“New game designers: Relax. NOBODY is going to steal your design. Not another designer and not a publisher.”

— Corey Young (@C_M_Young)

“First rule of “design club”: You design a game for the people (players)–you don’t design it for your ego.”

— Nuno B. Sentieiro (@Sentieiro)

“It’s ok to be disappointed if someone doesn’t like your game…it’s not ok to get mad at them for not liking it.”

— Anthony Racano (@CBJPodcast)

Resources for public-domain images:

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/252yr7/resources_for_public_domain_images/

Working with new reviewers:

http://stonemaiergames.com/an-open-letter-to-new-reviewers-of-board-games-from-a-tiny-publishing-company/

“Always pursue interests outside your job. I strongly feel that my best contributions to board game design come from my outside interests.”

— Kevin Wilson (@KevinWilson42)

How to brainstorm new ideas–a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1169064/brainstorming

What to pay attention to during a playtest, what questions to ask and what notes to take–a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1170252/how-do-you-run-a-play-test

A method of generating game ideas that combines creativity and rigor:

http://nickbentleygames.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/the-100-10-1-method-for-game-design/

On the relationship between theme and mechanics:

http://playdatenh.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/mechanics-theme-other

“When a game company makes the decision to look at your game, they’re going to read the rules and playtest it at least once. It’s going to cost them a few hundred dollars in labor costs, if not more, just to look at your game. So it’s not a decision they make lightly when they read your email and decide whether to look at your project.”

— Tom Jolly

How to approach publishers–via email or in person at conventions:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/how-to-approach-a-manufacturer-with-your-game/

“Remember that a good design discussion, one filled with disagreement, is not necessarily a sign of discord, but one of passion.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HerrohGrant)

“A playtest where your game breaks? Whether it’s truly a bad playtest is up to you. It could be the most important test of your game’s development.”

— Gil Hova (@gilhova)

A playtest that breaks your game isn’t necessarily bad. Here are some examples of genuinely bad playtests:

http://gil.hova.net/2014/05/12/what-is-a-bad-playtest

A prototyping hack to get perfect cut lines from your paper cutter:

http://mvpboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/05/dtow-2.html

“It really helps to have a short game at Unpub. Players get a tantalizing taste of gameplay and sometimes want to play a second or third time.”

— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)

10 ways to address a Kickstarter’s mid-campaign slump:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-95-the-top-10-ways-to-address-the-mid-campaign-slump/

“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