Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers
A pair of short videos with quick tips for making two essential elements for pitching a game design to publishers:
How to make a pitch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkqgouPT9Pw
How to make a sell sheet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uan_taJqOqw
Designing your first game? Here are 5 types of games that are ideal for beginning game designers to try making:
A short thread describing a method of playtesting called “split testing” that pits two game designs against each other:
https://bsky.app/profile/nickbentley.bsky.social/post/3mcigqlnhxs2f
10 lessons about the process of designing board games from 2025 (video):
Notes on efficiency and chunking in scoring, and how they can shape player experiences in sports and games:
Some trends that shaped the board game industry in 2025 and what they have meant for game designers (video):
Our annual Cardboard Edison Best Practices booklet, filled with board game design tips and resources for every step of the process, is back!
In this edition, you’ll find:
How to make the most of a playtest group
What should be in a pitch video—and what shouldn’t
Mistakes to avoid with your prototype’s art
Onboarding players more smoothly
How to prepare for indie game markets
…and lots more!
A short thread about how players often get the rules wrong and what that means for designers:
https://bsky.app/profile/nickbentley.bsky.social/post/3mboz4k23y22o
How to give useful game-design feedback by matching your advice to the designer’s experience level (video):
Thoughts on how the players themselves affect the gameplay experience—and what that means for designers:
Writing your board game’s rulebook can be a chore—here’s a process for breaking up the task into manageable chunks:
A good problem to have as a designer: How to deal with multiple publishers wanting to sign your game (video):
Three publishers on how they’re using—and paying to include—fan designs in their releases:
A history of board game design (video):
Sea freight shipping times: how to estimate delivery of a game from an overseas manufacturer:
https://www.bodagames.com/2025/12/16/sea-freight-shipping-times/
An exploration of board game boxes and their role in selling a game, framing and contextualizing the experience, and creating meaning (video):
Why it isn’t helpful to compare your game design efforts to those of other designers, and why it’s better to pay attention to your own progress instead:
https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/stop-comparing-yourself-to-others/
Optimizing your pitch: some best and worst practices in helping your game get a fair shake from the publishers you submit it to (video):
Should you playtest in-person or virtually? Why not both? Here are some upsides to each approach:
https://discocandybar.com/2025/12/05/playtesting-your-tcg-game-paper-or-pixels/
Marketing your board game ahead of a crowdfunding campaign: organic marketing, Facebook ads, and more:
https://boardgamedesigncourse.com/kickstarter-campaign-market-your-game/
