Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers
Keeping players’ attention: how to design for pacing, meaningful choices, tension, and rewards (video):
Game flow: how to ensure players feel engrossed while playing, what contributes to a good game flow, and what you can do as a designer to improve it (video):
How to sell board games on Amazon and turn a successful crowdfunding campaign into ongoing revenue (video):
This framework for thinking about the different stages of playtesting also helps you know what kinds of questions you should be asking testers each step of the way (video):
This set of game icons is free to use for both personal and commercial projects:
Published board game designers offer their top advice to a new designer in this Reddit board game design forum discussion:
James Ernest on the stages of tabletop game design, from workshopping an idea to delivering a final prototype, and the importance of learning to throw away everything that isn't working (video):
Prototyping and playtesting: building a quick, testable version of your game, gathering feedback that matters, and iterating without losing momentum (video):
How do you know when your game design is “done”? A Reddit board game design forum discussion:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1v99czx/how_do_you_know_when_you_are_done/
Tips for first-timers bringing their board game prototype to a convention for playtesting—a Reddit board game design forum discussion:
Video and board game attorney Zach Strebeck breaks down IP, copyright, trademark, and idea protection strategies for people launching crowdfunding campaigns (video):
How the board game industry has considered colors, double-coding, and accessibility over the years:
You shouldn’t listen to every playtester suggestion, but how can you know which player ideas are worth considering? Here’s a process to help (video):
Cards vs. dice: how probability, luck, and skill work differently when using dice or a deck of cards as randomizers, and the hidden game design dial in every card game (video):
10 tips for making a better print-and-play version of your board game prototype for playtesters and publishers (video):
A framework for better understanding the various elements of your game and which aspects are likely to connect with publishers and players (video):
What’s the biggest bottleneck in your board game design process? A Reddit tabletop game design forum discussion:
University research tracks the rise of solo gaming and other game design trends over the decades:
Two-player games: the challenges facing designers making games for exactly two players:
Thoughts on managed chaos and why it’s not necessarily a bad thing for a game to be “unfair”:
https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2026/07/13/rex-ready-player-one-part-four
