April 03, 2013/ Cardboard Edison
“The best playtesters are the ones that ask the right questions. It’s the designer’s job to solve their problems, not the other way round.”
— Brett J. Gilbert (@55cards)
April 03, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 02, 2013 April 02, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Mice & Mystics designer Jerry Hawthorne (@mice_guy) discusses getting into the board game industry, designing for solo play, preparing for success and more on the NPC Cast (@NPCcast):

http://npccast.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/episode-13-jerry-hawthorne/

April 02, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 01, 2013 April 01, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

A survey conducted by Lewis Pulsipher (@lewpuls) reveals the gaming habits and career paths of game designers:

http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/2013/04/2012-13-game-designer-survey-results.html

April 01, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
process, industry

Cardboard Edison

April 01, 2013 April 01, 2013/ Cardboard Edison
“There are no rules so short and clear that everyone will follow them as intended. In fact, the shorter rules are just as prone to misinterpretation.”
— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)
April 01, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
rules

Cardboard Edison

April 01, 2013 April 01, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

The designers of Viticulture discuss paid advertising for a Kickstarter campaign and whether it’s worth it:

http://www.stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-26-paid-advertising-and-how-backers-find-your-project/

April 01, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 31, 2013

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - March 2013

March 31, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Our monthly roundup gives us a chance to spotlight the board game design tips and resources that we’ve found to be the most useful over the past month.

Here are our picks for March 2013:

#process:

  • Don Eskridge shares advice for aspiring designers
  • Getting past your moments of doubt: advice from the BoardGameGeek designers forum

#theory:

  • James Ernest (@cheapassjames) and Jason Morningstar (@jmstar) discuss the right way to use randomness in game design
  • Richard Garfield discusses skill vs. luck in games
  • Ways to keep players engaged in your game–and ways not to

#playtesting:

  • Michael Keller (@vhgames) joins the On Board Games podcast (@OnBoardGames) to discuss best practices for playtesting
  • The way to know when you’ve made the greatest game you can
  • Tips for playtesting events, from Brett Myers (@brettspiel)

#publishing:

  • Suggestions for getting people invested in the success of your project

#industry:

  • “If you’re a game designer, give away your game to people you think will like it, no strings attached. You never know what will happen.” - Dave Chalker (@DaveTheGame)
March 31, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
featured, process, theory, playtesting, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

March 29, 2013 March 29, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for getting attention for your Kickstarter campaign on Reddit:

http://www.stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-25-reddit/

March 29, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 28, 2013 March 28, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Jeremiah Lee, designer of Zombie in My Pocket and Zombie House Blitz, discusses the design process and shares design advice he’s received and learned:

http://pizzagamesandzombies.com/post/46505814646

March 28, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

March 28, 2013 March 28, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Level 99 Games (@Level99Games) is accepting submissions for its next Minigame Library:

http://www.lvl99games.com/?p=1952

March 28, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
contests

Cardboard Edison

March 28, 2013 March 28, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Pointers for interface design in games, from a panel at PAX East. Rob Daviau (@robdaviaugamer) handles the board game side:

http://threemovesahead.libsyn.com/episode-211-worth-a-thousand-words-the-pax-east-panel

March 28, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, publishing, prototyping

Cardboard Edison

March 27, 2013 March 27, 2013/ Cardboard Edison
“If you’re a game designer, give away your game to people you think will like it, no strings attached. You never know what will happen.”
— Get Bit! designer Dave Chalker (@DaveTheGame)
March 27, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 26, 2013 March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Suggestions for getting people invested in the success of your project:

http://www.stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-24-backer-engagement/

March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 26, 2013 March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Ways to keep players engaged in your game–and ways not to:

http://nothingsacredgames.com/?p=828

March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 26, 2013 March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison
“Don’t just come up with a bunch of ideas and then never get to playing them. Designers, real designers, make playable games.”
— Jeremiah Lee (@Jeremiah042)
March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
process

Cardboard Edison

March 26, 2013 March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

The Ludology podcast discusses negotiation in board games:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-52-let-s-make-a-deal

March 26, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 25, 2013 March 25, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Misunderstanding rules during the first play–useful for making your own game’s rules clearer:

http://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1az0t3/what_has_been_your_biggest_misunderstanding_of/

HT @RubyCowGames

March 25, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

March 25, 2013 March 25, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

Pixel Lincoln Bicycle Playing Cards Design Challenge

Deadline: April 15

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/pixel-lincoln-bicycle-playing-cards/posts/432548

March 25, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
contests

Cardboard Edison

March 25, 2013 March 25, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

allthingsboardgames:

Here is a Sunday special. Dr. Richard Garfield talking on Skill Vs. Luck in games. 

March 25, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 22, 2013

When to end it!

March 22, 2013/ Cardboard Edison

bdistracted:

bdistracted:

Before it is boring

If anyone has played any board games then the odds are they’ve been here before. The game starts out decently fun, but then time progresses and peoples eyes glaze over, no one is interested anymore. What happened?

Well, for me there…

View Post

March 22, 2013/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

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