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Foil sealed booster packs are great for small expansions and CCG/TCG games in the vein of Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. Booster Boxes give you a retail display for stores and conventions.

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Les Châteaux de Bourgogne : Le jeu de Dés

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One Deck Dungeon

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Welcome to…

Muloland

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One Deck Dungeon

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Quantum Quest is now on Kickstarter!

Quantum Quest is a standalone card game that challenges two or more players to put together teams of stalwart adventurers to outlast their opponents in a living dungeon.  Electrifying spells, sinister traps and treacherous monsters stand in the way of survival, but things only grow more difficult when the heroes start acquiring chambers in the dungeon. Escape is futile; survive while you can!

Every game is different: you end up with a new team of adventurers each time you challenge the dangers of the dungeon.  The layout of the dungeon is never the same either.  In order to survive, you must capture chambers and pit them against rival players.  Utilize unique character abilities and class skills to navigate around monsters and traps, and push your opponents into hazards.  Victory is found when only one team is left standing!

Come see why Quantum Quest should be a part of your next game night:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/181624749/17581490?ref=433552&token=0e9de3f0

Note: This article is being promoted on TGC News because the designer is using The Game Crafter for manufacturing and Kickstarter fulfillment. If you would like to be promoted by The Game Crafter please read the details here.

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Gold West

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JT Smith is the creator of The Game Crafter and the designer of The Captain is Dead.

In this recorded session from Crafter Con 2017,  you’ll learn how to get the most out of Component Studio from the guy who invented it. :) 

This is a recording of a live session at Crafter Con 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. If you’d like to learn more about Crafter Con visit www.craftercon.com

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Wildcatters

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L’Auberge Sanglante : Les Forains

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7 Wonders : Duel

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DO YOU LIKE BOARD GAMES?

DO YOU LIKE SUPPORTING FEMALE BOARD GAME DESIGNERS IN AN INDUSTRY DOMINATED BY DUDES?

DO YOU LIKE SUPPORTING BOARD GAMES WITH A FOCUS ON DIVERSITY?

DO YOU LIKE THE 80S AND ROLEPLAYING?

THEN YOU SHOULD TOTALLY SUPPORT THIS BOARD GAME ON KICKSTARTER BY THIS COMPANY THAT I TOTALLY DON’T WORK FOR.

YOU SHOULD ALSO CHECK OUT OUR RECENT LIVESTREAM THAT I TOTALLY WASN’T IN, WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THE KICKSTARTER PROJECT PAGE UNDER THE CAMPAIGN VIDEO.

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The Small Stout Box is here. This extremely rigid box will even withstand a full grown man standing on it! It measures 3.5 x 5.5 x 2 inches and will hold 266 poker sized cards. 

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Starting Tomb of Annihilation tonight. Pretty fun so far!!

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Patrick McNeil is a former Interactive Design professor, author of 6 books on web design and currently works as a UX Architect/Researcher. 

In this recorded session from Crafter Con 2017, you’ll go through a crash course in graphic design that focuses on the fundamental principles of good graphic design and how to apply those in the world of game design. The core focus is on key principles that every designer uses and practical tips for applying them.

After watching, you’ll be armed with easy strategies and methods for improving your designs. And cultivate your eye for design and the ability to effectively critique it. This session is packed with real life examples, both good and bad, to help you process and understand these principles. 

This is a recording of a live session at Crafter Con 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. If you’d like to learn more about Crafter Con visit www.craftercon.com

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Steven Aramini Inducted Into TGC Hall of Fame

Steven was inducted into The Game Crafter Hall of Fame because his game, Tricky Tides, won the Trick Taker Challenge. Congratulations Steven! His designer interview is below.

Tell us about yourself and how long you’ve been designing games.

I live in Reno, Nevada with my wife, 2 dogs and 2 cats, and I am a Creative Director for an ad agency. I’ve been designing games since 2014, when my first game “Yardmaster” by Crash Games came out. Additionally I have designed or co-designed “Circle the Wagons” by Button Shy Games, “Barker’s Row” by Overworld Games, “Groves” by Letiman Games, “Coin & Crown” by Escape Velocity Games and, next up, “Tricky Tides” by Gold Seal Games. I also have a game that’s available in The Game Crafter’s shop called “Flipside,” a solo word game.

Please tell us about Tricky Tides.

“Tricky Tides” was created for The Game Crafter’s Trick Taker Challenge. The game is a blend of trick-taking and pick-up-and-deliver. Players manage a hand of Navigation cards, trying to win tricks to sail from island to island, collecting goods and then delivering them to earn the most gold.

Where did the idea for this game come from?

I always wanted to do a nautical theme that used map monsters. I approached my friend Naomi Ferrall, the game’s illustrator, about this theme and she liked it and thought it would be a good way to explore her stippling style, which fit perfectly with the nautical look and feel.

What makes this game special/unique?

I think the fact that it takes a very traditional game mechanic – trick-taking – and uses it in a unique way that pulls it away from the traditional card game approach. Plus, because of the illustration style, it just looks so different than anything else on the table.

Did you create a design journal for your game? If so, did you publish it somewhere we can link to?

No, I don’t have a formal design journal, although I do blog about my games and design approach on www.TheIndieGameReport.com in a recurring feature called “The Indie Jungle.”

Did you already have the idea for Tricky Tides in your head before the Trick Taker Challenge was announced?

No, after the contest was announced the theme just popped in my head. I remember that one of the earliest ideas I had was to create the Navigation cards with 8 compass directions, but you could only sail in directions that were highlighted, forcing you to not only try to win the trick but also strategize your whole hand to ensure you leave yourself in a good position later in the round.

What made you decide to enter your game into the contest?

I love The Game Crafter contests for a few reasons. First, I have had great success with them, having entered three contests and won two (Sprue Challenge won with “Reign Makers” now titled “Coin & Crown”; Survival Challenge placed second with “ICELAND”; Trick-Taker Challenge won with “Tricky Tides”). These wins have led to two publishing contracts. Second, the deadlines force me into action to design something and not procrastinate. And finally, whatever the contest theme, it’s always been a really fun challenge that has gotten me involved in TGC/gaming community.

Would you have been motivated to work on the game as much as you did without the contest?

No, I probably wouldn’t have taken on the challenge of working trick-taking into a game, as trick-taking tends to not be my favorite game mechanic. But I’m so glad I did because I feel I was able to bring something fresh to that genre.

Has winning inspired you to enter more contests or design more games?

I am fully addicted to game design now. I typically have six or more game designs in various states of development at any given time. Some move on to success, while others wither on the vine. I will probably enter the Cardboard Edison awards again in 2018. Last year, I was a finalist for one of my unpublished games and it was a great experience to have so many publishers and industry pros provide feedback on your game.

Could you describe any influence The Game Crafter has had on your success as a game designer?

The Game Crafter has had a huge impact. It has opened the doors to a lot of great relationships, from Mike Wokasch of Fairway 3 Games and The Indie Game Report to Dan Letzring of Letiman Games to Andrew Smith of Gold Seal Games to Jason Glover of Grey Gnome Games to Steven Cole of Escape Velocity Games, and many others. All of those relationships started through The Game Crafter and have been key for me to get my foot in the door in the gaming world.

What’s next for you?

“Tricky Tides” hits Kickstarter sometime in early 2018, but a date hasn’t been set yet. “Sprawlopolis” is a tile-laying style co-op game that is coming from Button Shy Games also in early 2018. I’m also hoping to revive “ICELAND” after a long time on the shelf, so you may see that one resurface in 2018, too. After that, who knows!

Any last words of encouragement or advice to all of the designers reading this?

Just keep at it, learn from every experience and try to play as many games as you can for inspiration and motivation. Hit Unpub and Protospiel events whenever you can. And don’t forget to have fun along the way!

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Benjamin Farahmand Inducted Into TGC Hall of Fame

Benjamin was inducted into The Game Crafter Hall of Fame because his game, FAZA, won the Big Box Challenge. Congratulations Benjamin! His designer interview is below.

Tell us about yourself and how long you’ve been designing games.

My wife and I live in a small town near Philadelphia, called Media. I’ve been designing digital learning experiences for the past 8 years, started designing board games in the last 2 years, and have been playing board games and video games since I was young child. 

In the past few years, I started designing board games because I was looking for a new challenge, which would get me away from looking at my computer screen  and pull me out of the house to meet new people. Professionally, I work as a product manager and user experience designer for an education company called Tuva. As a means to building critical thinking and analytical skills for K-12 students, we create digital learning tools and curriculum content focused on data literacy and statistics. I also have a background in aerospace engineering, philosophy, and industrial design, which essentially means I love to design and make things, whether it’s physical or digital.

Please tell us about FAZA.

FAZA is a cooperative science fiction board game for 2-4 players, making their last stand to save humanity. In order to win the game, the players need to destroy the FAZA’s three motherships.

There are eight character roles, each possessing different skills within one of four areas of focus: tactical, medical, technological, and political. Players will utilize the unique skills of each member to fight for final victory over the alien Faza. As players move across the board, they will be combating enemy drones and recruiting Rebel Faza to attack each mothership. Naturally, over the course of the game, the Faza will fight back: dropping off more troops in attempts to overwhelm, transforming the entire city to only be habitable to their kind, killing off the traitorous Rebel Faza to prevent players from attacking their motherships, and of course trying to kill each player.

Where did the idea for this game come from?

The inception for working on FAZA developed from two major frustrations. The first frustration is that many existing cooperative games feel too much like a puzzle, eventually making subsequent playthroughs not as interesting once the optimal strategy is discovered.

The second frustration that motivated me to start working on a cooperative game was my one issue with competitive games. I’m referring to the kinds of competitive board games that leave players so far behind that the game becomes boring. Players in last place are essentially waiting for the game to end and it’s no longer fun. 

With that in mind, I started with game mechanics I enjoyed from other board games and used them as a jumping off point for FAZA. The metaphor and story for FAZA stems from my love of science fiction, and began to emerge immediately after I picked a few game mechanics I wanted to test. The story and game mechanics then began to evolve together and inform one another.

What makes this game special/unique?

Multiple ideas and mechanics when brought together make FAZA special and unique. The variety and diversity of characters represented in the game makes for the empowerment of different ethnicities, ages, sexes, and species. 

The player’s all share a communal turn, which means actions can be used in any order that is advantageous to the group’s strategy. As a result of the communal turn, the game facilitates strategic group discussions, creating the feeling that everyone is a tactician preparing for skirmishes and war.

The algorithm that defines how the FAZA motherships move across the board creates a challenging game where the enemy dynamically adapts to the actions players take against them. As the FAZA retaliate, players will feel overwhelmed as if all hope is lost, but by working together they can overcome the challenges ahead. 

Finally, there’s a high degree of replayability, which stems from the number of characters players can choose from, the board that is setup differently every game, and the way the motherships adapt to player actions.

Did you create a design journal for your game? If so, did you publish it somewhere we can link to?

My notes for designing FAZA are strewn across my computer and notebook, which I take with me to playtest sessions to write down observations and feedback. I’ve also written a long blog post highlighting my major take-aways throughout the game design process (http://www.thefaza.com/designing-for-fun/). I hope the post will be helpful to other game designers.

Did you already have the idea for FAZA in your head before the Big Box Challenge was announced?

Yes, I had been working on various iterations of FAZA for about a year prior to the Big Box Challenge. Progress was slow since making time to work on it while balancing other parts of my life was challenging.

What made you decide to enter your game into the contest?

I wanted a deadline that was just far enough to light the fire and motivate me to refine and polish FAZA.

Would you have been motivated to work on the game as much as you did without the contest?

I definitely would have continued refining FAZA without the Big Box Challenge, but it would have taken me far longer if I were not motivated by the deadline of the competition.

Has winning inspired you to enter more contests or design more games?

I have several more ideas for games and hope to enter future competitions, but for the time being my focus is on marketing FAZA and giving it the best chance for it to succeed. I am also currently looking for other contests to enter FAZA so I can build greater awareness for the game.

Could you describe any influence The Game Crafter has had on your success as a game designer?

Creating a polished prototype goes a long way in communicating the experience you’re designing for people, which in turn influences the critical feedback you’re going to receive. A polished prototype also helps in gathering people’s attention as they’re walking by your demo table at a convention. The Game Crafter has been essential for giving a physical form to my ideas and creating an avenue for progression of the game mechanics.

What’s next for you?

If I’m able to find enough early interest in FAZA, my current plan is to kickstart FAZA in 2018. After that, if FAZA funds successfully, I’d like to continue exploring the FAZA storyline and release some of the expansion ideas I’ve been working on.

Any last words of encouragement or advice to all of the designers reading this?

Playtesting is the most important aspect of the design process and it’s also the most time intensive. To speed up that process, I highly recommend finding a local board game design group. In Philly, there’s the Game Makers Guild of Philadelphia. We’re game designers who get together twice a month to playtest each others board games and give each other feedback. 

If it were not for the continued playtesting and feedback from friends, family, and the Game Makers Guild of Philadelphia, I don’t think I would have been able to polish the game mechanics in a timely fashion.

After playtesting, persistence is paramount. Working through the challenges and problems uncovered through feedback takes time, dedication, and a patient and loving partner. Speaking of partners, marry one that’ll review and edit your rulebook. But in all seriousness, it’s vital to the success of your game to have a clear rulebook. So if your spouse won’t edit your rulebook or if you don’t have one, find a spouse that will or invest the money and have a professional editor revise your rules. ;)