A massive post with takeaways from the successful Hocus Kickstarter campaign:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2015/08/03/the-unnecessarily-huge-hocus-post-mortem/

Kim Vandenbroucke (@TheGameAisle) discusses working in the mass-market tabletop games industry on the Gaming Careers Podcast:

http://www.thecompanybard.com/tgc-048-kim-vandenbroucke-professional-game-inventor-on-spontaneous-creativity/

The requirement for the August 2015 24-Hour Contest is “Geisha”:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1412465/24-hour-contest-august-2015

Colby Dauch of Plaid Hat Games (@PlaidHatGames) discusses launching a publishing company, marketing, getting a job in the industry and more on the Gaming Careers Podcast:

http://www.thecompanybard.com/tgc-047-colby-dauch-president-of-plaid-hat-games-you-cant-force-your-path/

Considering players’ sportsmanship when designing a game:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/sportsmanship-and-game-design/

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - July 2015

This month, our roundup of great board game design links features a new Meaningful Decisions interview and an insightful post by our interviewee, tips for negotiating a publishing contract, advice on playtesting and more…

featured:

• Meaningful Decisions: Gil Hova on Design Choices in Battle Merchants
  

licensing:

• 10 tips for negotiating a publishing contract
  

theory:

• Score tracks: good and bad examples, and what else they can do
  
• “I think world-building is very important for some games, but I think it’s very easy for creators to lose track of the fact that nobody will care as much about their world as they do. The mechanics and decisions players make have to reinforce your fictional construct, or it’ll all get ignored.” - Joshua Buergel
  

playtesting:

• How individual “red threads” of playtest feedback can form a “red flag”
  
• Three ways of answering the question: “How many times do I need to playtest my game?”
  

industry:

• What makes a game “unpublishable”
  

process:

• Countering common fears about game design
  

Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, John du Bois, Richard Durham, Matthew O’Malley, Isaias Vallejo

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

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

APPRENTICES: Gino Brancazio, Keith Burgun, Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, JR Honeycutt, Brad Price, Diane Sauer, Dan Sinensky

August 2015 Game Design Showdown

Pitch a game about forming, dissolving and moving between groups

Deadline: Aug. 10, 2015  

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-design/game-design-showdown/gds-august-2015-gencons-and-gencants

The 54 Card Guild is a design exercise focused on the limitations of a single deck of cards:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2015/07/31/the-54-card-guild-1/

Paper Jam 4 runs Aug. 1 to Aug. 10, 2015:

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/3es0ex/paper_jam_4_make_a_printable_paper_game_over_10/

Countering common fears about game design:

http://kevingnunn.com/2015/07/27/forget-your-fears/

“It can be really useful to take a break from a design now and then. Banging your head against a brick wall will only get you so far, and sometimes taking a step back will help you realize there’s a door right next to where you were standing.”

— Teale Fristoe (@fristoe)

Ludology answers listener questions about pricing a game, asymmetry, precise positioning and more:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-109-were-listening

Three ways of answering the question: “How many times do I need to playtest my game?”:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/how-many-times-do-i-need-to-playtest-my-game/

Where to find hexes for prototypes:

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/19880343#19880343

“Early in your design (hopefully before you start) know what you want the game to be. It helps when making decisions later about cuts.”

— Peter Gousis (@MVPBoardgames)

What to do about “degenerate games,” where someone playing in the spirit of the game will lose to someone who plays by the letter:

http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2015/07/27/talking-about-my-degeneration/

What makes a game “unpublishable”:

http://www.critical-hits.com/blog/2015/07/24/what-makes-a-game-publishable/

Qualities and skills that make a good co-designer:

http://www.disagreeabledesigners.co.uk/2015/07/24/co-designing/

Ideas for how to translate a puzzle into a playable game:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/puzzles-in-games/

Advice for showing your game in public for the first time:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1406315/first-public-showing-any-tips

SEE ALSO: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1406521/what-i-learned-running-game-designer-farmers-marke