Cardboard Edison
  • Cardboard Edison
  • Houdini's Last Act Quad Squad Cobras Retail Rejects More Games Prototypes
  • Blog Industry Reports Playtest Groups Virtual Tabletops Contests Interviews Game Design Checklist
  • Publisher Directory
  • Tariffs Report
  • Newsletter
  • Podcast
  • Award
Cardboard Edison
  • Cardboard Edison/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
    • Industry Reports
    • Playtest Groups
    • Virtual Tabletops
    • Contests
    • Interviews
    • Game Design Checklist
  • Publisher Directory/
  • Tariffs Report/
  • Newsletter/
  • Podcast/
  • Award/
board+game+bits.jpg
Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • Cardboard Edison/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
    • Industry Reports
    • Playtest Groups
    • Virtual Tabletops
    • Contests
    • Interviews
    • Game Design Checklist
  • Publisher Directory/
  • Tariffs Report/
  • Newsletter/
  • Podcast/
  • Award/
featured
theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
rules
licensing
publishing
industry
Bright Ideas RSS

Receive exclusive board game design tips and resources in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly Omnibus newsletter


October 23, 2018 October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Board game industry advice that you shouldn’t follow:

https://twitter.com/KindFortress/status/1053282699253817345

October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

October 23, 2018 October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Practical math a probability tips for board game designers:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/gamedesignmath

October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

October 23, 2018 October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“As game designers we focus a lot on components, mechanics, & systems. But learning to teach your game well helps attract more play testers & also reveal unnecessary complexities. Be intentional about how you teach, and iterate on it just as you would with your design.”
— Joseph Z. Chen
October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

October 19, 2018 October 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Characteristics of effective catch-up mechanics:

https://www.3dtotalgames.com/the-paradox-of-catch-up-mechanics/

October 19, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

October 18, 2018 October 18, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Designing light games and filler games (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-light-games-with-carla-kopp/

October 18, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 18, 2018 October 18, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A discussion of the development process and working with an IP-based game (audio):

http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/obg-320-ip-everywhere

October 18, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 17, 2018 October 17, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“I cannot stress enough that if you are a first time designer you should try to start small & simple rather than big & complicated. Larger designs have many interacting systems that are much harder to design, troubleshoot, & playtest. Then try something bigger after.”
— C.M. Perry
October 17, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 17, 2018 October 17, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“The more I create, the more I develop the skill of persistence. I see people “give up” so easily, convinced that a problem is unsolvable, resigning themselves to a flaw in their work that they see as unavoidable. With very rare exceptions, there’s ALWAYS a solution. Find it.”
— Peter C. Hayward
October 17, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 16, 2018 October 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“You’re going to have bad playtests, bad feedback, lack of solutions to problems, and especially lack of time. Take feedback for what it is and try something different. Most importantly: Don’t stop trying.”
— Lock Watson
October 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 16, 2018 October 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A board game idea generator focused on accessibility:

http://meeplelikeus.co.uk/board-game-idea-generator/

October 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 15, 2018 October 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Things to consider when setting a price for your game:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-price-your-board-game/

October 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

October 15, 2018 October 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“Theme can inspire game design, but you have to be sure it doesn’t tie your hands. During development, you might discover that you need to alter a mechanism to make the game better. It’s hard to make that change if it goes against the theme.”
— Vladimír Suchý
October 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
process, theory

Cardboard Edison

October 12, 2018 October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A board game critic’s view of what makes a game memorable (video)

October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

October 12, 2018 October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for getting a design from idea to published—concept, testing, pitching and more (audio):

http://breakingintoboardgames.libsyn.com/breaking-into-board-games-episode-78-alice-davis

October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process, playtesting, licensing, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 12, 2018 October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Using components in innovative ways (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/innovative-uses-of-game-components-with-julio-nazario/

October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 12, 2018 October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

2018 Mint Tin Design Contest

Design a game that can fit inside a mint tin

Deadline: Jan. 11, 2019

Prizes: GeekGold

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2074640/2018-mint-tin-design-contest

October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
contests

Cardboard Edison

October 12, 2018 October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Ways games can be designed to prevent players’ analysis paralysis (audio):

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/designing-around-analysis-paralysis-ep-73

October 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 11, 2018 October 11, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“You don’t need to have a deep store of knowledge to be a game designer. In fact, not having it might even make for more interesting and innovative designs.”
— Tom and Mary Russell
October 11, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 08, 2018 October 08, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

How to make a budget for a Kickstarter board game project (video)

October 08, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

October 08, 2018 October 08, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A discussion of “soft” and “hard” incentives in game design (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-185-soft-boiled

October 08, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

  • Previous
  • Next