The 2016 Great Hook Contest

Pitch a game with a great "hook"

Deadline: Nov. 22, 2016

Prizes: playtesting services

http://coalitiongames.com/wordpress/2016/10/18/announcing-the-2016-great-hook-contest/

Advice for coming up with new ideas and getting through roadblocks:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/585abb/whats_your_method_of_coming_up_with_new_ideas_and/

How to not waste playtests:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/not-waste-playtests/

TC Petty III on designing games as art, for large groups and with player interaction in mind (audio):

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/designer-interview-tc-petty-iii

“Try to understand the market space. From that, identify who will love your product (game). Optimize for them.”

— Grant Rodiek

Button Shy Nano Game Contest

Design a game with 1-9 cards

Submissions accepted Nov. 13-30, 2016

Prizes: $25 and possible publication

http://buttonshygames.com/pages/button-shy-nano-game-contest

How endgame and win conditions can affect the player experience (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-138-hug-to-win

How are designers responsible for player behavior? (audio)

https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/432482-episode-22-responsibility-for-player-behaviors-part-1

Jamey Stegmaier on starting a design, getting it to the table, game flow, brainstorming, making your ideas public, legacy games and more (audio):

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/designer-interview-jamey-stegmaier

Matt Riddle and Ben Pinchback on breaking into the industry, finding playtesters, working with publishers and more (audio):

https://tgikgamesblog.com/2016/10/14/board-game-university-44-matt-riddle-ben-pinchback/

A look at push-your-luck games (audio):

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2016/10/09/episode-228-hat-is-like-a-dice-game/

How to run a board game Kickstarter (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/46339/429530-gen-con-panel-how-to-run-a-board-game-kickstarter

“The single biggest thing you can do to be more productive is to reduce the time between your playtests. Play your games a LOT.”

— Ben Pinchback

Pros and cons of offering a local-pickup Kickstarter delivery option: 

 http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-202-local-pickup/

A discussion of rulebooks from a user perspective (video)

10 degrees of player interaction in board games (video)

Four tips for forming a strong co-design partnership:

http://www.dancinggiantgames.com/blog/working-with-co-designerspartners

Advice for trimming your game's playtime:

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/design-theory/dealing-playtime-when-creating-games

The requirement for the October 2016 24-hour contest is "pasta":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1648392/24-hour-contest-october-2016

18 Card Microgame Contest 2016

Deadline: Dec. 3, 2016

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1648402/18-card-microgame-contest-2016