Game Design Basics Archives - Board Game Design Lab

Feb 26 2024 140 ep. 21
Game Design Basics Archives - Board Game Design Lab Podcast artwork

The Board Game Design Lab was created for one purpose: to help you design great games people love. To accomplish that goal, this podcast interviews designers, publishers, and board game insiders on specific topics related to game design. I don't waste time talking about recently played games or pop culture. Instead, the show does a deep dive into subjects that I hope you’ll find extremely valuable as you progress through your game design journey.

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The design process of one of the world’s best designers, Corey Konieczka

Feb 26 2024 68 mins  
In this BGDL rewind from June of 2020, Corey Konieczka breaks down his entire design process. Corey has several games ranked in the top 100 games of all time, and it was incredibly insightful to learn about how he brings a game to life. We chat about his path into the industry, his prototyping process,...

How to Design Games that Tell Stories with Ignacy Trzewiczek

Feb 11 2024 63 mins  
In this BGDL rewind from April of 2020, Ignacy Trzewiczek, founder of Portal Games and designer of Robinson Crusoe, discusses his company’s motto: Games that tell stories. We go in-depth into Ignacy’s design process, talk about his most popular games, and get to the heart of what it looks like to create games that have players leaving...

Board Game Design Productivity Hacks with Gabe Barrett

Nov 09 2023 59 mins  
In this episode, I break down some game design productivity hacks that have been helping me lately, and I’m specifically talking about a concept called “habit fields.” This was a presentation I gave recently for Board Game Design Pro, so if you find it useful and want more helpful content like it, be sure to...

Do this BEFORE designing a game | Leo Taylor

Nov 02 2023 79 mins  
In this episode, Leo Taylor, designer of games in the Risk, Clue, and D&D universes, breaks down his “key pillars of game design” as we chat through the many questions designers should think through as they dive into a new game design. You can download a PDF of the key pillars HERE.

How to Make Money from Your Game Design Hobby with Joe Slack

Oct 25 2023 61 mins  
In this episode, Joe Slack and I talk about how we’ve both been able to piece together lots of different revenue streams in the gaming industry to be able to make a full-time living from game design. And be sure to check out Joe’s latest puzzle game here: http://kck.st/3SfV1Np

Why You Should Create Print-n-Play Games with Jason Greeno

Oct 03 2023 53 mins  
In this episode, Jason Greeno and I chat about the current boom in the print-n-play side of the market, and we dive into how and why more designers should create printable versions of their games. You can find a ridiculous number of PnP games on Jason’s website, PnP Arcade. And you can find his game,...

The Games Every Designer MUST Play with Pam Walls

Sep 28 2023 84 mins  
In this episode, Pam Walls and I chat about the games on our “must play” lists if you’re a game designer. And be sure to check out Pam’s awesome channel about game design here: https://www.youtube.com/@pamwallsgamedesign Here are the games we discuss: -Imhotep -Dungeons & Dragons -Catan -Chess -Magic: the Gathering -Robinson Crusoe -Kemet -Creature Comforts...

How to Design AND Publish games with Ben Downton

Sep 06 2023 68 mins  
In this episode, I chat with Ben Downton who designs games and runs the publishing company Prometheus Game Labs. We chat about how lonely design work can be, how to balance being creative with running a business, Board Game Arena, and more! And here’s the Board Game Arena article mentioned in the show: https://prometheusgamelabs.wordpress.com/2023/08/14/how-a-game-gets-on-board-g

71 Ways to Become a Better Game Designer with Gabe Barrett

Aug 22 2023 78 mins  
In this episode, I talk through pretty much every tip about game design that I can think of! And if you want to see the video version, you can check it out on YouTube HERE.

Small Games that Pack a Big Punch with Jason Tagmire

Aug 16 2023 62 mins  
In this episode, I chat with Jason Tagmire about everything related to 18-card games. We talk about designing, publishing, manufacturing, shipping, marketing, crowdfunding, and more!