“Most game designers have an original idea they’d like to flesh out; I’d encourage you to do that, but if you’re first to market with it, present it well. A great game mechanic, no matter how unique it is, will not sell well if the game that’s wrapped around it sucks.”

— Tom Jolly

12 things that should be in your initial email pitch to a publisher:

http://www.wiltgren.com/2015/04/03/submitting-102-12-things-to-remember-in-your-short-sweet-pitch/

Board Game Design Forum’s April 2015 Game Design Showdown

Pitch a game to be played between games, where players can drop in and out at will

Deadline: April 9, 2015

http://www.bgdf.com/node/15975

Preparing yourself for the emotional roller coaster of running a Kickstarter campaign:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/the-kickstarter-emotional-roller-coaster/

KublaCon Game Design Contest

Deadline: submissions must be received via mail by April 24, 2015

http://kublacon.info/kcindex.lasso?page=detail&RD=006441&action=pubsearch&skip=0

“Sometimes you have to cut your favorite mechanism from a game to make it better. Use it in a different design, new scenery may help.”

— Peter Gousis (@MVPBoardgames)

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources – March 2015

This month’s roundup of useful board game design links features practical advice for making board games a sustainable endeavor, important reminders about playtesting, notes on a taboo game mechanism and more.

industry:

• Advice for finding work in the board game industry

publishing:

• Preliminary steps to take before moving into board game publishing
• Detailed information for how to request a quote from a manufacturer

playtesting:

• The post hoc fallacy in playtesting: why happy players might not be enjoying your game
• “When designing games there’s no substitute for actual playtesting. It may work perfectly in your head. That’s usually not true in reality.” – Ed Marriott
• “If someone plays your game and says it’s great, insist that they give you one piece of criticism, no matter how small. After disclosing one complaint, many more might follow.” – Chris Gosselin

process:

• “We’re all just making this up as we go along. Experiment with crazy ideas when you’re designing.” – Matt Leacock
• “Pay more attention to the ideas that return to you. They strike a chord for a reason.” – Jay Treat

theory:

• The right way to use player elimination

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

Ryan Laukat and Alf Seegert offer advice on the design process:

https://anubisnine.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/saltcon-from-a-designers-perspective-part-2-game-design-101/

What to expect from a Protospiel playtesting event:

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/attending-protospiel-events-with-the-game-crafter-episode-12

The theme for the April 2015 24 Hour Contest is “Grey Ghost Of The Himalayas“:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1346900/24-hour-contest-april-2015

How to avoid wasting a publisher’s time when reaching out to them:

http://www.wiltgren.com/2015/04/01/submitting-your-game-101-dont-waste-the-publishers-time/

How to find a publisher that’s a good match for your design–a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1345896/finding-publisher-how-do-i-find-good-match

Ways to ease a game’s learning curve:

http://matthewgravelyn.com/learning-a-new-game-painful-vs-painless/

A primer for making the best use of BoardGameGeek as a designer:

http://matthewgravelyn.com/utilizing-boardgamegeek/

“Don’t let the permanence of design decisions plague you. There’s always a new project on the horizon for your forever-growing mind muscles!”

— Andrew Federspiel (@KnapsackGames)

Lessons on pitching from Tabletop Deathmatch:

http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/5-pitching-lessons-from-tabletop.html

“Don’t over complicate your ideas. Maybe you are designing a complicated game, and that’s legit, but be really honest with yourself about whether or not you need all of the elements you’ve included.”

— Heather Wilson

“Just a good concept will not work. The concept and theme are important but be sure you’ve really thought out the game play. Playtest and be open to feedback!”

— Heather O'Neill

What makes a “thematic” game thematic:

http://islaythedragon.com/featured/thematics-knizia-and-evocative-mechanics/

Philip duBarry (@pdubarry) joins the Gaming Careers Podcast to discuss the process of making a board game, from concept to publisher pitch:

http://www.thecompanybard.com/tgc-029-philip-dubarry-homerun-hitting-game-designer-shares-his-process-for-game-creation/