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An exploration of “fun”
As board game designers we are always trying to better understand how we think about games. One aspect that gets generalized is the idea of “fun.” What is fun for one person is very likely to be different than another. This is why it is so amazing when you find a game group with a…
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12 Tenets of Board Game Design from Stonemaier Games
With so many possible directions to go in game design, it is really easy to design a bad game. When I stumbled upon Stonemaier Games’ list of design tenets, I was really challenged in my thinking. I am sure other companies have similar principles, even if they aren’t in writing. But to see so visibly the exact…
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Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons
This presentation from the lead designer on Magic the Gathering is fantastic. He shares highlights from 20 years of experience working on MtG. I personally love how so much of what he shares relates to the world of UX Design. He has a strong focus on how the users (players) will think of things and…
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Timmy, Johnny and Spike and the usage of personas in game design
An important tool in the world of UX design is the persona. It is used to describe your user base by breaking them into groups and giving them key traits and names. The idea is to remind the designer or developer that they are building a product for someone other than themselves. It doesn’t matter…
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Usability Heuristics Applied to Board Games
The Nielsen Norman Group is a well-known research-based firm in the UX world. One thing they are well known for is their list of 10 usability heuristics. In case you’re not familiar, a heuristic is like a shortcut. Instead of doing user research to discover these things, these heuristics are well-known principles that result in…
