Marvin Hegen

Nerdlab Podcast

Leisure EN ↓ 99 episodes

If you want to design your own games, this podcast is for you. We will dive deep into topics like development tools, game mechanics, card design, marketing and discuss everything you need to know to start your first Kickstarter campaign. To analyse these topics, we will be looking at existing card games and board games and take a deeper look at their core mechanics in order to use them as inspiration for our own games. Everything we discuss will be applied to a fantasy adventure card game we develop in parallel to the podcast. The goal of this podcast is to provide you with everything you need...

Author

Marvin Hegen

Episodes

049 – Setting Constraints and Designing within Strict Limitations – Interview with Ed Rodriguez – Designer of Animus 02.03.2020 1:18:43

Animus – The Draft Building Game:Animus WebsiteAnimus on FacebookAnimus on […]

048 – Legends of Runeterra – 10 Exceptional Design Choices and what we can learn from them 24.02.2020 41:32

Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]

047 – 15 Ways to Reduce Analysis Paralysis during Game Design 17.02.2020 42:01

Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]

046 – A Walkthrough of Jamey Stegmaier’s proven Game Design Process 10.02.2020 1:13:07

045 – Designing RPGs with and for Kids with Kevin Ferrone the Designer of Starport 03.02.2020 46:04

Starport:Starport WebsiteStarport on TwitterStarport on Instagram Connect with the Nerdlab […]

044 – Marketing a Board Game as a First Time Publisher with Brandon Seeger (Battle Babies) 27.01.2020 48:12

Battle Babies:Kickstarter Campaign for Battle BabiesStuffed Horse Games WebsiteStuffed Horse Games on FBStuffed Horse Games on Instagram Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab Facebook PageNerdlab on TwitterNerdlab on InstagramJoin the Nerdlab Discord Hello fellow adventurers and welcome to the Nerdlab - Where we transform our gaming passion into incre...

043 – How to create a Design Skeleton in 7 Steps 20.01.2020 35:04

Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab Facebook PageNerdlab on TwitterNerdlab on InstagramJoin the Nerdlab Discord Hello fellow adventurers and welcome to the Nerdlab - Where we transform our gaming passion into incredible game designs and learn how to nerd like a boss. My name is Marvin and I am an ambitious game

042 – Mythgard Review – 8 Exceptional Design Choices and what we can learn from them 13.01.2020 42:09

041 – A year of Game Design and Podcasting in Review 06.01.2020 22:50

040 – The Role of Keywords in Strategy Card Games like TCGs, CCGs, and LCGs 27.12.2019 40:36

Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab Facebook PageNerdlab on TwitterNerdlab on InstagramJoin the Nerdlab Discord This week I am going to talk about the power of a single word. A single word that is typically printed boldly on a card and holds a lot of information. The words I am talking

039 – Graphic Design & and Illustration for Board Games with Patrick Rauland 14.12.2019 55:40

In Episode 39 of the Nerdlab podcast, I had the honor to talk to Patrick Rauland the art director of the games Fry Thief, Samhain, and Mintsugi. And he is also a fellow podcaster and host of the show “Indie Board Game Designers Podcast”. We talked about the difference between Graphic Design and Illustration and

038 – Gloomhaven and Designing Epic Games with Isaac Childres 08.12.2019 1:03:30

In Episode 38 of the Nerdlab podcast, I had the honor to talk to Isaac Childres about the design process of Gloomhaven. In our discussion, we focussed on the following questions: What games did influence the design of Gloomhaven? What was the design process of Gloomhaven like? How to playtest big epic games like Gloomhaven?

037 – Game Design Documentation – Tools, Methods and Best Practices 30.11.2019 48:01

Check Out the following Kickstarter Campaigns:Goblin TeethDark Metal Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab Facebook PageNerdlab on TwitterNerdlab on InstagramJoin the Nerdlab Discord I have been asked several times if it is worth to write a Game Design Diary. And if so why? What are the benefits? And how do you

036 – How to create the perfect Hook for your Game? 15.11.2019 33:49

Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab Facebook PageNerdlab on TwitterNerdlab on InstagramJoin the Nerdlab Discord Today I have one question for you. Why do you buy games? Probably to play them. Although some games on my shelf I have never played. But well most people buy games to play them. But

035 – Designing Solo Games with Gabe Barrett of BGDL 04.11.2019 51:59

Go check out the "Hunted" Kickstarter Campaign! In today’s episode of the Nerdlab, I have a guest to whom I really look up to. His work was, and still is a great inspiration for my own journey. Especially as a content producer. He has probably interviewed every successful game designer on this planet. But he

034 – Take-Aways of Essen Spiel 2019 02.11.2019 33:48

Today I have a slightly different show again. After I was at Essen Spiel 2019 last week, I wanted to share my experiences of that unique trade fair with you today. There were so many impressions. It really took me a few days to process all of them. But now I am ready to share

033 – Spirit Island and Asymmetric Game Design with R. Eric Reuss 22.10.2019 1:28:00

In Episode 33 of the Nerdlab podcast, I had a great discussion with R. Eric Reuss about the design process of Spirit Island and asymmetric games in general. In our discussion, we focussed on the following questions: How was the design process of Spirit Island? What is asymmetry in board games? What are the best

032 – Success Factors in the modern Board Games Industry 16.10.2019 29:16

Last week I saw the documentary movie "The Game Designers" by Eric Rayl which was successfully funded through Kickstarter and indigogo. First of all, I can recommend watching the movie. It covers a lot of great game designers. Some of them have already been guests on the Nerdlab Podcast as well. The documentation is about

031 – Theme vs. Setting in Boardgames with Paul Grogan 07.10.2019 1:10:27

In Episode 31 of the Nerdlab podcast, I have the honor to talk to Paul Grogan of the Gaming Rules! Youtube Channel. Paul is creating a huge amount of content in the board game industry. He is famous for his instructional youtube videos. He explains rules, does a lot of reviews and playthroughs but he

030 – Card Drafting Mechanic – Part 3 02.10.2019 1:27:42

In Episode 30 of the Nerdlab podcast, I continue talking about card drafting. This week the goal is to finish the 3 part podcast series. I am super excited about today's episode. The topic of card drafting as a method of simultaneous action selection is so huge that I could probably spend even 2 or

029 – Card Drafting Mechanic – Part 2 23.09.2019 49:20

In Episode 29 of the Nerdlab podcast, I continue talking about card drafting, my favorite game mechanic. Today, I covered 4 great drafting games and distill their unique and secret game design ingredients from which we can learn why these games are so great. Games Covered in this Episode:Sushi Go7 Wonders7 Wonders DuelElysium Important Links:Join

028 – Card Drafting Mechanic Part 1 15.09.2019 33:04

In Episode 28 of the Nerdlab podcast, I talk about my favorite game mechanic: Card Drafting. YOu'll learn why I think this is the best mechanic of all time, how to overcome its design challenges and what kind of tactics you players can use during the draft. Follow the link to join the discord server

027 – Battlefield Options for Tactical Combat Card Games 08.09.2019 44:51

In Episode 27 of the Nerdlab podcast, I talk about different battlefield options to represent a tactical battle in a tabletop game by using cards. I discussed the differences between miniatures and cards and took a deeper look at some games of the genre to analyze the battlefield options that have been used in other

026 – The Compound Effect – How to be Consistent as a Game Designer 01.09.2019 34:02

In Episode 26 of the Nerdlab podcast, I talk about consistency, why it is important for game designers and how to achieve it. If you listened to the show: This is how you join the discord server and become part of the Nerdlab Mastermind: Join the Nerdlab Discord Important Links: Join the Nerdlab CommunityJoin the

025 – Synergies and Combos in Everdell with James Wilson 07.07.2019 1:35:56

In Episode 25 of the Nerdlab podcast, I chatted with James Wilson, the designer of Everdell. We talked about his journey and how he developed Everdell. In our discussion, we have put a special focus on the design of synergies and combos. What are synergies? How do they differ from combos? What is the best