An inside look from a publisher’s perspective at what it’s like to work with overseas board game manufacturers (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8crCWve8hdc

5 common mistakes that new board game designers make—and how to avoid them:

https://streamlinedgaming.com/5-common-board-game-design-mistakes-new-board-game-designers-make-and-how-to-avoid-them/

A conversation about what makes the board game design community unique and the benefits of connecting with fellow creatives (audio):

https://thegamedesignroundtable.com/episode/btc-rikki-tahta-on-designer-community/

Tips for knowing when to give up on a game design or persevere with it (video):

https://youtu.be/IPqpPwYBvMU

10 characteristics of great board games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSFyepzoo-c

What impact will high U.S. import taxes on China have on the tabletop industry? What are publishers doing in response? And what will it all mean for board game designers?

To find out, we at Cardboard Edison reached out to U.S. publishers, and we’ve compiled their responses into a new industry report:

The Cost of Cardboard: How Tariffs Will Impact Board Game Publishers and Designers

Taken together, their comments signal a dramatic shift in how board game publishers will operate under high tariffs—and a correspondingly altered landscape for game designers.

Check out the full report here:

https://cardboardedison.com/tariffs

Testing and pitching big games: an industry panel discusses how to get a multi-hour, table-sprawling game in front of playtesters and publishers (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDFWuDE99c

Components in board games: the value of component hooks and gimmicks, the impact of components in the player experience, overproducing and underproducing games, and more (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQXc82GtHmQ

Tips for new board game designers, especially any who are hesitating about making their first game:

https://bsky.app/profile/drayerink.bsky.social/post/3lm5qzmi7gk2y

How dedicated “thinking time” can benefit your game design efforts:

https://www.charliecleveland.com/thinking-time-for-game-design/

Thoughts on player agency and how the limits of that control are the very essence of what it means to play a game:

https://lestmyopinions.com/2025/04/06/the-limits-of-control-2/

10 great questions to ask after a playtest, and 3 questions you should avoid:

https://www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/playtesting-questions

Tips for making better pitch videos for your board game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6soJZXzzkyc

Four things you can do to increase your online visibility as a board game designer:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2025/04/05/you-are-who-google-says-you-are/

What the U.S. Copyright Office’s latest report on copyright and AI means for game developers:

https://strebecklaw.com/ai-copyright-game/

Tips for pitching your game to publishers, gathered from a series of public pitches at this year’s Unpub:

https://www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/how-to-pitch-your-game

A short thread about how players’ game-purchasing decisions are often made, and why you’re actually designing for a group, not an individual:

https://bsky.app/profile/nickbentley.bsky.social/post/3lla6jphwdk2o

A short thread about asking playtesters “How would you describe this game to a friend?” and the useful information it can get you:

https://bsky.app/profile/drayerink.bsky.social/post/3llb7a6fios2c

How best to run a playtest? Here’s a thread making the case for why you should facilitate your playtests like a well-run meeting:

https://bsky.app/profile/drayerink.bsky.social/post/3llbzosz5m22c

There’s a risk that comes with overdeveloping your game. This thread explains it, and how your decisions can end up giving you a game that many players generally like or a game that a few players absolutely adore:

https://bsky.app/profile/gil.hova.net/post/3ll3buxdom227