Board game design basics: defining your goals, restrictions, the iterative design process, qualities of good games, taking feedback, and more (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAiCR1XVe68

How do you define “interesting choices” and design a game with them? A Reddit board game design forum discussion:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1vovj61/how_do_you_design_an_interesting_choice/

Keeping players’ attention: how to design for pacing, meaningful choices, tension, and rewards (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_0QN4Wmehk

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):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqspauIq0ls

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):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIgkG-ucEqY

Two-player games: the challenges facing designers making games for exactly two players:

https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/07/14/the-two-body-problem-design-challenges-of-two-player-only-games-topic-discussion/

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

Arguing that frustration is an essential part of games, neither inherently bad nor good:

https://lestmyopinions.com/2026/07/05/right-in-the-bad-feels/

Thoughts on some unspoken assumptions in board game design discourse, and how the way a game is framed for the market can lead to design choices that run counter to common wisdom:

https://www.hawkanddovegames.com/blog/on-design-discourse

Game designer Phil Walker-Harding on balancing games, inspiration, the design process, players’ negative experiences, and more (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaG_iAwxG4g

Accuracy vs. authenticity: How to assess what’s “real” in historical games? And why do some games feel “authentic” while others don’t? (video)

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

Generating content such as effects and player powers for your game: a process for creating it, games that do and don’t need it, “free” design space, and more (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1oeWTSz26M

Game designer Cole Wehrle on player agency, emergent storytelling, and what it's like to make and play long, heavy games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Dz5rUUUBY

What is a eurogame? (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h8ZDJPVrkI

Considering the many ways in which uncertainty shows up throughout the entire experience of playing a board game:

https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/05/19/clearly-uncertain-the-role-of-uncertainty-in-board-games-topic-discussion/

An in-depth discussion about all the ins and outs of designing, prototyping, and testing party games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBxqe2BOi-g

Mark Rosewater, head designer for Magic: The Gathering, shares lessons about creativity, audience connection, and why great design starts with how you want players to feel:

audio: https://justingarydesign.substack.com/p/mark-rosewater-designing-for-emotion

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRoiFsMsBpY

Call it thematic integration or resonance or ludonarrative assonance: here’s a deep discussion about making your game's mechanics match the theme, and vice-versa (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urOxG_nZ2F0

Thoughts on balance: Bluesky board game designers discuss their biggest lessons about balance in game design:

https://bsky.app/profile/eanderssonsunden.bsky.social/post/3mkdhneoxxc2d

What makes a good board game for children? (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m-d7U-i8g8