“A useful heuristic for testing a game’s limits is to have a player or dummy take a single action/path repeatedly.”

— John Brieger

“A tester’s experience of the game matters more than whether anything they say is mathematically sound or factual.”

— John Brieger

Hustling tips: ways to make the most of your time while working on your game (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-hustle-and-get-things-done-with-carla-kopp/

Two discussions of tax considerations for game developers:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/46339/570188-understanding-taxes-for-game-developers-with-ernest-jones-of-ellsworth-stout-cpas (audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE_phZXMdoA (video)

Different ways of controlling turn order (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-160-law-and-order

Psychology and how players...

...learn rules: http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/learning-styles-and-writing-rulebooks-with-jason-perez/ (audio)

...find strategies: http://cognitivegamer.com/podcast/episode-08-go-search-young-game-player/ (audio)

Emerson Matsuuchi on what's central to good board game design, key questions for playtesters, moving from inspiration to product and more:

https://gameapalooza.com.au/board-game-designer-interview-emerson-matsuuchi/

A crash course on Kickstarter for board games:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/crash-course-kickstarter-for-board-games/

Notes on the perception of randomness in game components:

https://remptongames.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/take-a-chance-the-illusion-of-randomness-in-games/

“Make sure you are changing up which player counts you test at. Don’t over-optimize for a single player count.”

— John Brieger

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