Sen-Foong Lim has designed numerous, outstanding games over the years: Belfort, Akrotiri, Junk Art (to name a few) as part of the Bamboozle Brother with Jay Cormier. We talk about how he got started in design, works with other designers digital, how he handles social media, and a side chat on Akrotiri.

Making tabletop games with digital tools (video)

Ways to streamline a game by removing math and counting (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/removing-math-from-games-with-dan-peterson/

Tips for breaking into board game design from an up-and-coming designer (audio):

http://goforthandgame.libsyn.com/a-conversation-withjulio-nazario-game-design-champion

“Game Designer pro tip #1: always negotiate for copies of your game.”

— Scott Rogers

Advice for the full process of game design, from concept through publishing (audio):

https://www.lowplayercount.com/episodes/2018/8/19/episode-71-concept-to-table-series-game-design-with-cole-wehrle-sen-foong-lim

Why it's important to not avoid product testing to gain a CE mark:

https://www.manokentgames.com/single-post/2018/08/24/CE-Marking-in-Boardgames-Advice-False-Loopholes-and-Mistakes

Roll-and-Write Global-Jam

Runs Sept. 1-8, 2018

Prizes: games

https://sites.google.com/view/rollandwriteglobaljam/home

20 lessons from 20 years of game design (audio):

Human Nature

Aesthetics

Resonance

Piggybacking

Interesting vs. Fun

Emotional Response

Make It Personal

Details Matter

Customization

Exploring

Loved Not Liked

Don't Prove

Fun

Bluntness

Designing Components

Challenging Players

Less Is More

Creativity

Feedback

It All Connects

“Remember: no matter what theme you pick, no matter what mechanisms you use; somebody will pass on your game based on only that. No game is “for everyone” so don’t stress.”

— Jon Moffat

How to design a shuffle-builder (think Smash Up) (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-design-a-shuffle-builder-with-callin-flores/

What exactly is the thing we are trying to have? Famed game designer James Ernest discusses a few ways to look at defining "fun" and how to figure out if your game is working. Tabletop Network is an annual gathering of tabletop game designers, dedicated to honing the craft of game design.

A few ways of defining "fun" and how to figure out if your game is working (video)

“I highly recommend blind playtesting! If you’ve never placed a rulebook you’ve written in front of someone else to figure out, you definitely need to. Even if you’re not a publisher, you’ll find out so much about how people learn and play games.”

— Carla Kopp

Lots of pointers for making a pitch video:

https://bluecubeboardgames.com/2018/08/18/making-a-pitch-video/

Terms that one publisher includes in their licensing contracts:

https://stonemaiergames.com/game-designer-contracts-and-stonemaier-games/

The essential elements of pitching your design to a publisher (audio):

http://www.thespiel.net/node/1160

“Every game you design will be better than the last. You will be smarter. You will be better. Don’t be afraid to put a game on a shelf for a year and work on something else. You’ll figure it out when you come back!”

— Jonathan Gilmour

“Goals can be useful in starting designing, but don’t get hung up on them. Follow your game wherever it leads you, even to places you didn’t expect to go.”

— Matthew Dunstan

Three ways to improve the process of writing and editing rulebooks:

http://joshuayearsley.com/2018/08/09/were-making-rulebooks-all-wrong/

How much upkeep is too much for players? A Board Game Designers Forum discussion:

https://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/design-theory/what-percentage-game-should-be-spent-doing-upkeep

Kickstarter advice for first-time project creators:

https://www.gatekeepergaming.com/article-10-advice-panels-faq/