Mechanisms Archives - Board Game Design Lab

Marco Pecota, designer of Legions of Steel, discusses everything that goes into designing a miniature war game. Marco has been designing these types of games since the 90s, and we go into combat systems, movement, metal vs plastic, and everything in between. And be sure to check out Marco’s miniatures packs on Kickstarter HERE. The post How to Design Miniature War Games with Marco Pecota app...

Bez Shahriari, designer of Yogi, discusses how to design not just a game but a gaming system that can support lots of different games. Bez designed a system called the ELL Deck a while back, and we get into everything a designer has to think about when working on a project that’s going to consist of more... The post Designing a Game System with Bez Shahriari appeared first on Board Game Desi...

Victoria Caña and Alex Uboldi, designers of Gladius, discuss the design process for creating a game with betting at its core. We go into the ins and outs of balancing hidden vs open information, tension, and why people like these games so much. The post Designing a Betting Game with Victoria Caña and Alex Uboldi appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Jayson Smith and Jason Zmuda, from Gold Cauldron Games, discuss the ins and outs of various combat systems. We talk dice, cards, dexterity and more. And we analyze several “must play” games to learn how to design awesome combat.  The post Combat Systems with Jayson Smith and Jason Zmuda appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Odin Phong, founder of Inkwell Games, discusses how to design a roll and write game. The roll and write genre has exploded in popularity over the last couple of years, and we get into why people are drawn to them and how to design a good one. And be sure to check out Odin’s roll and... The post Designing a Roll and Write with Odin Phong appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Ryan Langewisch on Tile-Placement Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Luke Laurie, designer of Energy Empire, discusses all the ins and outs of creating a worker placement game. Luke has a ton of experience with the genre with 4 more worker placement games set to come out over the next 2 years. The post Designing Worker Placement Games with Luke Laurie appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Ian Zang on Rondel Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Nikki Valens, designer of Mansions of Madness, discusses how to design a narrative driven game. Nikki has designed some of my absolute favorite games and is a master of creating games that tell good stories. The post Designing a Narrative Driven Game with Nikki Valens appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Bob and Ryan Craig, founders of One Day West Games, discuss how to design a tile-laying game. Their game, Monster Highway, is a fast-playing tile laying game about escaping from a Godzilla style monster, and they have several other tiling games in the works. The post Designing a Tile-Laying Game with Bob and Ryan Craig appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Elizabeth Hargrave, designer of Wingspan, discusses how to design engine building games. Wingspan is ranked in the top 100 on Board Game Geek, and we talk a lot about Elizabeth’s design process for creating the game. The post Designing an Engine Building Game with Elizabeth Hargrave appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Darren Terpstra, designer of Ignite, discusses designing games with multiple moving parts and several mechanisms integrated together. Ignite has quite a few mechanisms working together, so Darren has had to figure out how to make this concept work in a streamlined way. And be sure to check out Ignite on Kickstarter HERE. The post Multiple Mechanisms in a Game with Darren Terpstra appeared first on...

The post [BONUS] Jesse Zamora on Hidden Information Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Noel Gussen, designer of Deckfighters, discusses designing a game with multiple win conditions. Noel’s MMA style card game has lots of ways to win (and lose), so we talk through different ways to add multiple end-game triggers. The post Multiple End Game Triggers with Noel Gussen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Bill Lasek, designer of Koi, discusses how to design programmable action games. Programmable actions provide really interesting options for players and create really interesting challenges for designers. Bill’s game, Koi, programs fish moving around a pond, so he has first-hand experience with this type of game. The post Programmable Action Games with Bill Lasek appeared first on Board Game...

Tim Fowers, designer of Burgle Bros and Fugitive, discusses how to design deduction games. Fugitive is one of my favorite deduction games, and Tim’s next game, Sabotage, is also a really cool deduction game coming out later this year. The post Designing Deduction Games with Tim Fowers appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Steven Aramini, designer of Animal Kingdoms, discusses how to design an area control game. Animal Kingdoms won the 2018 Cardboard Edison award and is a really clever, card-driven area control game. The post Designing Area Control Games with Steven Aramini appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Fabian Zimmermann on Roll & Write Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Fabian Zimmermann, designer of Goodcritters, discusses how to design a negotiation game. Goodcritters is the most recent game in the Dice Tower Essentials line, and negotiation is the core of the game. The post Designing a Negotiation Game with Fabian Zimmermann appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Darwin Kastle, from White Wizard Games, discusses how to design a deck builder. Darwin is a hall of fame Magic: the Gathering player and has a TON of experience designing card games. His most popular games are Star Realms and Hero Realms. The post Designing a Deck Building Game with Darwin Kastle appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Rita Orlov discusses how to design a good puzzle game. Through her company, Post Curious, Rita designs deeply immersive games for people who enjoy a good challenge. The post Designing Puzzle Games with Rita Orlov appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Dan & Connie Kazmaier on In-Game Economy Systems appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Aron West, designer of Catacombs, discusses the art and challenges in designing dexterity games with depth. He’s been designing and publishing these types of games for years and has a ton of insight on the topic. And be sure to check out the latest version of Catacombs HERE. The post Designing Dexterity Games with Aron West appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Julio Nazario, winner of the HABA Games design challenge, talks about game components and interesting ways to use them. Julio has been designing some really innovative games using components in really cool ways. The post Innovative Uses of Game Components with Julio Nazario appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Alex Macklai, designer of Sea of Nadia, talks about augmented reality and board games. Alex has been working on an AR-centric game for 2 years and has some interesting insight on the topic. For more info: www.maclaysgames.com The post Augmented Reality and Board Games with Alex Maklai appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .