Tabletop industry veterans on how to design games, game design theory, where game design is headed, and what kinds of games people are making in 2020 (video)

Zev Shlasinger answers a whole lot of questions from board game designers: reaching out to publishers, pitching well, industry trends, working with IPs, solo modes, and lots more (audio):

https://virtualplaytesting.com/2020/07/q-and-a-with-zev-shlesinger-of-wizkids/

Finding the core of your game—Fertessa Alyse on thinking about what you want your game to be, knowing what to cut, working with playtesters, and more:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/08/03/finding-the-core-to-your-game-with-fertessa-alyse/

A nuanced answer to the question of whether you should make your prototype look nice:

https://twitter.com/gilhova/status/1289047346622365697

How to publish your tabletop game, from how and where to pitch to publishers to self-publishing advice (video)

Are board game designers being asked to do too much? A Twitter game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/PhongOdin/status/1288873031176089600

A pricing calculator for various pledge managers:

http://rockmanorgames.com/2020/07/29/pledge-manager-pricing-calculator/

What games are and how they work: an overview of concepts from the lusory attitude and the magic circle to flow and good-faith players:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/107121/what-lusory-attitude

Game mechanics that ruin the game (video)

“make games that you can’t explain with 2 or 3 words because they’ve been too well trod”

— Daniel Newman

“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