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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • Cardboard Edison/
  • Our Games/
    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
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    • Virtual Tabletops
    • Contests
    • Interviews
    • Game Design Checklist
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process
rules
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December 04, 2020 December 04, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The Building Block of Meaning in board games (audio)

https://indieboardgamedesigners.com/charlie-mccarron/

December 04, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, theory, process

Cardboard Edison

November 28, 2020 November 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Fun ways to sneak science and education into games (audio):

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/episode-442-science-gets-sneaky/

November 28, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry, theory

Cardboard Edison

November 27, 2020 November 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Some unique and tested ways to promote your game (audio):

https://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-promote-a-game-with-allen-wolf

November 27, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, industry, publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 24, 2020 November 24, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

How to network in the board game industry (video)

November 24, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2020 November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Playtesting isn’t just about testing balance/optimization/number crunching; it’s about finding out whether your design intentions come through to people other than yourself.”
— Aaron Lim
November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2020 November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Factors to consider in setting your game’s MSRP, and why it’s more complicated than just “five times cost”:

https://medium.com/@fantastic.factories/setting-the-msrp-of-your-board-game-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-the-5x-landed-cost-rule-685808eb7e5f

November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2020 November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Lots of pointers for pitching your game to a publisher: before, during, and after the pitch:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/11/23/pitching-your-game/

November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2020 November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

How to write a rulebook, section by section:

https://medium.com/@tim.chuon/how-to-write-a-good-board-game-rulebook-5e66cd9f7e40

November 23, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

November 21, 2020 November 21, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“Be careful not to sacrifice playability in order to keep a mechanism in a game that players don’t get until several plays in. They may never make it through or past the first play if the game is too clever.”
— Sen-Foong Lim
November 21, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 21, 2020 November 21, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The importance of good graphics in your prototypes (audio)

http://www.buildingthegamepodcast.com/episode-440-prototypes-get-graphic/

November 21, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
podcasts, prototyping, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

November 19, 2020 November 19, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Discussion: What was your favorite moment as a game designer?

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2542705/what-was-your-favorite-moment-game-designer

November 19, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

November 16, 2020 November 16, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Why it’s important to pay attention to how players feel at the end of your game:

https://twitter.com/gengelstein/status/1327826194784526338

November 16, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 13, 2020 November 13, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“It’s important that when you sign a deal for your games, you sign with somebody that you trust based on their previous games.”
— Julio E. Nazario
November 13, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

November 12, 2020 November 12, 2020/ Cardboard Edison
“No time spent studying game design can really substitute for the real thing, sitting down and trying to design a game. It is in this moment, and the many moments of iterating, playtesting and reflecting afterwards, that you truly hone the craft of game designing.”
— Matthew Dunstan
November 12, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

November 12, 2020 November 12, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Bruno Cathala on co-designing, the most important part of game design, playing more games, and more (audio):

http://playerlair.net/bruno-cathala/

November 12, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
process, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

November 12, 2020 November 12, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

A big list of worker-placement mechanisms:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vlW2J66mjMo3xqGgEppn1lz3t7gPOaroAQ1C6eG63jc/edit

November 12, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 10, 2020 November 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Games that disrupt the flow of play but somehow get away with it—a Twitter board game design discussion:

https://twitter.com/cardgamedesign1/status/1326311923789520899

November 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 10, 2020 November 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Creating Kickstarter pledge levels that attract backers without overwhelming them:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/how-to-create-kickstarter-pledge-levels/

November 10, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 05, 2020 November 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

The value of being an active member of a board game design community (video)

November 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, process

Cardboard Edison

November 05, 2020 November 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison

Ways that game designers should think about “time”—beyond just game length (video)

November 05, 2020/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

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