GDC 2018 reveals first Board Game Design Day talks!

Now that everyone can register for Game Developers Conference 2018, organizers want to highlight some of the many fantastic talks and expert sessions that are being planned for the March event!

The popular Board Game Design Day is returning to GDC next year to help kick off the show, one of the many Bootcamps and Tutorials scheduled during the first two days of GDC (Monday and Tuesday, March 19th and 20th). 

To give you a taste of what you'll get during this day-long deep dive into what makes board games tick (and what game designers of all stripes can learn by studying them), organizers are excited to reveal the first two sessions taking place during the GDC 2018 Board Game Design Day.

Fantasy Flight Games' Andrew Fischer is coming to GDC 2018 to deliver a presentation on how to design a tabletop game that effectively integrates a mobile app, based on his own experience working on Fantasy Flight's co-op board game (pictured) Mansions of Madness.

His talk, "Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition: Postmortem of an App-Integrated Board Game', will share lessons the team learned while tackling this unique cross-genre of games and will detail the successes and failures in applying these learnings to this game and its expansions.

Also, Mars International president Geoff Engelstein will be giving a talk during the Board Game Design Day about the different types of randomness -- and how they can be used to delicious effect in game design.

During his session "White, Brown, and Pink: The Flavors of Tabletop Game Randomness" Engelstein will address a simple premise: Randomness is not equal. There are a variety of flavors, including white, brown, and pink noise, input randomness, and output randomness. 

According to Engelstein, because the impact of randomness is more visible in tabletop games, using the appropriate technique is critical to generate the desired player experience. Thus, his talk will examine the different types of randomness, when each is applicable, and how to generate and use them in a board game context. It promises to be fascinating, so don't miss it!

And of course, we've got lots more announcements to come in the weeks and months ahead. To stay up on the latest information about GDC 2018 visit the show's official website, and subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

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