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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

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June 04, 2020 June 04, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

10 brand extension strategies for tabletop games:

https://stonemaiergames.com/10-brand-extension-strategies-for-tabletop-games/

June 04, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

June 03, 2020 June 03, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

4 lessons from Imhotep for aspiring board game designers:

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

June 03, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

June 02, 2020 June 02, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for making an immersive game through world-building, art, characters, and more:

http://atgn.com.au/designers-dangers-102/

June 02, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

May 31, 2020 May 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Industry leaders discuss the effects of the COVID19 pandemic on the tabletop games industry (audio):

http://www.buzzsprout.com/46339/3957179-covid19-and-the-tabletop-games-industry-with-justin-jacobson-and-ben-harkins

May 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry

Cardboard Edison

May 31, 2020 May 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Follow your passion, use your personality and find success on social media (audio):

https://breakingintoboardgames.libsyn.com/breaking-into-board-games-episode-119-danny-quach

May 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry

Cardboard Edison

May 30, 2020 May 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Industry insight from a full-time developer (audio):

https://breakingintoboardgames.libsyn.com/breaking-into-board-games-episode-117-john-brieger

May 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry, publishing

Cardboard Edison

May 30, 2020 May 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Scoring is what incentivises different behaviours. So, to a large extent, your scoring system IS your game. A good scoring system can provide a higher skill ceiling, differentiation of skill, reward interesting/fun play, tension of risk/reward, and real meaningful choices.”
— Bez
May 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 30, 2020 May 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

How heuristic evaluation can improve your game design (audio):

https://ninjavspirates.libsyn.com/who-what-why-s22e04-let-me-learn-you-something

May 30, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, theory, industry

Cardboard Edison

May 28, 2020 May 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The difference between novelty that comes from original concepts and novelty coming from variety–plus ways of increasing replayability:

https://justingary.com/2020/05/05/the-lost-chapter-think-like-a-game-designer/

May 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 27, 2020 May 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Most strategic games are about decisions, and when you decide to do something you’re also often deciding not to do something else. And there is a cost there, and that cost is often not appreciated by some designers.”
— Tom Lehmann
May 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 27, 2020 May 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
Screen+Shot+2020-05-27+at+12.33.37+PM.jpg

A repository of millions of icons, many of them free:

https://www.flaticon.com/

May 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

May 27, 2020 May 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The 10 Minute Design Challenge is a great exercise for quick thinking and creativity:

http://10minutedesignchallenge.co.uk/

Here’s a video explaining how it works:

https://youtu.be/E3_KhFZZ93c

May 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

May 25, 2020 May 25, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

What makes a racing game a racing game? (audio)

http://dicehateme.com/2020/05/the-state-of-games-ep-173-the-one-about-rockets-and-racing/

May 25, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, theory, process

Cardboard Edison

May 22, 2020 May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

What designers should expect from publishers—and vice versa (video)

May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

May 22, 2020 May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The benefits of giving Kickstarter backers a discount off your game’s retail price:

https://stonemaiergames.com/whats-up-with-reward-prices-on-kickstarter/

May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

May 22, 2020 May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

What kinds of biases do board game designers have, and what can be done to make games more approachable to all kinds of gamers?

https://twitter.com/SenFoongLim/status/1263608899975942146

May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, industry

Cardboard Edison

May 22, 2020 May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Your game is 3 to 10 times harder than you think it is.”
— Elizabeth Hargrave
May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 22, 2020 May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“To make a bridge to the familiar, hobby gamers have to realize what is familiar to a casual gamer.

Worker placement? nope
Variable turn order? nope
Variable set-up? not really
Deck construction? nope
Game phases? nope

You can ask a casual player to learn 2-3 new things at most”
— Dominic Crapuchettes
May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, industry

Cardboard Edison

May 22, 2020 May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“A key facet of modern design is that players are engaged in the game from start to finish. Make losing as engaging as possible.”
— T.C. Petty III
May 22, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

May 18, 2020 May 18, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Examples of expansions that increase replayability without also increasing players’ cognitive load too much:

http://www.phantomknightgames.com/news/the-one-about-expansions/

May 18, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

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