“Don’t blame the reader for misreading the rule book. Ask how you can improve the rule book.”

— Dr. Wictz

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/

“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

Designing and putting together handmade games (audio):

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

“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

Rules for writing rules (audio):

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

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

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

A discussion on designing abstract games (audio):

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

Reasons to attend conventions as a designer or publisher:

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

Factors to consider when naming a game (audio):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

“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