The Podcast about board game design and card game design! Together we will explore the secrets of different game mechanics and grow as a game designer!
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095 – Designer Diary for Mindbug Beyond with Richard Garfield, Christian Kudahl & Skaff Elias
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In this episode, I discuss with Richard Garfield, Skaff Elias and Christian Kudahl about the design process of Mindbug Beyond. Support our Current Kickstarter Campaign for Mindbug Beyond: Mindbug Beyond Kickstarter CampaignBy Marvin Hegen
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094 – Mindbug Kickstarter Lessons Learned
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Hello everyone and happy new year. Today we have January 2nd and I have a special guest today. It is my co-designer and friend Christian Kudahl. Hi Christian and welcome to the show. Today we’re going to be looking back at the year 2022, and reflecting on our very first Kickstarter campaign for the game, Mindbug. For those who may not know, Mindbug…
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It’s been over half a year since I recorded the last podcast episode. That’s definitely far too long. I hope that I will be able to record new episodes much more often in the future. Because I really missed being able to exchange ideas with other game designers and to delve deeply into specific game design activities in order to prepare for an epis…
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A lot has happened in the last couple of months in the Nerdlab. Christian and I got the chance to work with industry veterans Richards Garfield and Skaff Elias on our Game Mindbug. In this podcast episode, I talk about the things I have been working on with regards to Game Design, Game Development and Publishing. I also talk about Mindbug and why I…
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091 – The Journey of AracKhan Wars with Robert Palmer
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Today we have a great guest on the show and I am really excited to learn more about his game. He is the designer of AracKhan Wars, a strategy card game that just got successfully funded with more than 100k on Kickstarter last month. It’s a highly strategic game about card placement, positioning, and maximizing the potential of card combos. At first…
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090 – Designing Slay the Spire – The Boardgame – with Gary Dworetsky
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Today we have a great guest on the show. Gary Dworetsky is the designer and publisher of the very successful game Imperium: The Contention. The game has an incredible 8.1 rating on board game geek and is a 4-X card game about deploying fleets, moving ships into the right position, and then crushing your opponent in space combat. In addition, he is …
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089 – The Design Philosophy of Riftforce with Carlo Bortolini
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This week I had the chance to talk to Carlo Bortolini, a fellow game designer (Memoarr and Riftforce). Riftforce is a dueling card game that involves factions, drafting, combos, and different strategies. All the good stuff I love so much about card games. So I was very happy to talk to Carlo Bortolini and learn more about the design process of Rift…
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88 – The Game Design Process of Bruno Cathala
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This week I have the incredible honor of hosting one of the best game designers in the world. He has designed countless games and it doesn’t seem like he is going to stop And the majority of them are incredibly successful. For example he designed Kingdomino, Five Tribes, Seven Wonders Duel, Shadows over Camelot, Abyss and many many more. His games …
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87 – Victory Points and Player Agency with Tom Lehmann
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This week I have the honor of hosting Tom Lehmann, one of the best game designers in history. I wanted to talk to him for quite a while and am very happy that I now have the chance to do so. He has been designing many many games over the last 20 years. What makes his games special and unique for me personally is how he always manages to keep player…
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086 – How to Start an E-Mail List as a Game Designer
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This week follow up on the topic of E-Mail Listbuilding as a Game Designer. Last week I talked about why you should start an E-Mail List. This week the focus is on how to do it. In the podcast, I cover the high-level process of: Creating a Lead Magnet and a nice Pitch Setting up a Landing Page Using an E-Mail Provider for Automation In the past, I …
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085 – Why you need an E-Mail List as a Game Designer
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This week we tackle a very important topic. Last week I talked about why it is important to pput yourself out there and be active in the board game community. This week I am going to talk about why I think it is super important to create a relationship with the people you get inBy Marvin Hegen
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084 – The Importance of Getting Involved in the Board Game Community
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This week I talked about the importance of being part of the community and why it is so important to give without asking for anything in return. These are some of the topics we talked about on the show: Why I started the podcast and the nerdlab community What I got back fromBy Marvin Hegen
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083 – Richard Garfield on Physical and Digital Card Game Design
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If you want to join our Nerdlab Game Design Mastermind Groups, you can apply here: Join a Mastermind Groups This week I have the honor of hosting one of the best game designers in history. Without overstating, I can say that he and his games are the reason I got interested inBy Marvin Hegen
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082 – Creating Expansions with Bruce Glassco, Designer of Fantasy Realms
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Fantasy Realms on Boardgamegeek Fantasy Realms on Wizkids Today we have a great guest on the show. One of his earlier games is an industry highlight and has won a Gamers' Choice Award for the Best Board Game in 2004. One of his newer creations is a super cool fantasy-themed card game with anBy Marvin Hegen
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081 – Blue Ocean Strategy in the Board Game Industry – Part 2
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This is the second part of me applying the Blue Ocean Strategy to Board Game Design. In this week I go through the methodology step by step and try to explain how to come up with innovative new ideas for the board game industry. Do you want to use the Blue Ocean StrategyBy Marvin Hegen
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080 – Blue Ocean Strategy in the Board Game Industry – Part 1
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Do you want to use the Blue Ocean Strategy for your Game? Check out the Slides I prepared for you In today's episode, I asked myself: Why are new games developed? How does it start? And how do the groundbreaking successes differ from less successful games? I think many games are createdBy Marvin Hegen
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079 – Preliminary Print and Play Kickstarter Campaigns
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Today's episode will be a bit different from the other episodes. Usually, I interview experienced game designers or do a lot of research about a topic before I cover it here on the show. Today it's more of a discussion I'd say. But since I'm alone today calling it a discussion is kind ofBy Marvin Hegen
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Today's episode is about point-scoring mechanics. I went through different games like Sushi Go, Cat Lady, Point Salad or Go nuts for donuts. What do those games have in common? They all have some form of card distribution mechanic and a final scoring at the end. Since I am working on an insect-themed point-scoring…
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077 – The Design of Radlands with Daniel Piechnick
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Please take a look at Radlands on Kickstarter. I honestly think the game looks amazing. And I don't only mean the astonishing art, but also the gameplay and mechanics. I just backed it myself and am looking forward to adding it to my collection. (and no, I don't get paid for saying that (unfortunately…
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076 – The Interplay of Hidden and Visible Information in Magic’s new set Kaldheim
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In today's episode, I analyze the new keywords and mechanics of the Magic the Gathering set "Kaldheim". Especially "Foretell" and "Boast" which are very different. One has a lot of clear visible information and asks a very precise and direct question to your opponent, while the other is adding hidden information and keeps your…
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075 – How to Learn your Customer’s Language?
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In today's episode, I explain my method of learning the language of my target audience? In order to do so, I asked people over at Reddit about what they like about Dueling Strategy Card Games and identified their answers and especially the words and language they used. The goal is to later adopt their…
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074 – Designing Heart of Cthulhu with Patrick Kelleher
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Important Links for this episode: Heart of Cthulhu on Instagram Heart of Cthulhu Video Today we have a fellow game designer in the Nerdlab. I can remember that I followed his Instagram profile a time ago because I was impressed by the art of the game. It is hard to explain on a podcast withoutBy Marvin Hegen
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073 – The Evolution of Deckbuilding with Andrew Parks, Designer of Core Worlds
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Important Links for this episode: Quixotic Games Website Core Worlds on Facebook Core Worlds Nemesis (on BGG) Today I have the honor to talk to a very experienced and very successful game designer. I don't think I know anyone else who has worked with so many super exciting IPs . This includes brands such as…
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072 – Elegance in Game Design with Dario and Fabian of Crimson Company
1:41:24
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Important Links for this episode:Crimson Company WebsiteUpcoming Kickstarter Expansion of […]By Marvin Hegen
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Today I would like to talk a bit about the […]By Marvin Hegen
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070 – License Agreements & Game Design Contracts
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For many independent board game designers, licensing their game to […]By Marvin Hegen
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069 – Designing & Publishing D&D Content with Frank Tedeschi
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Connect with Frank Tedeschi:Deadbox GamesInstagram Account (
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068 – Design Diary of Duelist, the first Nerdlab Co-Design with Christian Kudahl
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I have been asked several times which game design projects […]By Marvin Hegen
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067 – How to lead a Playtest by asking the right Questions
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Get the free Playtesting Questionnaire Template Join the Nerdlab Discord […]By Marvin Hegen
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066 – Combining Game Genres in Dinn TCG with Gabriel and Hayley
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Connect with Gabriel and Hayley of Dinn:Dinn Website Dinn on […]By Marvin Hegen
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab Discord Join the […]By Marvin Hegen
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064 – 10 Common Mistakes of new Game Designers
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab Discord Join the […]By Marvin Hegen
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063 – Diverse and Innovative Attributes and Stats in Strategy Card Games – Part 2
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Upcoming Twitch Game Design Live Stream:Wednesday at 10pm CEST, that’s […]By Marvin Hegen
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062 – Diverse and Innovative Attributes and Stats in Strategy Card Games
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community: Join the Nerdlab Discord Join […]By Marvin Hegen
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061 – Fun and Frustration in Roguelike Deckbuilding Games like Monster Train and Slay the Spire
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community: Join the Nerdlab Discord Join […]By Marvin Hegen
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community: Join the Nerdlab Discord Join […]By Marvin Hegen
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059 – Iterate, Iterate, Iterate, Iterate, Iterate … Succeed
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community: Join the Nerdlab Discord Join […]By Marvin Hegen
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058 – How to Improve the Time Value Coefficient by Reducing Game Length
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community: Join the Nerdlab Discord Join […]By Marvin Hegen
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057 – Keyword Counters and their benefits in Magics new Set Ikoria
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community: Join the Nerdlab Discord Episode […]By Marvin Hegen
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056 – How to Design Quest Cards Players won’t forget
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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055 – Bloodrage – 11 Exceptional Design Choices and what we can learn from them
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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054 – GWENT – 5 Exceptional Design Choices and what we can learn from them
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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053 – Simultaneous Action Selection in Ambal Tournament with Bernardo Bittencourt
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Connect with Ambal Tournament (Bernardo Bittencourt):Ambal Tournament WebsiteAmbal Tournament Article […]By Marvin Hegen
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052 – Interaction in Board Games and Strategy Card Games
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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051 – Complexity in Strategy Card Games (CCGs, LCGs, TCGs, etc.)
36:35
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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050 – Why you should join a Game Design Mastermind Group
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Connect with the Nerdlab Mastermind Community:Join the Nerdlab Discord Hello […]By Marvin Hegen
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049 – Setting Constraints and Designing within Strict Limitations – Interview with Ed Rodriguez – Designer of Animus
1:18:43
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Animus – The Draft Building Game:Animus WebsiteAnimus on FacebookAnimus on […]By Marvin Hegen
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048 – Legends of Runeterra – 10 Exceptional Design Choices and what we can learn from them
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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047 – 15 Ways to Reduce Analysis Paralysis during Game Design
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Connect with the Nerdlab Community:Join the Nerdlab CommunityNerdlab Website Nerdlab […]By Marvin Hegen
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046 – A Walkthrough of Jamey Stegmaier’s proven Game Design Process
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Register now for the Nerdlab Newsletter and receive my favorit […]By Marvin Hegen
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