September 23, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 3 comments
In Episode 29 of the Nerdlab podcast, I continue talking about card drafting, my favorite game mechanic. Today, I covered 4 great drafting games and distill their unique and secret game design ingredients from which we can learn why these games are so great. Games Covered in this Episode:Sushi Go7 Wonders7 Wonders DuelElysium Important Links:Join […]
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Nerdlab Card Award #1
October 31, 2019 / by Marvin / Article, Game Design, Nerdlab Card Award / 0 comments
Today I present to you the newest series of the Nerdlab. The Nerdlab Card Award. An award to express my admiration for extraordinarily well-developed gaming cards. Award Criteria For a card to be considered for the world-renowned Nerdlab Card Award, it must meet some of the following criteria. Originality: The idea for the card is […]
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033 – Spirit Island and Asymmetric Game Design with R. Eric Reuss
October 22, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Interview, Podcast / 0 comments
In Episode 33 of the Nerdlab podcast, I had a great discussion with R. Eric Reuss about the design process of Spirit Island and asymmetric games in general. In our discussion, we focussed on the following questions: How was the design process of Spirit Island? What is asymmetry in board games? What are the best […]
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032 – Success Factors in the modern Board Games Industry
October 16, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments
Last week I saw the documentary movie “The Game Designers” by Eric Rayl which was successfully funded through Kickstarter and indigogo. First of all, I can recommend watching the movie. It covers a lot of great game designers. Some of them have already been guests on the Nerdlab Podcast as well. The documentation is about […]
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030 – Card Drafting Mechanic – Part 3
October 2, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments
In Episode 30 of the Nerdlab podcast, I continue talking about card drafting. This week the goal is to finish the 3 part podcast series. I am super excited about today’s episode. The topic of card drafting as a method of simultaneous action selection is so huge that I could probably spend even 2 or […]
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029 – Card Drafting Mechanic – Part 2
September 23, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 3 comments
In Episode 29 of the Nerdlab podcast, I continue talking about card drafting, my favorite game mechanic. Today, I covered 4 great drafting games and distill their unique and secret game design ingredients from which we can learn why these games are so great. Games Covered in this Episode:Sushi Go7 Wonders7 Wonders DuelElysium Important Links:Join […]
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028 – Card Drafting Mechanic Part 1
September 15, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments
In Episode 28 of the Nerdlab podcast, I talk about my favorite game mechanic: Card Drafting. YOu’ll learn why I think this is the best mechanic of all time, how to overcome its design challenges and what kind of tactics you players can use during the draft. Follow the link to join the discord server […]
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027 – Battlefield Options for Tactical Combat Card Games
September 8, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 2 comments
In Episode 27 of the Nerdlab podcast, I talk about different battlefield options to represent a tactical battle in a tabletop game by using cards. I discussed the differences between miniatures and cards and took a deeper look at some games of the genre to analyze the battlefield options that have been used in other […]
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026 – The Compound Effect – How to be Consistent as a Game Designer
September 1, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments
In Episode 26 of the Nerdlab podcast, I talk about consistency, why it is important for game designers and how to achieve it. If you listened to the show: This is how you join the discord server and become part of the Nerdlab Mastermind: Join the Nerdlab Discord Important Links: Join the Nerdlab CommunityJoin the […]
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025 – Synergies and Combos in Everdell with James Wilson
July 7, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Interview, Podcast / 0 comments
In Episode 25 of the Nerdlab podcast, I chatted with James Wilson, the designer of Everdell. We talked about his journey and how he developed Everdell. In our discussion, we have put a special focus on the design of synergies and combos. What are synergies? How do they differ from combos? What is the best […]
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024 – Gambit and Designing RPGs for Kids with Chevas Balloun
June 2, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Interview, Podcast / 3 comments
In Episode 24 of the Nerdlab podcast, I chatted with Chevas Balloun the designer of Gambit. Gambit is a Tabletop RPG without Pen and Paper and a lot of visualization that started when Chevas drew a dungeon-like Maze for his 5-year-old son and realized that he could play through the maze as a kind of […]
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