Podcast Archives - Board Game Design Lab

For all the details about Ignite, check out boardgamedesignlab.com/ignite/. The post [ANNOUNCEMENT] Ignite Conference 2018 appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Curt Covert, designer of Tower of Madness and owner of Smirk & Dagger Games, talks about take-that games.Curt has been designing back-stabby games for years and is a wealth of information and insight on the topic. And he’s a ton of fun to talk to! The post Take That Games with Curt Covert appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Assad Quraishi, designer of Genesis: Battle of Champions, talks about playtesting.Assad is a professional user interface designer and has a ton of insight on testing. Resources mentioned in the show: Here is some info about James Bach: His website: http://www.satisfice.com/ Some videos: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=james+bach Amazing Book: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/lessons-learned-in/9780471081128/ And for James Whittaker Blog from James: https://testing.googleblog.com/2009/06/james-whittaker-joins-google.html Some Videso: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=james+whittaker Good book: https://www.amazon.ca/Google-Tests-Software-James-Whittaker/dp/0321803027 The post Playtesting with Assad Quraishi appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Sami Laakso, designer of Dale of Merchants, talks about designing expansions.Sami recently put together a pretty substantial expansion for his own game and has a good bit of insight on the topic. And be sure to check out Sami’s game and expansion on Kickstarter HERE. The post Designing Expansions with Sami Laakso appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Dan Peterson, head developer at Mayday Games, talks about how to streamline a game by removing math. We discuss why this is important in today’s market and various ways on how to do it effectively. The post Removing Math from Games with Dan Peterson appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Marilia Poggiali, designer of San Francisco vs Fog, talks about the personal tragedies she’s experienced and how game design and starting a publishing company have helped her overcome pain and find catharsis. And be sure to check out San Francisco vs Fog on Kickstarter HERE. The post The Cathartic Power of Game Design with Marilia Poggiali appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Callin Flores, designer of Guardians, discusses how the finer details of creating a shuffle builder. (Games like Smash Up.)Callin’s game takes the shuffle building mechanism to new places, and he has a lot of insight on these types of games.​​ The post How to Design a Shuffle Builder with Callin Flores appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Corry Damey, designer of Seasons of Rice and winner of the BGDL Design Challenge, discusses how he’s managed to win 3 design competitions. The post How to Win a Design Competition with Corry Damey appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Bez Shahriari, designer of Yogi, discusses the ins and outs of creating a game made specifically for families. We go into why family games are so good for helping kids as they grow up, and we talk about a lot of things to consider when making these types of games. The post Designing Family Games with Bez Shahriari appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Dr. Corey Butler, social psychologist and avid gamer, has been conducting research on gamers for a while and has some really interesting information on player psychology based on both his formal training and his research. And check out all the really cool articles and research findings on Corey’s blog HERE. The post Player Psychology with Dr. Corey Butler appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Greg Loring-Albright is back on the show, and we’re talking about games that don’t exist on a board or even at a table. Greg has been designing games that pervade into spaces much bigger than your dining room table, and he has some really interesting insight on how and why these games work. The post Pervasive Games with Greg Loring-Albright appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Kirk Dennison of Piecekeeper Games is back on the show, and we’re talking about the various uses of 3D printing in game design. Kirk got into the world of 3D printing a while back and has found a lot of ways to put it to good use in his designs and for his company. And... The post 3D Printing and Game Design with Kirk Dennison appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Coming to you from Dice Tower Con 2018, Eric Lang had a free 20 minutes and agreed to answer some questions, so we found a not so quiet side room to chat. Eric gives his best advice on several design topics, and he provides incredible insight that all designers need to pay attention to. The post Eric Lang’s Best Advice appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

BGDL founder, Gabe Barrett, talks about many of the really cool and helpful creativity/productivity hacks he’s been learning about recently.He discusses some rather interesting findings that have come from researching some of the best in the world in different fields. There are also a lot of things that you’ll hopefully find encouraging. The end of this episode has... The post Hacking Creativity to Become the Best in the World with Gabe Barrett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Adrienne Ezell, professional board game artist and art director, discusses how to work effectively with artists.Adrienne has been a pro artist for 15 years and now works full time in the board game industry. We talk communication, contracts, timelines, costs, and everything in between. Link to the 3d box maker we discussed: https://www.boxshot.com/     The post How to Work with Artists with Adrienne Ezell appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Ted Alspach, designer Suburbia of and founder of Bezier Games, discusses city building games.Suburbia is ranked 94th on Board Game Geek and is easily on the Mount Rushmore of city building games, so Ted really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to designing one of these types of games. The post City Building Games with Ted Alspach appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Nolan Nasser, illustrator and founder of Deep Water Games, discusses art direction in board games.Nolan has a ton of experience in directing art for well known games and shares a great deal of what he’s learned over the years. The post Art Direction in Games with Nolan Nasser appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Cody Stevens, the designer of Dino Dunk, discusses dexterity games.We talk about lots of different dexterity style games, how they work, and what makes them good. The post Designing Dexterity Games with Cody Stevens appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Joseph Z Chen discusses catch-up mechanisms.Joseph is a designer and indie publisher who did a fairly in-depth analysis on ways different games keep players involved until the end. We talk about several popular games and their catch-up mechanisms as well as Joseph’s personal experiences. And don’t forget to check out Joseph’s game, Fantastic Factories, on... The post Catch-Up Mechanisms with Joseph Z. Chen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Erin Dean, author of For the Love of Board Games, discusses her book and what she learned from the designers she interviewed. You can check out Erin’s documentary, The Board Game Boom, here. The post For the Love of Board Games – A Book by Erin Dean appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Matt Holden discusses the Indie Game Alliance.Matt started the IGA four years ago to help small publishers and designers get their games demoed at conventions and game stores, and it’s grown into a robust organization that offers quite a few services. The post The Indie Game Alliance with Matt Holden appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Brad Talton, designer of BattleCon and Pixel Tactics, discusses dueling games. Brad has been creating dueling combat games for years and has found incredible success with his company, Level 99 Games. The post Dueling Games with Brad Talton appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

I’ve got some exciting announcements for the BGDL:1) I’m starting a new thing that will hopefully lead to an even greater sense of community. Today, with the incredible help of Chris Perea, a BGDL Discord server has launched which will offer you another way to interact with others in the community and will lead to…2) BGDL Game... The post Coming Attractions for the BGDL appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Richard Garfield, designer of Magic: The Gathering and a ton of other great games, discusses how to use luck and skill effectively in game design.Richard belongs on the game design Mount Rushmore and has awesome insight and advice. The post Luck vs Skill with Richard Garfield appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jon Mietling, designer of Palm Island, discusses how to effectively design a game with multi-use cards.Jon ran an incredibly successful Kickstarter for Palm Island which is rather innovative game that focusses solely on multi-use cards as its core mechanism. The post Multi-Use Cards with Jon Mietling appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jeremy Commandeur, organizer of the largest Protospiel in the U.S., discusses pitches and sell sheets.Jeremy has had several designs published and has found a great deal of success in pitching to publishers and getting games signed. Sell Sheet Examples on Pinterest collected by John Brieger: https://www.pinterest.com/johnbrieger/boardgame-sell-sheets/ Sell Sheet Examples on Flickr collected by Jeremy Commandeur: https://www.pinterest.com/johnbrieger/boardgame-sell-sheets/... The post Pitches & Sell Sheets with Jeremy Commandeur appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Justin Jacobson, founder of Restoration Games, discusses the process of bringing a game back to life.Justin’s entire business model is built on taking old games off the shelf and breathing new life into them, and he offers great insight on how to do it. If you’ve got some old games of your own that you shelved... The post Bringing Old Designs Back to Life with Justin Jacobson appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Peter Hayward, founder of Jellybean Games, discusses the two types of cooperative games and what makes them work.Peter plays hundreds of prototypes a year, and he’s noticed some serious issues with the majority of the co-op prototypes he sees. The post The Two Types of Cooperative Games with Peter Hayward appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Brandon Rollins, designer of Highways & Byways, discusses accessibility in games and ways to make your designs more inclusive.Brandon is an avid blogger and consistently writes great content to help game designers. Meeple Like Us accessibility reviews Color palettes for color blindness 10 Quick Accessibility Wins for Game Developers And make sure to check out Brandon’s latest Kickstarter... The post How to Make Your Game More Accessible with Brandon Rollins appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jerry Hawthorne, designer of Stuffed Fables, discusses story driven games and how to use narrative to create incredible gaming experiences.Jerry is a long-time veteran of the industry and specializes in games that evoke stories. The post Story Driven Games with Jerry Hawthorne appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Adam Rehberg, owner of Adam’s Apple Games, discusses the finer details on what makes a box functional, fashionable, and provocative. For his day job, Adam is a packaging engineer for Target, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about. If you have box questions for Adam, you can find him on Twitter HERE. And be... The post Boxes and Packaging that Sell with Adam Rehberg appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Vincent Vergonjeanne, founder of Lucky Duck Games, discusses games that use digital components in their design.Vincent runs his own video game company and has been quite successful in both the digital space and the board game industry, so he really knows a lot about this topic. The post Designing Games with Digital Elements with Vincent Vergonjeanne appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jason Mowery and Chase Williams, designers of The Big Score, discuss the process of co-designing a game.We talk scheduling, conflict management, and more. Also, you can check out their new game on Kickstarter HERE. (It’s basically Ocean’s 11, the board game.) The post Working with a Co-Designer with Jason Mowery and Chase Williams appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Petter Olsen, designer of Kill the King, discusses the king of the hill mechanism. (We also might go into propane and propane accessories…)Petter’s new game hinges on this particular mechanism, so he knows a lot about what makes it work well.​​ You can check out his new game on Kickstarter HERE. The post The King of the Hill Mechanism with Petter Olsen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Greg Loring-Albright, designer of Leviathan, discusses the ins, outs, and what-have-yous of micro games. He brings up some great points about designing small games that carry a big experience. The post Designing Micro Games with Greg Loring-Albright appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Jon Gilmour, designer of Dead of Winter, discusses how to design the experiences and themes that people can’t wait to get their hands on. Jon just seems to have an innate ability to design games that go hand in hand with what people are excited about, and he gives me a tour behind the curtain... The post Themes that Sell with Jon Gilmour appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Today, it’s just me on the podcast, and I’m discussing creativity, time management, and the future of the BGDL.I’ve learned a lot of really great stuff about the creative process, and I want to share with you some of the things that have been helping me with my game designs.And then I want to tell... The post Creativity and the Future of the BGDL with Gabe Barrett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Alan Emrich, founder of Victory Point Games, discusses how a publisher approaches the development process when taking a game from prototype to store shelf. Alan has been in the gaming industry for four decades and brings a great deal of experience and insight into this conversation. Both designers and publishers will benefit from what he... The post How a Publisher Develops Games with Alan Emrich appeared first on 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,... The post Digital Prototyping on Tabletopia with Artyom Nichipurov 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... The post Designing Social Deduction Games with Don Eskridge 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... The post How to Create an Awesome Rulebook with Dustin Schwartz 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... The post Designing Legacy Games with Jamey Stegmaier 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,... The post Crafting the Player Experience with Matt Leacock 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... The post Shipping, Fulfillment, and Fulfillment Services with Seth Grier 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 post Designing Escape Room Games with Juliana Patel and Ariel Rubin 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.... The post Creating Religious Themed Games with Andrew Harmon 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... The post Designing Scenario Based Games with Sami Laakso 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... The post How to Iterate like a BOSS with Kirk Dennison 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... The post Intertwining Theme and Mechanics with Scott Rogers 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.