Originally written: October, 2002. Latest update: January, 2012
NOTE: these articles are primarily aimed at aspiring game
designers, but many of the concepts described herein also apply
to those who aspire to other types of jobs in the game industry.
This article is subject to changes and improvements; reader
comments are welcome. Some paid links which used to be in this
article have been removed. Designing a paper game can be an end
in itself (to make a game you can enjoy among friends and
family), a business venture (to create a product for sale), or
even as a prototype for an electronic game. As to the latter,
there's an excellent article on Gamasutra -
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050913/sigman_01.shtml.
Whereas an electronic game usually requires a large team of
creative people, board games and card games can be created by a
solitary inventor. It's much easier to create a board game than
a video game. But along with the enhanced ease go other
challenges - nothing is ever as easy as we might wish.