“A critical skill you must develop is the ability to gather test input regardless of what your testers say or do not say.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HerrohGrant)

How can repeated game elements be improved by thinking of them as background music?

http://oakleafgames.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/background-music-in-board-games

A reminder to look up from your design efforts once in a while:

http://mvpboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/05/dtow-1.html

John Coveyou of Genius Games (@GotGeniusGames) on lining up early Kickstarter backers, searchable titles, turning critics into allies and more:

http://stonemaiergames.com/how-to-form-and-strengthen-bonds-with-backers-a-guest-entry-by-the-creator-of-linkage/

“Make sure you have enough fans, friends, family, or followers to provide the first 30% of your project’s funding in the first weekend. People ignore ‘losing’ projects, so do the word-spreading, money-asking thing.”

— Chris Henderson, creator of What?!? Oh… The Game of Couples Banter

How several designers use playtesters’ suggestions:

http://kevingnunn.com/2014/05/09/using-playtester-feedback-part-3/

“The argument “because it makes the game easier to balance” is not compelling. Our job is to make the game easier for players, not us.”

— Eric Lang (@eric_lang)

“Game designers, look past “Mechanics First” or “Theme First.” There is also “Components First,” or “Emotion First,” or even “Art First.””

— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)

A few reminders about how to fail:

http://themetagame.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-greatest-teacher-you-will-ever-know.html

10 ways to survive and thrive on BoardGameGeek:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-94-the-top-10-ways-to-survive-and-thrive-on-board-game-geek/

“Playtest a billion times.”

— Scott Almes (@Scott_Almes)

Should designers solicit playtesters’ suggested solutions to problems? A debate:

http://kevingnunn.com/2014/05/02/using-playtester-feedback-part-1/

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/give-problems-solutions/

http://kevingnunn.com/2014/05/07/using-playtester-feedback-part-2/

An overview of how to refine your game: playtesting, blind testing, events and more:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/refining-your-game/

Haggis designer Sean Ross discusses climbing games:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/29585/sean-ross-and-the-haggis-memoirs

“Fail often. We learn so much more from our failures than we do our successes. It’s hard to know why something works, it’s easy to spot why it’s flawed.”

— Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd)

Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd) on open-source design, trying and failing, preparing for a Kickstarter and more:

http://boardsandbarley.com/2014/05/01/im-pulling-for-him-an-interview-with-chevee-dodd/

“Make time for family and friends. Easy to get over-run, or over-excited about a project.”

— @MVPBoardgames

“Releasing a game is like having a baby, except there’s no taboo on folks saying your baby is hideously ugly. ;-) “My! What an ugly baby!””

— Daniel Cook (@danctheduck)

“Rulebook Layout Tip: You can usually combine your components overview and setup example into one diagram to save room.”

— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)

“Consume knowledge and experience as though starving. Then, go by your gut.”

— Eric Lang (@eric_lang)