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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
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    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
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featured
theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
rules
licensing
publishing
industry
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May 13, 2020 May 13, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
hexes with Excel.jpg

Downloadable Excel template for generating hex maps:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mEIh7WFxsntfiJ-Qy_qq5n9Ta3SseRyr/view

May 13, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

May 13, 2020 May 13, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Three things to consider to get you in the right mindset before pitching your game to a publisher:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/3-things-to-consider-when-pitching-to-board-game-publishers/

May 13, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

May 09, 2020 May 09, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Pointers for communicating your board game’s rules effectively (video)

May 09, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

May 08, 2020 May 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Why do so many games have five resources?

https://compoundinterests.net/blog/why-do-so-many-games-have-five-resources

May 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 07, 2020 May 07, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“If you are going to be designing a game, you need to be the biggest champion for that game. If you can’t sit there for three years and talk about this game and talk about how much you love this game and how great this game is, then no one else is going to get excited about that game.”
— Tim Blank
May 07, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

May 06, 2020 May 06, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Pointers for getting published, and the things you should be doing to make it happen:

https://twitter.com/emmalarkins/status/1258091971425402880

May 06, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

May 05, 2020 May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Though it might not be required, writing a good rulebook can give you a leg up in not only getting your game published, but getting it published right. If you can’t communicate how your game is played to the publisher, they can’t communicate it to the world.”
— Emma Larkins
May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

May 05, 2020 May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

An argument that “challenge” is the key to a game that sticks with players:

http://www.phantomknightgames.com/news/eat-your-vegetables/

May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 05, 2020 May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Board game designers share how they incorporate replayability into their games:

https://design100.org/60-replayability/#

May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 05, 2020 May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
Handy printable sheet with game design axioms to remember

Handy printable sheet with game design axioms to remember

May 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 03, 2020 May 03, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

How to playtest your game, plus how to work with playtesters and developers (video)

May 03, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

May 03, 2020 May 03, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Lots of tips for funding and publishing your first board game, stated bluntly:

http://tabletopbackerparty.com/funding-your-first-game/

May 03, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

May 01, 2020 May 01, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Some thoughts to help you find the motivation to get started turning your idea for a game into reality:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-turn-your-ideas-into-reality/

May 01, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

April 30, 2020 April 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

A comparison of Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia, with pros and cons for playtesting on each:

https://firsttakesomedice.blogspot.com/2020/04/prototyping-and-testing-virtually.html

April 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

April 28, 2020 April 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

10 contract tips for board game publishers (video)

April 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, publishing

Cardboard Edison

April 28, 2020 April 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

A short reminder about the importance of doing your due diligence before launching a product:

https://twitter.com/GTGChristopher/status/1254973305154609153

April 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

April 28, 2020 April 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Lots of tips for working on multiple game ideas at once:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/04/28/working-on-multiple-games-at-once/

April 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

April 27, 2020 April 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
rsz_screen_shot_2020-04-27_at_24727_pm.png

Nifty tool for making 3D-looking cityscapes

https://icograms.com/

April 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

April 27, 2020 April 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Ideas are cheap, and plentiful, and not so unique. Designers have to decide which ideas to pursue when. That skill is more important than having ideas in the first place. And it still doesn’t compare to actually executing on an idea.”
— Jay Treat
April 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

April 25, 2020 April 25, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Discussion of fairness in games (audio):

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-222-johnny-fairplay

April 25, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, theory, industry

Cardboard Edison

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