“Instead of: ‘That question’s answered in the rules.’ Think – ‘Can I prevent anyone needing to ask the question?’”

— John Brieger

What to do after getting negative playtest feedback on your design:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-turn-negative-play-test-feedback-into-a-brilliant-game/

“As a designer, you go deep into the mechanisms and begin to form strong opinions as you work through the game in your mind’s eye. You begin to know all the details by heart. Nevertheless, it is extremely important to test every detail, and patiently make notes for improvements because conflicts arise when a change clashes with other existing rules.”

— Max Wikström

2017 Children's Game Print and Play Design Contest

Deadline: Nov. 26, 2017

Prizes: GeekGold

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1867573/2017-childrens-game-print-and-play-design-contest

A look at "forcing lines," where players exert control over their opponents' options:

http://www.kindfortress.com/2017/10/17/design-pattern-may-the-force-be-with-you/

How to make a game that stands out in the crowd:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterchayward/the-lady-and-the-tiger-a-2-player-bluffing-game/posts/2016006

Evan Derrick on designing thematic games (audio):

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/2017/10/08/episode-280-evan-derrick-and-thematic-detectives/

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/theme-and-how-to-bring-it-out-with-evan-derrick/

Ways to define the audience for your game:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/the-one-thing-that-can-sink-sales-for-board-games/

Questions to ask in the middle of your Kickstarter campaign:

http://www.theindiegamereport.com/cardboarding-with-carla-mid-campaign-kickstarter-retrospectives/

“Mediocre but not terrible games tend to generate less discussion – try prompting with specific moments from play.”

— John Brieger

Ways games can use some elements as different resources:

http://www.kindfortress.com/2017/10/09/design-patterns-you-can-also-use-it-as-a-resource/

The most important elements of your Kickstarter campaign page:

https://tompetgames.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/what-27-superbackers-think-is-the-most-important-element-on-your-kickstarter-page/

How to get a publisher's attention--a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1861972/how-get-game-published

“Record extra gamestate data at the end of tied games, so later, you can see how different tiebreakers would work.”

— John Brieger

Lessons learned from a first-time designer/publisher:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1859790/lessons-new-self-publishing-games-maker

A discussion about playesting for broken strategies, running blind tests and other topics for designers (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/7928/574659-181-listener-questions-with-david-and-dirk

“Not all prototype games are worth finishing – it’s OK to shelve a project after playtesting a few times.”

— John Brieger

The requirement for the October 2017 24-hour contest is "toy":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1858633/24-hour-contest-october-2017

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - September 2017

This month our roundup of favorite board game design links includes important reminders about playtesting, advice for finding the right publisher, rules-writing tips and more.

theory:

• Different ways of controlling turn order (audio)

playtesting:

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

• “Your playtesters’ minor irritants of today are your reviewers’ slams of tomorrow.” - John Brieger

licensing:

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

• How to find and approach a publisher that is appropriate for your game

 rules:

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

 publishing:

• A crash course on Kickstarter for board games

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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, Chris and Kathy Keane (The Drs. Keane), Joshua J. Mills, 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, Ryan Wilson, Matt Wolfe

APPRENTICES: Darren Broad, Kiva Fecteau, Scott Gottreu, Scott Martel Jr., The Nerd Nighters, Neil Roberts, Marcus Ross, Sean Rumble, VickieGames

How to determine your game's MSRP (audio):

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/msrp-with-the-game-crafter-episode-142