“When done well, there is no ‘theme first, mechanism first’. Both enhance each other.”

— David Turczi

Sydney Engelstein, director of game development for Stronghold Games, on working with designers, timelines for signing and publishing games, in-house game design, women in the board game industry, solo variants, and more (video)

What three games should every designer play? A Twitter board game design discussion:

https://twitter.com/belltowergames/status/1286389802485587970

Cole and Drew Wehrle on their game design philosophy, the games market, “fun,” and more:

https://www.dicebreaker.com/companies/wehrlegig-games/interview/cole-wehrle-interview-oath-root-pax-pamir

How to spend the first 48 hours after launching a Kickstarter campaign:

https://www.manokentgames.com/post/what-to-do-post-launch-kickstarting-the-easy-way

“Math is only one tool in a boardgame developer’s toolbox, and not the most important one. If you aren’t a big math person, don’t despair. You definitely don’t need to be good at math to make great games.”

— John Brieger

How to import game components into Tabletop Simulator (video)

Escape room puzzle design workshop (video)

How to manage a board game’s community on Kickstarter:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-manage-your-board-game-kickstarter-community/

One designer’s experience pitching to publishers over Zoom and Tabletop Simulator:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/104060/tabletop-simulator-zoom-game-design-and-pitching-p

The importance of having an established audience before you launch your Kickstarter campaign (audio):

https://indieboardgamedesigners.com/malachi-ray-rempen/

“Wargames aren’t really about ‘recreating’ history, but about engaging with it; not about what happened when and in what order, but why and how it happened, and why and how it could have happened differently.”

— Tom Russell

“Watch for how players interact with the physical components of the prototype. Identifying the tactile experiences people find rewarding or engaging can help inspire new component designs.”

— John Brieger

Board Game Brothas on creating a brand, networking and community-building, working in board games, and more:

https://www.backerkit.com/blog/rap-godz-omari-akil-interview

Richard Breese on designing worker placement games, co-designing, playtesting, and more:

https://www.diagonalmove.com/interview-richard-breese-key-series-creator-and-founder-of-rd-games/

Wood vs. plastic: comparing the price, consistency, flexibility, and environmental impact of different board game token materials:

https://stonemaiergames.com/wood-vs-plastic-the-facts-about-custom-tokens/

“The most important skill for boardgame developers is communication — more important than design chops, math, research, or games knowledge. None of those matter if you can’t tell the publishers and designer WHY a change is necessary or align on product vision.”

— John Brieger

How simultaneous decision-making and bluffing give players the illusion of control:

http://www.phantomknightgames.com/news/the-illusion-of-control-part-1-the-ellen-degeneres-slot-machine/

Storytelling mechanics: how various games incentivize players to tell stories:

https://twitter.com/emmalarkins/status/1282790983353069568

“By far the best playtesting advice I’ve ever learned is to make your 1st priority creating a safe space for your testers. No one’s going to test your game or give you honest feedback if they don’t feel safe & welcome. Make sure they know their voices matter & that you value them.”

— Sara Perry