I think game design is a lot like writing. You need to design for yourself first. And if it feels right to you, it will be entertaining to other people.
Quotes on game design
I don’t think it’s uncommon for children who play games to experiment with tweaking the rules, come up with rules of their own, or even make their own games from scratch. I just never stopped doing that.
I know that “whoa” moment. But I never have that when I design. I think about mechanisms that encourage play, I stumble over that “whoa” for a fleeting moment, because there’s no game there yet. Once I add a theme, I’ve grown accustomed to those mechanisms. There’s no explosion there. No intense experience. It’s just a process.
I use board games to teach game design because board games let you focus on the game itself; there is no coding and only limited art.