Have you ever played a board game and said “It would be better if X happened”? Why might the designer have made the decisions they did? How do you start to design your own game with these ideas in mind?

In this two-day class, we will be looking at the principles of deck-building card game design, using a team-based card-modding activity for THE original deck builder, Dominion, by Vlaada Chvatil. From resource types and cost-benefit analysis, to discussions of emotion and theme in games, this crash-course will introduce participants to how to look at an existing game, figure out how it ticks, and to tweak mechanisms to create new play experiences. By the end of the workshop, you’ll know how to play and talk about a deck-building game, and have ideas to modify it to start making your own games!

No prior knowledge of Dominion or deck-building games is necessary, and all materials will be provided. If you want to read the rules for Dominion ahead of time, they can be found at Rio Grande Games page:

Dominion Rules Link

Michael Epstein is a board game designer, game publisher, retail game events coordinator, and game player originally from Lexington, MA. As Copper Frog Games LLC, he has published 3 tabletop games, and has consulted with other companies on game development, marketing, and publishing. You can find his games and game accessories at https://www.copperfroggames.com or at Omar’s World of Comics in Lexington Center.