Three kinds of down time: plan time, rest time and dead time:

http://www.wiltgren.com/2015/03/06/downtime-vs-dead-time/

“We’re all just making this up as we go along. Experiment with crazy ideas when you’re designing.”

— Matt Leacock (@mleacock)

“I attribute a good part of my success to the hours I’ve spent simply watching people play the games — both to see what engages them and to understand what trips them up while playing.”

— Matt Leacock (@mleacock)

Matt Leacock (@mleacock) on keeping co-ops challenging, creating variable player powers, imagining your game like a movie, creating an effective AI and more:

http://theinquisitivemeeple.com/2015/03/06/designing-meeples-with-matt-leacock/

The stigma of “kids games” and the role of theme and mechanics in marketing a game:

http://matthewgravelyn.com/the-stigma-of-kids-games/

The Game Crafter Official Podcast discusses intellectual-property questions:

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/intellectual-property-and-the-game-crafter-episode-8

Advice for finding work in the board game industry:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/how-to-work-in-the-gaming-industry/

7 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Crowd Funding A Board Game

Seth Jaffee (@sedjtroll) on working with a developer and writing rules

Have auction games fallen out of favor? A Board Game Designers Forum discussion:

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/mechanics/auctions

The theme for the March 2015 24-hour contest is “confusion”:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1329667/24-hour-contest-march-2015

Aether Magic designer Matt Worden (@MattWordenGames) on using feedback from playtesters, prototyping, player counts, working with a publisher and more:

http://www.happymittengames.com/54/

“Your first priority is making a great, fun game. Your second priority is to make it functional to test, test, test.”

— Chris Darden (@cbdarden)

Matt Riddle (@mdriddlen) and Ben Pinchback (@pinchback21) join the Building the Game podcast (@PodcastBTG) to offer advice for pitching to a publisher:

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2015/03/01/episode-144-pinchback-and-riddle/

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - February 2015

This month’s roundup of useful board game design links features two more infographics from our series on licensing contracts, advice for playtesting brutally, tips from some giants in the industry and lots more.

featured:

• Pros vs. Newbs: Experience Counts When Signing a Game
• The Kickstarter Effect: Signing a Game in the Age of Crowdfunding

theory:

• The Ludology podcast discusses the use of heuristics—mental shortcuts—in board games
• Methods of creating tension
• The Meeple Syrup vidcast discusses scaling games for different player numbers
• Sources of player dissatisfaction—and suggested solutions
• “Focus on 1. Fun, 2. Decisions, 3. Interaction. If they aren’t enjoying themselves, nothing else matters.” - Matthew O’Malley

playtesting:

• How to find—or build—a game design community
• Playtesting brutally: practical advice for putting your game through the wringer
• Lessons learned from Unpub 5: preparation, feedback, teaching, making contacts and more

industry:

• At Unpub 5, Richard Launius and Mike Fitzgerald offered advice on playtesting, the design process, finding a publisher and more (starting at 1:19)

publishing:

• “Know what you’re getting into. Once you get past the thrill of expressing your creativity, you have to deal with setbacks and criticism. Making a game is fun. Publishing it is business.” - Ivan Turner

prototyping:

• “Make your prototypes look as finished as your game is.” - Daniel Solis

process:

• “Not all problems have easy, perfect solutions, and you shouldn’t be afraid to try something unusual when all the solutions are messy anyway.” - Teale Fristoe

Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, Richard Durham, Jeff Johnston, Matthew O’Malley, Isaias Vallejo

JUNIOR INVENTORS: Stephen B Davies, Luis Lara, Behrooz Shahriari, Aidan Short, Jay Treat

ASSOCIATES: Robert Booth, Zachery Cook, Doug Levandowski, Nathan Miller, Marcel Perro

APPRENTICE: Gino Brancazio, JR Honeycutt, Brad Price

Tips for writing rules: word choice, rulebook organization, proofreading and more:

http://sedjtroll.blogspot.com/2015/03/tips-for-rules-writing.html

Board Game Design Forum’s Game Design Showdown for March 2015

Create an area-control game played with a partner or team, where partners are not allowed to communicate with each other

Deadline: March 8, 2015

http://www.bgdf.com/node/15839

How players’ associations with certain components can affect their experience of a game:

https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/not-just-bits-and-pieces-culture-praxis-and-aesthetic-in-game-design/

Methods of creating tension:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2015/02/27/great-tension/

After the Kickstarter ends: lessons on communication, manufacturing, fulfillment, shipping and more:

http://theinquisitivemeeple.com/2015/02/27/designing-meeples-after-the-kickstarter-ends/