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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • About Us/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
    • Industry Reports
    • Tariffs Report
    • Playtest Groups
    • Virtual Tabletops
    • Contests
    • Podcast
    • Interviews
    • Game Design Checklist
  • Houdini's Last Act/
  • Publisher Directory/
  • Newsletter/
  • Award/
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prototyping
process
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April 10, 2019 April 10, 2019/ Cardboard Edison
“Watch body language during play. Players leaned in toward the the game signals engagement. Leaned out = bored.”
— John Brieger
April 10, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 10, 2019 April 10, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

How to do research for a game and why your local library is one of your best resources (audio):

https://indieboardgamedesigners.com/brian-compter/

April 10, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry, process

Cardboard Edison

April 10, 2019 April 10, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Tips on how to manage your day job and hobby board game business (audio):

http://theforbiddenlimb.libsyn.com/top-5-tips-for-managing-your-day-job-and-hobby-board-game-business-ep-81

April 10, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, process

Cardboard Edison

April 09, 2019 April 09, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

What does it take to define the worker placement mechanic in a game? (audio):

http://ninjavspirates.libsyn.com/who-what-why-s20e08-worker-placement-and-more

April 09, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, rules, industry

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Notes on the difficulties of making a narrative-based board game:

https://spacebiff.com/2019/04/08/joshua-buergel-on-storytelling/

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

How and why to create science-based games that are educational and fun (audio):

http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/fun-and-educational-games-with-john-coveyou/

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, theory, process

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

How one retailer decides what products to get and keep in his successful game store (audio):

http://breakingintoboardgames.libsyn.com/breaking-into-board-games-episode-90-travis-severance-millenium-games

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison
“Try changing a rule, adding something to your game, or taking something away. Even one small tweak can make the difference between a game that’s good and a game that everyone can’t wait to play again.”
— Joe Slack
April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/ /Source
theory

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Three wrong reasons to try to publish a board game, and three right reasons:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/6-right-and-wrong-reasons-to-make-a-board-game/

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Handy tools for making prototypes (video)

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison
“don’t just do whatever other people suggest but also don’t completely disregard proposed answers just because you think they won’t work. think about what it is they’re addressing and come up with something that fits better.”
— Daniel Newman
April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison
public domain images.png

A collection of vintage illustrations and icons available in the public domain:

https://www.rawpixel.com/board/539757/vintage-illustrations

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison
“You haven’t tested your game enough. You can never test your game enough.”
— John Brieger
April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Techniques for getting in the right headspace for game design:

http://design100.org/10-headspace/

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

April 08, 2019 April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Get the full story of Unpub 9 from those that organized it (audio):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/3256/1012249

April 08, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, playtesting, industry

Cardboard Edison

April 06, 2019 April 06, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

How do you know when a design is ready to show to strangers?

https://twitter.com/CerebralCellar/status/1114183069886550017

April 06, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 06, 2019 April 06, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

Video talks from the Game Developers Conference 2019 Board Game Design Day (video):

https://www.gdcvault.com/search.php#&category=free&firstfocus=&keyword=%22Board+Game%2BDesign%2BDay%22&conference_id=

April 06, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

April 06, 2019 April 06, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

A handful of quick tips for writing clearer rulebooks:

https://twitter.com/DanielSolis/status/1114500462294835200

April 06, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

April 05, 2019 April 05, 2019/ Cardboard Edison

A four-part series about the obvious and not-so-obvious costs of publishing a board game:

https://www.cardboardvault.com/lessons-learned/little-things-add-up-1-standard-costs

https://www.cardboardvault.com/lessons-learned/little-things-add-up-2-other-kickstarter-costs

https://www.cardboardvault.com/lessons-learned/little-things-add-up-3-ongoing-costs-3

https://www.cardboardvault.com/lessons-learned/little-things-add-up-4-ongoing-costs-ii

April 05, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

April 05, 2019 April 05, 2019/ Cardboard Edison
“Unless you’re short on design time, test the wild idea first.”
— Jay Treat
April 05, 2019/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

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