Top 5 Tips for Designing a Reference Card

Today we attempt to define what a reference card is, which isn’t as easy as you may think, and then we pull them apart and figure out which games need them and how to design them clearly. Then we end with a Top 5 list of tips to make your reference card better. Here are some questions and topics we discuss:

  • Which games do we wish had them that do not?
  • Which games have them but don’t need them?
  • Do we need one for each player?
  • The psychological effect of having a reference card.
  • Can a game be too simple to have a reference card?
  • The cost of a reference card.

Top 5 Tips for Designing a Reference Card:
#5) No Walls of Text
#4) Use 1 Double-Sided Reference Card
#3) White Space is Your Friend
#2) Make Them Visually Distinct
#1) Use Symbols

 

Podcast/Audio Version: http://traffic.libsyn.com/theforbiddenlimb/BGBP057.mp3

 

 

Designer Tools Galore

Today we go through a quick overview of each iteration of our design process from a tool perspective. We discuss which of these tools work well and which ones we’ve used in the past. We also cover some of the software we use to stay connected to our designer partners. See the list below of everything we mention!

Audiohttp://traffic.libsyn.com/theforbiddenlimb/BGBP053.mp3

Resources

Magic Drafting Primer

Today I am going over a Magic drafting primer so new drafters can have a foundation on which to build and veterans can compare their drafting technique to mine.  Lately, the most popular technique is B.R.E.A.D., so I will use that as a basis, while discussing when to stick to it and when to stray from it.  Magic is huge, so I will be talking about this in terms of the core set, but I am staying fairly general so that this will be applicable to other sets too.  Check out the full analysis and video here!