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 on how he does it.

Jon also goes into a great deal of general design advice. We talk about working on lots of games at the same time, co-designers, going full time in the industry, and more. We cover a lot in this one.

The post Themes that Sell with Jon Gilmour 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 Religious Themed Games with Andrew Harmon 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 show can be found HERE.

The post Intertwining Theme and Mechanics with Scott Rogers appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Evan Derrick, designer and part owner of Van Ryder Games, discusses theme and how to really bring it to the forefront in a game.

Evan designed “Detective: City of Angels” which is one of the most thematic games I’ve ever seen, so I pick his brain on what makes a theme really come together.

The post THEME! And How to Bring It Out with Evan Derrick appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Danny Lott, designer of Coma Ward, discusses how to design a horror themed game and really evoke a creepy experience. 

This episode has a ton of great advice, but I’m not gonna lie, it gets a little weird in the middle. (You’ll hear what I mean…) We finish strong though, haha.

The post Designing Horror Themed Games with Danny Lott appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Fabio Del Rio, owner of CSE Games, discusses the ins and outs of sports themed games. We go into mechanics, marketability, licensing, challenges, success stories, and more.

Fabio has been publishing sports games for over a decade and brings a lot of wisdom and insight to the episode.

The post Sports Themed Games with Fabio Del Rio appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

The post [BONUS] Hermann Luttmann on Designing a Zombie Game that Stands out from the Crowd 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.

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] Rob Daviau on What Themes Need a Legacy Version appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.