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Cardboard Edison

Game design & bright ideas for game designers

Bright Ideas

Tips & Resources for Board Game Designers

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August 01, 2024 August 01, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How important it is for your game to have a great name, and tips for coming up with one:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2024/08/01/how-important-is-a-name/

August 01, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing, industry

Cardboard Edison

July 31, 2024 July 31, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How game components like dice and cards can be considered information storage devices:

https://www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/storing-information

July 31, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Comparing hit points and victory points: their similarities and differences:

https://blog.tabletopdesign.org/?p=1717

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

The life cycle of resources in games: different ways they can enter the game and change during play:

https://medium.com/@fere_98462/resources-in-games-part-3-life-cycle-617c07a3a52a

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Warm-up exercises for board game designers—a Bluesky game design discussion:

https://bsky.app/profile/peterlmcpherson.bsky.social/post/3kxzwigrai32c

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Considering “zones of focus” where players follow the game’s action:

https://x.com/chessandpoker/status/1815013872341807479

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How a flowchart can be used to help you better understand your game’s structure and flow:

https://x.com/Clint_Davey1/status/1815689934482895011

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory, process

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Some principles for composing board game rulebooks:

https://x.com/Nick__Bentley/status/1816552117542297871

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

How to get your game to stand out on crowdfunding platforms and avoid common newbie publisher mistakes (audio):

https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode188/

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

An in-depth conversation about games and how they work, get defined, engage with players, portray history, get categorized, work as art, and more:

https://gamingtrend.com/feature/interviews/interview-designer-of-oath-root-and-arcs-i-love-games-but-what-i-really-love-is-play/

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Games that make use of a “sweet spot” dynamic, and why it can create such interesting decisions for players:

https://gametek.substack.com/p/the-goldilocks-zone

July 27, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2024 July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

If you’re stuck on a game design, here are some methods to try and get past designer’s block: (audio, starting at 22:05):

https://sites.libsyn.com/19999/obg-542-scrambling-for-a-styrofoam-cup

July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process, podcasts

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2024 July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Community answers to a perennial question from new board game designers: How concerned should I be about someone stealing my game idea?

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1e4h6aq/level_of_concern_about_stolen_ideas/

July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
industry

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2024 July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Answers to lots of questions about board game design and publishing: creating innovative mechanics, the development process, crowdfunding challenges, and more (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2iAd5NPix4

July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
process, licensing, publishing, industry

Cardboard Edison

July 20, 2024 July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Infinite combos: good or bad? Thoughts from the Reddit board game design forum:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoardgameDesign/comments/1e5vhpg/thoughts_about_infinite_loops/

July 20, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 13, 2024 July 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Designer tricks: how some designers focus in on a particular aspect of a game and riff on it in future designs while keeping it feeling fresh (audio):

https://cardboardphilosophypod.podbean.com/e/episode-034-designer-tricks/

July 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
theory

Cardboard Edison

July 13, 2024 July 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Step-by-step instructions for how to make a pitch video that is clear and concise without too much unnecessary fuss:

https://bsky.app/profile/marcelineleiman.bsky.social/post/3kwq4prlrfv2f

July 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

July 13, 2024 July 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

The head of board game manufacturer Hero Time answers tons of questions about the process of printing games (video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YDg5G9cw0A

July 13, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
publishing

Cardboard Edison

July 12, 2024 July 12, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Examples of excellent rulebooks—a BoardGameGeek forum discussion:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3328162/in-praise-of-excellent-rulebooks

July 12, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
rules

Cardboard Edison

July 10, 2024 July 10, 2024/ Cardboard Edison

Tips for tracking your pitch efforts:

https://www.thedarkimp.com/blog/2024/07/10/pitch-tracking/

July 10, 2024/ Cardboard Edison/
licensing

Cardboard Edison

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