--- title: "How to Create a Board Game: Advice from Game Designers" description: How to create a board game in four steps. From inspiration to publishing, here’s game design advice from five published designers at GameSchoolCon 2020 image: https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/Blog/Images/gameschoolcon-calli.jpeg --- [![](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/MIND-logo-2018.jpg?width=1701&height=623&name=MIND-logo-2018.jpg)](http://www.mindresearch.org/) [![mind logo](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/graphics/logos/MIND-logos-color2.svg)](https://www.mindeducation.org/) [![mind white logo](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/graphics/logos/MIND-logos-white2.svg)](https://www.mindeducation.org/) - [Our Approach](https://2024.mindresearch.org/our-approach) - [Why MIND?](https://2024.mindresearch.org/why-math-education) - [Our Research](https://2024.mindresearch.org/our-research) - [Our Patents](https://2024.mindresearch.org/patents) - [Our Impact](https://2024.mindresearch.org/impact) - [Our Partners](https://2024.mindresearch.org/partners) - [Partner Stories](https://2024.mindresearch.org/partner-stories) - Our Programs - [ST Math](http://www.stmath.com/) - [InsightMath](http://www.insightmath.com/) - [MathMINDs](https://www.mindresearch.org/mathminds) - [Life at MIND](https://2024.mindresearch.org/careers) - Resources - [Blog](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog) - [Math Discourse](https://2024.mindresearch.org/puzzletalks) - [Podcast](https://2024.mindresearch.org/edtech-podcast) - [News](https://2024.mindresearch.org/news) - [Activities](https://2024.mindresearch.org/stem-resources) - [Donate](https://store.mindresearch.org/pages/donate) **Student privacy****:** learn more about our commitment to keeping students safe [Read More](https://www.mindresearch.org/privacy-policy) ![MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/graphics/headers/_blog-headers/MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5.png?width=2000&height=667&name=MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5.png "MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5") Category Community Teaching & Learning Technology & Games Research & Outcomes Neuroscience Celebrations & Successes [![Subscribe](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/237516/a35fb57d-2960-4554-a0f3-e7bb5946fc70.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/237516/a35fb57d-2960-4554-a0f3-e7bb5946fc70) [Technology & Games](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/topic/technology-games) # How to Create a Board Game: Advice from Game Designers By [Calli Wright](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/author/calli-wright) - - - - - [mailto:?subject=How%20to%20Create%20a%20Board%20Game:%20Advice%20from%20Game%20Designers&body=How%20to%20Create%20a%20Board%20Game:%20Advice%20from%20Game%20Designers%20https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/how-to-create-a-board-game](mailto:?subject=How%20to%20Create%20a%20Board%20Game:%20Advice%20from%20Game%20Designers&body=How%20to%20Create%20a%20Board%20Game:%20Advice%20from%20Game%20Designers%20https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/how-to-create-a-board-game) - “How many of you are working on your own game design?” I was surprised to see so many hands in the air. I was at [GameSchoolCon](https://www.gameschoolcon.com/) last winter, a convention for homeschool families who use (or want to use) games in their curriculum, and I was speaking on one of the panels, “Table Talk with Game Designers." Amongst the audience were students, parents, and family members. I anticipated more adults would be at this panel to learn how to support their students in game design and project-based learning. To my surprise, there were many adults in the room also interested in how to create a board game on their own. Anyone can be a game designer! Included on the board game designer panel: **John D. Clair** - Designer of [Mystic Vale](https://www.alderac.com/mystic-vale/), Edge of Darkness, Custom Heroes, Space Base and Downfall. He is well known for creating a card crafting system as a new game mechanic. **Johnathan Ying** - Designer of [Star Wars: Imperial Assault](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/star-wars-imperial-assault/), DOOM: The Board Game, Game of Thrones the Trivia Game, Nickelodeon's Splat Attack, and Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid and Bargain Quest. **De'Von Truvel** - Created [Black Wall Street The Board Game](https://www.playblackwallstreet.com/) to increase financial literacy and Black history knowledge in a fun way. **Victoria Cana** - In addition to being a Producer at Wizards of the Coast, Victoria independently designed [Gladius](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/catquartetgames/gladius), a board game funded on Kickstarter this year. **Calli Wright** - In addition to helping create the [MathMINDs Games](https://www.mindresearch.org/mathminds-games) series (South of the Sahara available now and more coming soon), I independently designed [Moonshell: A Mermaid Game](http://moonshellgame.com/), coming to Kickstarter later this year. > .[@GameSchoolCon](https://twitter.com/GameSchoolCon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) was cool! I was on a game design panel with [@JohnDClair](https://twitter.com/JohnDClair?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), [@Fancymancer](https://twitter.com/Fancymancer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), [@CalliWrights](https://twitter.com/CalliWrights?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), & [@truehealth4evr](https://twitter.com/truehealth4evr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). I met [@RuelGaviola](https://twitter.com/RuelGaviola?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) in person. Met a Laotian designer who’s a big Gladius fan! And I got to demo Gladius to kids and show them women can make great games too 😁 [pic.twitter.com/EtEOFUKoc4](https://t.co/EtEOFUKoc4) > > — Victoria Caña ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 (@victoriacana) [February 3, 2020](https://twitter.com/victoriacana/status/1224174692296056833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) As the host, John D. Clair led the session through what he considered the stages of board game design: inspiration/conception, prototyping and design, playtesting, and publishing. With the permission of GameSchoolCon, I am sharing some clips and highlights of the conversation below. ## Where Do You Find Inspiration? - Problems you want to solve in the world or your community - What (non-game elements) interests you? - What about your favorite games interest you? Are there ways you can use that game mechanic in a different way? - What do you want to see in the world? ## Prototyping Tips - Use what you have available to get a prototype to start testing your game right away. - What is the minimum viable product? The balance between getting a usable prototype together that gives a good experience of the game to your playtesters. Make sure the fundamentals work first. - Find free templates for creating games (here's some from [K-21 Game-a-thon](https://www.mindresearch.org/gameathon/design)). - Later, if you want to get fancy, you can invest some money in prototypes with websites like [Print and Play](https://www.printplaygames.com/)and [The Game Crafter](https://www.thegamecrafter.com/). ![moonshell-prototype-gameschoolcon](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog/Images/moonshell-prototype-gameschoolcon.jpeg?width=725&name=moonshell-prototype-gameschoolcon.jpeg) *Prototype of Moonshell: A Mermaid Game, played at GameSchoolCon 2020.* ## Advice for Young Game Designers - Play lots of different types of games and talk about the mechanics in the game. - Deconstructing games - what happens when we change this one rule or component? - Narrow the scope, instead of just "make a game." Adding restrictions or parameters can inspire. - Make sure players are making choices and the best choice isn't obvious. - Game design helps students develop empathy. How do you create a good experience for your players? - Define your own "game pillars" as a rubric that you can refer to when collecting feedback and improving your game. A lot more was covered in the panel, including more information on playtesting and publishing games, as well as other questions and answers. To listen to the full audio files from this panel and others at GameSchoolCon 2020, join the [GameSchool community](https://www.gameschoolcon.com/audio) (it’s free!). If you are mentoring students in the board game design process, consider entering the [K-12 Game-a-thon challenge](https://www.mindresearch.org/gameathon). Students are challenged to include mathematical concepts in their game design and enter this national competition. [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/237516/d6ffcd84-f661-4fa5-a7a3-a0e0867e8e28.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/237516/d6ffcd84-f661-4fa5-a7a3-a0e0867e8e28) ![Calli Wright](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/Blog/Authors/calli-wright-board-games.jpg) ### About the Author Calli Wright was the Marketing Manager at MIND Research Institute. 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