Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - July 2014

This month we have an abbreviated roundup of board game design links and lessons. The final week of the month has been taken up by tending to the newest member of Cardboard Edison, our new baby girl Hana May Zinsli! Once our family has settled in, we’ll be back to work gathering the best tips and resources for designers from around the web…

#process:

• How do you know when good is good enough?
• “Set deadlines for your projects and stick to them. Deadlines sharpen the mind and hasten decisions you’ve already really made.” - Grant Rodiek

#playtesting:

• 10 insightful playtest questions
• The Ludology podcast discusses numerous aspects of playtesting with Gil Hova

#industry:

• “When you can look at the needs of the market and not just your own personal tastes, your games go much further.” - Kevin Wilson

#publishing:

• “When the Kickstarter marketplace tells you that your project isn’t interesting, you should believe them. This is so much better than printing a game and then figuring out that you can’t sell it!” - James Ernest

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Doing the math before launching a Kickstarter:

http://news.thegamecrafter.com/post/92837165055

Kickstarter lessons learned–“things I’ll never do again”:

http://epicslantpress.com/products/havok-hijinks-lessons-learned/

“Broken is far easier to solve than almost there. In one, your patient’s leg is gone. Easy. In the latter, you have to be House.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

Those who know offer “one piece of advice for a new designer”:

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/2bipmf/one_piece_of_advice_from_designers_publishers/

Preparing yourself to run a Kickstarter campaign:

http://news.thegamecrafter.com/post/92641887721/am-i-ready-to-run-a-campaign

Refining your game: using coarse tools or fine tools:

http://boardsandbarley.com/2014/07/23/coarse-vs-fine-editing-your-game/

Matt Leacock (@mleacock) joins The Game Design Round Table (@TGDRT) to discuss designing co-op games, building a franchise, playtesting with video, making a living as a designer and more:

http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2014/07/22/episode-89-pandemic-with-matt-leacock/

“Set deadlines for your projects and stick to them. Deadlines sharpen the mind and hasten decisions you’ve already really made.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

On Board Games (@OnBoardGames) discusses marketing for board games:

http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/obg-137-marketing-what-is-it-good-for

SEE ALSO: http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2014/06/20/episode-84-marketing/

“Iteration is the heart of design. Constant cycles of playtesting and tweaking sessions between each cycle are the best way to home in on something that is both balanced and fun.”

— Kevin G. Nunn (@kgnunn)

Devin Low, the designer of Marvel Legendary, discusses the playtesting process on the NPC Cast:

http://npccast.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/episode-81-legen-dary/

All Us Geeks (@AllUsGeeks) talks with Doug Levandowski from Meltdown Games (@meltdowngames) about running a Kickstarter: scheduling, consultants, interaction with backers and more:

http://www.allusgeeks.com/2014/07/the-game-of-crowd-funding-gothic-doctor-the-road-to-relaunch-part-6/

10 insightful playtest questions:

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/WesleyRockholz/20140418/215819/10_Insightful_Playtest_Questions.php

“The soul of a designer when a game is pitched, self-published, or on a shelf, should be at peace.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

“Knowing when something is good enough is about recognizing missed opportunities. If those opportunities exist, and they haven’t been explored, you may not know it’s good enough.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

How do you know when good is good enough?

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/07/20/raising-my-bar/

“When you can look at the needs of the market and not just your own personal tastes, your games go much further. You gotta still like and be proud of what you’re designing, of course, or what’s the point?”

— Kevin Wilson (@KevinWilson42)

Classic Novel Microgame Contest

Deadline: Sept. 15, 2014

Prize: publication by Escape Velocity Games

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1205636/classic-novel-microgame-contest

More stats and lessons from Stonemaier Games’ Treasure Chest Kickstarter project:

http://stonemaiergames.com/statistics-from-the-treasure-chest-kickstarter-project/