[#021] Backups, taking notes, and more

Welcome to your weekly dose of board game design!

It's May, and things are getting busy! Hope life is well with you?

Something I learned about game design this week

Whatever you create, take a backup, people. I recently had a major issue with my entrogames.com website that has (and will) require a lot of time to sort out... If you visit the website and notice any images are missing or broken, I'm aware of the issue and will be fixing it ASAP =)

How to back things up? For my websites, the one I've been using is UpdraftPlus (it was misconfigured on entrogames.com - my critical fail).

If your notes are in Microsoft Word or some other sort of file, use Dropbox or another cloud-based service. A cheap USB stick will hold plenty, as well.

If your notes / spreadsheet / rules are in Google Drive, they're pretty well backed up... but it's a good time to confirm your passwords work, check you still have access to the backup email address they have on file, etc.

Alright, this concludes the PSA. Backups are really boring until they're absolutely critical.

This week's tip

Speaking of backing up notes, let's talk about taking notes.

However you take them (in a Notepad or good old-fashioned pen-and-paper), your notes can be broken down into three time frames:

• Brainstorming

• Designing

• Playtesting

You already know to write down everything when brainstorming, no matter what the idea is. When you go through those brainstorming notes a second time, it's worth crossing out the ideas not worth pursuing, highlighting the ones you are, and so on... but never discarding them.

When designing (or when iterating for the next version), it's worth writing down what you're changing — and most importantly, why. In a perfect world, future you can look back on past you's decision choices to see what went into each version. Something as simple as 'Playtesters thought the Event cards were overpowered, so for the next version, I made them cost 5 gold instead of 3 gold' gets it on paper instead of hoping your memory remembers why.

When playtesting, I'm really listening for a few things: What worked, what didn't work, and what suggestions people make. I'll usually put a star by the suggestions to use in the next iteration and a check mark once it's been made.

What I’ve been working on last week

• Snorkel funded! Always great to see a project come together.

• Finishing up the last of the 18 (!) languages for Spies (the game No Box Games crowdfunded last October). If you were a backer, check your email for the last of the language updates.

• Playtested Mint Tin Monster Mashup (twice), a game with a co-designer, Smite, and Dice Cream.

• Client work.

• Kind of a whirlwind of busyness on projects I'm not ready to announce yet... but soon.

What's coming up this week

• Fixing up entrogames.com after the aforementioned critical fail

• Client work

• Make videos of some games

• Gear up for UKGE

ICYMI

Someone's put ChatGPT to proper use: helping people play games correctly! https://boardgamechat.com/

The New York Times talks about their game design process for their new online game Digits.

The creator and 'Doctor' of Tetris answer some questions about the iconic game.

Random picture of the week

Birmingham New Street (the central hub for trains in England's second-largest city) has a color palette for the city. It's a tongue-in-cheek homage to a number of iconic elements throughout the city, but still a lot of fun colors.

Thanks for reading!

Got a question about game design you'd like answered? Find an amazing new resource that would help fellow game designers? Reply to this email and share =)

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!