Prototyping tip: use coin protectors for circular chits:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1850957/prototyping-game-tokens-cheap-coin-protectors

2017 Ion Award Game Design Competition

Deadline: Dec. 1, 2017

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1850680/ion-award-game-design-competion-now-open-entries-d

http://saltcon.com/ion-award-rules/

4th Annual 18 Card Microgame Contest

Deadline: Dec. 15, 2017

Prizes: GeekGold

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1850645/18-card-microgame-contest-2017

Scaling a new board game company (video)

A crash course on board game marketing and promotion:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/crash-course-board-game-marketing-promotion/

Do you want to be a designer or a publisher? Pros and cons for each (video)

How the ways people learn can be used to make a game design better:

http://makethemplay.com/index.php/2017/09/18/why-learning-makes-for-a-better-board-game/

How new designers can best spend their time to get their games signed:

https://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/69088/fleeples-guide-helping-new-designers-sell-their-ga

“Nobody knows if your prototype is balanced. They only know if it FEELS balanced. Test wildly.”

— T.C. Petty III

“Observing tests of your game run by someone else lets you spot your influence on playtest outcomes and data.”

— John Brieger

“Keep grinding, the only way out is through.”

— JR Honeycutt

“When making a game, you don’t have to innovate if you’re improving on what’s out there. Also, as long as the game experience is new and novel, the mechanisms themselves don’t have to be.”

— Seth Jaffee

How to make a Tabletop Simulator demo of your board game:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-make-a-tabletop-simulator-demo-of-your-board-game/

“Rationalizing arbitrary choices that work is easier than careful planning. It looks the same from outside. It’s not.”

— JR Honeycutt

How to turn a game into a product (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/going-from-game-to-sellable-product-with-randy-hoyt/

The different types of playtesting: how to prepare for each (audio):

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/how-to-playtest-with-the-game-crafter-episode140

How to write the "setup" section of a rulebook:

http://www.theindiegamereport.com/rulebook-cookbook-setup/

Designing good character abilities in co-op games:

https://www.3dtotalgames.com/cooperative-character-abilities/

Methods for keeping your game streamlined, a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1846483/what-are-your-methods-making-streamlined-game

“Express extreme appreciation for negative feedback, so that testers learn they should always speak up about issues.”

— John Brieger