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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

Cardboard Edison
  • About Us/
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    • Houdini's Last Act
    • Quad Squad
    • Cobras
    • Retail Rejects
    • More Games
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  • Free Resources/
    • Blog
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February 12, 2026 February 12, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

Matt Leacock on how the industry has changed in the past 20 years, working with publishers, advocating for game designers, and more:

https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2026/02/06/pandemic-creator-matt-leacock-on-fighting-for-designers-rights-working-with-effective-developers-and-his-publisher-pet-peeves/

February 12, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, playtesting, licensing, process

Cardboard Edison

February 08, 2026 February 08, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

New to board game design and not sure where to start? This Reddit board game design forum discussion goes into the processes that are most common for beginning designers:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1qz3avi/hi_everyone_im_new_to_game_design_and_i_wanted_to/

February 08, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

February 07, 2026 February 07, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

What methods do you use for physical note-taking? A Bluesky board game designers discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/peterlmcpherson.bsky.social/post/3me4fwyhm3k2z

February 07, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
playtesting, process

Cardboard Edison

February 07, 2026 February 07, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

A grab bag of game design questions: considering component cost when designing, how to remain motivated with a game design, the pros and cons of self-publishing, and more (video):

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

February 07, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
process, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

January 30, 2026 January 30, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

A counterintuitive tactic for new board game designers: trying to make an intentionally bad game (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj3IZtxw_PI

January 30, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

January 24, 2026 January 24, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

Designing your first game? Here are 5 types of games that are ideal for beginning game designers to try making:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbhiLMrE3Ig

January 24, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

January 17, 2026 January 17, 2026/ Cardboard Edison

10 lessons about the process of designing board games from 2025 (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62zLZONQc4Q

January 17, 2026/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

December 09, 2025 December 09, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

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/

December 09, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

December 03, 2025 December 03, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Answers to a bunch of questions about designing and publishing board games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncobd6xxT2Q

December 03, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

November 29, 2025 November 29, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

What do you do with your old prototypes? A Reddit board game designers discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1ozz02m/what_do_you_do_with_old_prototypes/

November 29, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

November 19, 2025 November 19, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

When should you start talking about your board game idea? A Reddit board game design forum discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1ozjd9o/when_to_start_talking_about_ideas/

November 19, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

November 04, 2025 November 04, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Leveling up as a board game designer: signs that your skills and practices are becoming more like an experienced designer rather than a beginner (video):

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

November 04, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process, playtesting, industry

Cardboard Edison

October 31, 2025 October 31, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Inka and Markus Brand on designing games as a couple and as a family:

https://thegenerationsgames.substack.com/p/inka-and-markus-brand-our-minds-are-always-buzzing-with-ideas-for-games

October 31, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

October 31, 2025 October 31, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

The Daniel.games game design advice website has been updated with new and revised articles:

https://daniel.games/

October 31, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, process, playtesting, industry

Cardboard Edison

October 18, 2025 October 18, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Ways to move forward when you're feeling stuck as a game designer (video):

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

October 18, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 27, 2025 September 27, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

The designer of Wyrmspan and the head of Stonemaier Games discuss the board games that they’ve learned the most from (video):

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

September 27, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

September 19, 2025 September 19, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

The designer of Ascension offers up five game design lessons from 15 years of the game:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogpost/177249/designer-diary-5-lessons-learned-from-15-years-of

September 19, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, process, industry

Cardboard Edison

September 03, 2025 September 03, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Designing the kinds of games that are currently trendy: why it’s not an optimal approach to game design and how it’s better to try and start a new trend than to attach your game to a current trend (video):

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

September 03, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
industry, process

Cardboard Edison

September 01, 2025 September 01, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for designing a megagame for a very large group of players:

https://www.megagameassembly.com/blog/some-megagame-design-lessons-i-learned-the-hard-way

September 01, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, process, playtesting

Cardboard Edison

August 30, 2025 August 30, 2025/ Cardboard Edison

Saving time when designing games: minimizing work on a game before an initial test and some tips and tricks to help you move faster in your game design process (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy1c-57mvaU

August 30, 2025/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

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