Game devs talk design methods, system mechanics in design summit
Game Developer
MARCH 13, 2023
For anyone with an interest in game design, Polaris' developer summit has different articles covering various aspects of design development.
Dev Game Design Mechanics 
Solo dev Esteban Hernandez spent 7 years on Creo God Simulator: “I’ve learned perseverance”
PreMortem.Games
FEBRUARY 5, 2025
. “I try my best to accept that I may not be the most talented or brilliant game developer in the world, but that I am capable of making something fun and beautiful.” Years ago, I became a solo developer initially because I wanted to make games, plain and simple. ” Why did you become a solo developer?
Simulation 
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How to Design the Mechanics of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 20, 2017
Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the third of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life.
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Theme vs. Mechanics
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 28, 2016
“Theme-first or mechanics-first” might be the most asked “big question” in the board game community. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Theme and mechanics are inseparable parts of board games as a whole.
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How To Know When to Pivot on Your Board Game Design
Brand Game Development
JUNE 29, 2020
A couple of months ago, I asked the readers of this blog to send in answers to the question “ what confuses you most about board game development ?” ” I got a lot of responses, and two of them were about knowing when to pivot during a game design project. Need help on your board game?
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6 Reasons Escape Rooms Will Make You a Better Board Game Designer
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 25, 2019
Escape Rooms will make you a better board game designer. This is partly because Escape Rooms are everything that board games aspire to be – complex problem-solving games that appeal to a wide audience and provide a remarkable physical experience. Board games often run the risk of having themes that feel pasted-on.
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Board Game Designer vs. Developer vs. Publisher
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 17, 2018
The simple fact is that there are a lot of distinct tasks that have to be handled to turn a game from an idea into reality. This is why I urge each new board game designer to share the workload , delegating tasks to a team instead of doing them all alone. Need help on your board game? Designers make the game’s soul.
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4 Lessons from Imhotep for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
JUNE 1, 2020
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Like many board games, Imhotep has a lot to teach board game designers. It’s all pretty straightforward euro fare at this point, but one mechanic stands out to me as being incredibly profound.
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5 Lessons from Catan for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
JANUARY 7, 2019
The least intuitive mechanic is probably the robber who steals resource cards from other players when you roll a 7, and to be honest, you remember it when the number is rolled simply because 7 does not appear anywhere on the board. Resist simple zero-sum mechanics to create a more interesting game. The point is: cut the fluff.
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Dev Diary: 03/31/17
Brand Game Development
MARCH 31, 2017
Also, the game doesn’t have a defined win condition yet. Some game designers – and I count myself among them – consider to be win conditions pretty important to games. I’ve pushed a rough version of the game out to Tabletop Simulator for my use only.
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4 Lessons from Everdell for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
OCTOBER 28, 2019
There is a reason this mechanic is present in many BGG Top 100 Games such as Viticulture , Caverna , A Feast for Odin , and Agricola. Sometime around 2018, I did a major poll asking people what their favorite themes and mechanics were. 3-D components are a gimmick, but they helped the game draw attention.
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10 Elements of Good Game Design
Brand Game Development
FEBRUARY 17, 2020
If you can use an algorithm to solve your game like a Rubik’s cube, you need more surprise. one place I’ve encouraged surprise is the facedown card mechanic. Tasty Humans is about monsters fighting humans instead of the other way around, which gets a sick laugh out of everybody who sees the game. In War Co. ,
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7 Lessons from Monopoly for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
MARCH 9, 2020
.” Besides, when we – as gamers and game developers – put aside our frustration for a moment, we can actually see Monopoly for what it is: a solid concept with bad execution. There are a lot of questionable game design decisions that, if corrected, could have made for a fantastic game.
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Make a Board Game in 28 Days: A Challenge by Brandon the Game Dev
Brand Game Development
FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Today, I have a challenge for you as a board game designer. I want to see you make a board game in 28 days. That’s why I’ve provided a 28-day game design challenge for you. This 28-day challenge is intended to give you the structure needed to get into the habit of board game design.
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20 New Year’s Resolutions for Board Game Devs in 2020
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 30, 2019
Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. With that in mind, I want to help you come up with some New Year’s Resolutions of your own, ones specifically related to board game design. Play-test with game designers. Let’s say you’ve made light games.
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4 Lessons from Spirit Island for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
JANUARY 13, 2020
The default mode for most board games competitive. Sure, cooperative play is not exactly some exotic unseen mechanic too. You have Pandemic , the Forbidden games, Mysterium , Elder Sign , and many other great games. Lastly, the variable player powers are balanced in such a way that the game stays fresh for a long time!
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Solo dev Tomasz Kaye: “ChatGPT massively sped up the development of Axe Ghost”
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 2, 2024
“It wasn’t exactly a deliberate choice,” he explains, “I had a small game idea that I wanted to finish and publish, and it seemed doable alone.” What started as a simple concept quickly turned into a game that challenges players with a mix of strategic depth and risk-reward mechanics. What’s your creative process? ‘My
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Top 7 Game Dev Myths Explored
DameDev.tv
DECEMBER 16, 2022
as we explore the top 7 game dev myths Laurie (Avocado Fire) joins Rick Davidson & Tim Ruswick* to discuss these 7 game dev myths and address any concerns that you have. He's done it all, from Game Designer, Producer, Creative Director and Executive Producer to GameDev.tv's
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Kazakhstan-based Goodwin Games takes us on an emotional adventure in Selfloss
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 28, 2024
The control mechanics are integral to the gameplay, allowing players to operate Kazimir and his staff both together and independently. The way you control the old man and the magical staff at the same time is a neat mechanic that I am proud of,” Khoroshavin says.
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How Many Blind Play-Tests Does Your Board Game *Really* Need?
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 22, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I even blind play-tested it at a game design convention. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Click here.
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Why are there games without dedicated stealth mechanics that put in random stealth sections? Theres a fair number of times those situations either lack tools for the player to properly plan their route and identify threats (lack of a proper cover mechanic/corner look for example) or they lack proper detection for enemy units leading to immersion breaking behavior (no noise detection leading to a full sprint directly behind someone not being detected) and those types of things seem integral to a stealth style of game. While they can obviously be done well when done poorly they can feel like a very frustrating or out of place moment in an otherwise very good game.
Ask a Game Dev
JANUARY 28, 2025
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on BlueSky Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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How to Design the Core Engine of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 6, 2017
This article is the first of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. The basic idea is that board games are a means of communication that facilitate gameplay. That’s no accident.
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How to Build up a Facebook Page as a Board Game Dev
Brand Game Development
APRIL 23, 2018
Much like my old staple How to Get Big on Twitter as a Board Game Dev , I’ll be covering everything you need to know to get started on Facebook as a board game developer. New game devs: don’t write off Facebook because it’s expensive. Make advertisements for a few different game ideas you have.
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How to Choose Your Board Game’s Theme
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 11, 2017
Board games can be about all sorts of things. Games, at their core, might just be a series of mechanics and rules, but themes keep us from feeling like we’re playing out the logical conclusion of mathematical functions. Need help on your board game? What you’re going for is Theme-Mechanic Unity.
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A Crash Course in Board Game Development
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. I tend to use the word game development as a catch-all term for everything that is associated with making a game – that includes game design, product development, marketing, promotion, Kickstarter/crowdfunding, fulfillment, and selling.
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How to Make Board Game Rules
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
This week while working on my current board game design, a lot of things have come into focus. Now it’s time to start tweaking board game rules. This is where board game design often becomes very tricky. Need help on your board game? 14 Rules for Board Game Rules. Playtest a Ton.
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Colony: Letting Leaders Lead without Losing Losers (A guest post by Burt Yaroch of the Healthy Gaming Network)
Brand Game Development
MARCH 13, 2017
Not only does he help gamers make healthier choices, but he’s a fledgling designer himself! Today he shares with us a game he really enjoys: Colony. Burt: I’ve fallen in love with Colony by Bezier Games, designed by Ted Alspach, Toryo Hojo, and N2 (the pen name for Yoshihisa Nakatsu). What’s a runaway leader? Absolutely.
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Art for Art’s Sake…Sometimes It’s Not Just Business
Brand Game Development
JULY 14, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I talk a lot about the business side of board game creation. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.
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5 Lessons I Learned at a Play-Testing Convention (Protospiel Atlanta)
Brand Game Development
OCTOBER 27, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Last Saturday and Sunday, I attended my first board gaming convention – Protospiel in Atlanta. Prototypes ranged from paper-and-pencil to full-on Game Crafter $100+ sets. Click here.
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How To Play-Test the Rules of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 11, 2017
Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the sixth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Rules provide directions on how to execute activities within a game.
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Monopoly: The Game That Board Gamers Love to Hate
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 30, 2016
Every board game breakdown I’ve done so far: Patchwork , Pandemic , Twilight Struggle , and Carcassonne has been a labor of love. By emphasizing the effects of well-implemented mechanics in thoughtfully crafted games, I’ve helped game designers learn how to create games by using examples of success.
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5-Minute Dungeon: How to Make a Table Rowdy (And Why That’s a GREAT Thing)
Brand Game Development
MAY 8, 2017
Of course, for game developers, adding a timer is often not an appropriate way to drive engagement. There are other great mechanics you can use. Engagement Driver 3: Good Housekeeping through Mechanics. The game is being constantly timed and players don’t have the opportunity to slip out of flow. You can feel it.
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Why Gamification Makes Everything Else More Fun
Brand Game Development
JUNE 3, 2019
For that reason, I’ve brought in Sean Fallon, Founder & CEO of Smunchy Games and User Experience (UX) Designer extraordinaire. By looking at game design from this new angle, we hope to help you understand why board games are so playable and what that means for other aspects of our lives. What’s the point?
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How to Create a Pattern Building Board Game (Tasty Humans Pt. 1)
Brand Game Development
JUNE 25, 2019
These titles earned – and keep – respect in the hobby gaming community. Like with all things in board game design, there is no linear path. You meander through the game design process, iterating and tweaking your work until you’re happy with it. 1) appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev.
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Method Acting for Board Games – Immerse Yourself in a Theme
Brand Game Development
JULY 7, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Themes create this story that make it easier for players to understand and interact with dry mechanics. A lot of times, board game designers and publishers will create abstract games and add themes later.
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Double Fine PsychOdyssey recaps / viewing guide, episodes 01-17
Radiator Blog
MARCH 16, 2023
Last month, game industry documentary makers 2 Player Productions debuted a massive 32-part YouTube game dev doc series Double Fine PsychOdyssey , chronicling the development of Psychonauts 2 from its earliest glimmers of pre-production in 2015 to its final release in 2021.
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Birth of Byways: A Peek Into My Early Board Game Development Process
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 10, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I posted the first article in my 19-part suite on game design. It’s called How to Design the Core Engine of Your Board Game. ” Need help on your board game?
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How to Play-Test the Core Engine of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 13, 2017
This article is the second of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. The basic idea is that board games are a means of communication that facilitate gameplay. Not pretty. Just functional.
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6 Ways to Find Play-Testers for Your New Board Game
Brand Game Development
APRIL 27, 2020
Play-testing is the most important part of board game design. It’s how you turn rough, raw ideas into polished, ready-to-play games. Two groups that come to mind are the Tabletop Game Playtesters Guild and Card & Board Game Designers Guild. Visit your local game store. Final Thoughts.
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How to Learn Complex Material Quickly
Brand Game Development
MAY 12, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Instead of focusing directly on game development, I’ve focused on learning as much as I can about board games. Want to learn game development? Key Takeaways for Game Devs.
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Navigating the layers of hell: How Oppolyon Studio built their debut game Ascending Inferno
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 25, 2024
It’s a brutal journey of persistence, frustration, and constant restarts, where the stakes are as emotional as they are mechanical. As first-time indie developers, their journey mirrors the very game they’ve crafted. Internal debate The development of Ascending Inferno wasn’t just about embracing punishing mechanics though.
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How to Tell Great Stories Through Board Games
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 18, 2017
Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the seventh of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Brandon: That’s an exciting theme!
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Why Board Game Publishers Like Some Games and Don’t Like Others
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 3, 2018
Yet the process, so heavy on rejection, has left many game designers heartbroken. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Board game publishers have to sort good from bad. There are mechanics in there that nobody’s ever seen!”
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How to Make the Perfect Board Game Rule Book
Brand Game Development
JANUARY 29, 2018
Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the thirteenth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. This week, I want to zero in on the subject of making the perfect board game rule book.
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