Designer Notes

AUGUST 10, 2021

The following is an excerpt from the Designer Notes for Old World. The game, a historical 4X set in classical antiquity, released on July 1, 2021, and is available for purchase here. The change was intended not to make the role of combat different in the game but to make it more interesting.

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Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the first of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? How do I come up with an idea for the core engine for my game?

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Designer Notes

MARCH 31, 2023

Welcome to My Elephant in the Room: An Old World Design Postmortem. Here are the games that I’ve worked on. Spoiler alert: Civilization 3 and 4 are going to come up a lot in the presentation… I also do a podcast where I interview game designers about why they make games, so check it out if you have time for 4-hour interviews.

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Brand Game Development

AUGUST 5, 2019

It’s a puzzle-solving, tile placement board game for 1-4 players where you play as a fantasy monster who’s hungry for villagers. We could not be happier with how the campaign turned out, and the game is available for pre-order now ! Need help on your board game? The Early Design. Mid-Development.

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Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

I like the idea of designing robots, putting together builds for a particular purpose or with particular capabilities in mind. Even more than being a tactical roguelike, Cogmind is a strategic game about engaging in a dynamic form of this process, repeatedly replacing and upgrading components as you go. Creating a Botcube mutant.

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Keith Burgun

JANUARY 4, 2023

Back in September, I introduced people to my upcoming card game, Spellstorm. For month after month, I tried fixing them with different supporting mechanisms, different ways that cards were obtained, different ways damage was dealt, and a lot more, but nothing really fixed the fundamental problem. What Spellstorm Was. The Problems.

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Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

For the last few years, we’ve been living through a glorious age: the Great Board Game Renaissance. In a world aglow with smartphones, tablets, and those annoying billboards that change every five seconds on the side of the road, analog gaming has become a welcome retreat for millions. Need help on your board game?

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Interesting Choices

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Also wanted to give a quick update on my various boardgame designs: City Draft - This 7 Wonders inspired drafting game is consistently liked in playtests and has been improving slowly and steadily. The game feels too easy, doesn't have enough strategy, and doesn't seem to quite evoke the feelings that I'm looking for.

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Brand Game Development

JANUARY 15, 2018

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the eleventh of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Accessibility is a big issue in board gaming.

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Designer Notes

AUGUST 31, 2021

The game, a historical 4X set in classical antiquity, released on July 1, 2021, and is available for purchase here. The first Civilization game was like a game design thunderbolt, sent from the heavens and marking everything it touched.

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Brand Game Development

JUNE 17, 2019

In many ways, the modern board gaming boom began with Catan. It is a phenomenal game that, when it came out in 1995, revolutionized the way we saw board games. on Board Game Geek. But board games have been around since Mesopotamia , so let’s talk about the top 10 old board games. Dune (1979).

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Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 23, 2023

This game, which combines Match-3 core with merge progression originally launched globally in the second half of 2020. Just when the market was becoming overheated with the lockdowns and merge mechanics were the all-new rage among the players. The core gameplay was true and tested Match-3 puzzle while the meta game was merge inspired.

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Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

This analysis is written by Taras Koshelev (Lead Game Designer at My.Games Venture Capital) who focused on game mechanics and loops and Michail Katkoff (Founder of Savage Game Studios) who covered the market and marketability. Their super power is making average games stand out with unrivaled performance marketing.

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Interesting Choices

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

I was recently in Essen for the release of NEOM, which is what the game previously known as Draftopolis or City Draft (written about extensively here and mentioned briefly here ) has become after being published by Lookout Games. cause damage to) building tiles, as that's what a city would largely be responsible for.

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Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the ninth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Games are more than just what’s in the box. Who is Carla?

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Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

I've been fascinated by board games that revolve around drafting for years now, and in early 2011 I wrote a post on the pillars that make these games click. I've created an online prototype for playtesting that has seen almost 2000 games completed with at least a dozen players clocking in at over 100 games apiece.

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Designer Notes

DECEMBER 10, 2023

If so, do bots have any role in this scene, either as part of the game or for training/analysis? Generally speaking, these communities are trying to make a solitary game more social, even if the games played are technically still single-player. Is it very different from the single-player game vs bots?

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Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 10, 2021

Our 2021 predictions have been sponsored by Facebook Gaming. Facebook Gaming helps developers and publishers to build, grow and monetize their games. Visit Facebook Gaming where you’ll find an incredible amount of insightful, actionable and relevant information along with tips, tools and solutions to help you grow your business.

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Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 20, 2019

There are several reasons why Matchington Mansion is on our lips: Firstly, it’s because the game is raking in over $15M in net revenues a month. Secondly, it’s because the game was able to challenge Playrix successfully in their own game. Then he’s going to analyse the studio that made the game.

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Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

Zugzwang by Robert Yang This post details my process and intent for making my new release Zugzwang (pronounced in German like /ts'OOK-ts'VAHng/ ) a tactical sex dungeon roguelike cum ritual game. SPOILER ALERT: This post spoils what happens in the game. So this game too is set in a dungeon -- a divine sex maze dungeon.

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