Making a game with polyominoes? Here are a bunch of different methods for prototyping the pieces:
https://bsky.app/profile/perpetualploy.bsky.social/post/3k5inx3nnuf2r
Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers
Making a game with polyominoes? Here are a bunch of different methods for prototyping the pieces:
https://bsky.app/profile/perpetualploy.bsky.social/post/3k5inx3nnuf2r
Lots of board game designers share their favorite bits of advice for playtesting:
https://bsky.app/profile/peterlmcpherson.bsky.social/post/3k5n7jfjv232v
An in-depth chat about prototyping and playtesting a board game design, with tips for each (audio):
Why you shouldn’t avoid playtesting, common excuses for delaying testing and why they don’t fly, and finding people you can test with:
https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2023/08/16/why-you-shouldnt-avoid-playtesting/
Existing games that new designers can modify to learn about board game design—a Bluesky board game design discussion:
https://bsky.app/profile/ajstichter.bsky.social/post/3k54mmogjfg2e
Do board games need victory conditions? A thoughtful reconsidering of an age-old assumption about games (video):
Board games can be many things. What are games to you? A Twitter board game design discussion:
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
The basics of prototyping, playtesting, and developing tabletop games (video):
How games you don’t like can make you a better designer:
https://twitter.com/adriannovell/status/1686148757564559360?s=20
How to make a game that doesn't just work mechanically but is also a lot of fun to play (video):
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/
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/
How to fulfill a crowdfunded project: an overview of finding a manufacturer, booking freight, clearing customs, and actually fulfilling orders (video):
15 ways publishers can support their own games:
https://stonemaiergames.com/15-ways-publishers-can-support-their-own-games/
How board games with licensed intellectual property get made:
https://thepopinsider.com/features/tabletop-games-development/
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/
Simple actions you can take to advance your board game design plans right now (video):
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/
“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.”