What goes into designing, testing and publishing games for children? (audio)

http://thespiel.net/?q=node/1270

Emotional arcs in board games--and room for design exploration:

http://www.creakingshelves.com/the-6-emotional-arcs-of-stories/

"Blank playtesting": a way to get your game to the table as quickly as possible:

http://makethemplay.com/index.php/2016/08/04/the-blank-play-test/

Thoughts on offering variable start and end conditions:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/flexible-start-end-points/

Balancing spending options: scaling costs and benefits:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/balancing-spending-options/

How to use print-and-plays as a designer or publisher (audio):

https://boardgame.business/2016/07/30/how-to-use-print-and-plays/

“Do a lot of playtesting and simulation of plays on your own, before you reach out for possible playtesters: You need to keep them interested in the game, so you should have sorted out all the basics: does it work the way you expected, are there snowball effects, is there something that is too redundant?”

— Helge Ostertag

Nearly two hours of detailed advice for new Kickstarter project creators (video)

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - July 2016

This month's roundup of favorite board game design links includes an extensive reference list of game mechanisms, advice for finding work in games, ways that game designs can change player behavior and more.

theory:

• A lengthy glossary of tabletop game mechanics

• Decision-first game design

• 14 ways of reducing analysis paralysis

• Types of player interaction

industry:

• Getting a job in the board game industry (video)

playtesting:

• How to get people interested in playtesting your game

process:

• “Designers, never hesitate to kill your darlings. It might just make your game better.” - Gil Hova

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

ADVISER: Aaron Vanderbeek

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

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

ASSOCIATES: Robert Booth, Doug Levandowski, Aaron Lim, Nathan Miller, Isaias Vallejo, Matt Wolfe

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

Lessons learned from designing an abstract game:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2016/07/30/abstract-university/

Considerations when designing a game with a large player count (audio):

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2016/07/24/episode-217-lotsa-players-and-anime-farming/

The requirement for the August 2016 24 Hour Contest is "wedding":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1612782/24-hour-contest-august-2016

“It’s not enough to have a cool theme. It’s not enough to have cool mechanisms. Your game lives at the intersection of its theme and its mechanism.”

— Gil Hova

“Designers, never hesitate to kill your darlings. It might just make your game better.”

— Gil Hova

Types of player interaction:

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

Places to promote your board game online:

http://pixygamesuk.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-marketing-guide-links-to-market.html

A game designer's convention packing list:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/a-game-designers-convention-packing-list/

10 ways to market your board game:

http://pixygamesuk.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-marketing-guide-10-ways-to-market.html

How to get people interested in playtesting your game--a Reddit tabletop game designers forum discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/4twj4c/how_to_get_people_interested_in_playtesting_your/

A lengthy glossary of tabletop game mechanics:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/4tu27t/tabletop_game_mechanic_list/