Tips for how to be creative quickly (audio):

http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1478280600

Making brilliant ideas worth something:

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-204-your-idea-is-brilliant-your-idea-is-worthless/

The effects of player interdependency in a cooperative game:

https://lawofgamedesign.com/2016/11/04/theory-dependency-in-cooperative-games/

“Don’t resist trying out suggestions even if it leads in a very different direction—it’s only one extra play test to see what happens.”

— Jeff Johnston

“Watch people play games. (You’re going to watch people play *your* games, so you’ll need to know what it looks like when a game is working.)”

— Randy Hoyt

Designing with your game's core experience in mind:

http://www.dancinggiantgames.com/blog/designing-with-a-purpose-core-experience

ThunderGryph Games Survival Game Design Contest

Deadline: April 30, 2017

Prizes: cash and possible publication

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1666082/survival-thundergryph-games-first-design-contest

The requirement for the November 2016 24 Hour Contest is "music":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1665321/24-hour-contest-november-2016

Bruno Faidutti on design and development, working on second editions and more (audio):

http://boardgamesinsider.com/2016/11/episode-43-special-bruno-faidutti-interview/

November 2016 Game Design Showdown

Pitch a real-time game with a “big-game theme”

Deadline: Nov. 9, 2016

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-design/game-design-showdown/gds-november-2016-timing-everything

On legacy game design

17 ways to start a game design:

http://jtreat.tumblr.com/post/152606385807/sources-of-game-ideas

How and when to stop working on a design (audio):

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2016/10/30/episode-231-josh-mills-and-looping-mafiosos/

Practical advice for moving into full-time board game work (audio):

http://www.thecompanybard.com/tgc-072-brian-henk-overworld-game-highs-lows-boardgame-publishing/

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - October 2016

This month's roundup of our favorite board game design links includes a pair of interviews with self-published designers, some exciting uses for industry data, rulebook writing advice and more.

featured:

• The Process: Pleasant Dreams by Aerjen Tamminga

• Meaningful Decisions: Gil Hova on Design Choices in The Networks

industry:

• Why it's so difficult to be a full-time tabletop game designer: a fascinating analysis using the Cardboard Edison board game licensing reports

theory:

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

• 10 degrees of player interaction in board games (video)

rules:

• Ten best practices for improving the structure, style and clarity of your rulebook (audio)

playtesting:

• How to weigh feedback from different sources, depending on your goals

• “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

process:

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

publishing:

• How to run a board game Kickstarter (audio)

• Situations you will face shipping a tabletop game project (audio)

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

ADVISERS: Peter C. Hayward, Aaron Vanderbeek

SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, John du Bois, Richard Durham, Koen Hendrix, 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, Stephen B Davies, Danica E., Doug Levandowski, Aaron Lim, Nathan Miller, Isaias Vallejo, Matt Wolfe

APPRENTICES: Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, JR Honeycutt, Knight Works, Scott Martel Jr., Mike Mullins, Marcus Ross, Sean Rumble, Diane Sauer, Smarter Backer

Using history in a board game design (audio):

http://thespiel.net/?q=node/1296

What makes a good horror game? (audio)

https://ntboardgames.com/2016/10/27/i-can-deal-027-horror-games/

Advice for building a team and working with others on a project (audio):

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/cba-pubcast-3-team-building

Overworld Games on legal issues such as licensing a game IP, development work, prototypes and more (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/46339/435094-leaders-of-euphoria-and-overworld-games-with-brian-henk-and-clayton-skancke

2016 Children's Game Print and Play Design Contest

Deadline: Dec. 4, 2016

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1662855/2016-childrens-game-print-and-play-design-contest