View From a Deal: The board game industry as seen in publishing contracts

“Don’t be afraid to give up on an idea if it isn’t working. You can always come back to it later or put it into another game. Don’t try to force a game together. It won’t be fun.”

— Jonathan Bouthilet (@jonnyboardgames)

Uses for set collection: 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/320445024722916?view=permalink&id=700823533351728 

Advice for sustaining your design vision during the design process: 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/320445024722916?view=permalink&id=700892346678180&refid=18&_ft_=qid.6207507054898563376%3Amf_story_key.700892346678180%3Atl_objid.700892346678180&__tn__=%2As

Aspects of scoring:  hidden scoring, point salads, granularity, point curves, multipliers and more:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/game-elements-scoring/

The Game Designers of North Carolina Podcast (@GDofNC) on making prototypes: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/316629-episode-4-making-prototypes

Ludology on chaos and randomness in games:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-114-the-butterfly-effect

Understanding the flow of decisions in a game: 

http://theinquisitivemeeple.com/2015/10/15/understanding-the-flow-of-decisions-in-a-game

What to watch for when running a stress test of your design: 

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/design-playtest-tactic-the-stress-test/

Lessons in board game design from Space Invaders:

http://lawofgamedesign.com/2015/10/14/theory-everything-i-needed-to-know-about-game-design-i-learned-from-space-invaders

Experiences from pitching to 16 publishers at Essen:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1453364/my-experiences-pitching-publishers-essen-spiel-201

What to do in early playtests

Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis) on playtesting, your first design, publishing finances and more:

http://goinglast.net/special-interview-with-daniel-solis/

Lessons in board game design from Super Mario Maker: 

https://oakleafgames.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/lessons-from-super-mario-maker/

Designing for what mindset you want the players to have:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/designing-for-philosophers/

Mistakes crowdfunders make the day before they launch:

http://stonemaiergames.com/the-7-mistakes-crowdfunders-make-the-day-before-they-launch/

When, why and how you should break the rules in game design:

http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1444408800

“When designing co-op games make sure there are some fires to put out early. You can keep them small early but they need to be there.”

— Peter Gousis (@MVPBoardgames)

Gil Hova (@gilhova) on scaling a game for higher player counts, shipping a Kickstarter board game, and more:

http://db94podcast.libsyn.com/so-many-subjects-so-little-time

“Don’t just seek a license. Seek a great partner for you and your game.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)