Collectible card games are some of the most divisive types of games out there. There are those that love them dearly, and amass huge collections consisting of thousands of cards. On the other hand, there are those who refuse to touch them with a ten foot pole. While there are many reasons for this divide,…
Read MoreDoes Nintendo Hate Money? An Examination of Recent Business Decisions
Nintendo’s history with games has been a long and rocky one. Throughout their years in the industry they have gone from being the clear front-runner to the verge of death, and back again. Currently Nintendo seems to be on an upward swing, with the very successful launch of the switch. However, the success of the…
Read MoreHistory of Game Design: The Oldest Games in the World
If you are reading this blog, odds are that you are a fan of games. Not only because this is a game design blog about the history of game design (I know you read the titles), but also because you would be hard pressed to find somebody that doesn’t enjoy games in one form or…
Read MoreTake a Chance: The Illusion of Randomness in Games
Randomness is one of the most important elements of almost any game, and also one of the most misunderstood. Randomness can have a huge impact both on the design and experience of a game, and can lead both to very exciting moments and very frustrating ones. This is a huge topic, and one that I…
Read MoreWelcome to The Galaxy! The Design of Vitae Quest Part 1
Today’s article is going to be a little different from previous weeks. The reason for this is, for the first time ever I am going to be talking about the design process of Vitae Quest, which is my first serious board game design, and my current primary design focus. Because this game is still in…
Read MoreCounters and Removal: The Importance of Interactivity
Several weeks back I began a series in which I dissected and comparing Magic: The Gathering sets, with an emphasis on drafting. In the first part I take a broad overview of the sets and set up the foundation for the rest of the series. In Part 2 I take a closer look at linear…
Read MoreGame Design in Real Life: Lessons from a Disney Vacation
I believe that, at it’s core, game design is about creating an experience. Many of the principles of game design – pacing the experience, creating an atmosphere, and drawing out emotion and suspense – can also be found in numerous places in the real world. In the same way, I believe that there is a…
Read MoreHut, Hut, Hike! Tackling the Quarterbacking Issue in Cooperative Games
Hey y’all! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to write an original article for this blog, but I am finally back. I really enjoyed my wedding and my honeymoon, but I also really missed writing for you guys. Luckily, I am back in the swing of things so you can expect new…
Read MoreHunting Whales: The Problem with “Free-to-play” Games
Hey everybody! I am currently enjoying my honeymoon, which means no new article this week. Instead, I hope you can enjoy this article from a few months ago. While I would probably have done a few things differently if I wrote it today, I have reposted it here in its unedited form for your consideration.…
Read MoreOoh Shiny! The Power of Rarity in Collectible Card Games
Hey y’all, it’s Caleb from the future. Due to the fact that I am getting married in 2 days, I am not able to write a new article for this week. Instead, I have decided to re-post this article from a few months ago that not a lot of readers have seen. Next week I…
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