The perils of designing a game by trial and error:

Lessons learned from the Cauldron Kickstarter: demos, art, emotions, delivery dates and more:

http://stonemaiergames.com/brewing-up-and-screwing-up-lessons-learned-from-cauldron-kickstarter-guest-post/

What are the best ways to break a game? A Reddit Tabletop Game Design Forum discussion: 

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/3wiq8k/what_are_the_best_ways_to_break_a_game/

“This one and the next one and the one after that may not be the finished product, but remember that patience and persistence DO pay off.”

— Andrew Federspiel

“What do you have passion for? Passion drives completion more than anything else, except maybe deadlines.”

— Peter Gousis

“It is possible to polish a game until there’s nothing left. Instead of perfect smoothness, focus on finding the right texture for your game.”

— Daniel Solis

Ways to mitigate first-player advantage:

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/episode-16-the-first-player-problem

See also: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1487268/good-models-mitigating-first-player-advantage

A list of self-balancing game mechanisms:

http://www.level99games.com/homepage/design-blogs/132-self-balancing-mechanics.html

What notes you should be taking:

https://inspirationtopublication.wordpress.com/2015/12/09/write-it-down-the-secret-to-solving-your-creative-roadblocks/

The Game Design Round Table (@TGDRT) on when to move on to balancing, royalty-free art, asymmetry and more:

http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2015/12/08/episode-137-once-more-into-the-mailbag/

“Whatever you think games should accomplish, it’s always better for games to enable players to accomplish that thing instead.”

— Jay Treat (@jtreat3)

A discussion of the importance of location to a game's theme:

http://dicehateme.com/2015/12/the-state-of-games-ep-97-the-one-about-location-location-location/

Root cause analysis and determining problems in your designs:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/331444-episode-7-what-s-wrong-with-my-design

10 things every game needs:

Goal: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1416586800?autostart=1

Rules: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1418403000?autostart=1

Interactions: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1423844400?autostart=1

Catch Up: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1427473200?autostart=1

Inertia: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1431706500?autostart=1

Surprise: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1435335300?autostart=1

Strategy: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1438359300?autostart=1

Fun: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1441988100?autostart=1

Flavor: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1445012100?autostart=1

Hook: http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1449245700?autostart=1

Lots of tools to make game design easier:

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/episode-15-tools-of-the-trade

“If an idea excites you, get busy and develop it into something unique. Something yours. Most things have been ‘done’ at the genetic level.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

Designing with accessibility in mind: color blindness, typography and ergonomics: 

http://playdiabolical.com/2015/12/usability-and-accessibility-in-board-games/

Learning Game Challenge

Design a game where a playful environment creates an opportunity for understanding real world problems and issues.

Deadline: Feb. 29, 2016

Prizes: cash, potential publication, and more

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/contests/learning-game-challenge

What you should know about forming and running an indie game company:

http://legalmovespodcast.com/2015/12/03/episode-23-starting-indie-game-company-brian-henk/

Lessons learned from shipping Bad Medicine: Amazon Fulfillment, street dates, distribution consolidators and more:

http://gil.hova.net/2015/12/02/lessons-learned-from-shipping-bad-medicine/