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Refining Your Game
This is Part 3 of my series, “How to Design a Worker Placement Game.” Most of this piece is applicable to any type of game design, but it draws specific examples from worker placement games....
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Cons for Pros
Another wonderful three-day weekend is upon us and that means one-thing for hardcore gamemakers: CONS! or, in our case, this weekend: Kubla Con! Often, several of us attend Southern California’s...
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Mechanics are More Important than Theme
When talking non-RPG tabletop games, mechanics make the game. Mechanics ARE the game. Themes and components can enhance games and create more immersive experiences, but the core of a game is...
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Building your Game Mechanics – Tips from The League of Gamemakers
The combined knowledge of the League of Gamemakers is a force to be reckoned with. Some of our most popular pieces are on game mechanics. The nuts and bolts. Getting the gears aligned. Finely tuning...
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Balancing Family Life and Gaming -Part 1
Maintaining a balance between work, recreational activities, intellectual pursuits, and home life can be a challenge for any family. However, being a dedicated geek, gamer, and/or game designer...
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How to Build a Sell Sheet for Your Game
A good sell sheet can be a key part of getting your game picked up by a publisher. In this piece, I’ll discuss these topics: What is a Sell Sheet? When do I need a Sell Sheet? How do I make a Sell...
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Making Conventions Better for Gamemakers – Celestispiel
Game conventions can serve many useful functions for gamemakers, but they infrequently offer dedicated space to one of the very foundations of the gaming industry: the playtesting of game prototypes....
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Balancing Family Life and Gaming -Part 2: Gaming is Absolutely Fantabulous
Introduction by Luke Laurie: One of the keys to successfully balancing a gaming hobby or a career in game design is to include your kids in your gaming world. For me, this means bringing my kids to...
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How to Playtest – Part 1 “Set the Stage”
Playtesting games can be fun, insightful, and productive. It can also be disappointing, frustrating, and uncomfortable. Worse still, sometimes, playtesting is simply a waste of time. With the best...
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Steal this Game Idea!
We game designers are creative people, often to the point that we have WAY too many ideas to be able to see them all become reality. So, why not share a few? In this post, I’m giving you a list of a...
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New Year’s Resolutions for Gamemakers
Happy New Year from the League of Gamemakers!!! 2014 was a huge year for tabletop games, and huge year for the League of Gamemakers: We posted 150 articles on this site! …but 2015 is looking to be...
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Designing Action Selection Mechanics – Henges of Stone, Part 1
(This series will chronicle the design and development of Henges of Stone in conjunction with youtube videos, until the game is eventually published… or abandoned.) In spite of my previous assertions...
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Team-Building, Transparency, and Tastiness – an Interview with Michael Mindes
Luke Laurie recently sat down (digitally) to interview the prolific founder of Tasty Minstrel Games, Michael Mindes. The outcome: a wealth of gamemaking knowledge and wisdom from a publisher who is...
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Events for Game Designers 2015
This post is a resource for designers and gamemakers looking for events to: Playtest Games Improve Design Skills Make Connections in the Industry Get Face Time with Prospective Publishers You may find...
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Unpub Protospiel San Jose 2015 – Photo Report
What an amazing playtesting event! Holy smokes! There’s so much to say, but I’ll keep it short and let pictures (and videos) do most of the talking. Five Members of the League of Gamemakers were in...
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Go to CONS!!! – Connecting at Conventions like Kubla Con
Gamemaking, even if you self-publish, is not a solo endeavor. It takes relationships and collaboration to get your game signed, sealed, and delivered. Game conventions play a major role in connecting...
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Summer Gaming Extravaganza Eleganza Fabulosa
Summer is here: time again for sun, beaches, traveling, family time, and of course, GAMES! But why not spice up your summer gaming with a little summer meta-game? My good friend Tom Vespucci(Bastard...
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Sell Sheets for Game Designers 101
Having a good sell sheet can be a key part of getting your game picked up by a publisher. Sell sheets are useful for a variety of different situations: They look good online and in physical form so...
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How to Build Prototypes: Cards, Tiles, and Counters
If you’re a game designer who’s been working at the craft for any length of time, you know that you are going to need to build a LOT of components for your prototypes… over and over again. You need...
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The Complete Kickstarter Checklist for Tabletop Games
Tackling a kickstarter game can be a completely overwhelming experience. It’s a ton of work, and it involves many different steps to do it right. Have you ever wondered how the pros keep track of...
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