Board Game Design Lab
Summary: The Board Game Design Lab came into existence for a very simple reason: I could never find the game design info that I needed. And I assumed I wasn't the only one. I had a lot of very specific questions I wanted to ask game designers and publishers, and as it turns out, they're more than happy to answer those questions when asked. So, I created the BGDL Podcast. I release a weekly show that interviews designers, publishers, and board game insiders on specific topics. We don't waste time talking about games we've played lately or get caught up on pop culture. There are plenty of other podcasts that do those things very well. Instead, the show does a deep dive into subjects that I hope listeners find extremely valuable as they progress through their game design journeys. The show comes out on Wednesdays.
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Podcasts:
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.
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...
[BONUS] Adrienne Ezell on Making Prototypes on the Cheap
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/
[BONUS] Ted Alspach on Tile Placement Games
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.
[BONUS] Nolan Nasser on Developing Games for a Licensed IP
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.
[BONUS] Cody Stevens on Volunteering at a Convention for a Publisher
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.
[BONUS] Joseph Z Chen on How to Build an Email List
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...
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.
Here’s Daniel’s article about receiving feedback from a design contest.
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.
