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, 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, 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.

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.

In this episode, Sen-Foong Lim talks about how he balances his 50+ hour a week teaching job with working on 40+ games a year. We talk about how to design like crazy without burning out, how to get into a flow state, the myth of being self-made, how to work with co-designers, and a whole lot more!

The post How to Balance Game Design with a Full Time Job with Sen-Foong Lim appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.