“Heuristics for creating best-of-breed game rulebooks:

• blind playtest a TON
• test with folks who don’t read rules or play games
• be in the room, observing each test
• treat layout, pictures, and words as one unified piece of exposition”

— Nick Bentley

Thoughts on games whose themes cause discomfort, and how that’s different from themes that cause offense:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2021/12/discomfort-vs-offense.html

A deep dive into movement mechanics in board games (video)

Tips for putting together a print-and-play of your game and making it available to Kickstarter backers:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/create-and-provide-pnp-files-if-offered/

Using another player’s stuff in a game can feel cooperative or antagonistic—here are how various titles create different vibes in such situations:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/126294/using-other-peoples-stuff

Board game retailers discuss what designers and publishers need to know going into 2022 (video)

A short thread on when to capitalize terms in rulebooks:

https://twitter.com/lackingceremony/status/1473099353153699842?s=11

Procedural generation in board games: how various titles have tackled a task that’s much more easily handled by computers:

https://www.getrevue.co/profile/gengelstein/issues/gametek-12-generation-p-904023

How intellectual-property rights work in different parts of the board game industry: patents, copyrights, trademarks, legal agreements, and more (video)

Board game industry veterans answer common questions that new designers are often too afraid to ask, about pitching, rejection, ideas getting stolen, and more (video)

How some games create interesting decisions through “dualities” that tie two different considerations together:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/126078/dualities-core-gameplay-loops-tough-accessible-dec

This simple Excel template lets you easily create and print basic cards for a prototype:

https://roboticduckdesigns.com/2021/12/12/design-tool-printable-card-design-spreadsheet/

How to go about handling a difficult topic in a game design—engaging with a thorny subject without endorsing it:

https://twitter.com/AmabelHolland/status/1470612806273806341

Some ways that board games can make use of “entangled decisions” to create even more interesting choices for players:

http://sedjtroll.blogspot.com/2021/12/entangled-decisions.html

The ultimate guide to cardstock: card dimensions, cores, weight and thickness, finish, borders, and more (video)

How many choices should a game have? Thoughts on when more or fewer choices would be appropriate:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/124522/tasty-choices

A way of thinking about different types of randomness, and how safe or risky they are to use in a game design:

http://keithburgun.net/good-randomness/

How to understand all the common passages and boilerplate language you might see in a typical contract in the board game industry (video)

Notes on getting your game tested and certified for safety:

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/getting-your-game-tested-and-certified/

An overview of the different kinds of people involved in the board game business (meant for journalists covering board games, but good for anyone getting into the industry):

https://stonemaiergames.com/an-open-letter-to-journalists-who-recently-learned-of-the-existence-and-popularity-of-modern-tabletop-games/