Using volatility to make a design more interesting:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/making-volatility-work-for-your-game/

The requirement for the November 2015 24-Hour Contest is "architecture":

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1465186/24-hour-contest-november-2015

November 2015 Game Design Showdown

Pitch a game that uses heirloom-quality tiles

Deadline: Nov. 9, 2015

 http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-design/game-design-showdown/gds-november-2015-heirloom-quality

“Build relationships with publishers by attending conventions and/or volunteering to demoing for them. People listen to those they know.”

— Peter Gousis (@MVPBoardgames)

NPC Cast (@npccast) discusses 4X games with Jamey Stegmaier (@jameystegmaier):

https://npccast.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/scythe-and-4x-games-w-jamey-stegmaier/

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - October 2015

Our roundup of excellent board game design links and tips this month includes the conclusion of our series on licensing contract terms, reminders about seeking publishing partners, advice from a titan in the industry, and more...

featured:

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

licensing:

• “Don’t just seek a license. Seek a great partner for you and your game.” - Grant Rodiek
• Experiences from pitching to 16 publishers at Essen

theory:

• Richard Garfield on early and late playtesting, making a good design great, the "complexity budget" and more
• What to do about a broken game mechanic?

playtesting:

• How to iterate on a design

process:

• “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

publishing:

• What it takes to get a game into a mainstream retailer
• Ways to save money on manufacturing: box size, card count and punchboards 

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, Aaron Lim, Nathan Miller, Marcel Perro

APPRENTICES: Gino Brancazio, Kevin Brusky, Keith Burgun, Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, JR Honeycutt, Brad Price, Marcus Ross, Diane Sauer

How to get noticed by a publisher at a convention:

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/pitching-to-a-publisher-at-a-convention-ep-27

Getting your indie tabletop game made: notes from PAX Australia:

https://storify.com/ehronlime/getting-your-indie-tabletop-game-made

Reasons why a publisher might reject a game even if it's very good: 

http://www.nerdstable.blogspot.com/2015/10/publishers-answer-would-you-reject-good.html

Ways to save money on manufacturing: box size, card count and punchboards:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/designing-boardgames-efficiently-for-cost/

How to deal with a Kickstarter IP dispute:

http://www.rockmanorgames.com/2015/10/how-to-deal-with-a-kickstarter-ip-dispute/

“Always document your work. You never know when you’ll have to retrace your steps to see why and how you got here.”

— Darrell Hardy (@HardyTales)

Types of information in board games & how they affect players' experiences:

Part 1: http://designingcardboard.com/ep-03-information-types-part-1-and-animal-words/

Part 2: http://designingcardboard.com/ep-04-information-types-part-2-and-underground-deduction/

Tips for designing a solo version of a game:

http://theinquisitivemeeple.com/2015/10/28/solo-uh-oh/

Seven mechanisms for building suspense in games:

http://boardgameben.com/7-mechanics-for-building-suspense-in-games/

Pitfalls to avoid when creating a solo mode for your game:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/47197/dont-waste-your-time-work-right-thing-right-time-a

How to pitch to a publisher (starting at 35:00):

https://perfectinformationpodcast.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/perfect-information-episode-4-all-hallows-eve/

Drawbacks and opportunities posed by the limitations of board games:

http://keithburgun.net/the-clockwork-game-design-podcast-episode-5-the-limitations-of-boardgames/

When to share your ideas with others:

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/episode-7-sharing-ideas

“If you don’t ever come up with bad mechanics, you aren’t taking enough risks. Designers need to always push the envelope and try new things, and discovering things that don’t work out is part of that process. The important thing is how you react to those problems.”

— Teale Fristoe (@fristoe)