A Developer’s Diary

Introduction

For more than 10 years, I’ve been an active BGG member and by extension, an active participant in the world of designer board games, having worked directly on 50+ titles of Euro and war games, spanning nearly a dozen different publishing companies and designers, as a proofreader/editor, playtester, and developer. Subscribing to the advice given by myriad game designers/content creators, including Gabe Barrett (Board Game Design Lab [BGDL] podcast); Jamey Stegmaier (Stonemaier Games); and others, coupled with requests from many folks on threads throughout BGG, 2020 will serve as the year to pen my first blog.

The intent behind this year’s blog is to deep-dive into the Top 10 Things I Learned as a Developer which I articulated during a 2019 BGDL interview. I’ll use this blog, on a once per month basis to unpack each of those items in greater detail, using examples from my own experience. Here’s the schedule for this year’s blog entries:

Jan: Introduction and The Year Ahead
Feb: #10 Passion and zeal are no substitute for skill
Mar: #9 Have the end in mind…know the designer’s vision and embrace it
Apr: #8 Play more games…gain exposure to different themes, mechanics…everything!
May: #7 Read, listen, and watch a lot of great content
Jun: #6 Deliberate communication
Jul: #5 Collaborate broadly…you can’t do it alone
Aug: #4 Have a strong template for providing feedback
Sep: #3 Maintain a schedule and stick to it
Oct: #2 Be professional!
Nov: #1 Have fun! If you’re not, you’re doing something wrong
Dec: Year-end wrap-up and plans for 2021

I’m excited about the year ahead and I certainly invite you to post, ask questions, and engage with me as we explore the world of board game development!

Cheers,
Joe/The Professor
Professor’s Lab