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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • About Us/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
    • Industry Reports
    • Tariffs Report
    • Playtest Groups
    • Virtual Tabletops
    • Contests
    • Podcast
    • Interviews
    • Game Design Checklist
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theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
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October 26, 2018 October 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

How to communicate with artists effectively:

https://www.3dtotalgames.com/artists-brief/

October 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

October 26, 2018 October 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Ways of integrating story into a board game (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-186-zombie-apocalypse

October 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 26, 2018 October 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“Don’t give up if the feedback is negative; correct and move on. Be prepared to question everything you have done and to change even when changing is the most painful thing to do. It will eventually pay off.”
— Nestor Tyr
October 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

October 25, 2018 October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

How designers can foster “narrative equity”—the ability of games to create stories that players will tell afterward (audio):

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-xxuth-4daa619

October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 25, 2018 October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Information about various gaming conventions from a designer’s perspective (audio):

http://boardgamestogo.libsyn.com/boardgames-to-go-184-conventions-for-boardgame-players-designers

October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 25, 2018 October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“Don’t take pride in your game. Take pride in yourself as a designer. It doesn’t matter how many times you rebuild it; it matters that you’re learning and building skills: both general skills and the skill of designing that specific game.”
— Jay Treat
October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 25, 2018 October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A discussion about the assumptions we make about games—and how to design games that challenge them (audio):

Part 1: https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/819477-episode-46-game-assumptions-part-1

Part 2: https://www.buzzsprout.com/48513/835898-episode-47-game-assumptions-part-2

October 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

October 23, 2018 October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“Every design success is just the latest iteration in a series of design failures.”
— Seth Jaffee
October 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

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

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