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Hey Grant! What a lovely question – this is something we very much aim for at Jellybean Games. The goal is to be the Pixar of board games; stuff that you bring out for your kids, but enjoy even when playing with only adults.
It’s not easy; the process can be a little like threading a needle. A lot of what we do applies generally to game design, but especially to multi-generational games: making sure that winning isn’t where all the fun comes from, for example. If a kid can trick a parent in a game, they’re less likely to care about winning or losing – in that moment, they got to do something cool and fun, and that’s what they’ll take away.
Other tips would be: Keeping it simple while still containing interesting choices, focusing on what we call “Saturday morning cartoon themes”, and avoiding ‘feel-bad’ moments whenever possible. Except the cartoon one, these are elements I try to bring to every design, but it’s so much more important for Jellybean Games.
Great question!
