Overwhelmed: Committing to Board Game Design

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Hello to everyone who is still following this blog! I have to admit, part of me is surprised that I have kept this page running even after I stopped posting regularly. I suppose part of it is due to laziness, another part stubbornness, but the main reason is that I have always wanted to find the time to build back up to posting about board games on a regular basis. Ultimately, I have had a lot of changes in my life over the last few years that have prevented me from doing that, but I have decided that in 2020 I will give it another shot.

In my first post back, I wanted to highlight something that has been giving me a level of anxiety for quite some time now. As I have written about in previous posts, I came up with an idea for a board game that I have spent multiple years tweaking, play-testing, and trying to mold into something that can be published in the future. Of course, the game is still not perfect- I have had some play-testers help me with tweaks and I made some pretty significant rule changes over the past few months- but I have found myself hitting a wall trying to decide where to go from here.

One thing that I have learned about myself is that I have trouble finishing projects that I start- I have an idea that I love and I work it to the point where I get tired of it and do something else. I have trouble committing to an idea and getting it past the finish line, and in this regard I think that board game design is my nemesis. There is so much that goes into creating a board game: creating the rules, play-testing, graphic design, manufacturing, reviews, funding… it’s all very overwhelming. I see some of the projects on Kickstarter and wonder if I can ever come close to that level of quality with my game. But I also look back at the time I have spent on Star Crashing so far and don’t regret it, because I do believe that this could be a game that is a lot of fun.

So I guess, I am writing this post for a few reasons. First and foremost, if any of you are feeling overwhelmed with a project or a goal, I hope you know that you’re not alone. Everyone struggles in life and things that are worth working hard for don’t come easy. Second, I am hoping that fellow board game designers, or aspiring designers, see this and feel compelled to offer their advice in the comments below. And finally, this is a long-winded way of saying that I am going to get back in the blog posting game! Hopefully you will all be reading a lot more from me as I try to get back to my reviews, musings, and board game development updates. So Happy 2020 everyone, let’s get to it!

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