A look at dice allocation games:

http://boardsandbees.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/0245/

Registration is open for 2013’s Protospiel playtesting event, to be held July 12-14 in Ann Arbor, Mich.:

http://www.protospiel.org/page7.html

Game Chef 2013: The Annual Analog Game Design Competition

Entries accepted: May 17-26, 2013

More details to be released May 17

http://gamechef.wordpress.com/

“By now you know that you need to playtest, playtest, playtest, but it is worth mentioning again because it is that important.”

— Danny Devine (@3ddevine)

Danny Devine (@3ddevine) on playtesting, researching, networking and more:

http://news.thegamecrafter.com/post/50017715195/danny-devine-inducted-into-the-hall-of-fame

“Remember: Games = “Structured play”. And should have as little of the former – and as much of the latter — as possible.”

— Brett J. Gilbert (@55cards)

“Don’t make it all about the money”: advice for making the most of a Kickstarter campaign, whether you reach your funding goal or not:

http://www.stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-36-for-better-or-for-worse/

Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis) shares some thoughts on end-game scoring methods:

http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-sorting-hat-effect-avoiding-hazards.html

Some limitations of Kickstarter and some creative workarounds for project creators:

http://www.stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-limitations-and-how-to-work-around-them/

The What and Why of Board Game Culture: video of a PAX East panel on board games, gamers, design and more:

http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/watch-wood-for-sheep-what-and-why-of.html

Cards Against Humanity is sponsoring the Tabletop Design Deathmatch

Prize: first print run and a booth at GenCon 2014

Deadline: likely Aug. 1, 2013

http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/deathmatch/

“It is not the game designer’s role to refute criticism, other than in a conversational way. The designer’s argument is the game itself.”

— Mr. Bistro (@mrbistro)

Board Game Designers Forum’s May 2013 Game Design Showdown: “Change, she is a comin’”

Theme: cyclic change

Restriction: no cards

Deadline: May 8, 2013

http://www.bgdf.com/node/12347

Gil Hova (@ingredientx), the designer of Prolix, discusses word games and the special considerations required to create one:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/game-tek-classic-54-designing-word-games

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - April 2013

Our picks for this month’s roundup of board game design tips and resources includes some fascinating takes on human behavior, an important reminder about playtesting, a wry note about rules writing, and more.

Here’s the full list:

#industry:

• Dozens of tips for using social media in the board game industry
• A spreadsheet of some prominent board game reviewers, listing their social-media reach

#theory:

• Designing for the irrational: How some quirks of human psychology can inform your game designs
• How can behavioral economics be applied to board game design?

#playtesting:

• Who should be playtesting your game, and what should you be doing while they are?
• The perils of groupthink to game designers, and how to escape the echo chamber

#rules:

• “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)

#publishing:

• Running a board game Kickstarter: takeaways from panelists at PAX East
• What causes board game Kickstarter projects to fail? A BoardGameGeek forum discussion
• Pixel Lincoln designer Jason Tagmire (@jtagmire) offers up wisdom for creating a successful Kickstarter project
• Using micro-goals during a Kickstarter campaign
• The designer of Hero Brigade, Nicholas Yu (@yutingxiang), on refining a campaign page before launch

From The Cardboard Jungle (@CBJPodcast):

There is a right way & a wrong way to ask pod casters/bloggers to promote your KS project…step 1..don’t wait till it looks like it’ll fail

Step 2..make it personal by contacting them and explaining your project to them…links on the bottom..if you can’t explain it..how can we?

Step 3..don’t over exaggerate..save your sales pitch for the consumers…we get it & also can see right through it. Being genuine=best asset

Pandemic and Forbidden Island designer Matt Leacock (@mleacock) shares what he’s learned about designing cooperative games:

http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2013/04/29/co-op-interviews-matt-leacock-pandemic/

Kickstarter lessons learned by Pixel Lincoln designer Jason Tagmire (@jtagmire):

http://buttonshy.blogspot.com/2013/04/post-kickstarter-recap-lessons-learned.html

SEE ALSO:

https://www.businessfinancestore.com/2013/04/22/crowdfunding-pixel-lincolns-advice-for-new-campaigns/

An important reminder for the final hour of your Kickstarter campaign:

http://www.stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-34-the-final-hour/

A lengthy post from James Mathe of Minion Games (@MinionGames) with dozens of tips for using social media in the board game industry:

http://www.jamesmathe.com/the-enlightened-path-to-virtual-popularity/