The Board Game Design Lab

Artyom Nichipurov (Arty for short), designer of Guards of Atlantis: Tabletop MOBA , discusses Tabletopia and gives lots of tips and tricks on how to get your prototype up and running on the system. Tabletopia can be an extremely useful resource for playtesting, demoing, and pitching your game. If you need some help with the software, Arty has offered to give you a hand. You can reach him at nichip...

The post [BONUS] Don Eskridge on Creating Expansions for a Game appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Don Eskridge , designer of  The Resistance ,  discusses all the ins and outs of creating a social deduction game. The Resistance is one of the most popular games ever made that lets you lie directly to your friends’ faces, and Don has designed several more of these types of games, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about. And click HERE to check out Don’s latest social dedu...

The post [BONUS] Dustin Schwartz on How to Go Pro in the Board Game Industry appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Dustin Schwartz, professional rulebook writer , discusses what makes a great rulebook and lots of tips and tricks on how to put together a ruleset that’s easy to teach and easy to learn. Dustin wrote 40 rulebooks in 2017 and is looking to write 100 in 2018, so he’s got a TON of experience on what makes a rulebook great. For a program that makes adding icons to word docs super easy, che...

The post [BONUS] Jamey Stegmaier on the Pros and Cons of Leaving Kickstarter appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Jamey Stegmaier is back on the show, and we’re talking Legacy Games. Jamey’s game, Charterstone, just came out, and it’s quite possibly the most ambitious Euro game in existence as it takes all the legacy style elements and applies them to a worker placement experience. Jamey is one of the best designers on the planet, and after Charterstone , he’s got a TON of insight on h...

The post [BONUS] Matt Leacock on Developing Alternative Versions of Your Game appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Matt Leacock , designer of a little game called Pandemic , discusses how to craft the player experience. ​ Matt is one of the most well-known designers in the world, and he’s learned how to finely tune a game to give players the desired experience. Previously, he worked for companies like Apple and Yahoo developing UX for various products, and he’s been able to bring those ideas into t...

The post [BONUS] Seth Grier on Where He Thinks the Industry Is Headed appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Seth Grier , vice president of   Quartermaster Logistics , discusses the ins and outs of  shipping,  fulfillment, and fulfillment services. Whether you’re looking to ship games out of your garage or hire a service to do it for you, this episode is for you as Seth goes into the nuts and bolts of things to be aware of when shipping board games. The post Shipping, Fulfillment, and Fulfillment S...

The post [BONUS] Juliana Patel & Ariel Rubin on How to Run an Effective Co-Design Team appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Juliana Patel and Ariel Rubin, designers of   Escape Room in a Box , discuss the ins and outs of creating an escape room game. Juliana and Ariel are busy moms who find time to get together and design games, and they have a ton of insight on what makes a great escape experience. Escape Room in a Box was the first escape room board game to show up when it hit Kickstarter last year, and it’s no...

The post [BONUS] Andrew Harmon on How to Reach out to People about Your Kickstarter appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Andrew Harmon ,  designer of  Portals and Prophets ,  discusses  religious themed games. Andrew designed a time travel game with a Biblical theme, and we talk the ins and outs of how to bring a religious themed game to life. We also talk about how not to offend too many people along the way. Also, Andrew’s  game is out on Kickstarter right now. Check it out  here . The post Creating Religiou...

The post [BONUS] Sami Laakso on Creating Family Friendly Art appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Sami Laakso , owner of  Snowdale Design , discusses how to  design a scenario based game. Sami  is both a publisher and a designer, and  he’s been working on a campaign driven game with legacy elements for over 2 years. We discuss what he’s learned throughout the design process, and he gives lots of tips and tricks. And you can find Sami’s scenario  game on Kickstarter right now....

The post [BONUS] Kirk Dennison on How to Dominate a Playtest Convention appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Today, Kirk Dennison, owner of Piecekeeper Games , discusses how to efficiently create new versions of a game and iterate like a boss Kirk is both a publisher and a designer, and he’s obsessed with efficiency. He gets into some serious nuts and bolts about saving time and moving from one version to the next. And be sure to check out Kirk’s latest game “ Gearworks ” on Kicks...

The post [BONUS] Scott Rogers on Tips and Tricks for Art Direction appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Scott Rogers ,  designer  of  Rayguns and Rocketships ,  discusses   how to intertwine theme and mechanics . Scott has been designing both video and board games for years and teaches game design at the University of Southern California. Scott also does the “History of a Board Game” segments on the Dice Tower and Ludology podcasts. And the Jack Vasal Memorial Fund auction mentioned in t...

The post [BONUS] Andrew Birkett on How to Know When to Put a Game on the Shelf appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Andrew Birkett, founder of Atheris Games , discusses how he started a publishing company and got his first game 200% funded on Kickstarter. We talk about tips for pre-campaign preparation, overcoming the mid-campaign slump, finishing strong, and more. The post How a First Time Publisher Gets Funded on Kickstarter with Andrew Birkett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Timo Multamaki on Advice for Non-Native English Speakers who Want to Run a Kickstarter appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Timo Multamaki, founder of Dragon Dawn Productions ,  discusses the many things he’s learned about project management and getting games across the finish line. Timo has a team of 40+ people from all over the world working on various games​ ​, so he’s had to become the glue that holds people together and keeps them on the same page until the games are done. The post Project Management a...