“The question you ask should never be “How do I protect my design?” it should always be “How do I make my design better?””

— Kevin Wilson (@KevinWilson42)

Secret identities and balancing the incentive to reveal or remain hidden:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/secret-identities/

“Building relationships is such an important part of our hobby, whether you’re a designer, reviewer, or aspiring publisher. Volunteer!”

— Grant Rodiek (@HerrohGrant)

Finding your “design landmark”–that one thing that fits your theme & experience perfectly:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/choosing-your-design-landmark/

The pros and cons of open information:

http://islaythedragon.com/featured/why-why-why-6-completely-open-information-is-bad/

A reminder about giving credit where credit is due:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-96-give-credit-where-credit-is-due-including-to-yourself/

Unpublished-game playtesting events–what’s in it for you?

http://blog.sarcasticrobotgames.com/2014/05/14/why-unpub-whats-in-it-for-me/

Chevee Dodd (@cheveedodd) joins the Board Games and Beer Podcast (@BGBpodcast_game) to discuss what it takes to launch a Kickstarter:

http://bgbpodcast.com/2014/05/11/episode-4-pull-with-a-hopdevil-or-chew-on-hop-flowers/

“Meet people. Network. Ask questions. You will be so surprised at how willing people are to help you.”

— Loren Cunningham (@wibaigames)

“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