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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
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    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
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featured
theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
rules
licensing
publishing
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July 31, 2018 July 31, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Questions you should ask yourself before submitting a game to a contest or publisher:

https://twitter.com/JohnduBois/status/1023039243910832134

July 31, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing, contests

Cardboard Edison

July 31, 2018 July 31, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for giving sell sheets to publishers:

https://twitter.com/WeirdGiraffes/status/1023719424757514240

July 31, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

July 31, 2018 July 31, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“You don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to design games. Playing games with intention to learn how mechanics work is *faster* than figuring these things out yourself, but not necessarily better. A problem-solving design mentality is much more important.”
— Emma Larkins
July 31, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2018 July 27, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A social psychologist on what designers can learn about players as people (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/player-psychology-with-dr-corey-butler/

July 27, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

July 26, 2018 July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A high-level guide to designing and publishing a tabletop game:

https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-make-an-indie-tabletop-game/

July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, playtesting, process, industry

Cardboard Edison

July 26, 2018 July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Some unwritten rules of board games, and whether those implicit rules should be made explicit:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2030955/unwritten-rules-gaming

July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, rules

Cardboard Edison

July 26, 2018 July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Tools for game-related fonts for prototypes:

http://www.fontspace.com/pixel-sagas/dpoly-gamedings

https://glyphter.com/

July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

July 26, 2018 July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Whose responsibility is blind playtesting--the designer or the publisher? A BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2030973/increasing-publisher-expectation-blind-testing

July 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

July 23, 2018 July 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

The various kinds of research that go into making a board game:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/79187/what-research-context-boardgames

July 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

July 23, 2018 July 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A more nuanced look at different kinds of feedback loops and their role in board games:

http://makethemplay.com/index.php/2018/07/23/in-game-economics-more-feedback-loops/

July 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 23, 2018 July 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

The basics of using BoardGameGeek as a designer or publisher:

http://www.jamesmathe.com/how-to-bgg/

July 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2018 July 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

When to write the rules--a Board Game Design Forum discussion:

https://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/design-theory/start-rulebook-first-change-my-mind

July 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2018 July 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Industry veterans offer advice to designers at Dice Tower Con 2018 (video)

July 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, licensing, playtesting, process

Cardboard Edison

July 19, 2018 July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

CinCityCon Game Pitch & Design Contest

Deadline: Aug. 25, 2018

Those who make it through the first round must have a CinCityCon badge

https://cincitycon.com/game-design-contest/

July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
contests

Cardboard Edison

July 19, 2018 July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Ways to get people to playtest your prototype: from designer groups to print-and-plays to conventions and more (audio):

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/getting-more-prototype-plays

July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

July 19, 2018 July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“If you’re testing for an hour with 4 other people, that’s 4 hours of designer time you’ve used. Give as much time as you can back to your fellow designers.”
— Emma Larkins
July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

July 19, 2018 July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“It’s natural for players to want have discussions or make comments midgame as issues emerge. Develop a sense as a moderator for when to cut off those conversations and refocus players back to gameplay.”
— John Brieger
July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

July 19, 2018 July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“For those creating co-op games, create uncertainty. That way each player feels they are making their best decision for themselves rather than solving an equation. Each player should feel that they are the hero when it is their time to act. Create interactivity, otherwise, it is just a group of people playing solitaire.”
— Michael Lipton
July 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 17, 2018 July 17, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Ideas aren't worthless: the important role they play in making a game:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/79032/ideas-are-important

July 17, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

July 16, 2018 July 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

The "magic circle" and its role in a game design:

https://remptongames.com/2018/07/14/welcome-to-the-magic-circle/

July 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

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