“It doesn’t really matter how good your game is if nobody can understand the rulebook. Clear rules writing is important - unclear rules can sour the entire experience.”

— Robin David

How much should you listen to playtesters?

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/75454/how-much-should-you-listen-playtesters

The theme for the April 24-hour contest is "egg":

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1969684/24-hour-contest-april-2018

What's your endgame--how different ways of ending a game change players' experience:

http://mavengames.co.uk/the-end-of-the-game/

How much information you should share about a work in progress:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/75360/sharing-info-keeping-game-under-wraps

Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - March 2018

This month's roundup of great board game design links and quotes includes important things to think about as you get started with a new design, a new prototyping resource, unique ways to think about a game's design, lots of rulebook-writing tips, and more.

industry:

• The most important questions to ask yourself when designing a board game (audio)
• What's your game's identifying feature, the thing that makes it memorable?

process:

• How to "overthink" a game design and prevent problems before they show up (video)
• The two opposing mindsets you must have as a game designer

theory:

• How a game design can let players create asymmetry for each other
• Using graphs to visualize the arc of your game and its strategies (video)
• How a game's different systems can be coupled to work together well (audio)
• Tips for designing a word game

prototyping:

• Free library of icons for board game prototypes

playtesting:

• Remote blind playtesting in 10 easy steps

rules:

• Rulebook building 101
• Tips for organizing rulebooks: introductions, terminology, visuals, player aids and more

licensing:

• Tips for approaching a publisher and making your best first impression
• “If I ask ‘What makes your game different from other games of the same theme and weight?’ and you can’t answer me? don’t make the game.” - Avonelle Wing

publishing:

• How 40 board game creators built their crowd before launching a crowdfunding campaign
• A Kickstarter "launch sequence": the steps to take immediately after launching a project

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

ADVISERS: 421 Creations, Black Letter Games, 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: Stephen B Davies, Marcus Howell, Samuel Lees, Doug Levandowski, Nathan Miller, Tony Miller, Neil Roberts, Mike Sette, Isaias Vallejo, Matt Wolfe

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

Many thanks to folks who expressed their enthusiasm for this idle little thought originally: https://twitter.com/DanielSolis/status/978626084974530560. I've outlined it in video here for easier long-term reference. Hopefully you find it useful in your game design! http://patreon.com/danielsolis The title is a reference to Vonnegut's "Simple Shapes of Stories" https://youtu.be/oP3c1h8v2ZQ Thanks to Federico Garza @psiquico for sharing that with me on the original twitter thread!

Using graphs to visualize the arc of your game and its strategies (video)

Rulebook building 101:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ROqi1hXlOVbsZGJRJDziI-HJWLDd3eIGUNbd9l3Q2xg/edit

Free library of icons for board game prototypes:

http://afractalthought.com/fractal-symbols/board-game-library/

Tactics and strategies for each phase of a Kickstarter campaign:

https://tompetgames.wordpress.com/2018/03/26/tactics-strategies-with-kickstarter-veteran-gil-hova/

Advice for dealing with criticism in the board game industry:

https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-247-how-thick-is-your-skin/

A look at resource-management games (audio):

Part 1: https://www.snakesandlattes.com/podcast/332/Resource-Management-Games,-Part-1-__-Defining-Resource-Management/

Part 2: https://www.snakesandlattes.com/podcast/333/Resource-Management-Games,-Part-2-__-Exploring-examples/

Part 3: https://www.snakesandlattes.com/podcast/334/Resource-Management-Games,-Part-3-__-Games-that-think-outside-the-box/

How a game's different systems can be coupled to work together well (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-172-odd-coupling

The purposes that victory points serve in a game design:

http://makethemplay.com/index.php/2018/03/26/victory-points-and-board-game-design/

Advice for making an escape-room game:

https://twitter.com/ShannonCreates/status/977199188256714753

How to use narrative to create a story-driven game (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/story-driven-games-with-jerry-hawthorne/

A discussion about designing microgames (audio):

http://www.theboardgameworkshop.com/2018/03/episode-34-micro-games.html

How to find your game's "core idea":

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/75029/design-diary-sands-time-and-evolution-idea-game

A Kickstarter "launch sequence": the steps to take immediately after launching a project:

http://brandonthegamedev.com/what-to-do-immediately-after-your-kickstarter-launches-a-checklist/

Bite-size tips for early-stage playtesting, late-stage testing, and the whole process:

https://mailchi.mp/b735e831e8e9/protoatl-suyg3