Stuck for an idea on a game design? Here are three tips for helping get your creative juices flowing:
https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2023/04/12/how-to-get-ideas/
Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers
Stuck for an idea on a game design? Here are three tips for helping get your creative juices flowing:
https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2023/04/12/how-to-get-ideas/
We talk a lot about what good game design is, but what does good game design do?
https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/146281/i-have-affixation-good-game-design
A rundown of various action systems that give players interesting ways of deciding what to do on their turn (video):
Shiny object syndrome: how it can derail board game designers and a simple step to avoid it:
Thoughts on victory points, how they assign values to things in games, and the sometimes unspoken assumptions that come with those systems of values:
https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/on-victory-points.html
When players ask themselves how valuable a thing or action is in a game, here are some of the considerations that come into play:
https://rericreuss.com/2023/03/31/how-good-is-this-valuation-in-board-games/
Where and how do you playtest your games? A Twitter board game designers discussion:
A history of storytelling in games (video):
Sealed bid auctions: how they work, games that use them, what they’re like for players, and more (video):
How to design a worker placement game (video):
Two common reasons why players may forget a rule, and what you could do to address the issue:
https://twitter.com/BenjaminGoldman/status/1641494210560897034
Why banning players from doing certain things is usually a bad idea:
https://twitter.com/Nick__Bentley/status/1642189269585350657
Auctions with constrained bidding: why it’s a tricky mechanic for game designers to get right (video):
What makes a board game intuitive?
https://twitter.com/erik_a_sunden/status/1640283062410813440
Punishing game mechanisms: the case for minus points, instant losses, and other mechanics that penalize players in some way (video):
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/
Board game designers discuss what they look for in publishing contracts:
https://twitter.com/tonymakesgames/status/1638287776339599361
see also: https://cardboardedison.com/reports
A simple method for sorting through playtester feedback:
Once-around auctions: how the mechanism works, the experience it offers players, games that use it, and more (video):
7 critical mistakes to avoid making when you go to crowdfund your game: