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Andy D

@andydgames.bsky.social
56 followers 188 following 41 posts

Aspiring to be a good board game designer

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Reposted by Andy D
Erik AS 🔜 Spiel Essen @eanderssonsunden.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I want to thank all the designers and illustrators behind the site www.game-icons.net. That is an awesome way to build a first working prototype as you engage in game design. I'm so grateful for this rich set of game icons!
game-icons.net
4180 free SVG and PNG icons for your games or apps | Game-icons.net
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Congrats to the winners!
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
I don't like making videos 😔 You do a great job with your videos
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Best line from a board game review I watched today, about Railroad Tiles, "the difficulty scales directly with greed." The harder you push for points, the more tangled and punishing the game gets. Push gently, and it stays gentle. The player sets the dial. (via Shut Up & Sit Down's Youtube video)
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Both are valid. But the second one is rarer, and I think it's what people actually mean when they say a cozy game 'just hits different'. What do you refer to when you say a game is cozy?
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Two: cozy as design philosophy. Tokaido (2012) is the example. Player furthest back goes next. Food cards dwindle as players arrive at each rest stop. Pressure exists but it's just gentle, and every rule earns its place.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
One: cozy as vibe. Soft art, low stakes, no one gets eliminated. Wingspan, Stardew. Genuinely lovely.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Watched a video today by The Cardboard Herald that put words to something I had been circling: the word 'cozy' in board game design is doing two different jobs, and we keep mixing them up.
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Reposted by Andy D
Exeunt Press 💀🎲 @exeunt.press · 28/04/2026
I'm teaching a free game design class this weekend! It's a crash course in topics like player agency, types of players, thematic scope and resolution, and game arcs. We'll even practice pitching our games! Near Baltimore, MD. No registration required. #boardgames #ttrpg #baltimore 🎲✂️
Program Type: Games
Audience: Teens (Ages 11+), Adults
Program Description
Event Details
An introduction to designing your own board game or roleplaying game! You’ll learn about: theme vs. mechanisms, engaging player experiences, and how to bring your game to life. For anyone who has considered making a game or just enjoys playing them. No experience required -- just curiosity about game design!

Hosted by John Mulligan. 

John Mulligan is an ENNIE-nominated independent tabletop game designer. His published games blend the storytelling of roleplaying games (TTRPGs) with the mechanisms of board games. He also writes at Skeleton Code Machine, exploring tabletop game design and inspiration.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I just backed Nothing But Net: A Playground Basketball Card Game on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/hp1...
kickstarter.com
Nothing But Net: A Playground Basketball Card Game
Bring the intensity of pick-up basketball to your table in Nothing But Net, a fast-paced head-to-head card game for 2 players.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 21/04/2026
The second weekend of Cardboard Edison Award finalist judging is in the books! Pics from the event in the 🧵
Logo for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award.
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Geoff Engelstein - The Universe Explained with Cookie out now! @gengelstein.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Update on Lizzie Studio, the upcoming free open source virtual tabletop tool for designers. You can now create dice templates and dynamically generate dice based on a spreadsheet! Great for games with different dice types like Quarriors. youtu.be/ruOhhbZh9fg?...
youtu.be
Lizzie: Templating Dice
YouTube video by Geoffrey Engelstein
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
First playtest completed of my 18-card no-shuffling game. It went pretty decent I would say. The scoring was a bit off, and the card design needs to improve a bit. But it's looking positive, so will continue to work on it.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Congrats @miasmacorp.bsky.social & @wehrlegig.games
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Lovely pictures of some cool games!
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Cole Wehrle 🔜 Essen @colewehrle.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
It was nice to get back to work properly on An Infamous Traffic at #CircleDC I had missed working on economic games!
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 10/04/2026
And the last finalist prototype to arrive for this year’s Cardboard Edison Award is Limelight by Cameron Fleming. Appropriate since today is “opening night” for the first Award judging event!
Limelight prototype: trays of cards, tokens, cash bits, playbills, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 11/04/2026
Judging has begun! Here are the prototypes for all 20 finalists in the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award! Details about all of them are available at cardboardedison.com/award
Shelves holding all 20 Cardboard Edison Award finalists.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
😍
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 09/04/2026
The next finalist for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award to arrive: Wunderkammer by @roscoschock.bsky.social, where we’ll be bidding in simultaneous silent auctions in multiple dimensions! cardboardedison.com/award
Wunderkammer prototype: board, tiles, and bidding tokens.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 10/04/2026
The next finalist for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award to arrive is the first in the contest’s 11 years to come with a ring box: The Wedding Planner by José Lema! cardboardedison.com/award
Prototype of The Wedding Planner: player aids, power cards, various bits, rulebook, “thank you” and “you’re invited” cards, markers, a ring box, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 10/04/2026
The next arrival in the finalists for this year’s Cardboard Edison Award is Hybrid Hijinks by Jena Kreese, where we’ll be creating crazy animal hybrids that double as configurable player powers! cardboardedison.com/award
Prototype for Hybrid Hijinks: map, cards, and a bag filled with bits.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 10/04/2026
Here’s 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist The Leftovers by Larry Ted McBride, where magical foodfolk cooperate to build decks and take tricks! cardboardedison.com/award
The Leftovers prototype: player mats, guidebooks, cards, chits, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 06/04/2026
Cardboard Edison Award finalist StrongHolds by Nelson de Castro has arrived! These stickered magnetic tiles will be used to build and knock down castles!
StrongHolds prototype: just a big ol’ brick of stickered magnetic tiles.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 06/04/2026
What? Oh nothing, just preparing to summon a demon tree in 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist The Roots of All Evil by Dean Burry…
Prototype for The Roots of All Evil: cards, tokens in four colors, and a 3D demon tree.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I have an idea for the contest. Mess Makers - Play as roommates as you try to clean, dirty and hide mess in three different rooms.
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
So I have an idea for the Button Shy No Shuffling challenge. buttonshygames.com/blogs/news-1... Mess Makers - Play as roommates as you try to clean, dirty and hide mess in three different rooms.
buttonshygames.com
The 18 Card Challenge: No Shuffling
Ever have a game where you won – or lost – because a key card came up at the exact right time? Maybe it was dealt to you at setup or the luck of the draw landed in your favor at the moment of victory....
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
So many interesting board game design contests happening at the same time. It's a fun time to be a designer.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 05/04/2026
Next arrival for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist judging: Possessions by Dan Nichols, where ghostly players have one hour to complete their unfinished business!
Possessions prototype: rules, dice, cards, mats, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 31/03/2026
The next Cardboard Edison Award finalist to arrive? Moonforge by Pawel Owsianka—mining asteroids and forming new moons in just 90 minutes! cardboardedison.com/award
Moonforge prototype: planet tiles, action cards, mining tiles, cubes of various colors, reference sheets, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 02/04/2026
The latest finalist for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award to arrive is Astrolabe by Yasaman Farazan! And yes, those rotating astrolabes spin exactly as you’d expect them to. cardboardedison.com/award
Astrolabe prototype: astrolabes with concentric rotating rings, player mats, board, cards, a seeing eye token, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 29/03/2026
The next 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist arrival: Match Patch by @jackrrosen.bsky.social! Getting ready for some simultaneous crop harvesting! cardboardedison.com/award
Match Patch prototype: stacks of crop cards, power cards, player tiles, colored discs, cubes, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 28/03/2026
The next of the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalists to arrive is a freshly printed prototype of the cooperative resistance game Goa Kranti by @andydgames.bsky.social! cardboardedison.com/award
Goa Kranti prototype: boards, score tracks, cards, unpunched tokens, and a bag of dice and pawns.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 28/03/2026
The next finalist in the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award to arrive is PiramiDuel by Guillermo Viciano, Diego Ibañez & Juanjo Quintero! So many scoring conditions! cardboardedison.com/award
PiramiDuel prototype: tiles with various scoring conditions, a bag of dice, some cubes, and the rulebook.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 27/03/2026
Next arrival among the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalists: Deductive Seasoning by @ericledger.bsky.social! And yes, that chart you see is of course the Periodic Table of Flavor. cardboardedison.com/award
Deductive Seasoning prototype: dry-erase boards with periodic-table-like charts, markers, cards, player screens, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 25/03/2026
Next arrival for 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist judging: Let’s go deep-sea diving in Midnight Spawn by Jayson Farrell! cardboardedison.com/award
Midnight Spawn prototype: large board, lots of cards fanned out, player tokens in four colors, and other bits in baggies.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 25/03/2026
The next 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist to arrive is Braggin’ Wranglers by @bumblepie-games.bsky.social. Time to get our lassoes ready!
Braggin’ Wranglers prototype: lassoes, animal tokens, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 22/03/2026
The next finalist for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award has arrived! It's the polyomino, bone-transportation pick-up-and-deliver game Catacombes de Paris by @phoenicks.bsky.social!
Prototype of Catacombes de Paris: boards, carts, polyomino and other tiles, and more.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 18/03/2026
The next finalist for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award has arrived! It’s the push-your-luck dice game Ladybugs by Michael Posada!
Prototype for Ladybugs: red and green dice; red, blue, and yellow cards; and rulebook.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 17/03/2026
The second 2026 Cardboard Edison Award finalist to arrive is Black Ruth of Dogtown by @kddgames.bsky.social! It was handed off to us in person at Unpub this past weekend! Details at cardboardedison.com/award
Prototype for Black Ruth of Dogtown: a large player mat, rulebook, sigil cards, portent cards, and other bits.
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Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 08/03/2026
The first finalist for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award has arrived: Hatchlings by Alan Leduc! (Pretty fast for a game about turtles…) Details at cardboardedison.com/award
Hatchlings rulebook, board, cards, mini turtle pawns, egg shells, and other bits
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Unpub @unpub.org · 26/02/2026
If you asked to be emailed about the 2026 UTMP Session, you're about to get an email! f.mtr.cool/xuagntkcev
Unpub Tabletop Mentorship Program (UTMP) logo
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Thanks Jo
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Ever since I was aware of the Cardboard Edison Award I always wanted to end up as a finalist at least and in 2026 that desire was fulfilled. Goa Kranti has been selected as a finalist for the Cardboard Edison Award. @cardboardedison.com Find the 19 other amazing games at cardboardedison.com/award
cardboardedison.com
Cardboard Edison Award — Cardboard Edison
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Looks fun!
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
Congrats @xoe.gay
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Tabletop Game Designers Association @ttgda.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Nayakas by TTGDA member andydgames.bsky.social is a worker placement game for 2–4 players and works to capture the spirit of India’s feudal kingdoms after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire through simple yet strategic gameplay. Find out more information here: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/44...
andydgames.bsky.social
Andy D (@andydgames.bsky.social)
Aspiring to be a good board game designer
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
Thank you @neomeeple.bsky.social
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Andy D @andydgames.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
It's here!! My worker-placement game based on the Vijayanagara Empire, NAYAKAS, was launched last week. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/44...
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