“THE WAY to get good at game design fast: make a prototype today, despite having no idea what you’re doing. TODAY. Playtest ASAP. The test will and should be ABYSMAL. Then iterate til it’s not abysmal, then iterate more til it’s good. There. Now you’re a game designer.”

— Nick Bentley

“When prototyping game components players manipulate, use physical components that have similar properties to your intended final components.”

— John Brieger

Tips for pitching your game based on feeling first:

https://twitter.com/DanielSolis/status/1185540408421556226

Advice for designers attending conventions:

https://design100.org/37-conventions/#

“Focus on the big things before focusing on the small things. I often see other game designers focusing on fixing little details when it seems that some of the core ideas need to be changed instead.”

— Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance

“Some testers will try to dominate feedback discussions. You are responsible for ensuring all voices are heard!”

— John Brieger

Four lessons for aspiring designers from Dinosaur Island:

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

Ways of keeping players involved even at high player counts:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2290509/keeping-players-involved-high-player-count

What it’s like working as a full-time freelance board game designer:

https://www.toynews-online.biz/2019/10/10/confessions-of-a-game-designer-an-interview-with-the-prolific-rustan-hakansson/

Things to remember about termination clauses in game licensing contracts:

https://www.thegameaisle.com/chitag-white-paper-termination/

Notes on the value of playtesting done right:

https://twitter.com/sophisaurus_rex/status/1181173931379757057

“Don’t be afraid of big changes at each iteration during early tests. Most board games can’t be A/B tested to completion.”

— John Brieger

How designers approach promoting their games:

https://design100.org/36-promotion/

Price is a major consideration when players decide whether to buy a game or not; here is a discussion on many factors regarding cost (audio):

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/pricing-your-game-at-the-game-crafter-episode-207

“The best thing you can possibly do to catch a judge’s attention in a design contest is to do something that they haven’t seen before. If your plan is ‘I will do [standard recipe] better than anyone else’, it has to be orders of magnitude better in order to stand out.”

— Mike Mullins

Four lessons from Twilight Imperium for aspiring board game designers:

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

How games can be designed to be more engaging for different types of player groups:

http://itbboardgames.com/2019/10/01/leap-of-faith/

“If you don’t enjoy it it’s always going to be a challenge convincing anyone else.”

— James Emmerson

Tips for getting the most out of a playtest:

https://gnomestew.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-playtesting/

“Don’t forget a card key in your rulebook. Telling me to shuffle something doesn’t help if I can’t figure out what that something is!”

— Brittanie Boe