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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
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November 23, 2018 November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

The benefits of testing significant, rather than incremental, changes to a design:

https://www.3dtotalgames.com/double-it/

November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

November 20, 2018 November 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A discussion on designing abstract games (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-abstract-games-with-david-abelson/

November 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 20, 2018 November 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Reasons to attend conventions as a designer or publisher:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/83261/reasons-go-convention-designerpublisher

November 20, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

November 16, 2018 November 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Factors to consider when naming a game (audio):

http://www.thespiel.net/node/1178

November 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, publishing, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 16, 2018 November 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

What it takes to get a game into retail (audio):

http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/obg-324-crack-the-code

November 16, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, industry, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 15, 2018 November 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

How game design can shape the ways that players communicate while playing (audio):

http://www.thespiel.net/node/1181

November 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 15, 2018 November 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Ways of making a dice-rolling system that feels thematically appropriate:

https://www.3dtotalgames.com/thematic-dice-rolling-systems/

November 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 15, 2018 November 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A roundtable discussion about the current state and future of rulebooks (audio):

http://www.thespiel.net/node/1179

November 15, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
rules, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 14, 2018 November 14, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

What goes on in the minds of players during a game:

http://makethemplay.com/index.php/2018/11/14/mind-games/

November 14, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 13, 2018 November 13, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

A detailed look at objectives and victory conditions: how players can win a game:

http://www.gamesprecipice.com/objectives/

November 13, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 12, 2018 November 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Why you shouldn’t make board game publishing a solo endeavor:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/6-reasons-you-shouldnt-make-board-games-alone/

November 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 12, 2018 November 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“Try to finish your projects. Even if it’s a game you’ll never show to anyone, even if you yourself consider it horrible, try to finish it for the sake of finishing. You’ll learn a lot in the process, which in turn might make your next game better.”
— Matthew Dunstan
November 12, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
process

Cardboard Edison

November 09, 2018 November 09, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Board game fulfillment logistics, and companies that do the work:

http://www.jamesmathe.com/success-without-fulfillment-is-the-ultimate-failure/

November 09, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 09, 2018 November 09, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“You know what I want in rule book? A brief overview. It doesn’t make sense to me to read what you do each step if I don’t know what the ‘story’ is. It’s like having a bunch of ingredients & going through all the steps & finding out at the end what dish you’re making.”
— @ellalovesbg
November 09, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

November 09, 2018 November 09, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“After designing ‘special powers’ for many games, I’ve learned that 90 percent of all special powers you’ll come up with are stupid and bad. If you’re not on at least your fourth draft, you haven’t put enough time in.”
— Jon Perry
November 09, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

November 07, 2018 November 07, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Takeaways from the 2018 Metatopia playtesting convention from a first-time attendee:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/82808/lessons-playtesting

November 07, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

November 06, 2018 November 06, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“The purpose of a playtest is not to validate your game but to expose issues so they can be improved. A successful playtest finds problems.”
— Jay Treat
November 06, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

November 06, 2018 November 06, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

An in-depth discussion about game balance (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-187-balancing-act-0

November 06, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 05, 2018 November 05, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Takeaways from showing your prototypes at a large public playtesting event:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2088123/collaboratory-pax-australia-designers-takeaways

November 05, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

November 02, 2018 November 02, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“Friends tired of playtesting your game? Look for open gaming nights at stores or board game meetups to find playtesters. Talk to the organizer or store runner about playtesting your game at their event beforehand. Get unbiased views, and make some new friends!”
— @PHXCovenant
November 02, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

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