Building a Better Prototype, a Metatopia 2014 panel with prototyping tips for designers

“Creativity is a muscle, and you need to exercise that muscle. It’s that simple.”

— Rob Couch (@poorly_designed)

“You can think you have it mathed out, but if the butter to pancake ratio just seems off in your game then you gotta just add more butter.”

— Ben Pinchback (@pinchback21)

Achieving fun by making players feel smart and unique:

http://mvpboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/11/design-tip-of-week-22-fun-to-time-ratio.html

What chefs can teach us about game design:

http://kevingnunn.com/2014/11/08/what-chefs-can-teach-us-about-game-design/

Getting it right and wrong on Kickstarter: page layout, engagement with backers, reviews and stretch goals:

http://meltdowngames.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/gothic-doctor-wrap-up-part-2-during-the-project/

“Take a critical look at your game: Why does it need to be published, and how is it excelling? How is it doing something different than other games have done in the recent past?”

— Stephen Buonocore (@StrongholdGames)

Advice for starting small as a new publisher:

http://stonemaiergames.com/good-creator-bad-creator-a-guest-post-by-brian-henk/

The theme for the November 2014 24-hour contest is “beard”:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1265203/24-hour-contest-november-2014

Larry Roznai of Mayfair Games (@mayfairgames) and Patrick Nickell of Crash Games (@Crash_Games) on how designers and publishers work together, on the Meeple Syrup vidcast (@MeepleSyrup)

Thoughts on action cards and their role in a game:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/action-cards/

A list of market mechanics and how they can be used in board games:

http://drwictzboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/11/market-mechanic-lecture-retrospective.html

Peter Olotka, co-designer of Cosmic Encounter and Dune, joins the Ludology podcast to discuss the board game industry, story in games, variable player powers, balance and more:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-91-olotka-encounter

Board game publishing and “fear of missing out”:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/11/03/design-for-fomo/

“As a game designer, there’s nothing more valuable than notes on game ideas I’ve long since forgotten.”

— J. Alex Kevern (@AlexWithIdeas)

Board Game Design Forum’s November 2014 Game Design Showdown

Pitch a game about empires in decline

Deadline: Nov. 9, 2014

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-design/game-design-showdown/gds-november-2014-empires-autumn

“Usually the quality of a game is a product of its execution, not any one idea, and it pays to get feedback from a diverse set of people.”

— Matt Leacock (@mleacock)

Why your Kickstarter’s backer count is more important than the total amount pledged:

http://blog.lanternsgame.com/2014/10/31/why-backer-count-is-more-important-than-total-pledges/

“Keeping in mind what makes your game different as you design the game will help you to highlight that element as you go through the design process. Think about the rest of your game acting as a funnel to bring your players back to the unique elements of your game.”

— Chris Renshall

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - October 2014

This month our roundup of exceptional board game design links features answers to legal concerns you might have, a list of publishers accepting submissions, a quote that lit up Tumblr, and plenty more…

#industry:

• A massive post touching on lots of legal issues facing board game designers and publishers

#licensing:

• A list of publishers that are accepting submissions, and what types of games they’re looking for

#publishing:

• “Working on the first game that you’re serious about self-publishing? Start small. No, smaller. Smaller. Keep going.” - Daniel Solis

#process:

• Games every designer should play to become familiar with the breadth of modern gaming
• “It’s important as a game designer to find what bothers you in the games people are playing and imagine solutions; that’s vital practice in developing the problem-solving skills you need, but also one of the better sources of inspiration.” - Jay Treat (@jtreat3)
• How to research a theme
• How a design can get stuck in a ditch, and how to get it back on track

#playtesting:

• What do you do when a tester says, “You removed my favorite feature”?

#theory:

• The purpose of expansions
• How designers can approach difficult themes in board games
• A taxonomy of game scoring methods

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