@arjanvanh
Tabletop game designer, psychologist, lecturer and more at Hanze Applied University. Founder of the Dutch Game Design Guild (Spellenmaakgilde.nl). Publisher of GRUNN and FRYSK, with museum expansions. arjanvanhouwelingen.com
A while back, I posted about my move to the Netherlands later this year. As part of that move, my family is also venturing into the world of tabletop game publishing through Hawk and Dove. I'd be honored if you would check us out and follow along on our journey!
March tabletop testing night 🙌 We had 40 participants, 10 of them designers, full house 😊
Nox heeft een mooie uitleg en review gemaakt van FRYSK ☺️ Helpt goed op weg om het spel te leren spelen!
youtu.be/ZBem_E4bYVg
Richard Garfield's been explaining how luck & skill are not opposites for well over a decade, but I still encounter designers & players who haven't internalized this lesson. I suspect it's the number one reason people tend to underrate the amount of strategy in lighter games.
Like betting on the movement (magical athlete), have multiple pawns to move (parcheesi) OR add combinations to be made and risk risk taking (can't stop, still happy with paying premium for getting the older the stop sign version.
So, it caaan be fun, but you better add something that gels with it?
They go to the one mechanic the know, and it one to understand well. And state of the game is VERY clear, who leads, who is behind. When there is not more to the game, then it is too predictable and... too lackluster. So you better add something that really pivots the experience...
I see a lot kids and adults when making their first game that they want to add surprises to the experience. And up to a point it IS fun to be surprised (get lucky, schadenfreude) by the outcome of a roll. The games then become straightforward, little variation in how to play (and little choice)...
Review of our game Obelisk :)
"What starts out as a seemingly simple card game quickly unfolds into a tactical building game in which timing and foresight are more important than luck alone."
www.brdgmz.nl/obelisk/obel...
Naast de jury prijs, stemmen de deelnemers van het seminar ook op hun favoriet en zorgen we dat er 2 winnaars zijn!
#play #seriousgame #educationalgame #facilitate #saganet #award
De SAGANET Rookie Award is weer aanstaande! Nieuwe serious games ontwerpers zijn van harte uitgenodigd om voor 15 maart hun spel in te sturen. En save the date: vrijdag 10 april zullen we een middag lang de beste games spelen.
www.saganet.nl/saganet-award/
We've done another one of our regular rounds of updates for the Compendium! Dozens of board game publishers have updated their profiles in the past few weeks! cardboardedison.com/directoryinfo
Tabletop Testing Night – 6 Maart/March
Vrijdag 6 maart is weer de volgende speltestavond! Wat er te spelen zal zijn is altijd een verrassing, maar de sfeer is gegarandeerd goed. Hieronder zie je de foto's van februari die dat ook illustreren. Meer details en opgeven: zie het formulier onder de…
agreed, and in Europe the SAZ offers the same service (and more) for members.
Tabletop testing night. Full house with 40 participants, half new folks! 🙌😊
Leuke review van The Great Art Robbery! We gaan weer naar het museum, maar met een pervers doel, steel de meeste schilderijen. Het is natuurlijk maar spel. ;-)
www.nox-spellenzolder.nl/video/the-gr...
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only
The Great Art Robbery, MNKY Entertainment
(j'ai fait les desssins du jeu )
Il sort très bientot. Quelle coincidence!
🚀 Community, Coffee, and Connections: Dutch Games Association x Hanze Pop-up Lunch!
With over 80 attendees, the room was buzzing with conversations ranging from the latest industry trends to shared projects and career advice. We look forward to the next one at CMGT Hanze :-)
Leuke recensie van FRYSK in het Noordhollands Dagblad 😊
www.speloptafel.nl/spelauteurpr...
De juryvragenlijst is uitgestuurd, 82 (!!) spellen op de lijst
Snapshot of the top portion of three of Cardboard Edison's reports on board game publishing contracts.
HEY BOARD GAME DESIGNERS! We're updating our reports on publishing contracts! If you've signed a game with a publisher in the past 5 years, let us know (our Gmail is our name) and we'll send you the anonymous survey. See our past reports here: cardboardedison.com/reports And please spread the word!
Ah and what was your worst? 😉😝
Nice gameplay overview and review -Dutch- of our game Master Detectives - Code X (published by MNKY Entertainment). Check it out to deduce the gameplay and why the final verdict was an 8/10.
www.nox-spellenzolder.nl/video/master...
FRYSK the first reviews are in...
arjanvanhouwelingen.com/2026/01/14/f...
Next to the TTDGA the international SAZ in Germany also does contract reviews for their members.
Your regular reminder that you can in fact tackle sensitive and thorny political and societal issues with board games and they can even be fun to play, only thing is you need to actually give it some thought, care and attention
I finished it with the Gambler. I is weird, but I really liked the humor on new tech trends and competitive play, while being a fun puzzle how to make your character combo out. Do put on turbo play and it is a bit of a grind (but that IS on point)
Ducosim was een fijne beurs, en mooi met FRYSK op de korrel genomen :-D door Meneer Bordspeler...
bordspeler.nl/ducosim-janu...