Ending the game: how different game-end triggers can make for different player experiences (audio):

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-028-ending-the-game/

Drafting games: variations on the mechanism, the decisions it creates, and how designers can play around with it (audio):

part 1: https://decisionspace.podbean.com/e/drafting-pt-1-what-we-talk-about/

part 2: https://decisionspace.podbean.com/e/drafting-decisions-pt-2-what-we-talk-about/

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

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

“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

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

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

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

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

Various ways of making board games more usable and accessible, both in terms of game design and production—and reasons to break those heuristics:

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-heuristics-board-games/

Some ways board games have used a “follow” mechanic where everyone follows the current player’s action:

https://medium.com/@zipo13/fabulous-says-1d76b21285dc

What makes a game “simple”? A Bluesky board game designers discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/jontexmo.bsky.social/post/3kjr5uznfl22u

A discussion about the “toy factor” in games—what counts as a toy, what a strong toy factor adds to a game, how it changes views of the game, and more (audio):

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-023-toy-factor-in-games/

A few ways that games can be more intuitive for players by telegraphing their components’ functions:

https://twitter.com/Nick__Bentley/status/1743698920398578010

Thoughts on how board games can build the teach into the game itself:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2024/01/10/designing-the-teach-into-the-game/

Five different ways of doing set collection, and some themes that might fit well with them:

https://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/five-themes-for-set-collection-in-board.html

Luck in games: how players perceive it, the stigma around it, how it can help a design, and more (audio):

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-the-perception-of-luck/

This talk offers a range of tricks for better processes around creating and pitching board game designs: using player incentives, magic numbers in games, using components well, meeting industry figures, being persistent, staying on publishers’ radars, and more (video):

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

How being more intentional about your game’s thematic choices can lead to a richer final product (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX4udstVy_w

Contracts in board games: what they are, what they add to gameplay, and different ways games have used them:

https://medium.com/@zipo13/promises-promises-44ea83c9daab

Replayability: factors that make a game replayable, how they intersect, and whether replayability actually matters all that much (audio):

https://decisionspace.podbean.com/e/replayability-and-why-it-doesn-t-matter-what-we-talk-about/

Art in board games: How does a game’s art affect the way we play? (audio)

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-017-how-does-art-effect-the-way-we-approach-a-game-featuring-peter-mcpherson/