The first things you should work on when starting a design:
Jamey Stegmaier: What I wish I had known before I got into board game design (audio):
http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/what-you-wish-you-would-have-known/
Advice for working well with a co-designer (audio):
http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-work-with-a-co-designer-with-luke-laurie/
How to obtain the rights to art for your board game:
http://news.thegamecrafter.com/post/155442246275/own-the-rights-to-your-board-game-artwork
How to craft an awesome two-player experience (audio):
http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-create-the-perfect-2-player-experience/
Starting a publishing company: barriers to entry, work/life balance and more (audio):
http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/going-pro-in-the-gaming-industry-with-colby-dauch/
How to use MS Excel and Publisher to rapidly prototype cards:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1701214/how-use-ms-excel-and-publisher-rapidly-prototype-c
Advice for your first playtests:
https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/5ldu7n/how_do_i_approach_playtesting/
Ways to make a design work well for two players:
https://curiocardboard.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/what-makes-a-great-two-player-game/
PNP Game Design Awards 2016
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2017
Prizes: GeekGold
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1700106/pnp-game-design-awards-2016
The requirement for the January 2017 24-hour contest is "discipline":
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1700142/24-hour-contest-january-2017
2017 9-Card Nanogame Print and Play Design Contest
Deadline: April 1, 2017
Prizes: GeekGold
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1698963/2017-9-card-nanogame-pnp-design-contest
Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources of 2016
/Our annual list of favorite tips and links features a wide range of useful materials for board game designers...
featured:
The 2017 Cardboard Edison Award. Deadline: Jan. 31, 2017
The Compendium, a directory of more than 140 board game publishers: who's accepting submissions, what they're looking for, and how to contact them
process:
A checklist for game designers. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. (audio)
“Remind yourself, always: Your game is not as simple as you think. It is not as elegant as you think. It is not as intuitive as you think.” - Eric Lang
"Stop asking if your project is 'done'. Start asking if it’s great." - Peter C. Hayward
theory:
Lessons from 20 years of game design. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Three designers of cooperative games answer questions about co-op design
“Whatever the players do the most in your game should be the most fun. Don’t relegate the best part to 5% of game time. Weave it throughout.” - Kevin Wilson
prototyping:
playtesting:
licensing:
publishing:
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
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ADVISERS: Peter C. Hayward, Aaron Vanderbeek
SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, John du Bois, Richard Durham, Koen Hendrix, Chris and Kathy Keane (The Drs. Keane), Marcel Perro, Behrooz Shahriari
JUNIOR INVENTORS: Ryan Abrams, Joshua Buergel, Luis Lara, Aidan Short, Jay Treat
ASSOCIATES: Robert Booth, Stephen B Davies, Doug Levandowski, Aaron Lim, Nathan Miller, Isaias Vallejo, Matt Wolfe
APPRENTICES: Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, JR Honeycutt, Knight Works, Scott Martel Jr., David J. Mortimer, Mike Mullins, Marcus Ross, Sean Rumble, Diane Sauer