Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers
"Watch for players taking actions that they find really fun, but don't help them win the game. Can you align your incentives so that the fun things to do are also paths to victory?" - John Brieger
"Corollary: Watch for players doing things that help them win the game but they don't find fun. Either make those fun, remove them, or make them weaker than the fun things." - Jay Treat
The requirement for the June 2018 24-hour contest is "queen":
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2002412/24-hour-contest-june-2018
Answers to questions about finding playtesters, creating multiple paths to victory, and more (audio):
https://www.theboardgameworkshop.com/2018/05/episode-39-contributors-6.html
“Ask other designers about the tools and methods they use to make their games, even if you’re happy with your own processes. Then actually test out their way of doing things. Saving large amounts of time and stress is good for creativity! ”
“One of the most important parts of game development is helping new devs. Mentoring makes the mentor better too.”
“What feedback should you use from play testers? What is your vision? What are your goals? Who is the game for? Use the feedback that helps those three. Discard everything else.”
Player elimination done right--a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:
The key to designing a compelling 18-card game:
https://oakleafgames.wordpress.com/2018/05/29/breaking-the-wallet-game-code-part-2/
Information on scores of board game reviewers and content creators:
https://stonemaiergames.com/my-current-approach-to-board-game-reviewers-and-content-creators/
Some ways of creating interesting problems for players to solve:
http://makethemplay.com/index.php/2018/05/28/how-to-create-interesting-problems-in-your-board-game/
Green Box of Games Design Contest
Design a game using the Green Box of Games game system
Deadline: July 1, 2018
Prize: one free physical copy of the Green Box of Games
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1999234/summer-2018-green-box-games-design-contest
How to decide which pieces of playtester feedback to act on--a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1999372/dealing-feedback-how-do-you-decide-when-listen-and
2018 Wibbell++ Design Contest
Make a game using the Wibbell++ deck
Deadline: Aug. 1, 2018
https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/77179/wibbell-competition-2018-announcement
A discussion about how catch-up mechanisms work in games (audio):
http://www.pgipodcast.com/blog/catch-up-mechanics-joseph-chen/
Four types of randomness, and which one is best-suited for a highly strategic game:
http://keithburgun.net/three-types-of-bad-randomness-and-one-good-one/
How to take a licensed property and turn it into a board game:
How games are categorized, and how that can help designers (audio):
http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-176-taxonomy-driver
How to take feedback from design contests (audio):
http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-daniel-fremgen-on-receiving-feedback-from-a-design-contest/
Finding time to design while working a full-time job--a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1996796/designing-full-time-job
How to improve public-domain artwork for your game:
