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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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    • Quad Squad
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    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
    • Prototypes
  • Free Resources/
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process
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December 21, 2024 December 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How can tabletop designers make games that are less likely to trigger analysis paralysis in players?

https://www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/analysis-paralysis

December 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

December 21, 2024 December 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

A short thread on better co-designing efforts through learning more about your design partner:

https://bsky.app/profile/senfoonglim.bsky.social/post/3ldjt2gxbsc2x

December 21, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

December 13, 2024 December 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Player failure: considering what kind of penalties make sense with the game’s theme (audio):

https://ludology.libsyn.com/thinking-beyond-mechanisms-ep-14

December 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

December 12, 2024 December 12, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

What constitutes plagiarism in game design?

https://gametek.substack.com/p/copy-paste

December 12, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

December 07, 2024 December 07, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

An overview of all the steps you’ll need to take to self-publish a board game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4jKhdMv8sk

December 07, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

December 07, 2024 December 07, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Circles of playtesting: how a game evolves through various stages of testing in terms of the idea, the prototype, and how the designer feels about it

December 07, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process, playtesting, prototyping

Cardboard Edison

December 07, 2024 December 07, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

10 types of board game designers—and how to discover what motivates your own design efforts (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xPHJaCYJyg

December 07, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

November 30, 2024 November 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

When you want to get a publisher’s attention, your game will have to pass through several “gates” or filters—here’s how it (usually) works:

https://bsky.app/profile/weheart.games/post/3lbpfwl7ylk2n

November 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

November 30, 2024 November 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

A short thread on the margins involved in publishing a board game, and how they change when using crowdfunding or direct-to-customer sales:

https://bsky.app/profile/425suzanne.bsky.social/post/3lbuhae2rnc2f

November 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 30, 2024 November 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Lots of bite-size advice for making a board game, especially playtesting, pitching to publishers, and what to expect if it’s released:

https://bsky.app/profile/connievdc.bsky.social/post/3lbycjga5522q

November 30, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting, licensing, industry

Cardboard Edison

November 29, 2024 November 29, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Board games where the box is integral to gameplay:

https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2024/11/26/box-clever-board-games-where-the-box-is-integral-topic-discussion/

November 29, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 27, 2024 November 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Useful for designers making a game for kids: developmental milestones for game play:

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8517750/black-canyon

November 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2024 November 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

The art of creating effective sell sheets for board games (video):

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

November 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2024 November 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Board game designers share their game design theories in less than 300 characters:

https://bsky.app/profile/ross-esmond.bsky.social/post/3lbhlcbjdsk2m

November 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 23, 2024 November 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

When to launch a crowdfunding campaign: the best days, months, and even hours:

https://updates.kickstarter.com/best-time-to-launch/

November 23, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 18, 2024 November 18, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Building a strong community around your crowdfunded game through effective communication:

https://updates.kickstarter.com/essential-tips-for-building-a-strong-community/

November 18, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

November 18, 2024 November 18, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

What attributes make for an outstanding co-op board game? A Bluesky board game designers discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social/post/3lba375gkcs2q

November 18, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 18, 2024 November 18, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

When a game enables analysis paralysis, how do you streamline it without destroying the fun of the game? A Bluesky board game designers discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/fertessa.bsky.social/post/3lb6jx5nisk2f

November 18, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 16, 2024 November 16, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How granular are the numbers in your game, and how granular do they need to be? A discussion about games’ “fidelity” and ways of cutting down on the math players have to do (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye5xFH6K0vQ

November 16, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

November 16, 2024 November 16, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for working with co-designers:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2024/11/14/working-with-co-designers/

November 16, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

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