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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

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October 05, 2022 October 05, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Publisher profit and loss math: sample calculations for a crowdfunding campaign (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jThc14q7NTU

October 05, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

October 01, 2022 October 01, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Do you refer to other games with similar mechanics when designing? A Twitter board game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/Mattyleg1/status/1575323379816665088

October 01, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 01, 2022 October 01, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

How board games can build and release tension for players:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/136459/talking-alices-house-rent-autobahn-blues

October 01, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 27, 2022 September 27, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

What are the key things you think about before designing a game? A Twitter board game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/BreakMyGameG/status/1574428255914000386

September 27, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 27, 2022 September 27, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

What do we mean when we talk about “strategy” in various kinds of games?

https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2022/9/27/what-is-strategy-in-gameplay

September 27, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 26, 2022 September 26, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Most games have various pause points—between rounds, for scoring, and so on. Here are some ways of making the most of those moments:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2022/09/making-most-of-pauses.html

September 26, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 24, 2022 September 24, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

When is it a good idea for a board game to make a villain a playable position?

https://rericreuss.com/2022/09/25/being-a-force-for-bad/

September 24, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 21, 2022 September 21, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Designers share their biggest secrets for designing and playtesting board games:

https://twitter.com/BreakMyGameG/status/1572066930667950080

September 21, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

September 21, 2022 September 21, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Does that publishing contract protect your rights as a designer? Here’s a checklist to make sure it does.

September 21, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

September 21, 2022 September 21, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Lessons about game design learned by playing many games with a child:

https://www.underdoggames.com/a/blog/better-board-game-creator

September 21, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 20, 2022 September 20, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

How easily can people ruin your game if they only care about winning? (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY652iHZAss

September 20, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 20, 2022 September 20, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

When you sign away the publishing rights to your game, how do you get them back? Common licensing contract clauses around rights reversion (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSFRYLGR8VU

September 20, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

September 20, 2022 September 20, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

How to come up with shipping estimates and get your games into different countries (audio):

https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode92/

September 20, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

September 19, 2022 September 19, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

A deeper analysis of how a game’s mechanics and theming relate, and how they map to the “game state” and the “game world”:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2022/09/game-state-vs-game-world.html

September 19, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 19, 2022 September 19, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Specific questions to ask playtesters (and other things to look for during a test):

https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/playtesting-questions-to-ask/

September 19, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

September 18, 2022 September 18, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

10 manufacturing tips to boost your game’s production quality without busting your budget (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lakZBNUntKU

September 18, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

September 16, 2022 September 16, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

Area movement: how it’s different from point-to-point movement and different ways it can be used in games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITwGe47d_V0

September 16, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

September 16, 2022 September 16, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

A short thread on being intentional about your game design decisions and considering alternatives:

https://twitter.com/mrmatthew/status/1569816891899932672

September 16, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 16, 2022 September 16, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

What's your preferred way to take notes or record information for a playtest? A Twitter board game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/BreakMyGameG/status/1570863761409585152

September 16, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

September 15, 2022 September 15, 2022/ Cardboard Edison

A short on thread on where to describe various card powers and iconography in your rulebook:

https://twitter.com/Mattyleg1/status/1570404449264304131

September 15, 2022/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

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