Start Here

"Wow, Daniel! This is an excellent resource for people who want to get into game design; it is filled with great language for them to learn the craft, and the hard truths of getting something to be worth publishing."

—Richard Garfield, Creator of Magic: the Gathering

Who am I?

I'm Daniel Piechnick.

I'm a board game designer from Australia, and former national Scrabble champion.

I'm the designer of the award-winning game Radlands, published by Roxley Games. It has sold over 200,000 copies, and been translated into ten languages. It reached #161 in the listing of all games ever designed, at BoardGameGeek. I also have other games approved for publication.

I was an external developer for the giant card game Magic: the Gathering, for many years. I was a member of a global team of five people chosen to do last-minute card designs.

What is this site?

This site teaches you how to design board games that people will love, or that a publisher would want to publish.

Many board game design websites I see are troves of analysis. These sites just explain how things are. Others give lots of general advice, and best practice. Many relate specific stories that yield no general advice. Some go no further than pointless abstractions and theory.

I wrote this site because I see a lack of comprehensive, actionable advice for aspiring board game designers.

In this site, I tell you what to do.

This site was mostly written during 2018. It was published in 2023, after the success of Radlands. I rewrite it most years.

No one has any business telling you how to design games, unless they're a successful game designer themselves.

Many of the books and resources on game design were created by people who are not successful game designers. Radlands has been a hit, but it's my only one. You can choose whether or not my advice therefore merits consideration.

I could've published this site as a book instead, and maybe made some money. However, a book is an unnecessary, obsolete, and inconvenient format. I'd rather have lots of people read my writing, than make a few dollars.

I can afford to give away my advice for free. I make money by actually making games.

How to create a board game

There are two parts to a game. There's the mechanics (e.g. trading, collecting sets, rolling dice). There's also the theme (e.g. being a pirate, managing a supermarket, flying a spaceship).

Board game design is iterative. You come up with an idea, you create a playable prototype of the game, and then you play it with someone. From that playtest, you learn things, and you modify your game. Then, you play it again. You repeat this process many, many times, until the game is great. Anyone can make a game in an afternoon. Making a great game takes months or years of revision.

There is no manual that can teach you exactly how to create a great board game, just like there's no manual that can teach you exactly how to write a great book.

Board game design sits at the intersection of logic and psychology.

Game design is far too complex to be fully understood or solved. I can give you my best advice, but it's just a raised platform you'll still need to skilfully build upon. Most of your expertise will come from your own practice and reflection, and a huge amount of trial and error.

Board game design is still in its infancy.

Serious business

I've written this site for people who are serious about board game design, as most designers are.

I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm still ahead of almost everyone else. The things I say are not necessarily correct, or appropriate for you. However, following this site as though it were correct, is a great place to start.

This site is just my opinion. But be warned: it's my brutally honest opinion.

I'll tell you exactly what I think, including things polite people won't tell you.

Some of what I have to say is directed not at your game, but at you, and at designers in general. I'll also be going into the harsh realities that must be faced by those who wish to be successful in this industry.

Some of my advice lines up with common wisdom. Most doesn't.

This site is not a scattering of thoughts. These articles cover my entire design methodology, and amount to a complete course in board game design.

AI was not used to write or edit this site. AI was used for coding, checking for errors, and occasional research.

Reading this site

This site is written to be understandable by people who are not board game enthusiasts.

If you don't know about the booming industry of modern board games, start here. If you already know about this, please continue.

Let's begin.