Librarium Games
Design Journal
Why a
Design Journal?
Here at Librarium Games, we strive to be very inclusive and transparent about our process.
why?
because we love it.
“I take diligent notes on my work. I love looking through old piles of notes and hand-drawn doodles. They teach me where I came from in my process, and remind me of my inspirations along the way. I want to share every step of this journey with you, because these stories, magical moments, and epiphanies are what made us who we are today.” ~Alexander Massar
Perhaps you are an aspiring student, artist, game designer, or entrepreneur?
Whatever it is that brought you here,
We hope our tales inspire other dreamers like you!
How is theJournal Organized?
There are going to be hundreds of narratives to be found in the links below.
The storytelling of the Design Journal has been difficult, because the chronological release of our games is not necessarily the order that the games were made! Many years of drafting content have lead us to the creation of the Librarium Games Publishing Company. On this page, you can read the narratives of each publication in their release order.
Consider it a table of contents for our Blog, organized by game!
Note: If you would like to read the entries of the Design Journal in the order that they were written, view our blog history:
Librarium Games Design Journal Blog
The Great Chase (2021)
❖ Part 1: Concept Art ❖
❖ Part 2: Game Mechanics ❖
❖ Part 3: Prototype Cards ❖
❖ Part 4: Prototype Complete ❖
❖ Part 5: Map Card Setup ❖
❖ Part 6: Flight Card Setup ❖
❖ Part 7: Improved Card Design ❖
❖ Part 8: Crisis Deck ❖
❖ Part 9: Character Design ❖
❖ Part 10: Data Collecting ❖
❖ Part 11: Diplomatic Cards ❖
❖ Part 12: Improved Map ❖
❖ Part 13: The Mission Deck ❖
❖ Part 14: Investigator Stats ❖
❖ Part 15: Improved Play Tests ❖
❖ Part 16: Building A Rule Book ❖
❖ Part 17: Scaling Disaster ❖
❖ Part 18: Card Backs ❖
❖ Part 19: Prototype Arrival ❖
❖ Part 20: Play Tester Forms ❖
❖ Part 21: Rule Testing Disaster ❖
❖ Part 22: Flight Deck, Take: 3! ❖
❖ Part 23: New Rule Design ❖
❖ Part 24: Box Design ❖
❖ Part 25: Media Marketing ❖
❖ Part 26: Game Reviews ❖
❖ Part 27: The Gloucester Times ❖
❖ Part 28: Kickstarter & Beyond ❖
❖ Part 29: Begin Production! ❖
❖ Part 30: Border Crisis! ❖
❖ Part 31: Production Update! ❖
❖ Part 32: Yonaguni Island ❖
❖ Part 33: Around the World in 180 Days ❖
❖ Part 34: Top Secret Package! ❖
❖ Part 35: Custom Player Cards ❖
❖ Part 36: Fulfillment! ❖
Calendra (2022)
❖ Part 1: Project Attunement ❖
❖ Part 2: The Paper Prototype ❖
❖ Part 3: Runic Symbols ❖
❖ Part 4: The Global Pandemic ❖
❖ Part 5: Graphic Design Begins ❖
❖ Part 6: Font Design ❖
❖ Part 7: Card Layout & The Ferric Suit ❖
❖ Part 8: The Ferric Fable ❖
❖ Part 9: The Irish Cable ❖
❖ Part 10: Card Backs & Celtic Beasts ❖
❖ Part 11: The Rule Cards ❖
❖ Part 12: The Printed Prototype ❖
❖ Part 13: Rule Book Prototype ❖
❖ Part 14: Printed Iteration Two ❖
❖ Part 15: The Will o’ the Wisps ❖
❖ Part 16: Textured Colors ❖
❖ Part 17: Textured Backgrounds ❖
❖ Part 18: Frame & Font Alterations ❖
❖ Part 19: Rule Card Redesign ❖
❖ Part 20: More Rainbows Needed ❖
❖ Part 21: Stat Reconfiguration ❖
❖ Part 22: Box Manicure ❖
❖ Part 23: Box Pedicure ❖
❖ Part 24: Rule Book, Take Two! ❖
❖ Part 25: Rule Book, Take Three! ❖
❖ Part 26: Manufacturing Madness ❖
❖ Part 27: Box Skeleton ❖
❖ Part 28: Muychandizin’ ❖
❖ Part 29: Wet Proofs vs. Ozalids ❖
❖ Part 30: Gloss vs. Matte Lamination ❖
❖ Part 31: Pin Production ❖
❖ Part 32: Garnishing the Pin Package ❖
❖ Part 33: Mass Packaging ❖
❖ Part 34: Rule Book Videography ❖
❖ Part 35: Adding Annotations ❖
❖ Part 36: Orchestrating Reviews ❖
❖ Part 37: Idea of an old Friend ❖
❖ Part 38: Session Reports ❖
❖ Part 39: Seasonal Play Mats ❖
❖ Part 40: Kickstarter Story ❖
❖ Part 41: Event Planning ❖
Phoenix Farm (2024)
Phoenix Farm is going to come to Kickstarter in March of 2024!
Stay tuned for lots of updates!
❖ Part 1: The Fateful Phonecall ❖
❖ Part 2: A Classic Ben Prototype ❖
❖ Part 3: Play Test Day at the Lake ❖
❖ Part 4: Reformatting The Economy ❖
❖ Part 5: Competitive Nurturing! ❖
❖ Part 6: Kilduff’s Dragon ❖
❖ Part 7: Font Brainstorm ❖
❖ Part 8: 1st Digital Draft ❖
❖ Part 9: Aimee Hudon’s Artwork ❖
❖ Part 10: Dragon is Too Evil… ❖
❖ Part 11: How to Score the Game ❖
❖ Part 12: The Website Score Tracker ❖
❖ Part 13: Micro Card Prototype ❖
❖ Part 14: Dragon Bait Rule Toggle ❖
❖ Part 15: Double Sided Cards ❖
❖ Part 16: Playmat Feather Counter ❖
❖ Part 17: Mini Card Prototype ❖
❖ Part 18: Children of the Yule Festival ❖
❖ Part 19: Secret Cipher Origin ❖
❖ Part 20: Cipher Project Bonus Card ❖
❖ Part 21: Legend of the Magic Dice ❖
❖ Part 22: First Digital Prototype ❖
❖ Part 23: Balancing Needed…….. ❖
❖ Part 24: Random Tool Numbers? ❖
❖ Part 25: Major Digital Redesign ❖
❖ Part 26: Many Wonders of Fireflies ❖
❖ Part 27: Librarium Loretext Game ❖
❖ Part 28: Box Design #1, Prototypes ❖
❖ Part 29: Box Design #2, Components ❖
❖ Part 30: Renaissance Play Testing! ❖
❖ Part 31: Battle of 10,000 Pips… ❖
❖ Part 32: Rule Book Design ❖
❖ Part 33: Enamel Pin Productions ❖
❖ Part 34: Mouse Pad Madness ❖
❖ Part 35: The Eclipse Promotion ❖
❖ Part 36: Kickstarter Prep & Costs ❖
❖ Part 37: BGG Banner Ads & Video ❖
❖ Part 38: Ready? 3,2,1… Launch! ❖
❖ Part 39: Funded! What Next? ❖
❖ Part 40: Let’s Publish a Book! ❖
❖ Part 41: The Night before Customs… ❖
❖ Part 42: Return to the Ren ❖