“Games that tell stories will bring people back again and again. Remember, though, that your game should merely provide the foundation for the players to be the authors.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

The BoardGameGeek designers forum discusses what characteristics define different countries’ game design styles:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1234451/japanese-game-design

Questions to ask yourself before deciding to launch your game on Kickstarter:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/33884/article-1-kickstart-or-not-kickstart

Amanda Milne of SchilMil Games on playtesting, learning about the industry, codesigning and more:

http://clubfantasci.com/women-board-games-david-lowry-interviews-amanda-milne/

What qualities will help a game stand up to repeated plays?

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/09/11/designing-for-the-deep-dive/

The four legal issues every Kickstarter creator should know:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-114-the-4-legal-issues-every-kickstarter-creator-should-know/

What mechanics give players a sense of adventure and wonder? A Reddit tabletop designers forum discussion:

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/2fzzfe/designing_adventure/

Theme and mechanics: a spectrum, not a binary:

http://www.gamesprecipice.com/theme/

The benefits of including a $1 reward level in your Kickstarter campaign:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-113-why-every-project-should-have-a-1-reward-level/

Human nature and the “Remind Me” button: getting backers to say Yes instead of Maybe:

http://blog.lanternsgame.com/2014/09/10/why-do-kickstarter-projects-spike-at-the-end/

Erik Dahlman of The Albino Dragon discusses Kickstarter expenses, fulfillment, advertising and more:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/kickstarter-questions-with-erik-dahlman/

Advice for attending conventions as a designer or publisher:

http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2014/09/09/episode-96-the-conventions-of-conventions/

The Game Crafter Time Challenge

Design a game with a strong element of time

Deadline: Nov. 17, 2014

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/contests/time-challenge

“ALWAYS be making games! Make bad ones, make worse ones, make better ones, make good ones, make great ones. Just keep making games.”

— Chris Renshall, TGIK Games

The benefits of game design “cram sessions”:

http://mvpboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/09/designtip-of-week-18-cram-sessions.html

47 free stock photo and image resources:

http://listsplosion.com/free-stock-photos-images/

“If a game tells a story, it comes from the player. The designer merely enables and facilitates.”

— Gil Hova (@gilhova)

The benefits and limits of auctions in board games:

http://drwictzboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/09/market-mechanic-lecture-auctions.html

On the human need for games:

http://sparksandrec.blogspot.com/2014/08/lets-talk-games.html

How dice are used in games–and how they can be used differently:

http://oakleafgames.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/why-are-you-rolling-dice/