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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • About Us/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
    • Industry Reports
    • Tariffs Report
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featured
theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
rules
licensing
publishing
industry
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September 11, 2020 September 11, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The importance of self-care and how it can affect your work (audio):

https://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/self-care-and-dealing-with-designer-burnout-with-kirk-dennison/

September 11, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry

Cardboard Edison

September 10, 2020 September 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Intrinsic motivation and its role in game design:

https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2020/9/10/what-is-intrinsic-motivation

September 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 10, 2020 September 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Vomit your work on to paper and get it to the table. Play it.

It will be terrible, and you’ll be embarrassed. And then you’ll either be inspired to make the next iteration better, or decide this is not for you and give up.

Both (and the entire spectrum between) are 100% valid.”
— Eric Lang
September 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 09, 2020 September 09, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

A look at loss aversion and the role it can play in game design:

https://www.psychologyofgames.com/2020/09/podcast-63-loss-aversion-and-game-design/

September 09, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2020 September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Three perspectives on how board games get made, from prolific publishers with different business models (video)

September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing, industry

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2020 September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

A quick exercise to help you find a player-friendly way of describing your game in marketing materials:

https://twitter.com/TerriblyBland/status/1303464609077231618

September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2020 September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Games are better if they hold up to competitive play, but they MUST hold up to non-competitive play. Don’t allow your game to drag on or fall apart if players don’t pursue victory as aggressively as you expected them to.”
— Seth Jaffee
September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2020 September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Don’t automatically conflate a game’s set-up variability with its replayability. After all, based on centuries of evidence, Go and Chess are the most replayable board games. Instead realize that a game’s replayability often results from the variability within its players.”
— W. Eric Martin
September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2020 September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Ideas are a dime a dozen & mean nothing if the work isn’t put in to actually make a game out of it.”
— Jason Dinger
September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2020 September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for making board game content as a game designer:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/09/07/designing-and-content-creation/

September 08, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

September 05, 2020 September 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Lots of advice for pitching to publishers, plus answers to questions about playtesting and the game design process (video)

September 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing, playtesting, process, industry

Cardboard Edison

September 05, 2020 September 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

More tips for making the most of your game design time, whether you’re working solo or with a team:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/04/21/maximize-game-design-time-part-2/

see also: http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/04/16/maximizing-your-game-design-time-part-1/

September 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 05, 2020 September 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Designing games that use real-world economic principles:

https://www.boardgamingwitheducation.com/drwictz/

September 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 01, 2020 September 01, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

How to let go in game design: identifying and eliminating bloat from your game (video)

September 01, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

August 31, 2020 August 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Step-by-step instructions for how to relaunch a failed Kickstarter campaign:

https://www.backerkit.com/blog/failed-kickstarter

August 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

August 31, 2020 August 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Reminders for what to do when you’re ready to order a print run for your board game:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-order-a-print-run-for-your-board-game-kickstarter/

August 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

August 31, 2020 August 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

A wide-ranging conversation about the physicality of games: how game pieces feel, table presence, cost, functionality, and more:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/08/31/the-physicality-of-games-with-daniel-zayas/

August 31, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, theory, industry

Cardboard Edison

August 29, 2020 August 29, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

“The Well-Tempered Theme”: A look into the ways in which a game’s theme and mechanics interact to affect the player’s experience (video):

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/717118192

August 29, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

August 28, 2020 August 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for designing in a virtual world (audio):

http://gdofnc.buzzsprout.com/48513/5050202-episode-63-designing-in-a-virtual-world

August 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, playtesting, industry

Cardboard Edison

August 28, 2020 August 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Just like there are multiple paths to victory in a game, there are multiple ways to find success in this industry (audio):

https://indieboardgamedesigners.com/ta-te-wu/

August 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

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