2016 Solitaire Print and Play Contest

Deadline: July 31, 2016

Prizes: GeekGold

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1584590/2016-solitaire-print-and-play-contest

The requirement for the June 2016 24-hour contest is "kitten":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1584529/24-hour-contest-june-2016

How to know when your game is ready for blind playtesting:

http://www.dancinggiantgames.com/blog/when-is-your-game-ready-for-blind-playtesting

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - May 2016

This month, our roundup of favorite board game design links includes advice for designing game systems, co-ops and family games, notes on getting into distribution, thoughts on when to throw in the towel, and more.

featured:

• The Process: Cutthroat Caverns by Curt Covert
• Meaningful Decisions: Doug Levandowski on Design Choices in Gothic Doctor

theory:

• Advice for designing a game system that will support many possible games
• Advice for balancing your game (audio)
• Three designers of cooperative games answer questions about co-op design

playtesting:

• 10 places to find playtesters

process:

• Advice for knowing when to give up on a design

publishing:

• Discussions about shipping games, dexterity games, designing for kids and families, the benefits of networking and more (audio)
• How to get a board game into distribution (audio)

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, John du Bois, Richard Durham, Peter C. Hayward, Chris and Kathy Keane (The Drs. Keane), Matthew O’Malley, Isaias Vallejo

JUNIOR INVENTORS: Ryan Abrams, Luis Lara, Behrooz Shahriari, Aidan Short, Jay Treat

ASSOCIATES: Robert Booth, Doug Levandowski, Aaron Lim, Nathan Miller, Marcel Perro, Matt Wolfe

APPRENTICES: Kevin Brusky, Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, Michael Gray, JR Honeycutt, Scott Martel Jr., Mike Mullins, Marcus Ross, Sean Rumble, Diane Sauer

Body language to look for in playtesters:

http://galvanizedstudios.com/2016/05/30/playtesters-nonverbal-behaviors/

The essential qualities of a good playtesting session and how designer and players can contribute to it:

https://infoperfected.com/2016/05/30/perfect-information-v-seth-jaffee/

How to playtest tabletop games using blind playtests, Protospiel/Unpub events, and other methods:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/46339/386038-playtesting-your-board-game-or-video-game-with-jeremy-commandeur

Advice for when you get tired of playing your own game: 

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1582276/tired-your-own-game

“Being a good game designer means coming up with a 100 of the coolest mechanics ever seen, and then finding out which 98 need to be trashed.”

— Scott Almes

Ways of managing predictability in a game, and how to use them responsibly:

http://coalitiongames.com/2016/05/managing-predictability/

On taking early ideas and developing them into something more:

http://www.critical-hits.com/blog/2016/05/27/game-design-by-example-making-an-idea-into-more/

Where do your ideas come from? A Reddit tabletop game design forum discussion: 

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/4l5l7p/designers_where_did_your_big_idea_come_from/

What is and isn't needed in a rulebook:

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/rulebooks-with-the-game-crafter-episode-72

Advice for balancing your game:

https://boardgame.business/2016/05/25/balancing-your-game/

How some modern trick-taking games balance strong hands:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/54432/balancing-trick-taking-games

What to ask on your playtesting feedback form:

http://galvanizedstudios.com/2016/05/23/feedback-form/

How to decide if you need a design partner:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/how-to-decide-if-you-need-a-game-design-partner/

Advice for writers that's also good advice for board game designers:

http://coalitiongames.com/2016/05/writing-advice/

Thinking about games in terms of player interaction and planning horizon:

http://www.gamesprecipice.com/strategy/

“No matter what your style, build and develop with your own sensibility at the heart of the matter. Build your game, no one else’s. But be fluid, not every design is the same. Let the game itself guide you. Let playtests challenge your assumptions.”

— Curt Covert