7 Universal Design Principles Every Board Game Needs

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What makes a board game truly great? In this video, we explore the 7 Universal Principles of Design and how they apply directly to board game creation. Whether you’re designing your first prototype or refining your next big idea, these timeless principles can help you build clearer rules, better player experiences, more elegant mechanics, and games people want to come back to.

We’ll look at each principle, real examples from board games, why they matter, and how you can apply them to your own designs to improve clarity, usability, creativity, and gameplay flow.

In this video you’ll learn:
• What the 7 Universal Principles of Design are
• How they apply to board games
• How great games use them
• Why some games fall short
• Tips to improve your own design process

If you’re a game designer, reviewer, hobbyist, or someone who loves understanding what makes games work, this video will level up your design toolkit.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:00 1st Principle
02:07 2nd Principle
03:56 3rd Principle
06:49 4th Principle
07:57 5th Principle
09:19 6th Principle
12:25 7th Principle
13:17 Outro