How to demo or pitch your game efficiently:

https://boardsandbarley.com/2017/06/14/how-to-demo-your-game/

How to make the most of a board game design convention (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/getting-the-most-out-of-a-design-convention-with-tony-miller/

A long and growing list of tips covering the whole process of board game design:

https://twitter.com/stuffByBez/status/874981057090727937

“Don’t spend time explaining what’s changed from previous versions. Just teach the game in its current form.”

— John Brieger

Tips for doing back-to-back playtests at a convention:

http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/playtesting/playtesting-lessons-learned

“Ninety percent of the time, my advice on particular game design and development issues boils down to this: Do the work. Avoid shortcuts.”

— Eric Lang

Six tips for writing better board game rules (video)

How to manage a game’s scope and not allow it to get out of hand (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/keeping-a-design-from-getting-out-of-hand-with-gil-hova/

HABA USA 2017 Game Design Contest

Deadline: July 31, 2017

Prize: possible publication

http://www.habausa.com/gdc

Tips for getting the best possible reviews for your game:

http://www.theindiegamereport.com/fairway-thoughts-how-to-get-the-best-possible-review/

What is required to make a decision interesting?

http://nohidden.info/Tension/

#GenCant2017 Roll-And-Write Contest

Deadline: July 1, 2017

Prize: illustrations and online distribution

http://www.gencant.com/gencant2017-roll-and-write-contest/

Tips for making reference cards (audio):

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/top-5-tips-for-designing-a-reference-card-ep-57

Choosing the right tiebreaker (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-152-tie-one-on

How and when to pay to advertise your crowdfunding campaign:

https://stonemaiergames.com/everything-crowdfunders-need-to-know-about-advertisting/

The requirement for the June 2017 24-hour contest is "nightfall":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1789286/24-hour-contest-june-2017

“Record every rule you try, even the bad ones.
You never want to repeat the same mistake.
It’s hard to re-visit a prototype with bad notes.”

— Jay Treat

Cardboard Edison's Favorite Tips & Resources - May 2017

This month our roundup of favorite board game design links includes important steps in the design process, advice for breaking into the industry, tips for young publishers from people who know, and more.

contests:

• What game designers should know about contests such as the Cardboard Edison Award (audio)

process:

• Questions to ask yourself before making a game

• “It’s ok to rip out something you think you’re married to in a game. It’s hard to accept that something you really want to work just isn’t working at all. But sometimes that’s what you have to do to let the game evolve.” - Nicole Kline

industry:

• Board game industry figures offer advice for breaking in (audio)

• Tips if you want to design a game for a particular market (audio)

prototyping:

• How to make your prototype ready for publisher evaluation

playtesting:

• “Playtesting, feedback. Playtesting, feedback. Long pause. Repeat. This will never cease to be the secret to making a great game.” - Ben Pinchback

publishing:

• Advice for Kickstarter board game creators from 21 "superbackers"

• Important advice for young publishers, learned the hard way

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

ADVISERS: 421 Creations, Peter C. Hayward, Aaron Vanderbeek

SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole, John du Bois, Richard Durham, Chris and Kathy Keane (The Drs. Keane), Marcel Perro, Behrooz Shahriari, Shoot Again Games

JUNIOR INVENTORS: Ryan Abrams, Joshua Buergel, Luis Lara, Aidan Short, Jay Treat

ASSOCIATES: Robert Booth, Stephen B Davies, Scot Duvall, Doug Levandowski, Aaron Lim, Nathan Miller, Mike Sette, Kasper Esven Skovgaard, Isaias Vallejo, Matt Wolfe

APPRENTICES: Darren Broad, Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, Knight Works, Scott Martel Jr., Mike Mullins, The Nerd Nighters, Marcus Ross, Sean Rumble

“Designs are exciting to start and finish; learn to find validation and joy from the grind through the middle.”

— JR Honeycutt

Advice for what to do when you hit a wall on a design (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/518962-episode-32-hitting-a-wall