“Someone will find the shortcuts and exploits in your game that you didn’t expect. And people will do what it takes to win, even if it isn’t fun.”

— Bez

“Game Design 101: if you’re starting out, don’t worry about processes, techniques or publishing. Just. Design. Games.”

— Alan E Paull

Designing games for the mass market (audio)

https://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-design-games-for-the-mass-market-with-leslie-scott-and-freddie-scott-vollrath

What do “interrupts” bring to turn-based games? A BoardGameGeek designers forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2569993/what-do-interrupts-bring-turn-based-games

Best practices for pitching your game to publishers—a Twitter board game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/TheJayBell/status/1344370475703660547

The “acquire, build, score” framework for looking at game designs:

https://doriadar.medium.com/abs-the-formula-for-building-games-about-building-9f4fb8ce6396

The benefits of discovering your game design biases, and how to do it:

http://www.phantomknightgames.com/news/discovering-your-game-design-biases/

This online tool creates line maps of any city in the world:

https://anvaka.github.io/city-roads/

Sample rulebook template in a Google doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-scVt3i6coNWHx6wOqPMq4701yv2sUtJ5yO7rhuIW_k/edit

Making sure your board game box label requirements are met:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/making-sure-your-board-game-box-label-requirements-are-met/

How to create Facebook ads for a Kickstarter campaign:

https://crowdfundingnerds.com/facebook-ads-for-your-kickstarter/

Pointers for creating, running—and making the best use of leads from—ads for your Kickstarter campaign (audio):

https://meeplemarketing.com/navigating-ads-with-brenna-noonan/

What tends to work—and not work—in digital adaptations of board games:

https://www.gamesprecipice.com/electronic-adaptations/

What is a eurogame?

https://eriktwice.com/en/2020/12/24/what-is-a-eurogame/

Pointers for pitching your game to different audiences: players, playtesters, publishers, and retailers (video)

A deep dive into Kickstarter referrals and where backers really come from:

https://crowdfundingnerds.com/kickstarter-referrals-explained-deep-dive-into-4-tabletop-campaigns-that-funded-successfully/

Tips on how to make your game stand out in the retail market (audio)

https://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-stand-out-in-retail-with-aj-brandon

Some common mistakes to watch out for, especially if you are a new designer (part 1, audio)

https://omny.fm/shows/fun-problems/2-common-mistakes-new-designers-make-part-1

Tips for remaining engaged with Kickstarter backers after the campaign ends:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/how-to-keep-engaged-with-your-kickstarter-backers-after-your-campaign-ends/

Pointers and pitfalls for making a game based on existing intellectual property (video)