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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

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    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
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November 26, 2018 November 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

An analysis of how a player’s decision could play out in different types of games:

http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2018/11/26/a-model-for-decision-making-in-games-part-three-action-resolution/

November 26, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 25, 2018 November 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“A cardinal rule I have for rulebooks: Include sample play/turns. Have those turns include every type of card and common rules interaction.”
— John du Bois
November 25, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2018 November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Designing and putting together handmade games (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-hand-crafted-games-with-jackson-pope/

November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2018 November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison
“It’s conventional wisdom by now that you have to market your games to get anywhere, but there’s one little chestnut of wisdom that seems not to be said enough: It all starts with the game. If your game isn’t right for a specific set of gamers, none of that marketing matters.”
— Brandon Rollins
November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2018 November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison

Rules for writing rules (audio):

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/rules-for-writing-rules-ep-74

November 23, 2018/ Cardboard Edison/
rules, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

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

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