BOARD GAME DESIGN RESOURCE LIST
July 2015
This link list grew out of game design workshops conducted in several Evergreen programs. Consider it a
starting place!
WHY PLAY GAMES?
BOARD GAMES SAMPLER
GAME DESIGN
GAMES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
BOARD GAME RULES
BOARD GAME HISTORY
BOARD GAME REVIEWS ON VIDEO
WHY PLAY GAMES? back to top
“Board Games” http://www.gvlibraries.org/sites/default/gc/aaslalignment.pdf
A list of various literacies developed by designing and playing board games, written by Brian
Mayer. The list is keyed to the American Association of School Librarians’ Standards for the
21st‑Century Learner.
The Strong: The National Museum of Play
http://www.museumofplay.org/
BOARD GAMES SAMPLER back to top
Descriptions, Etc. of Lots of Board Games
http://boardgamegeek.com/
Descriptions, pictures, game mechanic and citation information for a lot of board games,
historical and contemporary. Game rules are often available for people who register. Game
information is searchable by key word and category; a search for “baseball,” for example, turned
up games ranging in date from 1893 to 2010. Brought to you by BoardGameGeek.
Student-Created Games, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Game Design Courses
 Course: Game Design (Spring, 2008)
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies/cms-608-game-designspring-2008/projects/
 Course: Game Design (Fall 2010) http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-mediastudies-writing/cms-608-game-design-fall-2010/assignments/
 Course: Game Design (Spring 2014) http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparativemedia-studies-writing/cms-608-game-design-spring-2014/assignments-and-studentwork/
Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors database
http://gamecatalog.org/
Info on 18,000+ games!
Joli Sandoz Board Game Links
July 2015
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Victoria and Albert Museum Collection of Board Games http://collections.vam.ac.uk/
Enter “board game” (with the quotes) into the search box, and you’ll get over 500 results.
Information for each game usually includes a game board photo, a summary which describes the
game and may place it in historical context, and additional details (click on “More Information”).
If you’re lucky, the rules will be available under the “More Information” tab. Most of these are
games from the 1800s and early 1900s. They use a variety of mechanics, though many are rolland-move. Very interesting!
Free Video Games for Learning
Brainpop: GameUp (free educational video games)
https://www.brainpop.com/games/
Intro video (3:50) http://educators.brainpop.com/video/gameup-screencast/
Games for Change Arcade
http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/
Collection of “dozens of digital and non-digital games that engage contemporary social issues in
a meaningful way” (from the website).
GAME DESIGN back to top
Note: Although several of these resources center on video games, much of the information they
provide is useful for people interested in board games.
Free Online Courses
 Game Design Concepts (Ian Schreiber)
https://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com/page/3/

Game Balance Concepts (Ian Schreiber)
https://gamebalanceconcepts.wordpress.com/page/2/

Basic Introduction to Game Design (Lennart Nacke)
http://www.acagamic.com/page/4/
Books and Guides
 Brathwaite, Brenda and Ian Schrieber. Challenges for Game Designers. Boston, MA:
Course Technology, 2008. 83. Evergreen’s Ebrary. Web. 29 Mar. 2011.

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating
Innovative Games. 3rd ed. Abingdon, UK: A K Peters/CRC Press, 2014.

Schell, Jesse. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. Burlington, MA: Morgan
Kaufmann, 2008. Print.
This book is in the Evergreen Library’s print book collection.

Materials and Readings from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Game Design
Courses http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/
Just put “game design” into the search feature.
Joli Sandoz Board Game Links
July 2015
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
Design Pack: Games and Learning (Version 1.0) (Institute of Play)
http://www.instituteofplay.org/work/projects/q-design-packs/q-games-and-learningdesign-pack/
Leads you through planning and designing games for learning.

Designing Tabletop Games (collection of articles from ETC Press)
http://press.etc.cmu.edu/content/designing-tabletop-games
ETC has published a number of books about games and gaming, available for free
download.
Articles, Blogposts, and Videos
Gamasutra: The Art and Business of Making Games
http://www.gamasutra.com/
One hub of the commercial game world; news and articles on design issues, physical
prototyping, and much more. Focus is on video games, but there are articles on board
games as well.
Cooperation and Engagement: What Can Board Games Teach Us?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdTVcFo2EQw&feature=player_embedded
YouTube video of Matt Leacock, talking about designing his game Pandemic. A Google
Tech Talk, April 25 2008.
League of Game Makers (game designers’ blog)
http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/
Site Description: “Who Are We? By day we are science teachers, animators, technical
directors, comic book artists, electrical engineers, parents and many other professions.
By night, we are a critical hit on a d12 roll + a small modifier of people dedicated to
making games, talking and sharing the process.” (Description from
http://www.boardgamelinks.com/links/details/2015 )
GDCVault http://www.gdcvault.com/
From the website: “GDC Vault is a trove of in-depth design, technical and inspirational
talks and slides from the influencers of the game development industry, taken from over
20 years of the worldwide Game Developers Conferences.” Some content is free, some
requires membership.
Materials
Piecepack
http://www.piecepack.org/index.html
Free patterns for making board game pieces, and free games made using the Piecepack
“game system.” The games range from the simple (Bingo Battle) to complex (City
Planning, City Council); browsing through them is an education in what imagination in
the form of rules can do with low-cost game components.
Joli Sandoz Board Game Links
July 2015
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GAMES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE back to top
Games for Change Homepage
http://www.gamesforchange.org/
Watch videos and download chapters from the group’s Make a Game for Change Toolkit:
http://www.gamesforchange.org/toolkitflash/
Jane McGonigal: Gaming Can Make a Better World
http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html
Twenty minute video of a TED Conversation by a professional video game designer – her views
on how gaming can be used to “save the world.”
Brenda Romero: Gaming for Understanding
http://www.ted.com/talks/brenda_brathwaite_gaming_for_understanding
TED talk by one of the first women in video game designing, about making meaningful games on
very difficult topics (9:20 in length).
John Hunter on the World Peace Game
http://www.ted.com/talks/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game.html
Another TED Conversation, this one by elementary school teacher John Hunter, who created the
World Peace Game (19:50 in length). Go to the World Peace Foundation website for more
information about the DVD and book: http://www.worldpeacethemovie.com/ .
The Civic Potential of Video Games
https://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles/free_download/9780262513609_Civic_Potent
ial_of_Games.pdf
Report of results from a national survey of 1,100 teens to explore whether or not “civic gaming
experiences” correlate with “youth civic engagement.” Kahne, Joseph, Ellen Middaugh and Chris
Evans. The Civic Potential of Video Games. 2008. MacArthur Foundation White Paper. Web. 30
Mar. 2011.
Flanagan, Mary. Critical Play: Radical Game Design. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute
of Technology Press, 2009. 63-116. Print.
Well-researched look at “critical” games (games that intend to question everyday cultural and
social arrangements) from the perspective of art and the humanities.
World Without Oil
http://worldwithoutoil.org/metaabout.htm
World Without Oil was a collaborative online narrative game (not a board game) played in 2007
by 1,500 players. It’s an example of a “serious game,” which the WWO website defines as a
game having an educational goal. Developer Jane McGonigal discusses this game and others in a
Gamasutra interview at http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13182 .
Food for thought for social change board game developers.
Joli Sandoz Board Game Links
July 2015
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BOARD GAME RULES back to top
Game Manufacturers’ Websites
Rules for games still “in print” are often posted at the manufacturer’s website.
Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors Archive of Game Rules
http://agpc.org/game-rules-from-the-agpc-archives-available-online/
The most recent game I saw was from 1966, and most are much earlier. Good source of rules for
board games in the traditional style.
BOARD GAME HISTORY back to top
American Antiquarian Society http://americanantiquarian.org/mcloughlincats.htm
Online collection of book and game catalogs produced by McLoughlin Bros. between 1867 and
1947. McLoughlin was a major publisher of games and children’s books. A brief history of the
company can be found here: http://americanantiquarian.org/mcloughlin.htm .
Andrews, Peter. “Games People Played.” American Heritage Magazine 23.4 (June 1972).
http://magazine-directory.com/American-Heritage.htm
Note that Andrews’ article, while worth reading for a good overview, obscures the radical
beginnings of Monopoly. A similar game was first invented as The Landlord’s Game by Elizabeth
Magie (Phillips) who wanted to promote the Single Tax Movement started by Henry George’s
proposal of one uniform tax, on land (Flanagan 85-87). You can find the patent for The
Landlord’s Game – and many other U.S. games, published or not – by using Google’s patent
search feature. And see the Ketcham and Pilon articles below.
Flanagan, Mary. “Chapter 3: Board Games.” Critical Play: Radical Game Design. Cambridge,
MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2009. 63-116. Print.
Flanagan provides historical information about traditional games and some theme or
proprietary games (created for commercial sale), and then discusses the relationship in the U.S.
of games and art, and games as art.
Hofer, Margaret K. The Games We Played: The Golden Age of Board & Table Games. New
York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003. Print.
Good big photos of board game art from the late 1800s and early 1900s. In the Evergreen Library
print book collection.
Ketcham, Christopher. “Monopoly is Theft.” Harper’s Magazine. 19 Oct. 2012.
http://harpers.org/blog/2012/10/monopoly-is-theft/?single=1
Pastimes and Paradigms: Games We Play (Cornell University Library)
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/games/index.html
An online exhibition documenting game history and change from 1800-on. Click first on the titles
on the left side of the screen, and then in each section click on the thumbnail picture on the right
side of the screen. The explanations of each photo will be at the bottom of the screen.
Joli Sandoz Board Game Links
July 2015
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Pilon, Mary. “Monopoly’s Inventor: The Progressive Who Didn’t Pass ‘Go’.” The New York
Times. 13 Feb. 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/business/behind-monopoly-an-inventor-who-didnt-passgo.html
Whitehill, Bruce. "American Games: A Historical Perspective." Board Game Studies 2
(1999):116-141. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
http://thebiggamehunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/American-Games-Perspective.pdf
Whitehill’s focus here is on the commercial history of board games, told through focus on
production technology and game companies.
BOARD GAME REVIEWS ON VIDEO (YouTube)
 Rahdo
 TableTop (Geek and Sundry)
 Dice Tower
Joli Sandoz Board Game Links
back to top
July 2015
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