This is one of our favorite school projects. It requires a great deal of work and we have really brought it to the next level with our son this year. He wants to be a board game designer when he grows up and he is super into it right now. This fall we took the basic concept of design a game about what you are learning and took it a step further. He went through the varying stages of actual board game design and production from concept through development to print copy.
You can use this 8 week series to develop your own project for your kids or let them follow along with the lessons and assignments here on our blog. Designing a board game can take a very long time. Don't force yourself or child to complete the lessons in the 8 weeks. Our son began research on his game, Steorra, in early October and finally placed the order for his print copy in mid-January. It was an exciting day in mid-February when it finally arrived. From the start to having a published box in hand took about 4.5 months and that is still quite fast compared to the big box games you find at your local game store. The blog posts aren't going anywhere, so do your best instead of speeding along.
Here is what you can expect over the coming weeks:
Week 2: Research and Game Mechanics
Week 3: Basic Rules and Prototypes
Week 4: Playtesting and Adjustments
Week 5: Blind Playtesting and Polishing the Game
Week 6: Researching Production Requirements
Week 7: Graphic Design and Artwork
Week 8: Publishing the Game
I hope you are excited to get started! This week your assignment is to brainstorm the ideas for your game. What is it going to be about? You will spend a great deal of time researching and working with this topic, so choose something you will really be interested in.
We are happy to chat with you along the way if you need someone to share with or bounce ideas off of, head to our contact page and pick your favorite social media site to get in touch. We would love to hear about your progress and ideas.
This class is free thanks to the generosity of our patrons. If you would like to support the making of our content, become a patron here for as little as $3 per month.