Game Design Basics Archives - Board Game Design Lab

The post [BONUS] Gabe Barrett on Using the Right Tools for the Job appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Gabe Barrett, founder of the BGDL, discusses why this hobby of ours matters and why game design is much more than just a fun, little activity. He also shares some stories that relate to design and talks about where the BGDL is headed in the future. The post Why Game Design Is Important with Gabe Barrett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Chris Kirkman on Considerations When Designing a Small Game appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Morten Pedersen, designer behind the solo modes for games such as Scythe and Viticulture, discusses how to scale a game down to one player and create a great solo experience. Morten has his own design company that focuses on creating single player systems for games and has even won awards for it. For more, check out Morten’s... The post Creating a Great Solo Variant with Morten Pedersen appe...

The post [BONUS] Chris Rowlands on What RPG Elements He’d Like to See More of in Board Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Tom Vasel, founder of the Dice Tower, discusses some of the many things he’s learned after playing an astronomical number of games. We talk themes, mechanics, Kickstarter, publishing, trends, and tons of other stuff. Tom has played and reviewed thousands upon thousands of games which has led to some interesting insight on what makes a... The post Lessons Learned from Playing 5000+ Games with...

The post [BONUS] Sen-Foong Lim on Where to Find Components for Your Prototypes appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Sen-Foong Lim, designer of Belfort and Junk Art, discusses the many things a good game design space needs and ways to organize it all. Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the show: Gimp Canva Cropodile Rotary Cutter   The post How to Organize a Design Space with Sen-Foong Lim appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Edo Baraf, designer of Herbaceous, discusses the many different types of custom components you can add to your games and the challenges and considerations that go with each one. We talk custom dice, boards, boxes, inserts, meeples, sleeves, and more. (Not miniatures. That will be its own episode.) Edo has experience with lots of custom... The post Custom Components in Your Game with Edo Baraf appe...

The post [BONUS] JT Smith on How to Come Up with Expansion Ideas appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Jamey Stegmaier, designer of Scythe, is back on the show, and we’re talking about what the schedule of a pro game designer looks like. It’s easy to have a romanticized idea of what being a full time designer is, but it doesn’t quite line up with reality. We talk about the daily fires that have... The post A Day in the Life of a Pro Designer with Jamey Stegmaier appeared first on...

The post [BONUS] Emerson Matsuuchi on His Process of Creating Special Abilities appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Jerry Hawthorne on How He Draws Inspiration from Everyday Life appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Jay Vales discusses how his game, Conquest at Kismet, came to be and how it got great reviews but underperformed when it came to sales. We go into the contributing factors and what other designers can learn from the experience. We also talk about some interesting design concepts, dealing with real-life death, and how even... The post Why Good Reviews Aren’t Always the Magic Bullet with Jay V...

The post [BONUS] Luke Laurie on Things All New Designers Need to Know appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Luke Laurie, designer of The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, and I discuss all the ins and outs of working with a co-designer. Luke has worked with a co-designer on multiple projects and provides great insight on what’s good and what’s challenging about the process. Check out more from Luke at The League of Gamemakers. The post How to Work with a Co-Designer with Luke Laurie appeared...

Jamey Stegmaier,Kickstarter guru and designer of Scythe, and I discuss all the things he wishes someone would have told him before he got into game design, kickstarter, publishing, and more. He gives a ton of valuable advice. For lists of games designers should play, click HERE. For more from Jamey, check out the Stonemaier Games website. The post What I Wish I Would Have Known before I Got into G...