“As a game improves, the fraction of potential modifications which will improve it plummets. It gets to be like looking for water in the Sahara. One characteristic of great game designers, which I try to emulate, is they keep looking longer than everyone else.”

— Nick Bentley

The pros and cons of an “upkeep phase”–think “feed your family” or “paying income”:

http://oakleafgames.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/pros-and-cons-of-an-upkeep-phase

Stonemaier Games is holding a Design Day on Nov. 15, 2014, in St. Louis:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DLe28bNYmQ3cjnp_sm-R9J_cntN57hOtLdKH2gU5xBA/viewform

When to quit working on a design: “The sooner you can realize that a game isn’t deserving of your time, the sooner you can design one that is!”

http://boardsandbarley.com/2014/08/05/when-to-fold-em-quitting-on-your-designs/

“If you have no patience, you will fail.
You need patience while testing game.
You need patience when improving the game.
You need patience when balancing the game.
You need patience when your first game is released and – believe it or not – not the whole world will praise you.
You need it to give you strength to begin work on your second game. And third. And fourth…”

— Ignacy Trzewiczek

The top six things you need to know about running a Kickstarter project:

http://stonemaiergames.com/the-top-6-things-you-really-need-to-know/

“Anyone wanting to design games should start by playing lots of games. As you play, analyze how the game works. Why is it fun? How does the game handle dramatic tension? How is it balanced?”

— Philip DuBarry

Using online comments to build a brand and fan base:

http://www.buzzsprout.com/4646/192744-ep-223-building-a-crowd-with-comments-guest-jamey-stegmaier

“Play lots of games. The more games you have the more solutions you will have at your fingertips for problems that come up with your designs.”

— Richard Garfield

“Get new playtesters after working on your game a while – if you always use the same playtesters your game will be developed only for experts, not for new players as well – and new players are, if anything, more important to a game.”

— Richard Garfield

“The best advice I could give to designers seeking publication is when pitching your game, don’t forget to sell the publisher on YOU!”

— A.J. Porfirio (@vanrydergames)

A.J. Porfirio of Van Ryder Games (@vanrydergames) discusses designing highly thematic games, the publisher-designer relationship and more:

http://www.mwgames.com/?p=2382

The theme for the August 2014 24-hour contest is “cola”:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1212218/24-hour-contest-august-2014

The Ludology podcast answers questions related to luck in games:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-85-lucky-break

What to expect when working with reviewers:

http://www.bgdf.com/blog/what-i-have-learned-being-reviewed-first-time

A look at deckbuilding games as a genre and related designs:

http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2014/07/28/not-necessarily-a-deckbuilding-design/

18-card microgame contest

Deadline: Oct. 31, 2014

Prizes: GeekGold and possible publication

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1211499/18-card-microgame-contest-pre-start-discussion

A Spiel des Jahres jury member reveals what makes a game worthy of the award:

http://inspirationtopublication.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/what-make-a-game-worth-of-the-sdj-award

Designing a board game around a licensed property: a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion on the pros and cons:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1209876/licensed-board-games

Board Game Design Forum’s August 2014 Game Design Showdown

Theme: “immortal in time”

Deadline: Aug. 8, 2014

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-design/game-design-showdown/gds-august-2014-immortal-time