“You have to have a thick skin in any business, and this one is no exception. Name any game and there are people who won’t like it. Sure it’s hard to hear, but as long as there are plenty of good reactions as well, it’s not the end of the world.”

— Sean Scott Garrity

A checklist of questions to ask yourself before writing rules, and advice for your first solo tests:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2015/08/14/the-54-card-guild-3/

“Get your games out of your head and on the table as quickly as possible. Thinking about (and talking about) game design is fun, but only playtesting is productive.”

— Chip Beauvais (@the_FlyingSheep)

How different meetup groups run their playtest sessions:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1417760/design-meetups-tell-me-about-yours

When a prototype’s graphic design can become an impediment to playtesters:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/playtesting-graphic-design/

Tips for pitching to publishers, learned from observing dozens of pitches at Gen Con 2015:

http://designingcardboard.com/pitching-to-publishers-tips-from-gencon/

“From a game dev standpoint, when thinking about who your game is most for, it can be enlightening to consider who’d *hate* your game.”

— Jeff Tidball (@jefftidball)

Richard Borg discusses the art of designing war games with mainstream appeal, on Ludology:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-110-the-battle-begins

A new theoretical framework to help make sense of games:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/44726/genomic-framework-game-analysis

“Good games aren’t designed, they’re developed.”

— JR Honeycutt (@JayAhre)

2015 Children’s Game Print and Play Design Contest

Design a game for parents to play with young children

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2015

Prizes: GeekGold

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1414982/2015-childrens-game-print-and-play-design-contest

Answers to frequently asked questions about copyright:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-159-everything-a-kickstarter-creator-needs-to-know-about-copyrights/

Key questions to answer very early in the design process:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2015/08/07/the-54-card-guild-2/

Four novel ways to find inspiration for a game design:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/diy-board-game-design-jam/

Answers to frequently asked questions about copyright:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-159-everything-a-kickstarter-creator-needs-to-know-about-copyrights/

The Meeple Syrup show (@MeepleSyrup) offers lots of practical advice for pitching to publishers and navigating a con as a designer

Game design basics, a Reddit Tabletop Game Design forum discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/3fqxu9/tips_on_developing_a_game/

Publisher pitching lessons from Gen Con 2015:

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/publication/what-i-learned-gencon-2015-pitching-and-promoting

When you should form a business:

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/when-should-you-start-a-business-with-the-game-crafter-episode-30

“No matter how much you think about a game, playtesting is way better! You see problems occur that you couldn’t think about.”

— Adam Daulton (@AdamDaulton)