AJ Brandon, storefront manager at Board Game Bliss, discusses how to make sure your game stands out in retail.

We talk about why some games stay on a store shelf for 2 minutes while other games sit there for 2 years. And we talk about what both designers and publishers can do to get their games noticed.

And be sure to check out AJ’s new podcast about board game design, Fun Problems.​​

The post How to Stand Out in Retail with AJ Brandon appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Emerson Matsuuchi, designer of Century: Spice Road, discusses how to use math to design better games.

We talk about game balance, spreadsheets, mathematical models, and more.

The post Using Math to Design Better Games with Emerson Matsuuchi appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

askfirestarterspitfire:

It’s my new game! Stardust is a co-operative game for 2-4 players where you and your fellow astronauts guide your spacecraft to its destination at- what’s that, the airlock’s broken? I can’t fix that, I’ve got to run these diagnostics and then I’m due a sleep, and- okay. I can stop by the workshop and print something, but…

You and your friends will have to work together to complete objectives, repair damage and generally try not to die in space. There’s four playable characters with unique abilities to help you on the way, and I kinda went hard on the y2k style because I could.

You can buy the game on The Game Crafter,

or you can try the game for free on Tabletop Simulator!

I hope you enjoy this thing, it’s really captured my imagination, and who knows, maybe I’ll do more with these horses later. Enjoy!

Also, look! Concorde!

A NEW GAME TOUCHES THE BEACON

Travis Jones, designer of Pendulum, discusses what all goes into the design process for a real-time game.

We talk about time constraints, chaos, analysis paralysis, board layout, and more.

The post Designing a Real-Time Game with Travis Jones appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Shannon McDowell, puzzle maker and escape room designer, discusses what designers and publishers need to think about when designing puzzle games and games with puzzles in them.

Shannon has done a ton of research on puzzles and how they relate to culture and cultural biases for Wilfred Laurier University. And she has a great system for defining and understanding the different types of puzzles in games.

[mobileonly]To download this episode to your phone, click <a href=”https://media.blubrry.com/board_game_design_lab/content.blubrry.com/board_game_design_lab/BGDL_209_Shannon_McDowell.mp3″>HERE</a>.[/mobileonly]

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Jeremy Howard, reviewer at Man vs Meeple, discusses what makes a great solo game.

Jeremy is super passionate about solo games, and we dive into examples of excellent solo games, capturing tension, solo modes for multiplayer games, and more.

[mobileonly]To download this episode to your phone, click HERE.[/mobileonly]

The post What Makes a Great Solo Game with Jeremy Howard appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Charlie McCarron, designer of Four Humours, discusses what it looks like for a board game designer to live a creative life

We talk about scheduling, self-care, betting on yourself, inspiration, and more.

And be sure to check out Charlie’s game on Kickstarter HERE.​​

[mobileonly]To download this episode to your phone, click HERE.[/mobileonly]

The post How to Live a Creative Life with Charlie McCarron appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Allen Wolf, founder of Morning Star Games, discusses various ways to promote a game and get the word out about it.

We talk about how to contact game stores, traditional media, digital content creators, and more.

[mobileonly]To download this episode to your phone, click HERE.[/mobileonly]

The post How to Promote a Game with Allen Wolf appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

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Patrick Lysaght, designer of Commissioned, discusses the process of designing and publishing an expansion for a game.

We talk about the different kinds of expansions, design challenges, and what it takes to bring them to the marketplace.

And be sure to check out Patrick’s expansion to Commission on Kickstarter HERE.

The post How to Design and Publish an Expansion with Patrick Lysaght appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

You can play heavy eurogames and crunchy strategy games on Tabletop Sim, but I don’t think that’s getting the most out of it. There’s a lot of games that have lots of neat automation if you want to play something a bit closer to a video game, but I feel that the game really shines when you’re using it for the things that only board games can do - playing with your friends.

If you don’t have it already, it’s on Steam here!

Lori Love and Lea Velocci, founders of People for Goldfish, discuss the ins and outs of designing word games.

We talk about components, scoring systems, accessibility, fun factor, and more.

And be sure to check out Lori and Lea’s game Word Hustle on Kickstarter HERE.​​

The post Designing Word Games with Lori Love and Lea Velocci appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Scott Gaeta, founder of Renegade Game Studio, discusses his journey to become one of the most well-known publishing companies in the industry. 

We talk about business advice, marketing, game development, and more!

The post How to Run a Publishing Company with Scott Gaeta appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Frank West, designer of Isle of Cats, discusses the ins and outs of designing a polyomino game (games with those funny Tetris tiles). 

Isle of Cats is one of the best polyomino games on the market, and we get into what makes these games fun, prototyping, and more.

The post How to Design a Polyomino Game with Frank West appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Sam Stockton, founder of B.A. Games, discusses everything you need to be planning for and thinking about when demoing your game at conventions (both in-person and online).

Sam has been working conventions for years, and we get into booth setup, hiring volunteers, explaining your game, and more.

The post How to Demo Games at Conventions with Sam Stockton appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Dustin Hendrickson, designer of Don’t Let It Die, discusses all the ins and outs of creating your game with Tabletop Simulator.

Dustin has been working with TTS for years, and we cover basically everything you need to know to get your game on the platform and why it’s a good idea to do so.

The post Designing with Tabletop Simulator with Dustin Hendrickson appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Stephanie Kwok, designer of Ducks in Tow, discusses the process of simplifying a game down to its best possible version.

Stephanie is both a designer and a publisher, so she offers both perspectives as we talk through ways to trim, cut, slice, and dice a game so that its most fun parts shine through.

The post How to Simplify a Game with Stephanie Kwok appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Kirk Dennison, founder of Piecekeeper Games, discusses some pretty heavy topics as we get into self-care, mental health, depression, burnout, and more.

Kirk went through a pretty tough time of life a while back, and we delve into issues that I believe a lot of people are struggling with right now. We also get into strategies for dealing with and overcoming dark times.

And be sure to check out Kirk’s latest project, Rurik: Stone and Blade, on Kickstarter now.

The post Self Care and Dealing with Designer Burnout with Kirk Dennison appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Al Leduc, designer of Yukon Airways, discusses what all goes into designing a dice drafting game.

We talk about balance, dice mitigation, why the d6 is king, and more!

The post Dice Drafting Games with Al Leduc appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Casey Hill, founder of Hill Gaming Company, discusses the process of turning gamers into raving fans.

Casey works for the software company Bonjoro which is hyper-focused on customer engagement and retention, so we have a lot to chat about when it comes to creating raving fans.

The post How to Turn Gamers into Raving Fans with Casey Hill appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.