this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2024
52 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26638 readers
1642 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I've been interested in checking out some "DIY" boardgames, ones that you could just print the pieces/sheets/cards/tokens/etc and play.

I'm mostly interested in boardgames that can be played with 4+ people and require little setup or rules introduction, as I'm pretty much being the "gateway drug" for the group (everyone I've shown Blokus so far has loved the game).

I'm ok with knowing about heavy games (stuff that takes an afternoon to finish) to keep an eye on for future reference

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago

Assuming you're in the U.S. (though possibly even if you aren't)...

The cool thing about game mechanics (boardgame, video game, school playground game, etc) is that they're not covered by copyright. And (while this bit might be less true of video game mechanics) they're rarely covered by patents.

So, for the most part, clones require no licensing or anything. You can make a knock-off of Carcassonne or Settlers of Catan or whatever legally, so long as you avoid trademark infringement. (Basically as long as you're careful to make it clear your game isn't by such-and-such company and you don't have any affiliation with them.)

(Also, it's worthwhile to mention that some games are as much or more so "flavor" as/than mechanics. In such cases, while I don't know that there has been that much precent in the court, it's likely the flavor would be considered copyrightable. So maybe if you're copying the BSG boardgame, don't include Cylons. Also, IANAL.)

I once designed/manufactured a 3d-printable clone of Cubed: Next Level Dominoes, which itself was a(n I'm pretty sure unlicensed) clone of The Grid Game.