Board Game Design Lab

Jess Metheringham, founder of Dissent Games, talks about designing games that are housed completely on greeting cards. We talk about the value of constraints, holiday themes, and more. The post Designing Greeting Card Games with Jess Metheringham appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Kathleen Mercury, designer of Greece Lightning, talks about designing race games. We talk about meshing a racing theme with mechanisms that actually feel like a race, different ways to win, general design concepts, and more. The post How to Design a Race Game with Kathleen Mercury appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Stephen Schwartz and Floyd Lu, designers of Slash and Spells, talk about designing asymmetrical games. We talk about creating interesting differences, balancing factions, the challenges of playtesting these kinds of games, and more. And be sure to check out Stephen and Floyd’s game on Kickstarter HERE! The post How to Design Asymmetrical Games with Stephen Schwartz and Floyd Lu appeared firs...

Ted Alspach, designer of Maglev Metro and several other route building games, talks about what makes these games special. We talk about themes that mesh well with the mechanism, end conditions, keeping players interested, and more. The post How to Design Route Building Games with Ted Alspach appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Arthur Franz, founder of Uplink Underground Games, discusses what it looks like to run a publishing company that’s based on print-on-demand manufacturing. We talk about pros and cons, pricing challenges, community building, and more. The post [BGDL Community Spotlight] Print-on-Demand Publishing with Arthur Franz appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Frank Sarro, designer of Pathways, talks about abstract dexterity games. We get into component quality, manufacturing challenges, complexity, and more. The post [BGDL Community Spotlight] Designing an Abstract Dexterity Game with Frank Sarro appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Phil Walker-Harding, designer of Sushi Go, Barenpark, Imhotep, Gizmos, and several other great games, takes us behind the scenes of his personal design process. We talk about coming up with ideas, honing big ideas into super fun games, knowing when to walk away from a design, pitching to publishers, and more. The post The Design Process of Phil Walker-Harding appeared first on Board Game Design La...

Carla Kopp, from Weird Giraffe Games, discusses how to multiply your time and get more done. Carla runs multiple companies while also designing games and creating solo modes for other designers’ games, so she’s had to figure out how to create more hours in the day. We talk about time management, scheduling, and all sorts... The post How to Multiply Your Time with Carla Kopp appeared fi...

Alf Seegert, designer of Haven, discusses how to design two-player games. Alf has designed several published two-player games, and we talk about tension, component limitations, delivering on expectations, and more. Alf Seegert’s Designer Diary for his latest game, Illumination, which includes a lot of information about his other games as well.  His website. You can find... The post How to De...

Carol Mertz and Elan Lee, from Exploding Kittens, discuss how to build a community. ​​We talk about their record-setting Kickstarter campaign, building relationships with customers, guerrilla marketing techniques, and what it looks like to focus on the “crowd” portion of crowdfunding. And be sure to check out their latest Kickstarter project, Hand to Hand Wombat,... The post Community...

Kevin Carroll and Steve Mark, designers of Tenzi and owners of Carma Games, discuss how they built a game publishing company that’s made several million dollars. They tell their origin story, share guerrilla marketing techniques, discuss mistakes they’ve made, and much more. Also, you can get 20% off in the Carma Games online store by using... The post Building a Million Dollar Board G...

Tyler Langtimm, designer of Moxie: A Journey of Monsters, discusses how to design a game about monster taming (think Pokemon). Tyler has been working on a monster hunting/taming game for a while (and so have I), so we have quite a lot to talk about. We get into exploration, combat, puzzles, progression, and more. The post [BGDL Community Spotlight] Designing Monster Taming Games with Tyler Langtim...

Thomas Covert, founder of the Board Game Revolution Facebook group, dives into how to promote your game in Facebook groups without seeming like a slimy used car salesman. We talk about asking for feedback, how to create engaging posts (and when to post them), paid promotion, and more. The post [BGDL Community Spotlight] How to Promote Your Game in Facebook Groups with Thomas Covert appeared first...

Steve Finn, founder of Dr. Finn’s Games, discusses how to design set collection games. Steve has designed a ton of games with this mechanism including Biblios, Herbaceous, and Sunset over Water, so he has a lot to say on the topic. And be sure to check out Steve’s Latest game on Kickstarter HERE. The post Designing Set Collection Games with Steve Finn appeared first on Board Game Desig...

Jasper Burch, founder of Pine Island Games, dives into business plans and why you probably need one. The post [BGDL Community Spotlight] Creating a Business Plan with Jasper Burch appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Scott Smith, designer of Dungeon Drop, discusses how to design games by starting with the components. Scott has become a master at this, and it’s an interesting way to approach design that often begins with theme or a mechanism. The post [BGDL Community Spotlight] Component First Game Design with Scott Smith appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Hersh Glueck, founder of Hero Time Manufacturing, discusses the most common pitfalls and frequently asked questions when it comes to printing a board game. Hersh lives in China and started a manufacturing company several years ago, so he has a ton of experience and knowledge when it comes to bringing a game to life. We also get into... The post Manufacturing Frequently Asked Questions with Hersh G...

David Turczi and Nigel Buckle discuss the making of their hit games Imperium: Classics and Imperium: Legends. We talk through everything from the initial idea all the way to getting the games published and onto people’s tables. The post The Making of Imperium with David Turczi and Nigel Buckle appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Jerry Hawthorne, designer of Stuffed Fables, discusses how to design a game that focuses on storytelling. Jerry has created several super popular storytelling games (and has a new one about to come out), and we dive into writing, scenario design, combat mechanisms, and more. The post Designing Storytelling Games with Jerry Hawthorne appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Fabio Lopiano, designer of Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road, discusses how to use entangled decision-making as the primary mechanism in a game. In several of Fabio’s designs, players have to make choices based on how things like resources and actions are paired together or “entangled.” We unpack everything that goes into designing games that... The post Entangled Decision Making...

Mike Kelley, designer of Mega Man Adventures, discusses cooperative games and what goes into designing a good one. Mike has been designing and reviewing cooperative games for years, and we dive into both creating co-op games and how to stand out to reviewers and gamers. The post How to Design a Cooperative Game with Mike Kelley appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Assad Quraishi, designer of Genesis: Battle of Champions, discusses everything to think about if you want to design a trading card game for today’s market. We talk about how to get started, building an audience, when to go to Kickstarter, how to stand out, and more. The post Designing a Trading Card Game in the Modern Era with Assad Quraishi appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Jonny Pac, designer of Merchants Cove and lots of other games, discusses his process of finding the perfect mesh of theme and mechanisms. We talk about his approach to theme in his various games, research, and what it looks like for mechanics to make sense inside the theme. The post Thematically Informed Game Design with Jonny Pac appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Marvin Hegen, designer of Mindbug, discusses how to use a blue ocean strategy in game design and game publishing. We talk about blue ocean vs red ocean concepts, how the strategy can help you pitch games, marketing, and more. The post Using Blue Ocean Strategy in Game Design with Marvin Hegen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, designers of the Undaunted series, discuss how to take a solid core idea and then expand on it. We talk about the making of Undaunted games, what goes into creating expansions, standalone sequels, and new games with similar DNA to previous designs. The post How to Expand on a Core Idea with Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson appeared first on Board Game Design L...