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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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August 19, 2023 August 19, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Board games can be many things. What are games to you? A Twitter board game design discussion:

https://twitter.com/stuffByBez/status/1691818569108009025

August 19, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

August 11, 2023 August 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Pros and cons of Tabletop Simulator and other virtual tabletop programs for playtesting, compared to a physical prototype—a Twitter board game design discussion:

https://twitter.com/failfasterjay/status/1689719739470462980?s=20

see also: https://cardboardedison.com/virtual-tabletops

August 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

August 11, 2023 August 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

The basics of prototyping, playtesting, and developing tabletop games (video):

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

August 11, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping, playtesting, process

Cardboard Edison

August 05, 2023 August 05, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How games you don’t like can make you a better designer:

https://twitter.com/adriannovell/status/1686148757564559360?s=20

August 05, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

August 03, 2023 August 03, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How to make a game that doesn't just work mechanically but is also a lot of fun to play (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVXqi1pyTqw

August 03, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, process

Cardboard Edison

August 02, 2023 August 02, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Following up from the pitch: what to do after showing your board games to a bunch of publishers:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2023/08/02/mojo-pitch-an-inventors-guide-part-3-the-follow-up/

August 02, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

August 01, 2023 August 01, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Word of mouth about your board game is the best type of marketing—here are some ways you can inspire people to talk about your game:

https://stonemaiergames.com/word-of-mouth-how-do-you-inspire-the-best-type-of-marketing/

August 01, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

August 01, 2023 August 01, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How to fulfill a crowdfunded project: an overview of finding a manufacturer, booking freight, clearing customs, and actually fulfilling orders (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Jdk123g5U

August 01, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

July 29, 2023 July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

15 ways publishers can support their own games:

https://stonemaiergames.com/15-ways-publishers-can-support-their-own-games/

July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

July 29, 2023 July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How board games with licensed intellectual property get made:

https://thepopinsider.com/features/tabletop-games-development/

July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

July 29, 2023 July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Player count vs. playtime: thoughts on the tradeoffs that come with various common approaches to scaling a game for more players while keeping its length in check:

https://thecityofkings.com/news/balancing-player-count-and-game-length-in-board-games/

July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 29, 2023 July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Simple actions you can take to advance your board game design plans right now (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7FDQRJEFeo

July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

July 29, 2023 July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for a successful pitch event where you’ll be showing multiple games to many publishers:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2023/07/26/mojo-pitch-an-inventors-guide-part-2-the-pitch/

July 29, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

July 22, 2023 July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison
“Don’t waste time creating nice card or board designs. Make something functional and test it. The game will go through so many stages that everything you created at the beginning will probably be discarded or modified so much that it will be more work to update than to remake.”
— Roberto Pinheiro
July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

July 22, 2023 July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How to prepare for a pitch event where you’ll be showing your game or games to lots of different publishers:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2023/07/20/mojo-pitch-an-inventors-guide-part-1-before-the-pitch/

July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

July 22, 2023 July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How to “find the fun” in your board game design:

https://thecityofkings.com/news/game-design-finding-the-fun/

July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

July 22, 2023 July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Playtester makes a mistake and misses a rule? Here’s why you might want to let it go:

https://subsurfacegames.ca/2023/07/20/when-playtesters-have-happy-accidents/

July 22, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2023 July 20, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

How to design a deck-building game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-v3Oj9ofFc

July 20, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 18, 2023 July 18, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

4 quick tips for rapid prototyping:

https://thecityofkings.com/news/4-quick-tips-for-rapid-prototyping/

July 18, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
prototyping

Cardboard Edison

July 17, 2023 July 17, 2023/ Cardboard Edison

Should you ship your own crowdfunded project? Pros and cons of doing it yourself (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgSf8BeRy5s

July 17, 2023/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

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