How many designs at once?

So my current priorities are:

1> TradeWorlds: Yes this game is currently waiting for a Manufacturer to be chosen and there are some details that need finalizing before the end of production. Those loose ends are now my concern since Mike passed away last December (2019).

2> Crystal Heroes: This game is in the Art-phase, I am waiting to finalize the "alpha" prototype which will go to a couple reviewers and have them share their impressions of the game.

Then I have a few designs that are in advanced stages of design like:

A> SpellMasters: Need to produce a more "final" prototype. The cards need to be designed. No rulebook as of yet. Notes and a couple prototypes to inspire me in the right direction.

B> Quest Adventure Cards(tm) — Second Edition: A dream project which is ATM not possible due to the nature of the game (CCG). The game design is in an advanced stage but is not final. Aside from all the cards that need to be designed, there are a couple mechanical issues to be ironed out.

C> Monster Keep: This game is currently being re-designed. It is in a revision between iterations that is "unstable". Lots of re-work needs to be done before this design is able to be made into a WORKING prototype.

Lastly I have a few designs here-and-there that I am not working on and are shelved ATM. How many? Maybe a couple more... That's my repertoire of games. I don't have hundreds of ideas ... maybe a half dozen or so...

Can't imagine having 100s of ideas. I already have enough difficulties with the ones that I have. It takes a lot of effort to resolve an IDEA into something that is ORIGINAL and playable. And of course, each game I design and develop must be DIFFERENT from the other (other mechanics, different aspects, original flavor, etc.) No two games will seem or feel alike. Another important criteria for each of my designs.

This is literally why I joined this community. I have 5 games on the go

1 playable prototype in early testing (small tile game fits in a plastic sandwich bag), which I now need to take to the next stages. This is my first game that I feel has a good mix of theme, mechanics, and an interested market. Enough for me to want to see if I can get it to publication.

1 unplayable imbalanced prototype (Large tile game, fits in 200 poker chip case) It has large flaws so it may never be a game, but it was my first one with a working(ish) ruleset so it's near to my heart. It'll remain shelved until I figure out how to fix the rules.

3 in ideation and what I call paper prototyping, which is where I doodle game states and rules on grid paper when I should be paying attention to something else (which is many things, since I'm doing an unrelated master's degree). One has a board, the other has a robust theme and story, but they aren't games yet. I guess we'll see if I can get one published first, and worry about these three in the future.

The working prototyped one sits in a beautiful hand-sewn cloth bag on my coffee table, or travels with me, so that when someone asks about it, I can con them into test playing it.

I'm the type that procrastinates projects with bigger projects, like procrastinating education with design, or one game with another. I consider it my workflow and I somehow manage to get everything done eventually. It's good to see that I'm not alone.

Aww... that sounds really "unfortunate". Maybe you can make a sort of schedule ... That like 30 minutes before bed, you are going to take notes down in a notebook and revise them. And do that each day (okay maybe take the weekends off...) That's like 2.5 hours a week but FOCUSED effort. It has been my experience that sometimes doing some "reading" about what I am working on "relaxes" me (sometimes it even puts me to sleep -- LOL).

This way you get to do some "designing", "reading" and "relaxation" ... And will open your mind to some creative juices that may (or may not) occur during REM (or deep sleep). It's about focusing the mind on something important to you, but something you cannot afford to spend too much time thinking about.

Like I said, it works for me... I don't have 100s of game ideas only about a 1/2 dozen or so. I don't do it every night. But I do spend more time than 30 minutes per day on Game Design. More like 3 to 4 hours a day... And same goes for the weekends. COVID-19 hasn't stopped me... It's pretty compatible with my previous schedule. I spend a lot of time online... I'd much rather spend time discussing matters with like-minded people than try to go to bars (to drink and have a "good time").

Bars are closed now because of COVID-19... So it doesn't much matter. My lifestyle is very relaxed. I've worked very hard in my younger years. Sometimes doing 60+ hour weeks...

Anyhow ... Where I was going with this ... is that it MAY help you think about your challenges in "Projectile" or think about ASPECTS of the game you can refine, refactor or remove. That's the thing about a design: sometimes it's got TOO MUCH going for it.

Cheer and I hope you do find some time to explore your "creative" side.

I currently have 11 active designs. 9 of them are games that are ready to pitch to publishers or very close. (All the conventions disappearing really set me back, I expected to pitch and sign at least 3 this year)

2 of these games are co-designs so I'm not doing all the work.

I also have two signed games coming out next year that I'm still doing some development on.

(And I have about a dozen games in my abandoned projects folder and and a few in my future projects folder)

Too much, and that is actually a problem. I have more than 100 shelved projects.

I recommend if possible working on at most 2 or 3 projects at different stage. So that when you switch you would be able to do different tasks.