Every bad board game designer does this.

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Every bad board game designer does this.

Рет қаралды 23,813

Күн бұрын

5 reasons board game designers fail to make their games. Don't be a bad board game designer, make sure you avoid doing any of these things. Here are some of the biggest mistakes and pitfalls to designing tabletop games.
In this video, I'm going to share with you the one common denominator among all bad board game designers - they make the same mistakes. I'll show you how to avoid making these same mistakes and how to succeed as a board game designer.
If you're an amateur or professional board game designer, this video is for you! By the end of this video, you'll have learned how to avoid common board game design mistakes and how to design successful games.
This video is part of a series called Tabletop Craft, a series crafted specifically for aspiring game designers who are eager to dive into the world of creating board games. This series is your gateway to the realm of tabletop game design, offering a comprehensive guide to crafting your very own tabletop games.
Connect with fellow enthusiasts, access invaluable resources, and foster your passion for tabletop game creation by joining us on the Tabletop Craft Discord!
💬Join the Tabletop Craft Discord! / discord
This video could save you literal months of tedious work on your next game.
🎲The Best Tool for Rapidly Prototyping Your Board Game • The Best Tool for Rapi...
00:00 Growth Opportunities
00:50 Lack of clear vision
02:05 Unbalanced Mechanics
03:24 Overcomplicated Rules
04:15 Market Viability and Differentiation
05:31 Poor Playtesting

Пікірлер: 49

@davejeltema3 11 ай бұрын

What mistakes do you have a hard time learning from?

@lordllama2548 11 ай бұрын

One i still struggle with is starting a project and never completing it

@imanaxolotl4717 11 ай бұрын

@@lordllama2548 Adhd gooo brrrrrrrrr

@tsuobachi 9 ай бұрын

@@lordllama2548 I used to have that problem. The key for me was to have smaller projects. If you take a game idea you have and just take the core mechanic from it and make that a simple game, you'll be able to finish a prototype and get to testing quickly. Then the next game you could make it have two mechanics and it won't be as much work to get it going because you already have half of it figured out to some extent from the previous game. Most pro game designers tell beginners to start small and hardly anyone ever does (including me), but it's really great advice if any of us would follow it.

@luanazevedo4804 9 ай бұрын

Just because its a creative mechanic it dosen't mean it is a good mechanic :,)

@tsuobachi 9 ай бұрын

@@luanazevedo4804 Yeah, that's true. But focusing on finishing things is more useful for some people than focusing on quality.

@sawderf741 10 ай бұрын

It's ok to be a part of someones game collection. You don't need to make "the one game to rule them all".

@ramonvanderben8120 8 ай бұрын

The biggest mistake I could think of is: Holding on to a game idea for far too long. Don't be afraid to archive or even trash a board game when it just isn't what you want it to be. Start over and redesign it or go for a totally different game. There is no shame in archiving or trashing your game... Holding on to a game idea that just doesn't work, is the biggest waste of valuable time...

@joshuastill2619 Ай бұрын

Also on the other side of it, is holding it in your head too long before actually play testing it.

@jacklanyon8550 10 ай бұрын

I find your background music really intrusive and makes it hard to listen. I'm wanting to listen to you, not random music.

@davejeltema3 10 ай бұрын

That's fair, it's been on my mind. I might experiment with the format a bit soon. Thanks for the feedback

@sixbirdsinatrenchcoat 8 ай бұрын

I completely agree. Music needs to be turned way down - or completely off! - and voice audio should be turned slightly up to match the volume of most other videos. I have stopped watching at least 4 of your videos because the audio overtaxes my ADHD nervous system.

@laartwork 6 ай бұрын

Yeah .. why is there music? Great video though.

@FelipeBudinich 6 ай бұрын

If you want to have music because it adds to the perceived production values; Do not use music with lyrics. Do not have music with punchy bass. Use your voice as a ducking source for the music. Hope that helps :)

@somekindofdude1130 5 ай бұрын

@@davejeltema3 yeah man you really really need to tone down the music your voice is getting muffled in the mix

@Mambaru Ай бұрын

I would like to add to the list - Don't design a rule around an edge case. Redesign your game to prevent the edge case from happening in the 1st place.

@asura899 11 ай бұрын

Hi Dave, I have found your channel few days ago and have watched all videos instantly. My favorite video so far is the best tool for playtesting. Really looking forward to your next videos ;)

@davejeltema3 11 ай бұрын

I'm glad you like them! I'm still experimenting, but you can bet I intend to offer more practical design tips and examples.

@PowerPandaMods Ай бұрын

The market research thing is so huge. Ask yourself, "What space does this fill in someone's game shelf?" If you can't answer that question, then neither can they.

@bibleboardgames5199 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video! I have made most of these mistakes. Marketing and Sales are the hardest. Blind Play-testing is valuable. If you only test with family and friends, your game will probably only go that far.

@davejeltema3 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment! Those are valuable lessons to learn.

@disrespecc9678 6 ай бұрын

Well I’m just making one for my family. So it’s not [unfinished sentence]

@CameronOwen101 10 ай бұрын

Not sure i love this advice for people when starting out. I used to teach video game design and development at university and woukd see this behaviour in stidents a lot, but i found id get better results encouraging them to make a lot of experiments but critically deconstruct things as they go to discover why a particular mechanic is fun, what kind of experience is enables, where it works well, where it doesnt etc.

@CalebWillden 26 күн бұрын

Guess about #1 pitfall: Not playtesting.

@sirguy6678 10 ай бұрын

Good video! Would love to see some “real game examples “ - even if you have to trash a few “classic games” - help to illustrate your points- thanks!

@revimfadli4666 6 ай бұрын

This! Even big name designers or publishers could fall victim to these

@RobSeib 5 ай бұрын

this is awesome advice thanks Dave! your market research point is so huge, and Ive learned my lesson! Or at least I hope I have 😂

@victorferreira2742 2 ай бұрын

in the process of designing board games I ended up in situations that the rules became really complicated as I had to adapt them to problems I found during the playtests and brainstorms. I realize that when a rule seems too complicated and don't resolve to the obvious solutions it would be sometimes its because without the complexity some other things just breaks. its not necessarily because the designer didn't see the complexity in this case (i'm not saying this is what always happens) the "mistake" of the designer was his or her unwillingness to change the entire rule or mechanism. maybe the correct thing to do in a certain point of the design process was to make a drastic change and recreate parts of the game entirely

@ElegyForTheMasses 10 ай бұрын

Vital Lacerda games often have additional glossaries and references outside of the rulebook and player reference guides, but they aren’t over-complicated.

@rossdelman641 8 ай бұрын

I'm happy I intuitively did not do any of this mistakes you mentioned here. Great video !

@DreadgateTCG 3 ай бұрын

I knew it! The number one thing was clear for me.

@MrMrkman98 4 ай бұрын

These seem to be good rules of thumb. I think talking bout such thing in vague socratic questions can be helpful to cover as many bases as possible, but I think specific examples(with a graphic) would go a long way to "proving" why these rules of thumb are good to follow.

@arcanineryu 4 ай бұрын

im making my first card game now so let's see how many mistakes i make! it's going great so far tho. i call it Super Sandwich Stacker and it's a game for ages.... like maybe 8 and up? so mostly kids and parents and stuff. but it's about making a really big scooby doo style sandwich! ive been spending the week playtesting to try and figure out how to simplify and streamline. but unfortunately it looks like when i do a proper printed prototype, (right now im just using construction paper with sharpie for cards) i wont be able to fit the rules on a single card, and will instead have to have one of those little folded papers of game instructions or else the print will be too small to read, which is disappointing. but having watched yu gi oh the abridged series the phrase "children's card game" is burned into my memory, and now i will have an excuse to use it all the time for like a month as an official creator of a children's card game.

@samperry3972 Ай бұрын

Please shed some insight on printing cards!

@LatiN00bs 4 ай бұрын

Guys I really want to put my game out for playtesting, but idk how copyright works. What should I do before sharing my game with people?

@tsuobachi 9 ай бұрын

Good advice, but the people who need to hear it would never watch a video like this. To be good at anything creative, you need to put your ego aside and focus on the audience and their experience. It's not about you and your awesome game, it's about trying to make an engine that generates as much fun for the players as possible.

@mv8615 6 ай бұрын

As for "Market Viability and Differentiation": it sounds as if you're saying, each game needs to be unique and innovative. While innovative games often get a lot of attention, some of my favorite games over the last years (Everdell, Arkham Horror LCG) were ones, that basically took the best out of other games and excelled at curating proven mechanics.

@didelphidae5228 10 ай бұрын

Love him or hate him, I borrow a note from Todd Howard, I create makeshift components and play the game as early and as and often in it's design as possible to get a feel of the engine; what could work that hasn't been added, and what doesn't.

@seandobson2682 5 күн бұрын

What is your 'day job'? Good video.

@maninalift 9 ай бұрын

Biggest mistake guess: but play testing

@davidjohnson4475 5 ай бұрын

Old extra credits video about depth vs complexity. Similar if not the same as the elegance that was mentioned. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oLx8Z9allcjQd4k.htmlsi=McxnsAc6NXdWyhIY