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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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March 25, 2023 March 25, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Punishing game mechanisms: the case for minus points, instant losses, and other mechanics that penalize players in some way (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz5fEny3LeM

March 25, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 24, 2023 March 24, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Board games without copyright—answer to questions about copyright expiration, public domain, Creative Commons, clones of games, and more:

https://strebecklaw.com/board-games-without-copyright-do-they-exist/

March 24, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 23, 2023 March 23, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Board game designers discuss what they look for in publishing contracts:

https://twitter.com/tonymakesgames/status/1638287776339599361

see also: https://cardboardedison.com/reports

March 23, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

March 23, 2023 March 23, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

A simple method for sorting through playtester feedback:

https://twitter.com/dr_vil/status/1638893021965205504

March 23, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

March 23, 2023 March 23, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Once-around auctions: how the mechanism works, the experience it offers players, games that use it, and more (video):

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

March 23, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 21, 2023 March 21, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

7 critical mistakes to avoid making when you go to crowdfund your game:

https://crowdfundingnerds.com/essentials/

March 21, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 21, 2023 March 21, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Casual players: who they are and the kinds of games and play patterns that define them:

https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2023/3/14/who-are-casual-players

March 21, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 20, 2023 March 20, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How board games make their way onto mass-market store shelves in the U.S.:

https://twitter.com/TheOneTAR/status/1637985210599079936

March 20, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 15, 2023 March 15, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

A thorough guide to making and manufacturing games in more sustainable ways:

https://www.greengamesguide.com/read-the-guide

March 15, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 15, 2023 March 15, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

A board game designer goes head-to-head with ChatGPT to come up with game ideas based on thematic and mechanical prompts (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eml8LEuRuLw

see also: How can ChatGPT help board game designers?

https://mailchi.mp/11ed83a81b4a/cardboard-edison-omnibus-how-can-chatgpt-help-board-game-designers

March 15, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

March 15, 2023 March 15, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

A conversation about setting your personal priorities for working on your board game designs (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ivjhJAQJJ8

March 15, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

March 13, 2023 March 13, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Comments on how various board games display the game title on the box cover:

https://ferventworkshop.com/box/observations-about-the-presentation-of-game-titles-on-boxes/

March 13, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 11, 2023 March 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

U.S. copyright law and board games: the parts of a game that can be protected, the rights that game creators have, and what they have to do to exercise them:

https://strebecklaw.com/board-games-copyrighted/

March 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 11, 2023 March 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Lessons learned from a small publisher exhibiting their games at the Spiel convention in Essen for the first time:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/139504/publisher-diary-hall-5-lessons-learned-or-how-part

March 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 09, 2023 March 09, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

A step-by-step process for getting started on designing a thematic board game:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2023/02/starting-thematic-design.html

see also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W62k7lIgWW8 (video)

March 09, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

March 08, 2023 March 08, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How to improve the chances of a publisher picking up your game? This one has some thoughts:

https://twitter.com/alleycatgames/status/1633421774422433793

March 08, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

March 07, 2023 March 07, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Examples of some effective landing pages for indie board games:

https://www.pineislandgames.com/blog/how-to-make-your-board-game-landing-page-standout

March 07, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 07, 2023 March 07, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

End-of-round goals: pros and cons of intermediate scoring opportunities:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/143880/pros-and-cons-end-round-objectives

March 07, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 07, 2023 March 07, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

What makes trick-taking so enduring as a game mechanic? Eight trick-taking designers weigh in:

https://opinionatedgamers.com/2023/03/04/what-makes-trick-taking-so-enduring-and-is-it-the-most-popular-game-mechanic-on-the-planet-eight-trick-taking-designers-weigh-in/

March 07, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 06, 2023 March 06, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Multiple-lot auctions: how the mechanism works, games that use it, and more (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaMV4QpN3us

March 06, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

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