What makes a game thematic:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2016/01/28/the-54-card-guild-9/

“Test your final art! If your art is pretty, you’re halfway done. Now make sure it still works.”

— James Ernest

Geoff Engelstein on breaking into the industry, co-designing, podcasts and more:

http://breakingintoboardgames.libsyn.com/breaking-into-board-games-episode-10

How various games have addressed the "runaway leader" problem:

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/204332/compendium-solutions-rich-gets-richer-runaway-lead

An overview of the game design process, from prototype to production

Catchup mechanics: 

 http://www.justingary.com/come-back-mechanics/

Ways of generating gameplay that's engaging in the abstract but that also build interesting narratives:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/story-vs-mechanics/

Picking components for your game: cost, quality, perceived value, boxes and more:

http://nothingsacredgames.com/component-considerations/

Mark Rosewater on the difference between choices and options, and the decisions that game designers set up for players to make:

http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1453479600

Blunt advice for entering game design contests:

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2016/01/24/episode-191-contest-woes-and-drafting-drafters/

What makes a game high- or low-ranked on BoardGameGeek: 

http://meeplezone.com/2016/01/21/what-makes-a-high-ranked-game-data-mining-bgg/ 

Things that drive player behavior during a game: rewards and punishments, scarcity, pivot points and more:

http://www.gamesprecipice.com/ecology/

What game mechanisms have the biggest effect on BoardGameGeek ratings?

http://www.ludometrica.org/highly-rated-mechanics-and-other-determinants-of-rating/

The Meeple Syrup show on painful playtests--and why they're necessary

T.C. Petty III on "How to Get Published"

Transparency and opacity: what makes a game mechanism transparent or opaque, how they work (or fail) in existing games, and how to use them to incentivize players to make interesting plays:

http://www.genesisoflegend.com/2016/01/episode73/

Pointers for working with a publisher during the publication process (starting at 51:30):

https://perfectinformationpodcast.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/perfect-information-episode-10-no-good-deed-goes-unpublished/

Advice for board game designers in Malaysia:

http://theactionpointspodcast.com/2016/01/17/victory-pointers-006-designing-board-games-in-malaysia-at-kotakcon-mini/

Korea Boardgames Design Contest

Deadline: April 1, 2016

Prizes: cash and publication

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1509434/kbg-design-contest-2016

Ways to increase a game's depth:

http://www.justingary.com/depth/