2018 Golden Arbutus

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2017

Prizes: cash and publishing credit

Only the first 50 entries will be allowed

http://www.terminalcitytabletop.com/goldenarbutus-rules/

Advice for designers attending cons: networking, pitching, playtesting and more (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/535164-episode-34-convention-conduct

How some games let players' actions help their opponents too:

http://www.kindfortress.com/2017/07/10/design-patterns-what-you-do-helps-others-too/

Two podcasts with advice for new board game designers looking to break into the industry:

http://www.genesisoflegend.com/2017/07/episode118/

http://podbay.fm/show/580709168/e/1499436300

Advice for running high-level playtests (audio):

http://cardboardarchitects.libsyn.com/designer-interview-john-brieger

Preparing for a Kickstarter: art, promotion, trademarks, ads and more (audio):

http://www.buzzsprout.com/46339/532819-kickstarter-advertising-and-more-with-mike-gnade-of-rock-manor-games

Ways to use math to model and simulate aspects of your game design (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-155-model-citizen

A thread with lots of advice for board game designers on various topics :

https://twitter.com/wisegoldfish/status/882630268561104897

The requirement for the July 2017 24-hour contest is "book":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1806717/24-hour-contest-july-2017

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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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., 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/

Like many "laws", these are more strong probabilities than absolutes. Please help me pay the bills for all this free information: my Patreon is at: https://www.patreon.com/LewisPulsipher My thanks for the generous support from Rossan 78.

13 "laws" of game design (video)

Danny Devine (Mob Town, Ghosts Love Candy, Topiary) and Steven Aramini (Yardmaster, Barker's Row, Grove) are two Nevada based grass roots designers who have broken into the game industry in unconventional ways. Danny talks about using PNP and twitter to drive interest in his games, while Steven talks about his amazing run of winning design contests.

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