“Pillars of design”: lots of questions for board game designers to think through as they work on a new design:

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSmwcCEmdwY

list: https://boardgamedesignlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Pillars-of-Design.pdf

Some variations on worker placement that have helped the genre evolve:

https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/07/working-hard-a-look-at-worker-placement-mechanisms-topic-discussion/

Random production: how some games generate resources for players in random ways:

https://medium.com/@zipo13/the-great-equalizer-7529a25788e7

“All games suck until they’re great! All a good game designer is, is just somebody who can tell the difference.”

— Joseph Arthur Ellis

6 truths about the board game industry, and especially what it’s like for game designers (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpL8W863TDQ

Winning: a conversation about why players care about winning a game (audio):

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-016-why-do-people-care-so-much-about-winning/

“Given my choice, I’ll always design a boardgame that will be loved by some and hated by others rather than a game that will be seen in a mildly positive way by most. I want to make games that leave a lasting impression on those who play them, one way or the other.”

— Kevin Wilson

Horror in board games: thoughts on what works and doesn’t:

https://dailyworkerplacement.com/2023/10/31/i-want-to-play-a-game-horror-in-board-gaming/

What does it mean for a game to be “too long”? What makes players feel like a game goes on too long? Or not long enough? (audio)

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-015-what-makes-a-game-too-long/

Dice, cards, and more: Different ways of generating random numbers and what makes them fun (audio):

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-014-rolling-dice-and-flipping-cards/

Highlights from Hasbro's inaugural Women Innovators of Play event (video):

—The journey into board game design, with Elizabeth Hargrave

—Lots of tips for pitching to publishers

—How mass-market toys and games are made

—Overcoming doubt and imposter syndrome

—Working habits to be a successful toy and game inventor

https://spark.hasbro.com/womeninnovators

An argument that “balance” in games isn’t what most people think it is:

https://giantbrain.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-matter-of-balance/

Some hidden ways that board games can be more complex than you, as a gamer and the designer, might realize:

https://shippboardgames.blogspot.com/2023/10/more-about-rules-complexity.html

Websites that can generate maps for board game prototypes:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3176279/map-generator-websites

Three pieces of playtesting advice from Elizabeth Hargrave in under three minutes (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3zWuGTk27M

“Many published games go through hundreds of changes before they’re done. When people have criticism about your game they are not criticizing you as a person. They’re trying to help you make a better game.”

— Elizabeth Hargrave

How do you feel about board games that use electronic devices to assist players with part of the game? A Bluesky game designer discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/amanpossessed.bsky.social/post/3kbzoslosmg2r

Worker-placement games where more workers isn’t necessarily better—12 ways games handle it (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuymCqs-UgI

BoardGameGeek advertising: everything for publishers to know about promoting a game on BGG (audio):

https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode147/

Towards a theory of what makes a trick-taking game great:

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/323856/towards-theory-what-makes-trick-taking-game-great