The Board Game Design Lab

James Hudson, owner of Druid City Games , talks about how to create a game that families love to play. James works full time in the gaming industry, and his company focuses specifically on family games. We talk about what makes a game appealing to families and how to get noticed on Kickstarter. The post How to Design a Great Family Game with James Hudson appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Daryl Andrews on Bringing a Licensed IP to Life appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Daryl Andrews, designer of Sagrada , discusses how to work on a bunch of designs at the same time. Daryl has designed around 100 games that are either in stores, in production, or have been signed and are waiting to move forward, so he has a TON of knowledge on the subject. The post How to Work on Multiple Games at the Same Time with Daryl Andrews appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Alex Hall & Gin Yu on Creating High Quality Videos appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Gin Yu and Alex Hall, filmmakers with Gin and Tonic Films ,  discuss their new web series Getting on Board . Gin and Alex have been interviewing and following game designers around for a while and filming their different processes. I had a ton of fun with this episode, and I think you’ll get a kick out of it as well.​​ Find them on Facebook here . And Twitter here . The post Lessons Learned...

The post [BONUS] Seth Jaffee on the Value of Playing a Game Multiple Times appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Seth Jaffee, designer of Eminent Domain , discusses how to tackle that last 10% of game design that takes a game from merely good to that next level of great. And be sure to check out the BGDL inspired t-shirt project over at IndieGoGo . Shirts are only available for a very limited time. The post Taking a Design from Good to Great with Seth Jaffee appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Richard Launius on Themes He’d Like to See appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Richard Launius, designer of Arkham Horror , shares great, veteran advice on how to design an AI system for both co-op and non co-op games. The post Designing a Good AI System with Richard Launius appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Tony Miller on Finding Time for Game Design appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Tony Miller, attendee of double digit design conventions, discusses why it’s so important to attend design cons and what you need to take with you to get the most out of your experience. The post Getting the Most out of a Design Convention with Tony Miller appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Gil Hova on Why Drafting Is Such a Great Mechanic appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Gil Hova, designer of The Networks , discusses how to manage a game’s scope and not allow it to get out of hand. We also go into a good bit of detail on abstraction and how vital it is for keeping a game’s scope where it needs to be. The post Keeping a Design from Getting out of Hand with Gil Hova appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Daniel Zayas on Kickstarter Features He Wants to See appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Daniel Zayas, a member of the Kickstarter Expert program , discusses what the program is and how it works. He also gives some really great advice on how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign. The post Advice from a Kickstarter Expert with Daniel Zayas appeared first on 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] Mike Mihealsick on Why Euro Games Are Awesome appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Mike Mihealsick, from Coalition Games , discusses all the lessons and insights he’s learned after facilitating hundreds of blind playtests. Blind playtesting is the purifying fire in which we truly get to find out what our games are made of, and Mike offers a ton of advice on how to navigate the process well. The post Lessons Learned from Blind Playtesting with Mike Mihealsick appeared first...

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

Chris Kirkman, designer of Fate of the Elder Gods , discusses Cthulhu themed games and what makes them so popular. There’s just something about Cthulhu that continues to intrigue people, and even with all the Cthulhu games that have come out, there’s still a great deal left to be explored. The post Cthulhu Themed Games with Chris Kirkman appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

The post [BONUS] Morten Pederson on Writing Rulebooks for Non-Native English Speakers 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 blog here . The post Creating a Great Solo Variant with Morten Ped...

The post [BONUS] Patrick Leder on How to Know When a Game Is Done appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .

Patrick Leder, designer of Vast , discusses what all goes into designing an asymmetrical game. In Vast, each player takes on an incredibly different role with different actions, different win conditions, and different ways to play. And creating a game of this scope is no small task. The post Designing an Asymmetrical Game with Patrick Leder appeared first on Board Game Design Lab .