Ross Esmond
@ross-esmond.bsky.social
Good Programmer, wannabe Board Game Designer, Math... Enthusiast, and half decent Technical Writer.
Trading in competitive games is awkward, because theoretically some player is always getting a worse deal. The games that make trading work tend to "sweeten the pot" somehow, like how Zoo Vadis gives you 1 free laurel for helping an opponent out with a vote (on top of whatever they give you for it).
October 17, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Trading in competitive games is awkward, because theoretically some player is always getting a worse deal. The games that make trading work tend to "sweeten the pot" somehow, like how Zoo Vadis gives you 1 free laurel for helping an opponent out with a vote (on top of whatever they give you for it).
There's a point where a board game prototype becomes "fun enough" that play testing it is not a burden or a favor; it's just playing a fun but incomplete game.
I think getting to that point should probably be the initial goal of #BoardGameDesign, well before content, balance, or aesthetics.
🎲✂️
I think getting to that point should probably be the initial goal of #BoardGameDesign, well before content, balance, or aesthetics.
🎲✂️
October 6, 2025 at 12:58 PM
There's a point where a board game prototype becomes "fun enough" that play testing it is not a burden or a favor; it's just playing a fun but incomplete game.
I think getting to that point should probably be the initial goal of #BoardGameDesign, well before content, balance, or aesthetics.
🎲✂️
I think getting to that point should probably be the initial goal of #BoardGameDesign, well before content, balance, or aesthetics.
🎲✂️
This is the single most valuable thing I've learned about #BoardGameDesign so far, and it's not even close.
When a player has to make a choice in a strategy game, the "best" option should depend on the state of the rest of the game.
I wrote about this more at rossongames.com/choices
🎲✂️
When a player has to make a choice in a strategy game, the "best" option should depend on the state of the rest of the game.
I wrote about this more at rossongames.com/choices
🎲✂️
The Structure of Player Choices.
How the state of the game should affect the value of the player's options.
rossongames.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This is the single most valuable thing I've learned about #BoardGameDesign so far, and it's not even close.
When a player has to make a choice in a strategy game, the "best" option should depend on the state of the rest of the game.
I wrote about this more at rossongames.com/choices
🎲✂️
When a player has to make a choice in a strategy game, the "best" option should depend on the state of the rest of the game.
I wrote about this more at rossongames.com/choices
🎲✂️
#boardgamedesign
If you have an Upkeep phase that should happen in-between rounds, put it at the end of the round, not the start. I read rulebooks that put it at the start, then say "Skip this phase on the first round." If it's supposed to go in-between, present it as going after the round.
If you have an Upkeep phase that should happen in-between rounds, put it at the end of the round, not the start. I read rulebooks that put it at the start, then say "Skip this phase on the first round." If it's supposed to go in-between, present it as going after the round.
September 25, 2025 at 4:55 PM
#boardgamedesign
If you have an Upkeep phase that should happen in-between rounds, put it at the end of the round, not the start. I read rulebooks that put it at the start, then say "Skip this phase on the first round." If it's supposed to go in-between, present it as going after the round.
If you have an Upkeep phase that should happen in-between rounds, put it at the end of the round, not the start. I read rulebooks that put it at the start, then say "Skip this phase on the first round." If it's supposed to go in-between, present it as going after the round.
🎲✂️ I've noticed that whenever a game really wants me to try and guess what another player has or has selected, the game will only give players 5 or fewer things to pick from:
* Coup: 5 characters to have
* Planet X: 4 theory tokens to place
* Race for the Galaxy: 5 phases to pick
* Coup: 5 characters to have
* Planet X: 4 theory tokens to place
* Race for the Galaxy: 5 phases to pick
September 20, 2025 at 1:31 PM
🎲✂️ I've noticed that whenever a game really wants me to try and guess what another player has or has selected, the game will only give players 5 or fewer things to pick from:
* Coup: 5 characters to have
* Planet X: 4 theory tokens to place
* Race for the Galaxy: 5 phases to pick
* Coup: 5 characters to have
* Planet X: 4 theory tokens to place
* Race for the Galaxy: 5 phases to pick
Whenever I start to get carried away with a theme idea I like to remind myself that one of the most popular board games is a racing game where the hook is that you have to manage your engine temperature.
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign
September 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Whenever I start to get carried away with a theme idea I like to remind myself that one of the most popular board games is a racing game where the hook is that you have to manage your engine temperature.
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign
A little while back I posted a picture of my spray painted custom dice. This is my process for making them, if anyone wanted to avoid a lot of the trial and error.
rossongames.com/custom-dice
#BoardgameDesign
rossongames.com/custom-dice
#BoardgameDesign
Making Custom Dice (and other pieces)
My guide to building custom dice.
rossongames.com
August 26, 2025 at 1:02 PM
A little while back I posted a picture of my spray painted custom dice. This is my process for making them, if anyone wanted to avoid a lot of the trial and error.
rossongames.com/custom-dice
#BoardgameDesign
rossongames.com/custom-dice
#BoardgameDesign
Spirit Island is one of my favorite games, and what impresses me the most is how many distinct player characters it supports. I've spent a lot of time figuring out how it does this, and wrote it all down in an article.
rossongames.com/spirit-islan...
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
rossongames.com/spirit-islan...
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
How Spirit Island supports so many spirits.
Some of the reasons why Spirit Island can have so many player characters to choose from.
rossongames.com
August 18, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Spirit Island is one of my favorite games, and what impresses me the most is how many distinct player characters it supports. I've spent a lot of time figuring out how it does this, and wrote it all down in an article.
rossongames.com/spirit-islan...
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
rossongames.com/spirit-islan...
🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
I noticed a really common pattern in co-op board games where players have to split their time between urgent tasks—which prevent a loss—and important tasks—which win the game.
I wrote more about it in an article.
🎲 ✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
rossongames.com/urgent-impor...
I wrote more about it in an article.
🎲 ✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
rossongames.com/urgent-impor...
Urgent & Important Tasks in Coop Games
The structure of many cooperative board games.
rossongames.com
August 16, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I noticed a really common pattern in co-op board games where players have to split their time between urgent tasks—which prevent a loss—and important tasks—which win the game.
I wrote more about it in an article.
🎲 ✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
rossongames.com/urgent-impor...
I wrote more about it in an article.
🎲 ✂️ #boardgamedesign #boardgames
rossongames.com/urgent-impor...
🎲 ✂️ Does anyone know of a spray finish for chipboard game boards that will make cards slide well on it.
Basically the exact same thing as published board games, where the game boards don't have too much friction. I have mod podge but I suspect there might be something closer.
Basically the exact same thing as published board games, where the game boards don't have too much friction. I have mod podge but I suspect there might be something closer.
July 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
🎲 ✂️ Does anyone know of a spray finish for chipboard game boards that will make cards slide well on it.
Basically the exact same thing as published board games, where the game boards don't have too much friction. I have mod podge but I suspect there might be something closer.
Basically the exact same thing as published board games, where the game boards don't have too much friction. I have mod podge but I suspect there might be something closer.
Invented state is a useful board game mechanic to keep in the back pocket. It usually involves tokens placed on a card, but it goes:
* You may like this post.
* A like on this post is a Demeanor Charge.
* You may spend the Demeanor Charge from this post to disappoint Ross 😕.
#BoardGameDesign 🎲✂️
* You may like this post.
* A like on this post is a Demeanor Charge.
* You may spend the Demeanor Charge from this post to disappoint Ross 😕.
#BoardGameDesign 🎲✂️
July 20, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Invented state is a useful board game mechanic to keep in the back pocket. It usually involves tokens placed on a card, but it goes:
* You may like this post.
* A like on this post is a Demeanor Charge.
* You may spend the Demeanor Charge from this post to disappoint Ross 😕.
#BoardGameDesign 🎲✂️
* You may like this post.
* A like on this post is a Demeanor Charge.
* You may spend the Demeanor Charge from this post to disappoint Ross 😕.
#BoardGameDesign 🎲✂️
🎲✂️ I tried every method for producing custom dice that I could think of—hand drawn stickers, printer stickers, a label maker, iron on paper—but the best method by far has been spray painting with a silicone stencil. It was faster and produced much better results. I'll have to post my full process.
June 26, 2025 at 2:58 PM
🎲✂️ I tried every method for producing custom dice that I could think of—hand drawn stickers, printer stickers, a label maker, iron on paper—but the best method by far has been spray painting with a silicone stencil. It was faster and produced much better results. I'll have to post my full process.
Something I've noticed about "positive" player interactions is that they tend to not invalidate a player's plan for a turn, which can reduce downtime.
If someone takes my resources, my plan might become impossible, but if I gain a resource, that can't happen. #boardgames #boardgamedesign 🎲✂️🧵
If someone takes my resources, my plan might become impossible, but if I gain a resource, that can't happen. #boardgames #boardgamedesign 🎲✂️🧵
May 26, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Something I've noticed about "positive" player interactions is that they tend to not invalidate a player's plan for a turn, which can reduce downtime.
If someone takes my resources, my plan might become impossible, but if I gain a resource, that can't happen. #boardgames #boardgamedesign 🎲✂️🧵
If someone takes my resources, my plan might become impossible, but if I gain a resource, that can't happen. #boardgames #boardgamedesign 🎲✂️🧵
How do you organize your icons so that they're synced across all of your #boardgamedesign assets? I use Affinity and I've cycled through separate documents linked, one document w/ symbols, one document linked, and now I'm considering artboards. It's a mess. 🎲✂️ #boardgames
May 25, 2025 at 8:06 PM
How do you organize your icons so that they're synced across all of your #boardgamedesign assets? I use Affinity and I've cycled through separate documents linked, one document w/ symbols, one document linked, and now I'm considering artboards. It's a mess. 🎲✂️ #boardgames
I just noticed something weird. A hand of cards is easier to pick up than a single card, and I don't fully understand why. If I have a card on the table, it's easier for me to drop a stack of cards on it and to pick those up than it is to just pick up the one card on its own. 🎲✂️
May 23, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I just noticed something weird. A hand of cards is easier to pick up than a single card, and I don't fully understand why. If I have a card on the table, it's easier for me to drop a stack of cards on it and to pick those up than it is to just pick up the one card on its own. 🎲✂️
I think a lot of new designers like myself would benefit from knowing about the Written Tone Problem—a term I just made up for a well documented effect.
We tend to read messages in the harshest tone possible, even if the writer was intending the kindest tone possible. 🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign 🧵 (1/4)
We tend to read messages in the harshest tone possible, even if the writer was intending the kindest tone possible. 🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign 🧵 (1/4)
April 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I think a lot of new designers like myself would benefit from knowing about the Written Tone Problem—a term I just made up for a well documented effect.
We tend to read messages in the harshest tone possible, even if the writer was intending the kindest tone possible. 🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign 🧵 (1/4)
We tend to read messages in the harshest tone possible, even if the writer was intending the kindest tone possible. 🎲✂️ #boardgamedesign 🧵 (1/4)
🎲✂️ How do you do task tracking? As in, if you find out that you need to make a change to your prototype before the next play test, how do you document that and mark it as completed?
March 26, 2025 at 2:49 PM
🎲✂️ How do you do task tracking? As in, if you find out that you need to make a change to your prototype before the next play test, how do you document that and mark it as completed?
🎲✂️ I've noticed other #boardgamedesign 's occasionally have some ambiguous characters, like 1, I, or l being indistinguishable. The easiest way to ensure this doesn't happen is to default to the Atkinson's Hyperlegible Next font, which I always start with. www.brailleinstitute.org/freefont/
March 22, 2025 at 1:25 PM
🎲✂️ I've noticed other #boardgamedesign 's occasionally have some ambiguous characters, like 1, I, or l being indistinguishable. The easiest way to ensure this doesn't happen is to default to the Atkinson's Hyperlegible Next font, which I always start with. www.brailleinstitute.org/freefont/
I've found that Hidden Rolls with Secret Info are a great way to keep from having one player be the Judge in your 🎲✂️. For example, Zendo (which I adore) has one player be the Master, who doesn't compete. Often times, however, you can replace a master with some sort of Imposter, like in Fake Artist.
February 22, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I've found that Hidden Rolls with Secret Info are a great way to keep from having one player be the Judge in your 🎲✂️. For example, Zendo (which I adore) has one player be the Master, who doesn't compete. Often times, however, you can replace a master with some sort of Imposter, like in Fake Artist.
When considering 🎲✂️ mechanics my mind keeps wondering back to the idea of a deck and tableau builder where your deck is the antagonist and your tableau is how you're dealing with it. Like the deck is a mutating virus and your tableau is your resources to deal with each upcoming hand from the deck.
February 15, 2025 at 1:25 PM
When considering 🎲✂️ mechanics my mind keeps wondering back to the idea of a deck and tableau builder where your deck is the antagonist and your tableau is how you're dealing with it. Like the deck is a mutating virus and your tableau is your resources to deal with each upcoming hand from the deck.
A lot of 🎲✂️ add resource upkeep before any player actions, like drawing cards or collecting income. A lot of published board games, however, use player actions instead—like how in Concordia there's a collect resources action, or in Wingspan there's a draw cards action—which eliminates this admin.
February 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM
A lot of 🎲✂️ add resource upkeep before any player actions, like drawing cards or collecting income. A lot of published board games, however, use player actions instead—like how in Concordia there's a collect resources action, or in Wingspan there's a draw cards action—which eliminates this admin.
I've noticed that a lot of games tune the player's "starting resources" to maximize the amount of viable first turn moves. If a player can choose between gaining money or spending money on their first turn, then the players is often given just enough money to make both options reasonable. 🎲✂️
January 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I've noticed that a lot of games tune the player's "starting resources" to maximize the amount of viable first turn moves. If a player can choose between gaining money or spending money on their first turn, then the players is often given just enough money to make both options reasonable. 🎲✂️
What useful things do you have near you while prototyping or brainstorming board games? 🎲✂️ On my desk I have digital calipers, a thing called a Heckadeck, regular decks, dice, little wood cubes, pawns, and of course little scraps of paper, index cards, and blank business cards.
January 13, 2025 at 2:29 PM
What useful things do you have near you while prototyping or brainstorming board games? 🎲✂️ On my desk I have digital calipers, a thing called a Heckadeck, regular decks, dice, little wood cubes, pawns, and of course little scraps of paper, index cards, and blank business cards.
Does anyone else like custom d6s as much as I do? With custom faces, you can lower the expected output of rolls, which keeps numbers like health pools small, and if they're also color-coded with at least one unique face, you can use skeuomorphic icons to represent them, reducing terminology. 🎲✂️
January 12, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Does anyone else like custom d6s as much as I do? With custom faces, you can lower the expected output of rolls, which keeps numbers like health pools small, and if they're also color-coded with at least one unique face, you can use skeuomorphic icons to represent them, reducing terminology. 🎲✂️
🎲✂️ There needs to be a term for linear functions with a negative y-intercept, like 1, 3, 5, 7, or just 0, 1, 2, 3. Like Triangle Numbers, their first "tick" is less impactful than every follow up, (dis)incentivizing specialization, but with a simpler scale. My pitch is "Subnaught Ascenders".
January 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
🎲✂️ There needs to be a term for linear functions with a negative y-intercept, like 1, 3, 5, 7, or just 0, 1, 2, 3. Like Triangle Numbers, their first "tick" is less impactful than every follow up, (dis)incentivizing specialization, but with a simpler scale. My pitch is "Subnaught Ascenders".