The Board Game Design Course

When I was 12 years old, my mom surprised me one day when she came home from the local arena and told me she’d signed me up for hockey.

What?!?!

I hadn’t ever played organized hockey. I liked shooting the puck around on the little rink we had in our backyard, but I was hardly a hockey player, and I was definitely not a great skater.

So, needless to say, I was a little excited, but a LOT nervous!

I had friends who played hockey and I knew they were way better than me. I was pretty worried that I would embarrass myself out there.

Fortunately, I had some great coaches who helped me become a lot better than I expected.

But what the heck does this have to do with game design, you ask?

Don’t worry. I’m getting there…

 

Process, practice, encouragement

The first thing you learn from a great coach is a process.

There are plenty of different ways to go about doing things, but many of them will waste your time and won’t give you the desired outcome. With a great coach, you’ll learn how to get something done more efficiently and with better results.

In hockey, I learned how to get in position, give and take a pass, and how to shoot the puck in a way that might actually give me a chance to score. ?

A coach will also make you practice.

I don’t know how many times I practiced shooting a puck, but I do know that to this day, despite the fact that I rarely play hockey, I still have a quick, hard wrist shot.

I didn’t get good at this by reading a book or talking about it. I got good at shooting because I learned how to do it right and practiced it a ton. My coaches also eliminated all the bad habits I had picked up while trying to figure this out on my own.

However, I didn’t have much of a slapshot.

But that’s okay. My coaches saw my strengths and encouraged me to keep working on what I did well, rather than focusing on my weaknesses.

I was never going to make it to the NHL, that was clear! But my coaches encouraged me to do my best and helped me develop my strengths.

 

A great coach can come in many forms

I’ve learned so much from a number of coaches in different areas of my life. Some have been formal coaches (Self-Publishing School, business coaches, hockey, soccer, baseball, swimming, skating, etc.) and others have been leaders who have just taken me under their wing and made me better at what I was doing (workplace, music, sketch comedy writing, game design).

But in every instance, I’ve improved immensely by standing on the shoulders of giants and learning from others with a lot more experience and wisdom than myself.

 

You need to invest in yourself

In business, many people have made their fortunes in many different ways.

Oil. Railroads. Banking. You name it.

Yet, one thing that is common among them all…

Every single one of them invested in themselves. They surrounded themselves with others who had more experience so that they could improve a lot faster.

In the past 3 years alone, I’ve invested $20,264 in myself between books, courses, membership sites, and coaching programs.

$20,264. Seems like a lot, right? Especially for someone who has been designing games and teaching game design for well over a year now full-time, with no additional income!

However, this is what I’ve gained as a result:

• I learned how to write and publish a book, which has become a #1 best-seller
• I’ve improved my board game design skills and have signed 4 games with publishers in the past year
• I grew my game designer email list from nothing to over 1,100 subscribers in less than a year
• I launched The Board Game Design Course for new game designers
• I landed a gig teaching Game Design and Development at Wilfrid Laurier University
• I’m happier than I’ve ever been, doing what I love for a living

I’d say it was well worth the investment!

I’ve definitely invested in myself, and I will continue to invest in myself to become a better game designer and instructor, so that I can help other game designers just like you even more.

If you truly want to get better at something, the best and fastest way is by finding a great coach and learning everything you can from that person. It’s so worth the investment.

 

Take the next step

You can only improve so much by doing something over and over the same way.

At some point, if you want to get better and advance to the next level, you need help. You need to invest in yourself and learn from someone with more experience. Someone who’s been there before, faced the same struggles as you, and has come out on top.

Enrollment for The Creation to Publication Program opens at 10 AM EST this morning. That’s less than 2 hours from now.

Here is the page with all the info.

This will be your chance to finally advance your game and find that publisher you’ve been dying to meet. The one who can’t wait to sign your game.

The small investment you make now will easily be paid off (and then some) if you follow all the steps in the program and get your game signed with a publisher.

I can’t wait to see you inside The Creation to Publication Program!

Have you ever had someone take the time to really coach and help you with something? What did they help you with, and what was the result?