Let's talk board games.  Which ones do you play the most, which ones do you like, what would you change?  What makes them complicated, what makes them too easy?  Details, details. Play as many as you can and identify what each game is about.
Tokens, dice, spinners, maps, etc.  Let's find out what all these things mean.  This week will be an introduction to terms and components. 
Assignment: Let's take a simple game and modify it. 

 We dig a bit deeper into Board Game Design theory and get ready to design!
Assignment: This week, with the templates provided, you will begin to work on a basic turn based game. You will decide on your theme and goal of the game. 

 We talk about the importance of playtesting and prototyping. If you have completed your initial design, this is the week to try it out.  I will post my own prototype (not complete, rough draft) board game and invite you to try it and use the playtest feedback form.

Assignment: You will receive a check list to find the strong and weak points in the design and to get playtesting feedback. 

 Review your game, what did you discover? Keep working on it, perhaps you are still deciding mechanisms and structure or you are into the art aspect of design. 

This week I will get into a bit of higher level game design theory and what makes a more complex game tick.  I will leave you with some ideas on what your next step might be in board game design (one page games) and a more complex template.