The Board Game Design Lab

<p>Isaac Vega, designer of Dead of Winter, Ashes, and many others, talks about how to balance a game.Isaac has designed some of the best games in the world and has really figured out how to make sure a game feels balanced to its players.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/balancing-a-game-with-isaac-vega/">Balancing a Game with Isaac Vega</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-alex-maklai-on-pirate-themed-games/">[BONUS] Alex Maklai on Pirate Themed Games</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/augmented-reality-with-alex-maklai/">Augmented Reality and Board Games with Alex Maklai</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-curt-coverts-best-advice-after-15-years-in-the-industry/">[BONUS] Curt Covert’s Best Advice after 15 Years in the Industry</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>For all the details about Ignite, check out boardgamedesignlab.com/ignite/.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/announcement-ignite-conference-2018/">[ANNOUNCEMENT] Ignite Conference 2018</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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!</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/take-that-games-with-curt-covert/">Take That Games with Curt Covert</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-assad-quraishi-on-designing-ccgs/">[BONUS] Assad Quraishi on Designing CCGs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/playtesting-with-assad-quraishi/">Playtesting with Assad Quraishi</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-sami-laakso-on-how-to-price-a-game/">[BONUS] Sami Laakso on How to Price a Game</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-expansions-with-sami-laakso/">Designing Expansions with Sami Laakso</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-dan-peterson-on-how-to-present-at-a-publisher-speed-dating-event/">[BONUS] Dan Peterson on How to Present at a Publisher Speed Dating Event</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/removing-math-from-games-with-dan-peterson/">Removing Math from Games with Dan Peterson</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/marilia-poggiali-on-bringing-a-place-to-life/">[BONUS] Marilia Poggiali on Bringing a Place to Life</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/the-cathartic-power-of-game-design-with-marilia-poggiali/">The Cathartic Power of Game Design with Marilia Poggiali</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/callin-flores-on-designing-super-hero-games/">[BONUS] Callin Flores on Designing Super Hero Games</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.​​</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-design-a-shuffle-builder-with-callin-flores/">How to Design a Shuffle Builder with Callin Flores</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-designing-micro-games-with-corry-damey/">[BONUS] Corry Damey on Designing Micro Games</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>Corry Damey, designer of Seasons of Rice and winner of the BGDL Design Challenge, discusses how he’s managed to win 3 design competitions.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-win-a-design-competition-with-corry-damey/">How to Win a Design Competition with Corry Damey</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bez-shahriari-on-standing-out-at-conventions/">[BONUS] Bez Shahriari on Standing out at Conventions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-family-games-with-bez-shahriari/">Designing Family Games with Bez Shahriari</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-dr-corey-butler-on-game-rating-systems/">[BONUS] Dr. Corey Butler on Game Rating Systems</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/player-psychology-with-dr-corey-butler/">Player Psychology with Dr. Corey Butler</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-greg-loring-albright-on-the-power-games-have-to-make-a-difference/">[BONUS] Greg Loring-Albright on the Power Games Have to Make a Difference</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/pervasive-games-with-greg-loring-albright/">Pervasive Games with Greg Loring-Albright</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-kirk-dennison-on-pledge-managers/">[BONUS] Kirk Dennison on Pledge Managers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/3d-printing-and-game-design-with-kirk-dennison/">3D Printing and Game Design with Kirk Dennison</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/eric-langs-best-advice/">Eric Lang’s Best Advice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/hacking-creativity-to-become-the-best-in-the-world-with-gabe-barrett/">Hacking Creativity to Become the Best in the World with Gabe Barrett</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-adrienne-ezell-on-making-prototypes-on-the-cheap/">[BONUS] Adrienne Ezell on Making Prototypes on the Cheap</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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/ </p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-work-with-artists-with-adrienne-ezell/">How to Work with Artists with Adrienne Ezell</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-ted-alspach-on-tile-placement-games/">[BONUS] Ted Alspach on Tile Placement Games</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/city-building-games-with-ted-alspach/">City Building Games with Ted Alspach</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-nolan-nasser-on-developing-games-for-a-licensed-ip/">[BONUS] Nolan Nasser on Developing Games for a Licensed IP</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/art-direction-in-games-with-nolan-nasser/">Art Direction in Games with Nolan Nasser</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-cody-stevens-on-volunteering-at-a-convention-for-a-publisher/">[BONUS] Cody Stevens on Volunteering at a Convention for a Publisher</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/designing-dexterity-games-with-cody-stevens/">Designing Dexterity Games with Cody Stevens</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-joseph-z-chen-on-how-to-build-an-email-list/">[BONUS] Joseph Z Chen on How to Build an Email List</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/catch-up-mechanisms-with-joseph-z-chen/">Catch-Up Mechanisms with Joseph Z. Chen</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/for-the-love-of-board-games-a-book-by-erin-dean/">For the Love of Board Games – A Book by Erin Dean</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>Here’s Daniel’s article about receiving feedback from a design contest.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-daniel-fremgen-on-receiving-feedback-from-a-design-contest/">[BONUS] Daniel Fremgen on Receiving Feedback from a Design Contest</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/the-indie-game-alliance-with-matt-holden/">The Indie Game Alliance with Matt Holden</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-brad-talton-on-how-to-build-a-game-company/">[BONUS] Brad Talton on How to Build a Game Company</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/dueling-games-with-brad-talton/">Dueling Games with Brad Talton</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-richard-garfield-on-collectible-card-games/">[BONUS] Richard Garfield on Collectible Card Games</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/coming-attractions-for-the-bgdl/">Coming Attractions for the BGDL</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/luck-vs-skill-with-richard-garfield/">Luck vs Skill with Richard Garfield</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-jon-mietling-on-portable-games/">[BONUS] Jon Mietling on Portable Games</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/multi-use-cards-with-jon-mietling/">Multi-Use Cards with Jon Mietling</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>For the written rules and submission form, go HERE.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/bonus-2018-game-design-challenge/">[BONUS] 2018 Game Design Challenge</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>

<p>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/...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com/pitches-sell-sheets-with-jeremy-commandeur/">Pitches & Sell Sheets with Jeremy Commandeur</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boardgamedesignlab.com">Board Game Design Lab</a>.</p>