The man who’s designed over 700 board games: Meet Reiner Knizia

When the master speaks, the disciples listen. =)



#GoGamers

Ten ideas from Reiner Knizia about playtesting

Reiner Knizia is one of the biggest names in game design around the world. The German game designer is a mathematician and has his name associated to more than 700 games launched in many different countries. I had the honor to talk personally to Knizia in 2011, at DIGRA’s conference in Hilversun (Netherlands) and I watched a great keynote about the game designing process in the same event.



On that occasion, I gave Knizia my board game, YN, and had the opportunity to talk a little bit with him (a great achievement for my game designer career).

I follow Knizia in social media and I’m always taking notes about the knowledge on game design he shares on those platforms. In this post, I will reproduce 10 ideas Knizia showed recently on Twitter about playtesting (one of the most fundamental topics in the game designing process). Below, I listed the 10 points. Follow him by clicking here.

Playtesting 1. Those who do not play do not live. Those who do not playtest do not design.

Playtesting 2. Designs always work perfectly in your mind. The first playtest is the (often cruel) moment of truth.

Playtesting 3. Regardless of how much experience you have, you cannot develop a game on the drawing board – only at the playing table.

Playtesting 4. Game design is a classic iterative process of playing and improving – nowadays popularised as “design thinking”.

Playtesting 5. When your playtesters do not like your design, (usually) your design is to blame – not your playtesters.

Playtesting 6. I recognise good playtesters by my (frequent) urge to strangle them.

Playtesting 7. For your design to appeal to one group, test with one group. For your design to have broad appeal, test with many groups.

Playtesting 8. You can make (most) designs interesting through your play-talk - but when published, your design needs to speak for itself.

Playtesting 9. Blind playtesting, without you taking part, is as useful as other people going on a rollercoaster and reporting their experience.

Playtesting 10. When you have playtested your design to perfection, let it rest some time, then play again. – Expect to be surprised!

#GoGamers

The importance of feedback loops (infographic)

Knowledge from Reiner Knizia

Some good stuff from the Twitter of Reiner Knizia, one of my favorites game designers:

1.) My First Principle of Game Design: Start somewhere new and you have the greatest chance to end up somewhere new!

2.) Lead a game to worldwide success: keep it simple that people understand it; make it different that people recognize it; but keep it familiar.

3.) To design good games, you need peace in your heart - even for a first-person shooter.

Follow Knizia on Twitter (@ReinerKnizia), click here.

A quote from Reiner Knizia

I really like the work of this guy. Knizia is one of my favorites game designers. Born in Germany, he developed his first game at the age of eight (!). He has a PhD in mathematics, and has been a full-time game designer since 1997, when he quit his job from the board of a large international bank. Knizia has been living in England since 1993.

This quote below has a good concept about game design:

“When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning.” ― Reiner Knizia

Think about it.

Szia!

Interview with game designer Reiner Knizia (DIGRA 2011)

Games need to reflect our high-paced way of life. That’s what Reiner Knizia thinks. And if there’s someone who knows about these things, it’s Knizia. He designed over 200 games. Mostly board games, for which he received numerous awards. Submarine Channel talked to the enthusiastic game designer about the new dynamics of today’s games.

Board game designer Reiner Knizia interview from SubmarineChannel on Vimeo.

This interview was recorded at the THINK DESIGN PLAY // 5th DiGRA Conference on games and play, 2011.

Think about it

"Games are a mirror of our lives and times." - Reiner Knizia (at DIGRA 2011)