On whether to make a good game for a broad audience or a great game for a narrow group:

http://gil.hova.net/2015/08/18/the-larger-good-versus-the-smaller-great/

Some thematic uses for randomness:

http://designingcardboard.com/thematic-mechanics-randomness/

Examples of well-done player reference cards:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/3hdkaf/reference_cards/

Crunching data on what contributes to Kickstarter success or failure:

http://www.jamesmathe.com/successorfailure/

10 things to keep in mind when designing a main Kickstarter project image:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-160-the-main-project-image/

Breaking down games into common elements:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/breaking-down-games/

Tips for attention-getting signs at conventions:

https://convergentgamesblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/simple-thoughts-on-signs/

“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/