“my biggest piece of advice for aspiring board game designers is to play more modern games. play so many games. as many as you can. different kinds. pay attention to designers and their styles. learn what you can about how people who know what they’re doing do their thing.”

— Daniel Newman

4 lessons from Azul for aspiring board game designers:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/4-lessons-from-azul-for-aspiring-board-game-designers/

The difference between a good game and a great game—a BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2151837/what-difference-between-good-and-great-game

“Every step of the way, you just have to keep thinking about how things relate back to the theme. Who are players in the game? Do the things they do in the game give them an experience consistent with the theme?”

— Elizabeth Hargrave

Board game designers answer the question: “What common game design saying or piece of advice do you most disagree with, and why?”

http://design100.org/3-sayings/

Roll & Write Game Design Contest

Deadline: June 1, 2019

Prizes: GeekGold

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2153371/roll-write-game-design-contest

“Take time to practice teaching your game and your playtest facilitation script. Your explanation and framing have huge impacts on test results.”

— John Brieger

More than 200 artists and graphic designers, with links to their portfolios and notes on style:

https://stonemaiergames.com/200-artists-and-graphic-designers-whose-work-i-love/

How to stay motivated during quiet periods—a Twitter board game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/pa8ted/status/1093951178520444930

Tabletop game designers on what drives them to create:

http://design100.org/2-drive/

“Test early, test often! Players will expose problems with your design faster and more reliably than you can. If you design for months before seeking feedback, you run the risk of designing content/mechanics you’ll end up scrapping anyway.”

— Phoenix Covenant

“Playtest feedback is best analyzed and acted upon in aggregate.”

— John Brieger

Notes on identifying your game’s complexity:

https://twitter.com/emmalarkins/status/1096184394153308160

First steps for new designers: what to do with your board game idea:

https://bigpotato.com/gb/blog/what-to-do-with-your-brilliant-board-game

8 kinds of fun:

https://goblinartisans.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-8-kinds-of-fun.html

4 lessons from Ticket to Ride for aspiring board game designers:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/4-lessons-from-ticket-to-ride-for-aspiring-board-game-designers/

The requirement for the February 2019 24-hour contest is “bureaucracy”:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2146802/24-hour-contest-february-2019

Thoughts on adding extra game modes to your design, such as for expanded player counts and solo versions:

https://twitter.com/DasBrieger/status/1093666711088201728

Why you should make a prototype and get your idea to the table as soon as possible:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/your_game_idea/

4 lessons from Terraforming Mars for aspiring board game designers:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/4-lessons-from-terraforming-mars-for-aspiring-board-game-designers/