Cody Thompson and I continue talking about how we're preparing for the Simple Elegance contest. We talk about how our first (crude) prototypes worked and what we're going to work on for the next episode.

Andy Lajoie talks about some of the changes he made in his game:

• How he tracked the score in the game
• How he hired an artist
• & how to connect with your community

Cody Thompson and myself start a new series on the Simple Elegance contest on The Game Crafter.

In this episode we chat about ideas for the contest, components, costs, and why we're doing this whole series.

Join us!

Justin Blaske has designed a bunch of games and has even redesigned a published game. Learn about

* How you can build a world for your game

* How to setup a committed playtesting group

* And how to mull on an idea for a week and just magically make an amazing game (okay maybe he doesn't tell you exactly how to do this but it's in there anyway)

Jonathan Woodard shares how he became super connected in the board game space. Specifically he shares:

* What a catch sheet is & why you want one

* How to turn a negative into a positive

* and some classic Ameritrash games

And of course his game Potemkin Empire which is on Kickstarter.

I get to chat to Brian Compter who designed a micro card game. He shares:

Where he's inspired

When you should shelve a game

and the best prototyping tools

In this episode I chat to Lillian Medville who has a great TEDx talk. She talks about:

* How & why you can create a game to teach people

* How you can use a facilitator to create a game & then later remove the facilitator

* And why Twitter is better than other social networks

Michael Cofer joins us to talk about:

* Deception games - especially lightning quick ones

* Graphic design best practices & doing design for other companies

* Why you want pretty prototypes.

* As well as Inspecter Gadget!

Jay Cormier has designed a *ton* of games including:

* Belfort

* In the Hall of the Mountain King

* Junk Art

He shares advice on getting the most out of playtesting and chats about his playtesting journal.

Today I release an audio diary I've been keeping throughout the Fry Thief Kickstarter campaign.

I share the things that worked well, things that didn't work so well, and what I'd change with the next campaign.