The Ludology podcast discusses the “magic circle” and how designers can benefit from it, with Eric Zimmerman (@zimmermaneric):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-79-the-magic-circle

This week’s #BoardGameHour was all about game design–lots of knowledge was shared:

http://nurph.com/BoardGameHour/chats/283

What makes a successful solo game–a Board Game Design Forum discussion:

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/design-theory/theory-behind-solo-games

When to make ugly prototypes and when to make pretty prototypes:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/04/19/simple-clean-and-fast/

“A quirky theme is many times a let down. A quirky theme well-integrated into the mechanics, that never disappoints.”

— T.C. Petty III (@PuppyShogun)

Balance: myths and methods:

http://www.sirlin.net/blog/2014/4/18/game-balance-and-yomi.html

How to design a worker placement game–doing your research and coming up with ideas:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/how-to-design-a-worker-placement-game-part-1/

Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis), Kory Heath (@KoryHeath) and T.C. Petty III (@PuppyShogun) discuss the merits of different design processes

“Everyone says ‘keep on and never give up’, while I’m saying something more ‘unpopular’: game design is not only a passion. It’s a job. And as a job it requires skills, experience and preferably some talent.”

— Paolo Mori

“While a great mechanic can stand and live without a good theme, the opposite is not true.”

— Paolo Mori

Paolo Mori on problem solving, the scarcest resource for designers, being jealous with your ideas, giving up without regrets and more:

http://opinionatedgamers.com/2014/04/18/the-art-of-design-interviews-to-game-designers-25-paolo-mori/

Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd) joins All Us Geeks (@AllUsGeeks) to discuss working with the community of gamers and designers leading up to a Kickstarter launch:

http://www.allusgeeks.com/2014/04/the-game-of-crowd-funding-chevee-dodd-interview-04-02-2014/

The Game Design Round Table discusses the contract between designers and players, infinite replayability, single-play games and more:

http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2014/04/15/episode-75-infinite-loop/

Purple Pawn’s 2013 Game Industry Survey

http://www.purplepawn.com/2014/04/2013-global-game-industry-survey/

“Before you get too far into your game design, it’s worth asking yourself who is the target audience.”

— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)

Indie Game Contest at Ottawa Indie Game Convention→

tgcnews:

The Game Crafter is sponsoring an Indie Game Contest at the 2015 Ottawa Indie Game Convention. We know this is event is still pretty far off, but the deadline for rule set submission is November 1st and it will be here before you know it! Start working on those game designs. :)

The…

How to get Google to rank your website higher than your Kickstarter project page:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-89-how-to-get-google-to-rank-your-website-higher-than-your-kickstarter-project-page/

MicroMan Print and Play Micro Game Design Challenge

Deadline: June 3, 2014

Prizes: GeekGold, possible participation in a group Kickstarter for publication

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1153853/microgame-print-and-play-contest

Boston Festival of Indie Games 2014 Tabletop Game Design Showcase

Dates: Submit by June 6, 2014. Showcase on Sept. 13, 2014

Prizes: Pitch session with Gamewright Games, $1,000 from AdMagic, $150 in components from The Game Crafter, and more

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1157058/boston-festival-of-indie-games-2014-submissions-ar

http://bostonfig.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/TTSubmissionGuidelinesBostonFIG2014.pdf

“Game prototyping tip: leave lots of white space on the cards so you can make edits as you go.”

— Todd Edwards (@Wininoid)