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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
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    • Tariffs Report
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    • Virtual Tabletops
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theory
playtesting
prototyping
process
rules
licensing
publishing
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October 02, 2021 October 02, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Drafting games: Why they’re harder for new players to pick up than you might think:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-heaviest-mechanism.html

October 02, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 25, 2021 September 25, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

How review copies work in the board game industry: timeframes, benefits, and ethical considerations:

https://eriktwice.com/en/2021/09/24/what-are-review-copies/

September 25, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

September 23, 2021 September 23, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

A game scout discusses how to pitch to a publisher—and how not to (video, starting at 18:30)

September 23, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

September 23, 2021 September 23, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

So you’ve designed a board game—now what? An overview of the three main ways of getting your game out into the world:

https://www.underdoggames.com/a/blog/how-to-get-a-board-game-published

September 23, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, licensing, publishing

Cardboard Edison

September 23, 2021 September 23, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Board game designers share the painful, embarrassing lessons they learned early on:

https://twitter.com/JacksmackGames/status/1440696652185026568

September 23, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 18, 2021 September 18, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Basic human desires, and how board games can fulfill them for players (videos):

part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meITuX9fvII

part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyK7slaZ_oI

September 18, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 15, 2021 September 15, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Some tools that board game designers can use to generate emotions in players:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2021/09/tools-to-create-emotions.html

September 15, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 13, 2021 September 13, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Data visualization and board games: how shape, color, layout, and more help immerse players into the game (videos):

part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2n9jZMaK9o

part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_wMZaF-b0

September 13, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, prototyping

Cardboard Edison

September 12, 2021 September 12, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Programs for designing minis and figurines for tabletop games:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/pmfejz/what_programs_do_you_use_to_design_figurines/

September 12, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

September 11, 2021 September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Lessons learned from a first-time board game designer: the design process, playtesting, failing, overcoming discouragement, and more:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/plvwee/lessons_learned_from_a_fledgling_game_designer/

September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
process, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

September 11, 2021 September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Three ways of addressing the issue of players playing your game incorrectly:

https://www.pineislandgames.com/blog/bullet-proof-games

September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 11, 2021 September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for designing and publishing a game based on nothing more than a deck of cards (audio):

https://boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-games-based-on-a-standard-deck-of-cards-with-luke-badger-paul-abrahams-and-andy-richdale/

September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, publishing, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

September 11, 2021 September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

The power of short turns and staggered goals:

https://www.getrevue.co/profile/gengelstein/issues/gametek-7-staggered-goal-engagement-theory-722727

September 11, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 10, 2021 September 10, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

When your Kickstarter ends, think about what elements you want frozen in place for posterity:

https://stonemaiergames.com/this-is-the-end-state-ks-lesson-280/

September 10, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2021 September 08, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

What part of board game design do you find most challenging? A Twitter game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/ell_deck/status/1434523210796584960

September 08, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 08, 2021 September 08, 2021/ Cardboard Edison
Screen Shot 2021-09-08 at 7.05.44 PM.png

Tons of health and medicine icons, free to use for your medical-themed prototype:

https://healthicons.org/

September 08, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

September 04, 2021 September 04, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Board game designers discuss how they fit game design time into their lives and free time:

http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2021/09/04/guest-post-fitting-in-game-design-time/

September 04, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 04, 2021 September 04, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

IP-based games: tips for collaborating on a board game with an intellectual-property holder (video)

September 04, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

September 03, 2021 September 03, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Things to keep in mind when designing escape-room-style board games:

https://twitter.com/ShannonCreates/status/1433621171359059972

September 03, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

August 31, 2021 August 31, 2021/ Cardboard Edison

Style tips for how to use numbers in a rulebook:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/122060/writing-rules-when-use-numbers

August 31, 2021/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

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