Bruno Faidutti's advice for new designers about game design, playtesting, pitching, the industry and more:

http://faidutti.com/blog/?p=8364

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - June 2017

This month our roundup of favorite board game design links includes several long and varied lists of advice, some fundamental analysis of what makes a game good, tips for the full pitching process, and more.

process:

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

• Plenty of pithy board game design tips on lots of topics

• A thread with lots of advice on various board game design topics

• “Don’t stop playing published games. Make it a point to keep informed of what’s going on, what new tools other people have invented. Only playing prototypes will leave you in an information-rut.” - Tim Rodriguez

theory:

• What is required to make a decision interesting?

• “The optimal move/choice/strategy/character should also be the interesting one. NEVER make players choose between 'fun' and 'effective'.” - Keith Burgun

licensing:

• Pitching to a publisher, start to finish (video)

industry:

• Tips for getting the best possible reviews for your game

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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., The Nerd Nighters, Marcus Ross, Sean Rumble

“Don’t dismiss feedback because it’s a tester’s first game. Most customers won’t play again after a single bad play.”

— John Brieger

How to tackle that last 10% of game design that takes a game from good to great (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/taking-a-design-from-good-to-great-with-seth-jaffee/

13 "laws" of game design (video)

Unconventional ways to make a name in the board game industry: print-and-plays and contests (video)

Pointers for designing an AI system for a co-op or competitive game (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/making-a-good-ai-system-with-richard-launius/

Advice for using social media as a board game designer (audio):

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/how-should-you-be-using-social-media-ep-58

“Don’t stop playing published games. Make it a point to keep informed of what’s going on, what new tools other people have invented. Only playing prototypes will leave you in an information-rut.”

— Tim Rodriguez

“Just do not rush something out of the gate because you are anxious for it to be completed. I see so many people that are so excited about their idea, and it really is a good idea, but it suffers from a lack of development because it is put out too quickly.”

— Dan Letzring

A thread with lots of advice about the how and why of tabletop game design:

https://twitter.com/gamesbyplaydate/status/877283823796596736

“You cannot start a play-testing session without knowing what you are testing. You must exactly know what you are checking that day. What question you are looking to answer.”

— Ignacy Trzewiczek

Pitching to a publisher, start to finish (video)

Plenty of pithy board game design tips on lots of topics:

https://twitter.com/JohnduBois/status/875398465928482816

“The optimal move/choice/strategy/character should also be the interesting one. NEVER make players choose between “fun” and “effective”.”

— Keith Burgun

A thread with lots of advice on various board game designtopics:

https://twitter.com/EvenWeirderMove/status/875424109274042373

Advertising your Kickstarter: return-on-investment numbers:

http://www.rockmanorgames.com/2017/06/advertise-kickstarter/

Strategies to boost day-one Kickstarter backer counts:

https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-228-incentives-and-strategies-to-boost-day-1-backers/

Techniques for designing solo games (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-154-leave-me-alone

How to stretch your design muscles beyond your comfort zone (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/525920-episode-33-stretching-your-boundaries