The Board Game Design Lab

Latest Episodes:

The Pros and Cons of Doing Everything Yourself with Malachi Ray Rempen Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

Malachi Ray Rempen, designer of Roll Camera, discusses the pros and cons of doing all the main aspects of design, art, and publishing yourself.
Malachi has both worked with others and done everything himself, so he can speak well on both perspectives.

And be sure to check out Malachi’s expansion for Roll Camera on Kickstarter HERE.

The post The Pros and Cons of Doing Everything Yourself with Malachi Ray Rempen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

How to Reach the Next Generation with Lucas Sosnick Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

Lucas Sosnick, designer of Crisis on Cardea, discusses different ways we can bring young people into both gaming and game design.
Lucas is seventeen years old and has been both a gamer and a designer for a while, so he gives an inside look at what we can do to make the hobby a more welcoming place.

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

The post How to Reach the Next Generation with Lucas Sosnick appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Collecting and Analyzing Playtest Data with Robert Longtin Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

Robert Longtin, professional data analyst, discusses all angles of playtest data.

We talk about what data to collect, when to collect it, how to collect it, how to analyze it, and more.

Learn more about Robert’s games HERE.

The post Collecting and Analyzing Playtest Data with Robert Longtin appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Bipolarity, Depression, and Using Game Design to Cope with Morten Monrad Pedersen Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

Morten Monrad Pedersen, from Automa Factory and Stonemaier Games, dives into a more serious topic as we discuss bipolarity, depression, and using game design to cope.
Morten was diagnosed with bipolarity several years ago and sheds a ton of light on the subject. He goes into a lot about his own personal journey and how games and game design have helped him.

Also, here’s the Malcom Gladwell video I mention on the show.

The post Bipolarity, Depression, and Using Game Design to Cope with Morten Monrad Pedersen appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

A Look Behind the Scenes at Exploding Kittens with Carol Mertz Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

Carol Mertz, senior game designer at Exploding Kittens, gives us a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of a major publisher.
We talk about timelines, working with internal and external designers, pursuing excellent game ideas, how to get a job at Exploding Kittens, and more.

The post A Look Behind the Scenes at Exploding Kittens with Carol Mertz appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

A Word of Encouragement from Gabe Barrett Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

Today, it’s just me, and I’ve got a word of encouragement for you. Pursuing a creative lifestyle can be incredibly difficult, so I wanted to do an episode to help you stay motivated and inspired.

The post A Word of Encouragement from Gabe Barrett appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Designing Games Based on a Standard Deck of Cards with Luke Badger, Paul Abrahams, and Andy Richdale Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Luke Badger, Paul Abrahams, and Andy Richdale, from Badgers from Mars, talk about how to design a game based on nothing more than a standard deck of cards.
We talk about their game Regicide (currently number one on BGG’s Hotness list), pros and cons of such tight constraints, marketing, and more.

The post Designing Games Based on a Standard Deck of Cards with Luke Badger, Paul Abrahams, and Andy Richdale appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

How to Design Trick Taking Games with Fertessa Allyse Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Fertessa Allyse, producer at Funko Games, talks about how to design a trick taking game.
We talk about table talk, bringing new ideas to the genre, what to look for while playtesting, and more.

And be sure to check out Fertessa’s trick taking game, Wicked and Wise, on Kickstarter HERE.

*Also, at one point, I mention UNO as a trick taking game, however, it’s definitely a matching game. (duh, haha)

The post How to Design Trick Taking Games with Fertessa Allyse appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Skill Barriers in Games with Jeff Fraser Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

Jeff Fraser, designer of Cartouche, talks about various skill barriers in games and what you should be aware of when designing games with elements like spatial reasoning, dexterity, memory, math, and negotiation.
We talk about playtesting these elements, designing based on your target audience, and more.

And be sure to check out Jeff’s game, Cartouche, on Kickstarter HERE.

The post Skill Barriers in Games with Jeff Fraser appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

How and Why You Should Create Print-n-Play Games with Rachel Bruner Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

Rachel Bruner, designer of Harsh Shadows, talks about how to create print-n-play games and the many reasons why you might want to.
Rachel is super active in the PnP community, and we discuss her thoughts on best practices, tools of the trade, getting a PnP game published, and more.

And here are all the links and whatnot that were discussed on the show:

Print and Play Gaming Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/printandplaygaming/ Martin’s Print and Play Hideaway Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pnphideaway/ Board Game Geek Monthly Print n Play Subscription Thread:
(Subscribe to this list and then go to the last post on the last page to find the current month’s PNP Geeklist.) https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/482943 BGG Print and Play Guild: https://boardgamegeek.com/guild/477 BGG Design Contests Forum: https://boardgamegeek.com/forum/974620/bgg/design-contests BGG Works in Progress Forum: https://boardgamegeek.com/forum/1530033/bgg/works-progress Rachel Bruner’s BGG PNP Geeklist: (A list of products, tools, and techniques I use, as well as photos and details of my pnp builds.) https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/241052/rachels-print-and-play-game-builds Rachel Bruner’s YouTube Channel with PNP tips and tricks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7N6oqyIFzqircljsXGgY7g Martin Gonzalvez’s PNP YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MartinGonzalvez/videos Dining Table Print and Play YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jakestaines/videos

The post How and Why You Should Create Print-n-Play Games with Rachel Bruner appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected