Making a great board game and pitching it to publishers are two completely different things. If you’ve got a game that you want to share with the world but don’t know what to do next, this book will help you navigate through exactly what steps to take. You’ll discover: How to find the right publisher Exactly what publishers are looking for How to create a sell sheet that will actually sell your game How to negotiate the best deal and get paid more for your game What to look out for in contracts to make sure you don’t get exploited You’ll learn from Joe’s experiences as a full-time board game designer and instructor, along with tips and stories from a dozen other published designers, plus the exact things that publishers want. Direct from 16 established publishers.

Do you have a board game idea, but can't get it out of your head? Use my 4 I's Framework, and you'll get your game to the table and quickly discover if it will be the next Cards Against Humanity (hint: good!) or the next Trump: The Game (hint: not so good!). Have you made a game, but it's just sitting in a closet somewhere? Dust off that box and let The Board Game Designer's Guide get you unstuck and finish your game for good! Is your game done but you don't know what to do next? In section 6, I'll walk you through all the options available, so that you can finally figure out which one is right for you, and grow a huge legion of fans all proclaiming "Whoever invented this game is a friggin' genius!" Don't let your board game idea sit on a shelf or in your head. There are thousands of people out there who want to play it. You need to share your amazing game with the world! And now you finally can ...

Winner of the 2012 Origins Award Pull up a chair and see how the world's top game designers roll. You want your games to be many things: Creative. Innovative. Playable. Fun. If you're a designer, add "published" to that list. The "Kobold Guide to Board Game Design" gives you an insider's view on how to make a game that people will want to play again and again. Author Mike Selinker (Betrayal at House on the Hill) has invited some of the world's most talented and experienced game designers to share their secrets on game conception, design, development, and presentation. In these pages, you'll learn about storyboarding, balancing, prototyping, and playtesting from the best in the business.

An impassioned look at games and game design that offers the most ambitious framework for understanding them to date. As pop culture, games are as important as film or television—but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging field. They offer a unified model for looking at all kinds of games, from board games and sports to computer and video games. As active participants in game culture, the authors have written Rules of Play as a catalyst for innovation, filled with new concepts, strategies, and methodologies for creating and understanding games. Building an aesthetics of interactive systems, Salen and Zimmerman define core concepts like "play," "design," and "interactivity." They look at games through a series of eighteen "game design schemas," or conceptual frameworks, including games as systems of emergence and information, as contexts for social play, as a storytelling medium, and as sites of cultural resistance. Written for game scholars, game developers, and interactive designers, Rules of Play is a textbook, reference book, and theoretical guide. It is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a solid theoretical framework for the emerging discipline of game design.

Tabletop board games are having a comeback, and especially within a younger, tech-y audience who enjoys the challenge and opportunity to work in an analog sphere. Game design expert Jesse Terrance Daniels teaches all the fundamentals of game design, from rule-setting to physical construction, along with original illustrations that capture the ethos and energy of the young, contemporary gaming community. Readers will learn the “building blocks” of game design, including game components, rules, and gameplay mechanics, and then how to craft a game, with a variety of examples and design prompts. After completing Make Your Own Board Game, readers are equipped with a broad understanding of game construction and flow and ready to create games that are playable and satisfying, while also expressing the makers’ unique creativity and passions.

Are you thinking about working in the board game industry? Here’s what you need to know. There are so many jobs and roles that need to be filled in the board game industry. You might just have the right skills and experience to excel. But first you need to know what opportunities exist and what the hardest gaps are to fill! In this book, you’ll discover • What jobs are really in demand • How you can get your foot in the door with a publisher • Jobs in the industry you’ve never even thought of • What other opportunities exist for people with skills just like yours With insights from over 40 industry pros, as well as the author’s many years of experience, you’ll be able to put your own skills and experience to great use in an amazing, growing industry.

• Authors are top game designers • Aspiring game writers and designers must have this complete bible There are other books about creating video games out there. Sure, they cover the basics. But The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design goes way beyond the basics. The authors, top game designers, focus on creating games that are an involving, emotional experience for the gamer. Topics include integrating story into the game, writing the game script, putting together the game bible, creating the design document, and working on original intellectual property versus working with licenses. Finally, there’s complete information on how to present a visionary new idea to developers and publishers. Got game? Get The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design.