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Table of Contents
Welcome to the 2019 Cardboard Edison Award ...................................4
by Aaron Vanderbeek

An Interview With Steven Aramini ...................................................... 8

Foundations of a Good Prototype Game .............................................10

by Tim Rodriguez

Is Self-Publishing Right for You?...................................................... 14

by Diane and Nick Sauer

Teaching Your Game............................................................................16

by Daniel Newman

Questions to Ask Your Playtesters .................................................... 18

by Peter C. Hayward

The 5 Ws of Rulebook Writing .......................................................... 22

by Dustin Schwartz

Timeline for the 2019 Cardboard Edison Award .............................. 24

More Upcoming Game Design Contests .......................................... 25

2019 Cardboard Edison Award Judges ...............................................28

The Ludology Podcast Game Design Checklist ................................ 32


AARON VANDERBEEK
Welcome to the 2019
Cardboard Edison Award
You are about to embark on an exciting journey where your best game design
will be judged alongside the best designs from many others. This contest is a
great opportunity to put your game out into the world and see how it fares as
dozens of game industry professionals honestly evaluate your work. This invaluable
feedback will propel your design forward and might get you the attention of
publishers along the way. Here is some advice to consider when preparing your
submission to get the most out of this competition.
First, your game should be unique. We are in a time where thousands of new
board games come out every year. To help your game stand out, it should have
something special that draws people in. Maybe it is an interesting theme with
well-integrated gameplay, or a fresh take on a classic mechanic, or an enticing
narrative, or something completely different. When you are confident about what
is unique about your game, lean into it and ensure that it comes through in the
design and contest submission materials.
Second, your game should be developed. These contests are very competitive.
While I encourage everyone to submit their games, the games that are closest
to being fully developed games will get the most out of the competition. It is
often evident on the surface which games have seen the benefit of iterations
from hundreds of playtests. When I had submitted Castell, the game that won
in 2017, it had been in development for 1.5 years up to that point.
4 5
Finally, make it easy for others to understand your game. This starts with your
ruleset where clear text and supplemental images or diagrams go a long way.
If you are unsure what to do, pick a rulebook from a similar published game and
use that as a starting point. It is highly recommended that you blind playtest
your ruleset to ensure your rules are ready to be played without your active
participation. And don’t forget your submitted marketing materials, which will
serve as the first impression to your game. An impression is just that, a small
glimpse that will excite others to play your game! Put something simple together
that showcases your enthusiasm and thoughtfulness, and focuses on what
makes playing your game a truly unique and special experience.
And that’s it! Submitting to contests can be a lot of work, but it is a fulfilling
experience for those that want to see their games published. You will get pointed
feedback, you’ll be participating in the wonderful board game design community,
and you’ll make some new connections along the way. So get involved, share
your excitement, and put your best game forward! We are all looking forward to
seeing what you’ve been working on. Good luck!
Aaron Vanderbeek is a video and board game designer currently residing
in Berlin, Germany.
“Who are you designing your game for? You? Go wild
with weird mechanics. Friends? Listen & tune the game
to suit them. A publisher? Learn to pitch a product to
a business - you’re B2B. The world? It’s a product in
the market that you will need to sell.”
Emma Larkins
 What’s the most important thing a designer should keep in mind when
submitting a game to a design contest?

There are several important factors: Make your rules clear and professional,
and include plenty of visual examples of how gameplay works. It makes your
rules so much more accessible. For your pitch video, I recommend simple and

An Interview With Steven Aramini straightforward. Judges don’t care if your video is funny or entertaining or has
cool music or sound effects. They want to know how the game plays and what
The designer of Animal Kingdoms, which won the 2018 Cardboard Edison award, makes it unique/special. It seems judges are very responsive to seeing a game
talks about playtesting, choosing a publisher, refining rules and prototypes, and more. in “mid-action” to get a better sense of how a typical turn might work. Don’t worry
if your art isn’t great, but do spend time to have clear iconography and text,
How did you prepare Animal Kingdoms leading up to the award basically anything that is important to gameplay. Judges won’t ding you for bad
submission deadline? art, but unclear icons or wording is important even at the prototype stage.
Animal Kingdoms went through several iterations before it was submitted to
Cardboard Edison. Originally it was a deep-sea fishing game, then it became an
interstellar travel agency game before arriving at its current theme. I arrived
at the theme because at its core it is an area control game, and it seemed that
battling for control of kingdoms made the most sense. I added the twist of
animals because I wanted really colorful cards, and animals worked well to
represent the various colors. From a gameplay standpoint it changed a lot, too.
Above all, a lot of playtesting helped me incrementally improve the game until
I felt it was ready for submission.
“Don’t give up if the feedback is negative; correct and
How did you find a publisher for the game, and what has it been like move on. Be prepared to question everything you
working with them? have done and to change even when changing is the
After the contest I had quite a few publishers contact me about their interest most painful thing to do. It will eventually pay off.”
in the game. I ended up signing a contract with Galactic Raptor, which is the Nestor Tyr

dynamic duo of Dan Letzring (Letiman Games) and Carla Kopp (Weird Giraffe
Games). I knew Dan already and had also wanted to work with Carla, and this
was the perfect opportunity to work with both. Galactic Raptor is a brand new
company, and Animal Kingdoms is the first game in their lineup, so for me it was
exciting to be part of this brand new team. Plus, they were anxious to move it
forward immediately and make it their top priority, which was awesome.

8 9

TIM RODRIGUEZ
Foundations of a
Good Prototype Game
I’m in a distinct position in my gaming life where I play more prototypes than
published games. It’s always important that prototypes show well, but it’s
abundantly clear that what aspects people think show well and what actually
makes something show well are really different things.
The suggestions here will help you showcase your games in the best possible
light, and they’re not always easy—or they’re easy things to put off and fix “later.”
Most of the games that don’t make it through the first round of a contest like
the Cardboard Edison Award have some obvious flaws in these categories, and
many of the finalists do too. But the top-showing games and all of the winners
to-date consistently have taken care to address all of these topics.
Test and re-test your rules. Don’t just teach your game; have others read
your rulebook and work to understand and resolve any lack of clarity in that
communication. As judges, we struggle with unclear situations in each and
every rulebook. Some are better than others, but it’s a constant space where it’s
worth your time to be aware of ways to improve. This means detailed examples,
blind tests, proofreading, and making sure that your examples clearly support
and explain the application of the rules.
Trim, trim, trim. While I’ll never suggest that you not make the game you want to
make, I will always recommend that you streamline, trim, and cut cruft wherever
you possibly can. I know from personal experience that I eventually stop noticing
tedious details in my own designs (that then irritate other people right away).
10
My friend Emma asks her playtesters the question “what should I absolutely
not cut?” I think this is a brilliant question and has the potential to give you
immense insight into the best parts of your game.
Ensure player agency. If a player can’t reasonably make something happen to
improve their own situation on a regular basis, you have issues. A bum card
draw or die roll doesn’t ruin a game. But relying on randomizers too heavily
can reduce agency and can limit strategic decisions; offering players a way to
influence the game state despite randomizers is crucial. Similarly, look for the
moment that you can read the outcome of the game and create the endgame
as soon as possible after that. No one wants to play an extra half hour of
obvious outcome that they can’t alter.
Be consistent in your prototype visuals. It doesn’t have to look gorgeous or
amazing. Seriously. I actually find it very discomfiting to play high-production-
value prototypes, and it tends to influence people in a very undesirable way if
they discover problems! Instead, just do your best to make it look consistent
and coherent. Pick a clear, readable font and stick with it. If you’re using graphics,
use a consistent style of graphics. Try not to mix photos and vector icons for the
same type of mechanical element. You want your overall package to look coherent,
which in turn supports players’ comprehension, which supports your game.
These aspects are foundational to your unpublished game. There are plenty of
other features and best-practices that help make a game more marketable,
show better at a table, or make it more likely to get picked up by a publisher.
You’ll have to do your own research to figure those out for yourself. These will
help you start that journey with the best possible game.
Tim Rodriguez designs and publishes tabletop board games and roleplaying
games as co-owner of Galileo Games.
11
Keep on making games! A world in chaos is
Making a board game isn’t easy. Your playtesters
will be brutal. Sometimes they’ll disagree, and it a world of opportunity.
won’t be clear what direction to go in. Things will
never work as well on the table as they do in
your head.

Keep at it! Your game deserves to be played.

At some point, you’ll know it’s done.

Formal Ferret supports aspiring

game designers everywhere!

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 financial aspects of publishing your game? How about booking convention
booths and running them and/or managing the people that help or do it for
you? The list goes on and on. While self-publishing can be very rewarding, you
need to honestly assess yourself and make sure you have what it takes.
DIANE AND NICK SAUER
Diane and Nick Sauer are co-owners/co-designers for Shoot Again Games.

Is Self-Publishing
Right for You?
When you decide to self-publish a game you have designed, it can amp up
many different considerations that are a part of game design and also present
new ones. Here are our top three considerations for anyone considering jumping
into self-publishing.

First and foremost, you should examine your primary goal for your final design.
Is this a game you are doing out of passion, something you feel needs to made,
or for profit? Sure, you’d like your game to make money, but is that your actual
goal? If not, then expect to put a lot more of your own money in. The tradeoff is “Every game you design will be better than the last.
that you can ensure the final product is closer to your vision. You will be smarter. You will be better. Don’t be afraid to
put a game on a shelf for a year and work on something
Secondly, you should honestly examine the time you can put into the project
else. You’ll figure it out when you come back!”
and the amount of drive you have to see it through. While designing a game and
Jonathan Gilmour
getting it properly playtested takes lots of time and drive, it is only the tip of
the iceberg if you decide to self-publish. You will need to hire people like artists
and graphic designers, and find a printer capable of printing your game, at the
most reasonable price. You will need to find distribution for your game so people
can buy it. Assuming you are going the Kickstarter route, you will have to create
and manage your campaign both while it is running and after it ends, including
things like getting your game shipped to backers.

Finally, do you have the skills to manage everything needed to bring your game
to fruition? Sure, you hired all the above mentioned people, but can you work
with and direct them? Can you make a budget and handle taxes and the various

14 15

DANIEL NEWMAN
Teaching Your Game
You’ve designed a game! Congrats! You’ve suckered convinced some suckers
friends and/or strangers to give it a try! Great! Now the hard part. You need to
convey that perfect, beautiful system you’ve devised—that you understand so
well—to these people who have no idea what they’re looking at. And you need
to do it in a way that eases them in and gets them to internalize all of the
interconnected systems and goals and strategies in as little time as possible
so you don’t lose their attention and can get to playing right away.
OK, don’t panic. This is doable.
The best thing to do is start off with a little thematic introduction. This doesn’t
have to be (and really shouldn’t be) super long. I’m talking about a sentence
or two giving the players an idea of who they are, a quick overview of what
they’re doing, and how to win. You’re really just giving them context as to why
they’re making the decisions you want them to make.
What I like to do next is give them a quick sense of the mechanics used in each
step of the game. Again, more in an overview style than full detail yet. Remember
that “easing in” that I talked about? You don’t want to bog your testers down
with too much detail too quickly or they’ll lose the thread.
At this point, players have the concept of the game and the structure. Now you
can build detail into each part, phase by phase. Rather than just tell the rules,
I like to pause occasionally and give an example of how it works, just to drive
it home. Pay attention to your testers, as you can usually tell when they’re
having trouble with a concept. If you’ve explained a lot in a short period of time,
16
don’t be afraid to ask if there’s anything that’s unclear. Try to do it in a way that
doesn’t make your testers feel bad for not understanding. I have a tendency
to explain things really quickly, so I will admit to that before asking if anything
doesn’t make sense.
Once you’ve finished your explanation, definitely ask your testers if anything
seems weird or confusing. They’re likely going to say they just want to get to
playing and it’ll make more sense once they get going. If you’re playing along
with them, remember that your goal is not to win but to make sure the game
works and that you’ve explained it well enough that your players feel confident
and competent. I like to play early on in the life of the design so I can make sure
it has the feel I’m going for, but later in the design process I prefer to not play
and instead observe players to make sure they’re reacting to things the way I
want them to.
Listen to the comments your playtesters have throughout the game, especially
as it pertains to how they are understanding the rules as you’ve laid them out.
Try not to be defensive, but instead read between the lines about what they’re
really getting at. Game design is an iterative process and there’s almost always
room for improvement, and evaluating feedback can be one of the most difficult
parts of playtesting.
Good luck!
Daniel Newman is a game designer whose published title include Ahead in the
Clouds and Feat on the Ground. His upcoming titles include Dead Man’s Cabal
and Rolled West.
“If I ask ‘What makes your game different from other
games of the same theme and weight?’ and you can’t
answer me? don’t make the game.”
Avonelle Wing
17

PETER C. HAYWARD
Questions to Ask Your Playtesters
Playtesters are wonderful creatures. They’ll give you time, they’ll give you mental
energy, they’ll give you feedback. Some of them will aggressively try to break
your game, others will do whatever it takes to make sure that you get the most
out of their playtesting.
But almost all playtesters have a shared flaw: They’re too nice.
If they weren’t nice, they probably wouldn’t put their time into playing a prototype.
But their niceness—welcome though it can be—is what’s holding you back.
Far more valuable than nice playtesters are honest playtesters. But the overlap
between “nice” and “honest” can be pretty tiny, so it’s up to you to trick them.
That’s right. Trick your playtesters. Not into playing your game, but into giving
honest feedback at the end of it.
Here are the questions I use to do this:
• Could you see your regular gaming group playing this?
If you ask them “would you play again,” 99% of the time they’ll say they would.
After all, they’re the kind of person who would play a prototype in the first place.
But if you reframe it in terms of people they know, you’ll get a very different—
and far more useful—answer. And I’m naturally distrustful of “No, but only
because they don’t like this kind of game.” If you can’t consistently find people
whose kind of game this is, that’s a problem.
18
• How much would you pay for it?
Again, reframing it from a theoretical “oh I’m doing you a favor” to “what
amount of money would you give me” is a nice way to pierce the nice and
get to the truth.
If none of your playtesters would buy your game, no one will buy your game.
• What did you enjoy the least? What was the most frustrating part?
Nice people will happily tell you what their favorite part was—and you
should ask, because that’s also a valuable detail. But when you explicitly
ask for the bad stuff, you’ll get it, and that’s the part of your game you
need to focus on improving.
• Would you play this game instead of (game with similar mechanisms or
in the same genre)?
This one is useful because that’s what publishers are looking for. You can give
me an amazing tile-laying, meeple-placing game… but if it’s competing with
Carcassonne, it’d better have a great reason for people to play it instead.
Don’t be discouraged when the answer, most of the time, is “no.” Just keep
on working on your games, improving your skills, and trying new things until
they start being replaced by “yes,” at least some of the time.
That’s when you know you’re ready.
Peter C. Hayward is a game designer currently based in Toronto. He is the
founder of Jellybean Games.
“If you want to do something, it’s not important how
you start. Just that you start. And then continue. And
be willing to change and improve your project.”
Behrooz “Bez” Shahriari
19
 Gold Dragon Games
Game Analytics
Designers and publishers:

 Do the rules for your game make

sense as written?
 Will they stand up to the rigors of a
blind playtest?

Gold Dragon Games will analyze the

flow of your rulebook for you, ensuring
that you’ve included all essential
instructions, terms are used
consistently, and players can easily find
the information they need.

Email: Kiva@Golddragongames
Twitter: @GoldDragonGames
Facebook: golddragongamedesign
 Timing is the number-one source of ambiguity in rulebooks, so it’s important that
you communicate proper sequence. Does this happen first, or that? Your players will
appreciate if you are crystal clear about when things are supposed to occur.

DUSTIN SCHWARTZ Strategy isn’t always as apparent as you, the designer, would like to think.
Sprinkle in a healthy dose of why so that players grasp the important decision

The 5 Ws of points. Gameplay examples are a great way to illustrate strategy decisions.

Rulebook Writing Dustin Schwartz works full time in the tabletop industry as a game editor
and producer.
Journalists often refer to the “Five Ws”—who, what, where, when, and why—as
a key approach to gathering information and pulling together the full story. The
same wisdom can be applied to the art of conveying board game instructions.

Make sure your rulebook is clear on who is involved. An effective approach here
is to use second-person voice in sections that apply to an individual, and third-
person voice when communicating global rules or addressing the entire table.

Let your players know how the rules dictate what is happening with the game’s
pieces. Does acquiring a card mean adding the card to my hand? Descriptive “Negative feedback is a designer’s life blood. Positive
phrases can help illustrate the effects that the rules have on the physical pieces. feedback feels nice, but doesn’t improve your game.
Though it stings initially, you learn to love negative
Board games exist in physical space. Key to getting the experience right is feedback, because your game’s flaws will come out
knowing where things go in relation to each other. Visuals are one way to explain and you want to hear them Before your game goes
these spatial relationships, but positional words and phrases are also helpful. to press.”
Jay Treat

“Goals can be useful in starting designing, but don’t

get hung up on them. Follow your game wherever it
leads you, even to places you didn’t expect to go.”
Matthew Dunstan

22 23
 More Upcoming Game Design Contests
Timeline for the
2019 Cardboard Edison Award 2018 MINT TIN DESIGN CONTEST
Design a game that can fit inside a mint tin
Deadline: Jan. 11, 2019
JANUARY 1 Prizes: GeekGold
submissions open https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2074640/
2018-mint-tin-design-contest
JANUARY 31
final deadline for submissions THE GAME CRAFTER LEGACY CHALLENGE
Deadline: Feb. 4, 2019
FEBRUARY Prizes: games, shop credit, and more
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/contests/
first round of judging sporktopia-legacy-challenge

LATE FEBRUARY NOVEL GAMES CONTEST

finalists announced Design a game based on a work of classic literature
Deadline: March 1, 2019
APRIL 10 Prizes: cash and possible publication
finalists’ prototypes due http://www.escapevelocitygames.com/novel-games-contest/

APRIL HOLIDAY DESIGN CONTEST

finalist judging Design a game with a holiday theme
Deadline: March 18, 2019
Prizes: The Game Crafter shop credit and more
EARLY MAY
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/contests/holiday-design-contest
winners announced
For more game design contests, visit cardboardedison.com
and click “contests”

24 25
WWW.INDIEGAMEALLIANCE.COM
2019
Cardboard Edison
Award Judges
Eric Alvarado Gil Hova Curt Covert

Shari Spiro Jordan and Mandy Goddard Mike Bonet Pam Walls Peter C. Hayward Dan Cassar

Chris Kirkman Paul Peterson Phil Walker-Harding Zintis May-Krumins Ryan LaFlamme Eric Buscemi

Dirk Knemeyer Nate Murray Steven Cole Lauren Woolsey Nick Sauer Diane Sauer

28 29
 Ian Zang Rob Moore Sean Moore Daniel Peterson Chris Anderson Sandy Bondarowicz

Daniel Newman Dave Chalker Andrew Federspiel Burke Drew Tim Rodriguez Aaron Vanderbeek

Brian Henk Carla Kopp Nick Kopp Dustin Schwartz Chris, Suzanne &
LilyAnne Zinsli

“You’re going to have bad playtests, bad feedback,

lack of solutions to problems, and especially lack of
time. Take feedback for what it is and try something
different. Most importantly: Don’t stop trying.”
Lock Watson
Corry Damey Scott Martel Steven Aramini

30 31
The Ludology Podcast
Game Design Checklist
This is a series of questions/topics to help guide the development
of your game. You should have answers that you are happy with for
all of these. For additional items about graphics and production,
visit cardboardedison.com.
The Experience
q What is the core experience?
q Why would someone want to play this game?
q Where is the fun for the players?
q Who is your target audience?
q What makes this game different from other games on the market?
q Do all game mechanics support the experience?
q Is the duration appropriate for the experience?
q Are there things for players to learn and get better at? Is this
appropriate for the length and experience of the game?
q What are the decision points in the game?
q Is there a game play arc (narrative arc) appropriate to the
duration and experience?
q How do the players interact with each other? Is it appropriate for
the experience?
32
Mechanics
q Are the mechanics fresh and innovative?Are they too innovative?
q Are there moves/actions that players always take? Can these
be eliminated or changed?
q Do you give players incentives to do interesting things?
q Will a new player have an idea of what a good play is early in
the game?
q Can any mechanics be eliminated or simplified?
q Which mechanics are not intuitive? Are you taking appropriate
steps to explain/ease players in?
q Are there any degenerate/extreme strategies? Is there a
dominant strategy?
q Are the start positions sufficiently balanced?
q Is the winner in doubt until the end of the game? Is your win
curve (lead vs chance of winning) appropriate for the game?
Is there a snowball effect?
q Will a new player occasionally beat an experienced player?
How often? Is this appropriate for the experience?
q Is anyone actually eliminated from the game? Is this appropriate
to how long they may have to wait for the game to then end?
q Is there player downtime? If so, is it appropriate for the target
audience and experience?
q What drives the game towards a conclusion?
33

Cardboard Edison is supported by our patrons on Patreon
ADVISERS
Rob Greanias, Peter C. Hayward
SENIOR INVENTORS
Steven Cole (Escape Velocity Games), John du Bois, Chris and Kathy
Keane (The Drs. Keane), Joshua J. Mills, Marcel Perro, Behrooz “Bez”
Shahriari, Shoot Again Games
JUNIOR INVENTORS
Ryan Abrams, Joshua Buergel, Luis Lara, Neil Roberts, Jay Treat
ASSOCIATES
Dark Forest Project, Stephen B. Davies, Marcus Howell, Thiago Jabuons-
ki, Doug Levandowski, Nathan Miller, Mike Sette, Matt Wolfe
“Sometimes the best player feedback is in their faces:
what do they smile at, what do they frown at, where
do they spend lots of time looking, what seems to
confuse them, what components do they ignore, mix
up, or forget about?”
Jon Moffat
34
Graphic Design
For This Book
Michael Parla is a graphic designer and
illustrator based in New Jersey. He has lived in
the greater New York City area most of his
life, working at various studios throughout
his career. Now Michael freelances out of his
studio in Chester, New Jersey. Since 2000 he’s
worked primarily for the pharmaceutical industry on projects from patient
education materials to mobile apps. Recently he’s moved into the board
game industry creating art for the games MoonQuake Escape, Bumunutu,
K’uh-nah and a few others yet to be announced. On a typical day you
will find him juggling multiple projects while managing to get a sketch
in along the way.
To learn more, connect with, or check out his portfolio, go to
ParlaCreative.com
Keep up to date on daily work, appearances, and thoughts check
out his Instagram and Twitter @michael_parla
35
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