The post [BONUS] Justin Jacobson on Managing Hype and Expectations appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Justin Jacobson, founder of Restoration Games, discusses the process of bringing a game back to life.

Justin’s entire business model is built on taking old games off the shelf and breathing new life into them, and he offers great insight on how to do it. If you’ve got some old games of your own that you shelved for whatever reason, you just might get some ideas on how to bring those back.

The post Bringing Old Designs Back to Life with Justin Jacobson appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Peter Hayward on Attending a Prototype Convention appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Peter Hayward, founder of Jellybean Games, discusses the two types of cooperative games and what makes them work.

Peter plays hundreds of prototypes a year, and he’s noticed some serious issues with the majority of the co-op prototypes he sees.

The post The Two Types of Cooperative Games with Peter Hayward appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Brandon Rollins on Playtesting appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Brandon Rollins, designer of Highways & Byways, discusses accessibility in games and ways to make your designs more inclusive.

Brandon is an avid blogger and consistently writes great content to help game designers.

Meeple Like Us accessibility reviews

Color palettes for color blindness

10 Quick Accessibility Wins for Game Developers

And make sure to check out Brandon’s latest Kickstarter campaign HERE.

The post How to Make Your Game More Accessible with Brandon Rollins appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Jerry Hawthorne on How to Demo a Game at a Convention appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jerry Hawthorne, designer of Stuffed Fables, discusses story driven games and how to use narrative to create incredible gaming experiences.

Jerry is a long-time veteran of the industry and specializes in games that evoke stories.

The post Story Driven Games with Jerry Hawthorne appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Adam Rehberg on Balancing Life, Work, and Game Design appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Adam Rehberg, owner of Adam’s Apple Games, discusses the finer details on what makes a box functional, fashionable, and provocative.

For his day job, Adam is a packaging engineer for Target, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about.

If you have box questions for Adam, you can find him on Twitter HERE.

And be sure to check out his 3d sword building game, Swordcrafters, which is on Kickstarter now.

The post Boxes and Packaging that Sell with Adam Rehberg appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Vincent Vergonjeanne on Licensing an IP for a Game appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Vincent Vergonjeanne, founder of Lucky Duck Games, discusses games that use digital components in their design.

Vincent runs his own video game company and has been quite successful in both the digital space and the board game industry, so he really knows a lot about this topic.

The post Designing Games with Digital Elements with Vincent Vergonjeanne appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Jason Mowery & Chase Williams on Designing Heist Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jason Mowery and Chase Williams, designers of The Big Score, discuss the process of co-designing a game.

We talk scheduling, conflict management, and more. Also, you can check out their new game on Kickstarter HERE. (It’s basically Ocean’s 11, the board game.)

The post Working with a Co-Designer with Jason Mowery and Chase Williams appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Petter Olsen on How to Create a Great Looking Prototype appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Petter Olsen, designer of Kill the King, discusses the king of the hill mechanism. (We also might go into propane and propane accessories…)

Petter’s new game hinges on this particular mechanism, so he knows a lot about what makes it work well.​​ You can check out his new game on Kickstarter HERE.

The post The King of the Hill Mechanism with Petter Olsen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Greg Loring-Albright on How to Recover from Failure appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Greg Loring-Albright, designer of Leviathan, discusses the ins, outs, and what-have-yous of micro games. He brings up some great points about designing small games that carry a big experience.

The post Designing Micro Games with Greg Loring-Albright appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Jon Gilmour on Post-Apocalyptic Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Because we hit this stretch goal during the crowdfunding campaign, the BGDL will be sponsoring a board game design competition that will run from late April to mid July.

The goal of the contest is to give designers the opportunity to grow and improve at the process that the gaming industry follows. (And to give you a chance to be recognized and win, of course.)

When you approach a publisher about your game, the order of events is typically: pitch, sell sheet, rulebook, prototype.

So, the contest will consist of 4 rounds:

Round 1) Create and submit an elevator pitch for the best game you’re designing. The best pitches will move on to the next round.

Round 2) Create and submit a sell sheet for your game. The best sell sheets will move on to the next round.

Round 3) Create and submit a polished rulebook for your game. The best rulebooks will move on to the next round.

Round 4) Create and submit a prototype of your game. The games will be played, and winners will be decided.

1st Place–$100*
2nd Place–$75*
3rd Place–$50*

(*these numbers are subject to change)

Participants in each round will receive feedback from board game professionals on what they did well and what needs to improve.

And assuming a later stretch goal gets unlocked, all finalists will receive an automatic berth in a second BGDL sponsored design challenge we’re currently calling “BGDL Design Star” that will happen in late 2018.

The post 2018 Design Challenge appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.