The Board Game Design Lab
Gabe Barrett
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 24, 2017 • 34min
Why Game Design Is Important with Gabe Barrett
Gabe Barrett, founder of the BGDL, discusses why this hobby of ours matters and why game design is much more than just a fun, little activity. He also shares some stories that relate to design and talks about where the BGDL is headed in the future.
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May 20, 2017 • 4min
[BONUS] Mike Mihealsick on Why Euro Games Are Awesome
The post [BONUS] Mike Mihealsick on Why Euro Games Are Awesome appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
May 17, 2017 • 37min
Lessons Learned from Blind Playtesting with Mike Mihealsick
Mike Mihealsick, from Coalition Games, discusses all the lessons and insights he’s learned after facilitating hundreds of blind playtests. Blind playtesting is the purifying fire in which we truly get to find out what our games are made of, and Mike offers a ton of advice on how to navigate the process well.
The post Lessons Learned from Blind Playtesting with Mike Mihealsick appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
May 13, 2017 • 9min
[BONUS] Chris Kirkman on Considerations When Designing a Small Game
The post [BONUS] Chris Kirkman on Considerations When Designing a Small Game appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
May 10, 2017 • 54min
Cthulhu Themed Games with Chris Kirkman
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.
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May 6, 2017 • 6min
[BONUS] Morten Pederson on Writing Rulebooks for Non-Native English Speakers
The post [BONUS] Morten Pederson on Writing Rulebooks for Non-Native English Speakers appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
May 3, 2017 • 1h 4min
Creating a Great Solo Variant with Morten Pedersen
Morten Pedersen, designer behind the solo modes for games such as Scythe and Viticulture, discusses how to scale a game down to one player and create a great solo experience.
Morten has his own design company that focuses on creating single player systems for games and has even won awards for it. For more, check out Morten’s blog here.
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Apr 29, 2017 • 2min
[BONUS] Patrick Leder on How to Know When a Game Is Done
The post [BONUS] Patrick Leder on How to Know When a Game Is Done appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
Apr 26, 2017 • 44min
Designing an Asymmetrical Game with Patrick Leder
Patrick Leder, designer of Vast, discusses what all goes into designing an asymmetrical game. In Vast, each player takes on an incredibly different role with different actions, different win conditions, and different ways to play. And creating a game of this scope is no small task.
The post Designing an Asymmetrical Game with Patrick Leder appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
Apr 22, 2017 • 14min
[BONUS] Chris Rowlands on What RPG Elements He’d Like to See More of in Board Games
The post [BONUS] Chris Rowlands on What RPG Elements He’d Like to See More of in Board Games appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.
