“You will be one game better at #gamedesign after each game you design. Don’t feel like your early darlings are the best you’ll do. Move on. Design better games.”

— Peter C. Hayward

Ways that games can prod players into asymmetrical positions:

http://www.kindfortress.com/2018/02/05/design-patterns-asymmetry-and-opacity/

How to create board game specs and files for your printer:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-create-board-game-specs-and-files-for-your-printer/

What makes a racing game great:

http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2018/02/05/the-anatomy-of-racing-games-what-makes-a-great-race/

The requirement for the February 2018 24-hour contest is "technique":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1932484/24-hour-contest-february-2018

Rulebooks that nail it--a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1932289/best-rule-book-your-humble-opinion

Five things to do before launching your first Kickstarter:

http://blog.nskn.net/top-5-things-to-do-before-launching-your-first-kickstarter/

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - January 2018

This month's roundup of useful board game design links features interviews with masters of the social deduction and legacy game genres, notes for writing better rulebooks, lots of advice for working with publishers, and more.

theory:

• Don Eskridge, designer of The Resistance, on creating a social deduction game (audio)
• A discussion of the challenges and opportunities presented by the legacy game format (video)
• “It’s not inherently a problem if your game involving doing the same thing each turn. It’s only a problem if it doesn’t feel different as the game progresses. You can accomplish this in a few ways; the two most common are escalation and a changing game state.” - Peter C. Hayward

rules:

• How to put together a rulebook that’s easy to teach and learn (audio)

playtesting:

• Bringing an unusual game design to a playtest event? Advice for some common "uncommon" games

licensing:

• Three podcasts discuss what to expect when working with a publisher: Building the Game, Board Game Design Lab, The Game Crafter Official Podcast
• A good problem to have: What to do when multiple publishers are interested in your game (audio)

publishing:

• A crash course in board game manufacturing (video)

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

ADVISERS: 421 Creations, Peter C. Hayward, Kris Rees, 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: Stephen B Davies, Scot Duvall, Samuel Lees, Doug Levandowski, Nathan Miller, Tony Miller, Neil Roberts, Mike Sette, Kasper Esven Skovgaard, Isaias Vallejo, Matt Wolfe

APPRENTICES: Darren Broad, Cardboard Fortress Games, Kiva Fecteau, Guz Forster, Scott Gottreu, Aaron Lim, Scott Martel Jr., James Meyers, Debbie Moynihan, The Nerd Nighters, Matthew Nguyen, Marcus Ross, VickieGames, Lock Watson

“Make sure everyone knows that you’re playtesting to find problems, not solutions. Playtesters can easily get stuck on what is the best solution, when it’s up to you to decide and helps to not hurt feelings.”

— Carla Kopp

“I believe that the best possible skill you can develop as a designer is the ability to ‘read’ people well - to know if they’re having fun or not, regardless of what they may tell you.”

— Behrooz Shahriari

“You don’t have to know where a game will end up when you start designing. Leaping into a design with only minor preparation can lead to fantastic discoveries!”

— Emma Larkins

Different ways of thinking about depth in games:

https://www.northstargames.com/blogs/secret-fun/deep-games-are-legacy-games

Geekway to the West 2018 Game Design Contest

Entrants must attend the convention

Deadline: Feb. 28, 2018

Prize: publishing offer from Indie Boards & Cards

https://geekwaytothewest.com/home/events/game-design-contest/

Jamey Stegmaier tackles a variety of topics related to crowdfunding (video):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8FIBt9V_Bnv1m3Hlesorj7O4gQ_-eY1O

“Sit down and work out why people like a game that you hate. Try to make a game that taps into that reason, but solves your problems with the game.”

— Peter C. Hayward

How board games can integrate role-playing (video)

Techniques for designing low-interaction games--creating engaging experiences without conflict (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-168-kumbaya

“You probably have an idea of how you want players to play your game, and if you have good incentives, players should generally follow your plan. But be aware of other things players could do and if those things would be a dominant strategy.”

— Chris Anderson

Ways that wargame designers can give players the experience they want to:

https://katiesgamecorner.com/2018/01/25/who-are-you-by-geoff-engelstein/

“It’s not inherently a problem if your game involving doing the same thing each turn. It’s only a problem if it doesn’t feel different as the game progresses. You can accomplish this in a few ways; the two most common are escalation and a changing game state.”

— Peter C. Hayward