What Information Should You Print on the Board?
The vast potential expanse of a game board invites placing lots of fiddly little text. Good idea? Not so much.
board
Confirming Commonalities of Art in Awesome Fantasy Games
I previously identified commonalities in game art that players called awesome. In this post, I test if those generalizations apply to top-ranked fantasy games.
Commonalities of “Awesome Art” in Tabletop Games
What do the art pieces in successful games have in common? Let’s compare a sample of top-rated games that have reputedly “awesome art” to find commonalities.
Twilight Imperium: The Empire Sprawl is Real
The inadequacy of parking space was a limiting factor that ultimately led to the fall of the Empire. Just saying.
The Amazing Print-And-Play Builds of Martin Gonzalvez
Martin runs the awesome little “Print and Play Hideaway” group on Facebook and is, as far as I can tell, the king of table presence when it comes to PNP’s.
Cute and Cozy Creatures Capture an Audience’s Attention
Some games feature cute creatures. Shamelessly cute creatures. Creatures so cute that you have to grab the box when browsing your friendly local game store.
The Massive 18OE: On the Rails of the Orient Express (2014)
Big in every way. Big table presence. Big wallet presence. Big wall presence (huh?) Big cognitive presence. Big player presence. Let’s go for a ride on 18OE!
Games with Unusual Table Layouts
Dear designers, consider this easy way to grab attention: don’t mindlessly emulate the Monopoly layout, with a board and a few rows of other components nearby.
The ‘Best’ Ways to Represent Tech Tracks
Visualizing a tech track/tree is easier said than done. You must make the mechanic learnable, flexible, and replayable, all while maintaining player agency.
Nut Hunt’s Useful and Interesting Example of How to Amplify Attention
The publisher of Nut Hunt took intentional steps to draw attention to key aspects of the game.