Cardboard Edison’s Favorite Tips & Resources – July 2012

Once a month, we go back through all of the board game design tips and resources we’ve found to pick out the most useful of the bunch.

Here are our picks for July 2012:

#industry:

• What’s a realistic goal for making money in the board game industry?
• A solid overview of the history of board games, the current industry, design process, theory and more, from Jeffrey D. Allers
• A wide-ranging interview with Richard Garfield

#process:

• “Failed designs are part of the process, so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work!”
• “Making games is like sports or music, you have to practice and you really need to beware of what’s been done already if you want to be the best.”
• “Look at the games you like, and see what works, and what doesn’t work. Sharp analytical skills are a game designer’s best tool.”

#licensing:

• “It is the sparkle in your eye that will sell your game. If you don’t believe in it first no one will.”

#publishing:

• Need an artist for your game?

#rules:

• “Designers: Use band-aid rules sparingly. Remember, we have the power to reverse time and prevent the boo-boo from ever happening.”

#theory:

• Pros and cons of cards as a game component
• How important is it for a strategy game set in the real world to be factually accurate?