Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources - November 2018

In this month's roundup of great board game design links and quotes, we have useful guides for writing rulebooks, a new source of art for prototypes, thought-provoking articles on game design theory, and more.

theory:

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

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

• “Every rule, every component, every aspect of your game must solve a problem or provide an experience that is essential to your game. Everything else compromises quality.” - Jay Treat

rules:

• 9 tips for writing better rules

• How to structure a rulebook (video)

prototyping:

• Free art assets for independent board game designers

licensing:

• How to make your game sound interesting in a pitch

publishing:

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

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Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon.

ADVISERS: Rob Greanias, Peter C. Hayward

SENIOR INVENTORS: Steven Cole (Escape Velocity Games), John du Bois, Chris and Kathy Keane (The Drs. Keane), Joshua J. Mills, Marcel Perro, Behrooz "Bez" Shahriari, Shoot Again Games

JUNIOR INVENTORS: Ryan Abrams, Joshua Buergel, Luis Lara, Neil Roberts, Jay Treat

ASSOCIATES: Dark Forest Project, Stephen B. Davies, Adrienne Ezell, Marcus Howell, Thiago Jabuonski, Doug Levandowski, Nathan Miller, Mike Sette, Matt Wolfe

APPRENTICES: Cardboard Fortress Games, Kiva Fecteau, Guz Forster, Scott Gottreu, Icarus Must Burn, Aaron Lim, Scott Martel Jr., James Meyers, The Nerd Nighters, Matthew Nguyen, Marcus Ross, Rosco Schock, VickieGames, Lock Watson, White Wizard Games

Novel Games Contest

Design a game based on a work of classic literature

Deadline: March 1, 2019

Prizes: cash and possible publication

http://www.escapevelocitygames.com/novel-games-contest/

How to put horror into a board game (audio):

http://goforthandgame.libsyn.com/building-horror-into-board-games-a-conversation-withchris-kirkman

How to structure a rulebook (video)

9 tips for writing better rules:

https://www.canva.com/design/DADJroI1kXI/2UKJESZxFiUVI1K1Uw1xTQ/view

“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/