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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
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    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
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process
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licensing
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April 03, 2024 April 03, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How to design a dice-driven strategy board game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11s95ETB2F8

April 03, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

April 02, 2024 April 02, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Translating game text to language-neutral diagrams—a step-by-step process:

https://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/translating-game-text-to-language.html

April 02, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

March 30, 2024 March 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

“Fun” can mean different things to different people. Here’s a quick overview of some kinds of fun and what makes fun happen in games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP4LtZRSuFg

March 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 30, 2024 March 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How to submit your board game to BoardGameGeek (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XedAKZQnZw

March 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 29, 2024 March 29, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

You can adapt and use this free online form to collect feedback from playtesters:

form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1djp-n0RfIyTY-q4MbbFjX6Wi27zq9Tn6mVzZd-yGf-c/copy

details: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3274021/free-playtester-survey-handout-for-your-game

March 29, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

March 25, 2024 March 25, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Common problems in board game design: alpha players, turn order advantage, player elimination, collusion, and more: ​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvYU7HwiATI&t=43s

March 25, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 23, 2024 March 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

A quick guide to effective playtesting: setting objectives, balancing feedback, encouraging constructive criticism, and more:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3267299/quick-guide-effective-playtesting

March 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting

Cardboard Edison

March 23, 2024 March 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

File prep: how to properly prepare your board game’s files to be sent to the manufacturer for printing (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQdZcUSKl30

March 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 23, 2024 March 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Things to look for in a quality rulebook, and things that make one poorly written—a Bluesky board game community discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/sarahsharp.bsky.social/post/3ko3hgfxmd524

March 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

March 21, 2024 March 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

A template for creating your board game’s elevator pitch:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3269784/crafting-perfect-elevator-pitch

March 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

March 21, 2024 March 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Planning to self-publish your board game design? Use this checklist to make sure you’re ready:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2024/03/20/self-publishing-checklist/

March 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 17, 2024 March 17, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Things that small board game publishers should know about working with a manufacturer (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qWc68shVJo

March 17, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 16, 2024 March 16, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How to sabotage your dreams as a new board game designer—a cautionary tale (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rCsQi-aC80

March 16, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, playtesting, licensing

Cardboard Edison

March 12, 2024 March 12, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Some notable milestones in the life of a board game designer—some good, some not so good (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEIxdZt1n78

also available as a Bingo card:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ntzEIMQhhyZD3Vzf84mPTTRH_gV2pkcH/view

March 12, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 11, 2024 March 11, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

The various structures that underpin (pretty much) any game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38mCUVrPY2g

March 11, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

March 06, 2024 March 06, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How to find a publisher—lots of pointers for each step of the process:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2024/03/06/how-to-find-a-publisher/

March 06, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

March 05, 2024 March 05, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

5 common mistakes to avoid when preparing your board game’s files for manufacturing (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYfSAm5kWcc

March 05, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

March 03, 2024 March 03, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

The 10 skills you’ll need as a board game designer—and designing games is only the first one (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JX7cJJSUVY

March 03, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

March 03, 2024 March 03, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

This Google Docs add-on lets you easily add icons to your rulebook (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=licJeO_oH3k

March 03, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
rules, prototyping

Cardboard Edison

March 02, 2024 March 02, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

A short thread about a three-pronged framework for making a game fun: orientation, engagement, and satisfaction:

https://bsky.app/profile/dvcgames.bsky.social/post/3kmc3eojthu2m

March 02, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

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