In this BGDL rewind from May of 2018, I chat with Richard Garfield about finding the right balance of luck vs skill when designing a game.

The post Finding the Right Mixture of Luck and Skill with Richard Garfield appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I answer a bunch of questions that were submitted by BGDL community members!

The post Your game design questions answered appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Joe Bragg, founder of the indie publishing company Meek Heroes Gaming, discusses the grassroots approach he’s taking to building his publishing company. We chat about why this approach makes sense for a lot of people, the pros and cons of not using crowdfunding, how to build a community from the ground up, and a whole lot more.

I also dive into the slightly different approach my own publishing company is planning to take in 2024, so hopefully this episode gives you lots to think about if you’re interested in publishing games.

The post How to Publish Games with a Grassroots Approach | Joe Bragg appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Jason Perez and I chat about how designers can boost their creativity by thinking outside the box, pushing past tropes, and being more intentional about their thematic choices.

The post How to Boost Creativity and Avoid Tropes | Jason Perez appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, John de Campos, founder of Terrible Games, and I chat about the highs and lows of starting and running an indie publishing company in the board game industry.

The post Listen to this BEFORE you start an indie publishing company | John de Campos appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I break down some game design productivity hacks that have been helping me lately, and I’m specifically talking about a concept called “habit fields.”

This was a presentation I gave recently for Board Game Design Pro, so if you find it useful and want more helpful content like it, be sure to check out BGDP here. You’ll find all sorts of skill sessions on designing, crowdfunding, and publishing games!

And if you use coupon code “33today” you’ll receive 33% off the membership price

The post Board Game Design Productivity Hacks with Gabe Barrett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Leo Taylor, designer of games in the Risk, Clue, and D&D universes, breaks down his “key pillars of game design” as we chat through the many questions designers should think through as they dive into a new game design.

You can download a PDF of the key pillars HERE.

The post Do this BEFORE designing a game | Leo Taylor appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Joe Slack and I talk about how we’ve both been able to piece together lots of different revenue streams in the gaming industry to be able to make a full-time living from game design.

And be sure to check out Joe’s latest puzzle game here: http://kck.st/3SfV1Np

The post How to Make Money from Your Game Design Hobby with Joe Slack appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Elan Lee, the creator of Exploding Kittens, talks about his venture into creating games for small children. Elan has been designing the games alongside his four-year-old daughter, and we talk about the process of designing games both for and with small kids. We also get into the business side of things and discuss marketing, manufacturing, and more!

And be sure to check out the games HERE.

The post Designing Games FOR and WITH Young Kids with Elan Lee appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Geoff Engelstein and I chat about design theory and break down Geoff’s favorite examples and how they relate to designing games.

Geoff’s book about loss aversion can be found here: https://amzn.to/3rIgi7y

More info about the Tabletop Network Conference can be found here: https://www.tabletopnetwork.com

The post 4 Amazing (and Useful) Examples of Board Game Design Theory with Geoff Engelstein appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Jason Greeno and I chat about the current boom in the print-n-play side of the market, and we dive into how and why more designers should create printable versions of their games.

You can find a ridiculous number of PnP games on Jason’s website, PnP Arcade.

And you can find his game, The Cursed Managerie, on Kickstarter HERE.

Here’s the best PnP Facebook group.

The post Why You Should Create Print-n-Play Games with Jason Greeno appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Pam Walls and I chat about the games on our “must play” lists if you’re a game designer. And be sure to check out Pam’s awesome channel about game design here: https://www.youtube.com/@pamwallsgamedesign

Here are the games we discuss:

-Imhotep

-Dungeons & Dragons

-Catan -Chess

-Magic: the Gathering

-Robinson Crusoe

-Kemet -Creature Comforts

-Twilight Imperium

-Dune

-Century: Spiced Road

-Le Havre

-Vast

-Root

-Concordia

-Istanbul: the dice game

-Sagrada

-Gartenbau

-Silly Street

-Tyrants of the Underdark

-Legendary

-King of Tokyo

-Sleeping Gods

-Charterstone

-Arkham Horror: the card game

-RoboMon

The post The Games Every Designer MUST Play with Pam Walls appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Rob Daviau and I chat about how to playtest, receive feedback, iterate, and playtest a whole lot more.

The post How to Playtest like a Pro with Rob Daviau appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, Jay Cormier and I chat about how to teach game design concepts to others and help them become game designers.

And be sure to check out Jay’s new game design activity book HERE.

The post How to Create More Game Designers with Jay Cormier appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I chat with Ben Downton who designs games and runs the publishing company Prometheus Game Labs. We chat about how lonely design work can be, how to balance being creative with running a business, Board Game Arena, and more!

And here’s the Board Game Arena article mentioned in the show: https://prometheusgamelabs.wordpress.com/2023/08/14/how-a-game-gets-on-board-game-arena/

The post How to Design AND Publish games with Ben Downton appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Kyle Sussenbach and I chat about how to get started in creating a publishing business and how to go from absolutely nothing to launching a crowdfunding campaign.

The post 10 Steps to Go from Nothing to Crowdfunding Campaign with Kyle Sussenbach appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I talk through pretty much every tip about game design that I can think of!

And if you want to see the video version, you can check it out on YouTube HERE.

The post 71 Ways to Become a Better Game Designer with Gabe Barrett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I chat with Jason Tagmire about everything related to 18-card games. We talk about designing, publishing, manufacturing, shipping, marketing, crowdfunding, and more!

The post Small Games that Pack a Big Punch with Jason Tagmire appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I chat with Jonny Pac about how to create games that fully engage players and keep them coming back for more. We talk about the difference between puzzles and games, designing for different types of players, utilizing randomness, fuzzy logic, and a whole lot more!

The post How to Craft the Perfect Player Experience with Jonny Pac appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

In this episode, I chat with James Ernest about how to make a game that doesn’t just work mechanically but is also a lot of fun to play. We talk about how to identify when testers are having fun, the design decisions that create fun experiences, utilizing surprise, and a whole lot more.

You can find James’s game design lectures and articles here: https://crabfragmentlabs.com/lecture-hall

And here’s that video he mentioned about goats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58-atNakMWw

The post How to Design Fun Games with James Ernest appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.