Buds, Blooms, and Thorns - Crowdfunding Feature - Memory Decompression by Dark Green Games

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns - Crowdfunding Feature - Memory Decompression by Dark Green Games
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Vitals:
Campaign Title: Memory Decompression
Platform: Kickstarter
Creator: Dark Green Games
Campaign End Date: February 8, 2021
Campaign Funding Goal: $4000
Popular Pledge Tiers: Survivor: $24, Expert Survivor: $35

Introduction:
This is a review and feature of the Kickstarter campaign for Memory Decompression. Note that this is not a review of the game, just commentary on the game as presented on the campaign page and a review of the campaign itself.

Memory Decompression is a solo gamebook with miniatures, where you will paly as a girl who wakes up on the beach, unable to remember who she is or what happened to her.

You struggle to open your eyes. The light is too bright to open them normally. Slowly you recover your hearing. The only thing you hear is the sound of the sea. You can feel a light breeze, but the air is really hot. You are having trouble breathing.

The sharp rocks bite into your body. The world spins around you when you stand. You have a terrible headache... The head is unbearable. You don't remember anything. You don't know who you are. You don't know where you are. You don't know why you woke up on the beach. You can only hear the whisper of the sea. The waves hit the hull of the old ship stranded a few yards away from you. Half of it is sunk under water. It seems abandoned.

When you manage to stand up, you notice a rigid orange bracelet on your wrist. There are strange symbols on it you cannot understand. You approach the ship. There is a large breach on the hull. The shine of a blue light inside catches your attention. Strange sounds come from the ship. As you approach it, you peek inside.

When you lean over to take a better look, you suddenly slip and fall down the large air conduct. You fall into a closed space, dark and flooded. You have fallen almost the full length of the ship. When you raise your head above the water, you feel the ceiling right next to your face. You cannot stand on firm ground. The room is completely flooded. You can't see the air conduct you fell through. You are having a hard time breathing. Your ears are about to pop.

These are the opening paragraphs on the Kickstarter page for Memory Decompression, a new type of choose-your-own-adventure style solo gamebook. In the game you'll take on the role of a girl who can't remember who she is, where she is, or why she's there. As you explore the mysterious cargo ship you appear to be trapped in you'll encounter all sorts of mysteries and monsters.

The game promises to provide an exciting, tense experience through a combination of storytelling and gameplay that will provide you with a unique adventure. If this sounds interesting to you, read on to learn about my overview of the campaign itself. I hope this helps you in your decision to back this game or take a pass. And jump to the end for an overview of my criteria for reviewing a crowdfunding campaign.

Blooms:
Blooms are the campaign's highlights and features.  Elements that are exceptional.

• The game looks interesting. I like the idea of a simple, solitaire style game and story that can easily be pulled out and played. Plus, the story summary, graphics, and other components look intriguing.
• The campaign does a good job of explaining what the game is about in attractive graphics.
• The price to back seems reasonable for what you get.

Buds:
Buds are parts of the campaign that I'd like to know more about or want to watch closely. 

• While the game looks interesting, I wonder more about the mechanics and actual gameplay. Also, how is replayability? Update 2 mentions four possible endings, so maybe there is some replayability?
• Though this is a new company with no history, the investment to back the game is low and the game seems simple enough to produce and the funding goal seems reasonable. I'd like to know more about the company though.
• Shipping seems reasonable and appears to be well thought out. Based on the updates they are actively working with shipping providers to find the best solutions.
• There are only a few comments on the campaign page, so it's not a super active community. However, the creator or collaborator has responded promptly and informatively to all questions so far. Updates during the campaign could be a little more frequent, though.

Thorns:
Thorns are a campaign's shortcomings and any issues I feel are noteworthy.

• No reviews of the game. There are only commentaries on the campaign, like this one. I was contacted on January 25 and asked to feature the campaign on my site. This is rather late to start building awareness and a community.
• No gameplay videos, rules, downloads, etc. The page graphics cover some basics of gameplay, but are vague enough that it's not really clear how the game is played.
• Both the creator and the collaborator have no record of backing a Kickstarter game, and this is the first creation. There is also no webpage for the company, just social media pages.
• The game has no listing on Board Game Geek.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, the campaign page looks nice, but hastily put together from a company with no reputation or experience. The game seems simple enough to manufacture, so the funding goal and pledge levels seem reasonable. I'm going to give this campaign a rating of Bud, though I feel it barely maeks it into that category. There are a number of red flags with this campaign, mainly stemming from this being a very bland campaign page that focuses on theme rather than substance and from a creator with no visible experience. However the game looks pretty interesting and the price point is low enough that it's fairly low risk and you'll be helping a new creator, which is what crowdfunding is really supposed to be all about.

With such a low funding goal, I suspect the campaign will be successful (they're already over 80% there). However, if it's not, I hope the creators take some time to learn more about the crowdfunding process, take the time to properly build a community and audience before a campaign, and include the elements necessary in their campaign to show a bit more substance. If they have to relaunch, or run a campaign for another game, there is a lot that can be done here to improve.

So, if you're interested in supporting a new creator, check out the Memory Decompression Kickstarter campaign today!

Summary:

• Interesting Product - Bloom! - Memory Decompression looks really interesting!
• Reasonable Price Point - Bloom! - The price for what you should receive seems fair.
• Creator Experience - Thorn - First created, zero backed, and an unknown company in the industry.
• Track Record - Thorn - No past track record.
• Community & Communication - Bud - Good response to comments, a couple of campaign updates, but very small social media presence and community surrounding the game.
• Product Overviews - Bud - Product is described, but not in great detail. All images are computer generated renders.
• Product Reviews - Thorn - There are no peer reviews and only some reviews of the campaign and speculative commentaries on the game.
• Funding & Stretch Goals - Bud - Low funding goal seems appropriate for a new creator and for the scope of the project. Stretch goals aren't very interesting so far.
• Board Game Specific Attributes
• Gameplay Overview - Thorn - Very basic gameplay described in the grapics. No video, no examples, only very general and non-specific descriptions of gameplay.
• Game Rules - Thorn - No rules provided, no how-to-play videos.
• PnP or Downloads - Thorn - No downloads or samples provided.
• Game Scope - Bloom - The game seems simple enough to produce, even for a first time creator.
• Board Game Geek Listing - Thorn - No BGG listing.

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Rating:

Bud!  This campaign looks pretty good, despite having
a few issues.  If the product looks like something you're
interested in, definitely check out the campaign page, but
be aware that there are a few red flags that may indicate
an inexperienced creator.  You may want to do some more
research to make sure this is a campaign you should back.

Pictures:

Rating Criteria:
OK, so you may be asking what kinds of elements a campaign should have in order to earn a Bloom status, and that's a valid point! Over the years I've backed dozens of crowdfunding campaigns and followed along with hundreds more. I wish my budget allowed me to back a whole lot more - consider supporting me on Patreon so I can! Anyway, in all that time I've only had one campaign I've backed fail to deliver and that was a very unusual circumstance. When I look at a campaign there are a number of things I consider to determine if it's a campaign I feel is worth backing. This is a list of some of the criteria I check, and these will help determine if a campaign receives a Bloom, Bud, or Thorn rating here. A Bloom doesn't necessarily require all of these elements, and a Thorn may have many of them, but this will give you an idea of what I'm looking for in a campaign. Also, keep in mind that my experience is generally with board game related crowdfunding campaigns (games, accessories, media support, etc.). Occasionally I may feature a campaign outside of board games that I find interesting and some of these criteria may not apply, but that'll be rare.

• Interest - Does the product look interesting? This is the first thing that will catch my attention for most campaigns. If it's a product I find interesting I'll definitely be checking out the campaign, even if my budget doesn't allow me to support it at this time.
• Experience - Is the creator an experienced creator? Usually this is easy to tell by checking to see if the creator has run or backed any previous crowdfunding campaigns. Sometimes this is a first campaign though and then things get trickier. Often someone with previous crowdfunding experience launches a campaign under a new account (for their business), or a company is new but componsed of industry veterans, or maybe this is a new creator but has the support of an experienced collaborator, or maybe the person really is new to crowdfunding but is an active member of the online board game design, publishing, and crowdfunding communities.
• Track Record - Just because a creator has experience with crowdfunding doesn't necessarily mean they're good at it. What is the creator's past track record? Do they have funded campaigns or just a string of failures? Do they have a reputation for delivering their product? Have campaigns been on time or late? Have there been any other issues in the past? Does the creator have a number of unfulfilled campaigns that are still 'in process'? If so, this could mean they are running one campaign to fund a previous campaign, or it could just mean they're busy publishers.
• Community & Communication - What type of communication does the campaign, or the creator's past campaigns look like? Is there an active commentor community? Is the creator and any collaboartors active? How frequently do backers get updates? Is the creator actively communicating outside of the crowdfunding platform?
• Product Overviews - Does the campaign effectively show off the product? The campaign should explain the product clearly through good graphics, overview videos, etc.
• Product Reviews - Does the campaign feature product reviews? Are they reviews or paid promotions or just customer testimonials? Are the reviews from reputable sources and recognizable names?
• Funding & Stretch Goals - Do the funding and stretch goals seem reasonable and well thought out. A rediculously high funding goal for a simple game could mean the creator hasn't researched effective manufacturing sources. Likewise, a super low funding goal could mean this is cash grab. Stretch goals should also be well thought out and a it should be obvious how these will impact manufacturing and fulfillment.
• Shipping - Shipping is notoriously tricky, so a reasonable plan for handling shipping should be apparent on the campaign page.
• Board Game Specific Attributes - These are a few things that I specifically look for with board games. Some of these don't apply to every game, but if they're missing there should be a good reason.
• Gameplay Overview - Games should have either a gameplay video, detailed overview of how the game experience, or both.
• Game Rules - The game rules should be available in either a downloadable PDF, how to play video, or both.
• PnP or Downloads - If practical, does the game offer a print and play trial? Are there any sample downloads so backers can experience parts of the game?
• Game Scope - What is the game scope, i.e. is this a small, simple game or a large complex game. This in itself doesn't matter much, but a simpler game is more appropriate for a newer creator.
• Board Game Geek Listing - Does the game have a listing on Board Game Geek? If so, is there any useful information about the game or the publisher, like ratings, reviews, videos, forum posts, etc.?

About Crowdfunding:
Crowfunding or Crowdsourcing is a method of funding a creative project by reaching out to the community for support. Crowdfunding is a relatively new way for creators to secure funds for their projects without going through the traditional routs of securing loans, finding traditional investors, or shelling out their own cash. Instead, creators creat a crowdfunding campaign on one of a number of crowdfunding sites. Then people who are interested in seeing the project succeed and come to fruition can support the creator. Usually this is in exchange for an early release version of the product, though most crowdfunding platforms state that you are supporting the creator and receiving a gift in return, so you aren't actually purchasing an item. This varies from service to service though, so be sure you are aware of the crowdfunding site's terms and policies.

Usually the benefit of crowdfunding to creators is lower risk on their part. Creators can guage interest in their product before actually manufacturing it. If they sell 300 copies of a product on Kickstarter they know that a manufacturing run of 500 or 1000 copies is reasonable. But if they can only get 20 copies funded then they know there may not be interest in their product or they have work to do to build awareness and an audience. Likewise, if a product is wildly successful and crowdfunds 5000 copies, they can plan accordingly and not be left without product to meet demand. Crowdfunding also serves as a good marketing tool to build awareness and hype for a product's retail release. Often, a successfully crowdfunded product will sell many more copies once the item reaches traditional retail outlets. That said, creators still have to invest a lot of time and money before even launching a crowdfunding campaign. In order for a campaign to be a success backers expect to see more than just an idea. They want to see a near final product. In the case of games, this means at least some finished artwork, well thought out rules, good gameplay examples, peer reviews, advertising, a brand and fan community, and more. All this takes time and money up front that may or may not be able to be recouped in a campaign. So even though crowdfunding mitigates some risk, there is still a substantial upfront cost.

The benefit for backers or supporters is usually the ability to get in on a product

Below is a short summary of some of the more common crowdfunding platforms used for funding board games and what sets them apart.

• Kickstarter - Kickstarter is the behemoth in crowdfunding, especially for board games. With Kickstarter backers' funds are not collected until a funding goal is met. If the goal is not met no funds are collected or distrubuted. Kickstarter takes about 5% of the funds a creator raises for successful campaigns. Usually with a Kickstarter campaign there are stretch goals that provide additional content as funding levels beyond the initial goal. Kickstarter is well established and recognized, especially within the board game community, and is typically pretty reliable, though there are plenty of stories of unfulfilled projects, creators going bankrupt due to poor planning, etc.
• Gamefound - Gamefound is a new crowdfunding platform designed specifically for board game related campaigns. While it doesn't have the huge audience that Kickstarter has, it was first a pretty popular pledge manger and is run by Awaken Realms, a fairly successful board game publisher that has previously run several multi-million dollar campagins on Kickstarter. Gamefound campaigns should be pretty reliable, especially as the service seeks high-profile, previously successful companies to run campaigns on their platform to gain a bigger foothold in the crowdfunding space.
• The Game Crafter Crowd Sale - The major difference between The Game Crafter's Crowd Sales and other crowdfunding platforms is that the games availble here are ready for immediate (or near immediate) delivery. Rather than funding an idea that still has to be developed and manufactured, The Game Crafter utilizes their print-on-demand capabilities to allow creators to sell larger production runs of their games. Rather than funding and stretch goals, a Crowd Sale is successful if even one copy of a game is sold. But, as more copies are purchased everyone gets to benefit from a larger print run. Discounts increase as more copies are sold. Once the campaign is over The Game Crafter will print and ship all copies of the game. Since the games are already made this is generally the lowest risk for both creators and backers, though the creator must have a completely finished product before running the campaign.
• Indiegogo - Indiegogo isn't used very often for major board games, though it is sometimes used to increase funding after a game's previous run on Kickstarter. One of the big features to consider for Indiegogo, for both creators and backers, is that the platform is not an all or nothing model like Kickstarter. Once a backer pledges the creator has access to that money. The creator does not have to wait for a campaign to end before they can use money that has been pledged. This, combined with Indiegogo's less stringent policies about who can create campaigns and what for, make Indiegogo a riskier option for backers.
• Others - There are a few other crowdfunding platforms as well. A few publishers have their own, in-house crowdfunding platforms that are more like pre-order systems (most notably Hasbro's Pulse site). Sites like GoFundMe, Fundly, Causes, LendingClub, and even Facebook can also be used to raise funds for various purposes, often charitable causes or business ventures, too. There are also a number of sites, like or Buy Me a Coffee that are great for helping content creators, like me!

Did you like this crowdfunding campaign feature?  Show your support: Support me on Patreon!  Also, click the heart at Board Game Links , like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter .  And be sure to check out my games on  Tabletop Generation.

Disclaimer: Crowdfunding products often comes at a risk.  Depending on the platform being used, you may be investing in a company or idea rather than a product.  Not all crowdfunding platforms guarantee that you will receive a product in return for your support.  A feature on GJJ Games does not mean a campaign is low risk, guaranteed to deliver, or a good investment, regardless of the rating received.  Always do your own research and make a wise decision.  GJJ Games is not responsible for the outcome of any campaigns featured here.

GJJ Games Crowdfunding Features are a replacement to my previous Eye on Kickstarter series.  Instead of featuring all the campaigns that I find interesting, I'll highlight one campaign at a time.  Sometimes these are for campaigns that have reached out to me to be featured (often in exchange for a copy of the game and will include a link to my disclaimer page), and sometimes they are for campaigns that I personally find especially interesting and would like to share.  These features are a review of the campaign itself and not necessarily a review of the product, though I'll often include comments on my impression of the product as well.  It's important to know that most of the time I will not have played or used the product being crowdfunded.  If I have experience with the product I will mention that in the feature.

People Behind the Meeples - Episode 263: Kenny Michael-Otton

Welcome to People Behind the Meeples, a series of interviews with indie game designers.  Here you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the people who make the best games that you may or may not have heard of before.  If you'd like to be featured, head over to http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html and fill out the questionnaire! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples. Support me on Patreon!

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Name:	Kenny Michael-Otton
Email:	jollyswagmangames@gmail.com
Location:	New South Wales, Australia (moving soon to Canberra, Australia)
Day Job:	Speech Language Therapist
Designing:	Two to five years.
BGG:	JustAModestMan
YouTube:	Jolly Swagman Games
Other:	Discord! https://discord.gg/sMz45zThx5
Find my games at:	Usually via Discord https://discord.gg/sMz45zThx5 I actually have posted SCRAP to the Steam Workshop, but you need to contact me in order to get the rulebook at the moment.

Today's Interview is with:

Kenny Michael-Otton
Interviewed on: 1/1/2021

This week's interview is with Kenny Michael-Otton from Jolly Swagman Games. He's currently working on an action programming game about robots in an apocalyptic world, called SCRAP, and has recently started a Youtube channel where he covers all sorts of board game related topics, from designer diaries to strategy guides to game overviews. Read on to learn more about Kenny and his projects!

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Two to five years.

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine for around 17 years. I think the best moments in my life have occurred because of tabletop gaming, and the experience of sharing a game around a table with us is truly magical. I want to be able to facilitate those experiences for other people. Plus, I love the process of trying to bring my ideas to life.

What game or games are you currently working on?
The most major design I'm currently working on is a game called "SCRAP". It's a 4X game about Robots who have just become sentient. Their world was mostly destroyed by an event called "The Singularity", and they're trying to work out why it happened while building their own empire and upgrading themselves.

SCRAP's major mechanical feature is an action que (programming); each turn, you'll resolve your rightmost Function (action), then shift each of your other two functions one space to the right. Finally, you'll place a new function into the leftmost slot of your board. Effectively, you're sending orders to your Robots with a two turn delay, meaning you'll have to plan and learn to expect the unexpected. The game also has a heavy focus on interaction between players as opposed to turtling behaviours, because ultimately I think that interaction is a heck of a lot more fun. SCRAP is hopefully going to be going to Kickstarter in early 2022, but I'm willing to be flexible with that time depending on how "ready" I feel the game is.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
No

What is your day job?
Speech Language Therapist

Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.

Where do you prefer to play games?
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic going on right now, I usually play via Tabletop Simulator. There's a few servers I hang out on to find games (The Paddle is my favourite), but I also co-host a Cthulhu Wars specific server with my good friend Mikey (we played over 150 games of Cthulhu Wars EACH last year!). When I'm in person, I tend to play at my parents' house with a few close friends (my mother and her partner are both gamers as well). Their house has always been the central gathering point for all of us for gaming.

Who do you normally game with?
In person, as I said above, I tend to game with a handful of my closest friends. Online, however, I'm happy to play with whoever is keen to join in the games I want to play! I've met a lot of wonderful people online through Tabletop Simulator and Discord, and I would encourage everyone to give it a go if they haven't already.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
If I had a physical copy, I'd probably get them to playtest SCRAP for me (because I'm sure they'd love it as well!). One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a mainstay for us, and we all know the game so well that we have some complex mindgames that tend to go on (For example, it's well known that I ALWAYS lie straight up, so I like to mix things up sometimes by telling the truth and acting as though I was lying). I recently got to try out Dwellings of Eldervale and would love to get that back to the table; it's got a little bit of everything, so I'm sure that each of my friends would find something to enjoy. Cthulhu :Death May Die would be high on my list as well. I'd also try and get a game of Blood Rage in, given it's currently my favourite game of all time!

And what snacks would you eat?
What snacks WOULDN'T we eat? :P We'd probably have a couple of chip bowls on the table and a bag of chocolate / lollies. We'd follow that up later on in the day with either a pizza from a local place, or even some burgers or fried chicken from any of the fancy places around.

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
We don't always have music going, but if we do, it's one of two kinds: either a mix of 80s and 90s classics, or ambient music that matches the game we're playing (e.g. Western music for Great Western Trail, space music for Terraforming Mars).

What’s your favorite FLGS?
It used to be Good Games Top Ryde, mainly because my mother worked there. Since she stopped earlier this year, I haven't really had a FLGS that I've gone to. So in my heart, it will always be there.

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
My current favourite game is Blood Rage; I simply love the action-packed and heavily interactive gameplay and the amazing combos you can pull off with the various upgrades. The game is jam packed with so much "WOW" that I love it every time and am always down for a party during Ragnarok. Hmmm...least favourite game that I still enjoy...that one's tricky. I'm actually not really sure how to answer that one. I'm just going to say Nemesis for now; I think that the premise of Nemesis (semi co-op survival game) just doesn't work at all as the game is already hard enough as it is, and you're often at the mercy of die rolls and card flips, but man is the theme rich and engaging. As a cinematic experience, I'm fine with Nemesis, and think it's excellent. As a game with engaging mechanics? Nah. The worst game I've ever played is a game called Ruddy Vikings, which I doubt many people have heard of. However, this year, I also played a relatively new game called Rival Restaurants, a game with beautiful art...and that's it. Chaotic negotiation, real-time gameplay that is really not real-time at all, wildly unbalanced and punitive player powers, huge take-that moments...it's an absolute mess. It's the only game in recent memory where I actually requested that we quit it early. Truly one of the worst games I've ever played, and certainly amongst the most disappointing.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
My favourite game mechanism is hand management. I find the challenge of trying to optimise your plays with your hand and the planning required in doing so extremely rewarding and engaging. Not Alone, Twilight Struggle, BattleCon, Great Western Trail....the list of games I LOVE with the mechanism goes on and on, and the best part is that each of these games does the mechanically differently! SCRAP also features hand management as a primary driving mechanism (part of the programming).

It's really easy to point at something like "roll and move" for a least favourite mechanism, so instead I'm going to talk about a mechanism that usually drives me nuts: open trading. Open trading tends to favour experienced players disproportionately, or simply result in kingmaker situations. I think it is one of the most abuseable mechanisms in any game. It can make for some fantastic and interesting gameplay (New Angeles, for example), or it can really fall flat on its face.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Food Chain Magnate is a tricky one. I really love that game, but it's very punishing and can be daunting for newer players. It's hard to tell someone "You're going to play this game for several hours and probably lose, but then you'll be better next time", especially given just how crushing Food Chain Magnate can be. One of my friends always reminds me of the time he ended the game with $12 while I had $800 or so. He's never played again.

What styles of games do you play?
I like to play Board Games, Card Games, Miniatures Games, RPG Games, Video Games

Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design Board Games, Card Games, Miniatures Games

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
I mean, it's fine? People are allowed to have fun however they want. I've played it and had a good time, but I would never recommend it as a "board game" to anyone.

You as a Designer
OK, now the bit that sets you apart from the typical gamer. Let's find out about you as a game designer.

When you design games, do you come up with a theme first and build the mechanics around that? Or do you come up with mechanics and then add a theme? Or something else?
It all depends. Generally, I'll start with a premise of some kind. For example, for SCRAP, I started off with: "I want to make a sci-fi themed area control game with powers that combo well together."

So there was a little bit of theme and mechanisms in that initial pitch. I have this "hierarchy" of design principles in my head, one of which can be summarised like so:
"Mechanical and thematic integration is the pinnacle of game design, and should be achieved if possible. However, if the thematic integration is causing mechanical issues, then the mechanics should be prioritised."

As an example, in SCRAP, there has been a mechanism in the game since inception where you could analyse other robots and gain access to their technologies. It has been an absolute NIGHTMARE to get to work in a mechanical way that I feel is smooth and rewarding. As such, I am considering losing some of the thematics of it in order to smooth out the experience and make the game mechanically more robust.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
I've never entered one.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
I have a lot of respect for Bruno Cathala and Reiner Knizia, who I think are both amazing game designers with good philosophies (even if I don't love all of their games or even play many of them anymore). Sandy Petersen is an inspiration as well, as he's managed to create some really interesting social dilemmas in his area-control games.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
If I knew, I'd just farm them all the time. The reality of design is that inspiration can come from anything at all. I find that most of my best ideas for mechanics or even game designs come from things I'm doing outside of gaming. For instance, SCRAP's concept primarily came from WALL-E thematically, while I'm considering working on a Gravity Falls-like game in the future.

Mechanically speaking, I sometimes am inspired by playing games I don't like, or I think miss the mark; I like the puzzle of trying to make mechanics "work". SCRAP's programming came about because I thought that most programming games I'd played had been huge misses for me, so I wanted to make one where the programming would be the main draw card.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
Usually I organise playtests with my friends over Facebook, or with any number of playtesters over various Discord servers. I now run my own Discord server where I manage all of my stuff relating to SCRAP, including future playtests.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Generally, I enjoy working alone, but I do often discuss mechanical ideas with my playtesters (I have a whole channel on my server dedicated to that). I have, however, enjoyed working with my artist, David, who has been an integral part of making SCRAP into what it is today.

I'm just a little too invested in my work, and I think that having co-designers on board is usually more frustrating and means that my particular vision won't come through entirely.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Time. Plain and simple. Game design takes a HUGE amount of time. I was very fortunate last year in that I was able to work very little yet still have enough to pay rent, feed myself, and save towards a house. This meant I could dedicate 20+ hours each week to design easily. Every aspect of design simply just takes a lot of time, and balancing that with everything else in life is challenging.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Star Wars, for sure. It's my favourite universe, and I'd love to be able to create something magical within it.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
That it would be the most rewarding thing I'd ever do. That would have made me really get to it much earlier.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
This above all; to thine own self be true.

What I mean is to stay true to the vision you had for the game. Playtester feedback is important, but make sure that you're happy with your game first, or it will never be amazing.

A few months ago, I started showcasing SCRAP for the first time to people I didn't really know. The feedback was generally positive; players loved certain things they could pull off within the game, and the engines they could build. The problem? SCRAP wasn't intended to be an engine builder!

As such, even though a lot of player feedback was very positive around engine building, I decided to remove most of the engine building because it was distorting the core promise I had in my head of what SCRAP would be. Even though some players do miss the engine building, I believe the game today is around a thousand times more interesting and improved than it could have ever been had the unintentional engine building stayed around.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Games that I'm playtesting are: SCRAP - The core bones of the game are mostly finished, and now each of the different areas of the game just needs fleshing out and significant playtesting.
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Cookie Conspiracy - A social/logical deduction game where you must get the most cookies from the cookie jar.
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: Unnamed Boss Battler

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Many of them, but I only find some of them to actually be useful.

And the oddly personal, but harmless stuff…
OK, enough of the game stuff, let's find out what really makes you tick! These are the questions that I’m sure are on everyone’s minds!

Star Trek or Star Wars? Coke or Pepsi? VHS or Betamax?
Star Wars, Coke, VHS

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
You mean there are other hobbies? Jokes aside, I enjoy playing some video games here and there (I have a Switch I play with sometimes). I watch a lot of movies and TV shows with my partner, sometimes even willingly! I'm also a massive foodie, and love travelling around to various food trucks in search of the most delicious burgers in the world!

What is something you learned in the last week?
I learned that hot drinks are forbidden within the Church of the Latter Day Saints. As such, one of my friends doesn't drink tea or coffee!

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
For music, I'm a big fan of low-fi stuff. Just makes me feel really relaxed. In regards to books, I used to really enjoy reading romance manga (shoujo). Nowadays, I don't read very often, but I do love the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend, and have just started reading Obama's autobiography "A Promised Land". Finally, movies. Anything sci-fi will usually get my interest. I also love a good kids movie, particularly Pixar stuff. I watched Soul last night, and it was simply magical.

What was the last book you read?
The last book I read to completion was The Bromance Book Club, about a footballer who is trying to resolve his marital problems by reading adult romance novels with a group of his friends. It was enjoyable enough.

Do you play any musical instruments?
I can play the recorder and the drums (a little bit). I've practiced a bit of guitar and keyboard, but I couldn't confidently say I could play something on them.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I can speak reasonably fluent Korean (it was my major in university!).

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I think I've been a mostly sensible person my whole life. Adventure is certainly NOT my middle name!

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
During my final placement as part of my Masters degree, I very nearly burned the whole building I was staying in down due to some poor instructions. I started a reasonably large fire in a pan with a lot of oil; smoke filled the entire kitchen (quite a big area), the building had to be evacuated, the fire brigade had to come, and I didn't even get to eat my dinner! It ended up making me very well known and a public face in the student accommodation, which meant people approached me more readily and joked about me being "The Fireman". I became very good friends with many of them.

Who is your idol?
The Hon. Jacinda Arden, Prime Minister of New Zealand.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Go back and start design earlier!

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Definitely an extrovert, although even I need my quiet time sometimes.

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Probably The Flash. Super speed is just such an awesome and flexible power.

Have any pets?
None right now.

When the next asteroid hits Earth, causing the Yellowstone caldera to explode, California to fall into the ocean, the sea levels to rise, and the next ice age to set in, what current games or other pastimes do you think (or hope) will survive into the next era of human civilization? What do you hope is underneath that asteroid to be wiped out of the human consciousness forever?
Well, that's probably the most unusual question I've been asked during an interview. Heck, I'd love for all pastimes to still exist, because even if I don't love it, somebody else surely does. I would hope that the internet would also survive, because it has been perhaps the most significant invention of all time (in my opinion), and has revolutionised the world so substantially, making us all much more connected. If I was hoping for something to be wiped out, it would be some pretty grand conceptual stuff. War, wealth gap, gender inequality, those kinds of things. I don't think an asteroid is going to solve those issues, unfortunately.

If you’d like to send a shout out to anyone, anyone at all, here’s your chance (I can’t guarantee they’ll read this though):
Shout out to all of my playtesters for being a part of my journey, as well as each of my friends and family members who have put up with me talking about SCRAP non-stop for the past 9 months. Also shout out to The Paddle for being the friendliest place to play games online!

Thanks for answering all my crazy questions!

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Thank you for reading this People Behind the Meeples indie game designer interview! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples and if you'd like to be featured yourself, you can fill out the questionnaire here: http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html

Did you like this interview?  Please show your support: Support me on Patreon! Or click the heart at Board Game Links , like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter .  And be sure to check out my games on  Tabletop Generation.

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Review of Crimes in History: H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle by Blueprint Gaming Concepts

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Review of Crimes in History: H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle  by Blueprint Gaming Concepts
Disclaimer Support me on Patreon!

Vitals:
Title: Crimes in History: H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle & 2nd Story Expansion
Designed by: Brandt Hoffman, Seth A Cooper
Publisher: Blueprint Gaming Concepts
Year Published: 2021
MSRP: $64
1-7p | 15-105 min | 14+

Introduction:

A couple of weeks ago I did an unboxing for H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle and mentioned how I was looking forward to playing the game with my family.  The game combines an interesting theme with a number of mechanics that we really enjoy in other games, like tile laying, exploring, action selection, and more, so we thought it would be something that we'd really enjoy playing.  The rules are pretty simple, so it was an easy game to jump into, even though there are a ton of cool components.  So I set up the game on a Saturday and played a three player game (well, four players since my three-year-old played on a team with my wife).  So read on to find out if the game met our expectations!

In H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle, each player is a character who was involved in Holmes' various scams, cons, and schemes, who is trying to collect and remove incriminating evidence from the Murder Castle hotel.  The first player to collect all the evidence cubes they need and then return to the Pharmacy will escape and win the game.  The hotel starts with four rooms, the Pharmacy and three Basement rooms, but as the game progresses the hotel will grow.  With the 2nd Story expansion the maze of rooms becomes even more complex throughout the game.

On your turn you'll get to select an action.  Then you'll take the action, plus a bonus.  Then everyone else gets to take the same action without the bonus.  After everyone has taken an action the round ends, Holmes will move somewhere in the castle, and then the actions are reset.  Turns move pretty quickly and everyone stays pretty engaged.

Actions that can be taken include exploring the hotel (which lets you add new room tiles), moving your character one or two rooms, collecting evidence from the room you are in, draw event cards (some are played immediately, some kept for later), or moving Holmes.  Some of the rooms have special rules that activate when players enter them, some events help you out, some let you hinder your opponents, and some events add features like secret bookcase passages, trapdoors, and more.  There are five types of evidence cubes to collect and each player has a different combination of cubes they need to collect before they can escape.  Evidence cubes are placed randomly into a Ferris Wheel rondel that rotates as the game progresses, so you can plan somewhat for the types of evidence that will be appearing in the rooms.

After everyone has finished all their actions (and when someone takes the Holmes Moves action), Holmes will move about the castle.  The Holmes Moves cards show two or more rooms on them.  If any of the rooms have been discovered in the castle, Holmes will move to one of them.  If there are any players in that room they'll suffer a Holmes Strikes effect; they'll have to discard one or more evidence cubes from their board.

Once a player has all the evidence they need to clear their name (or prevent them from being convicted along with Holmes), they'll have to make it back to the Pharmacy in order to escape and win.  

Blooms:
Blooms are the game's highlights and features.  Elements that are exceptional.

• Pretty simple, straightforward rules make it easy to play and introduce to new players.
• Love exploring the house and uncovering new, weird rooms.
• Action selection mechanic is great and keeps everyone engaged throughout the game.
• I love the idea of the Ferris Wheel mechanic so you can see the evidence that'll be coming up.
• Nice components and artwork.

Buds:
Buds are interesting parts of the game I would like to explore more. 

• Solo mode adds an automata challenge for Holmes.
• Can play in a one-vs-all mode with one player taking on the role of Holmes.
• Quite a few rooms, some with different features or events tied to them, make for a different game each time.
• Tons of event cards so it'll take a couple of games to see them all.

Thorns:
Thorns are a game's shortcomings and any issues I feel are noteworthy.

• Most of the rooms are just rooms.  Evidence is just colored cubes.  There's no drive to explore other than to just get more rooms and cubes on the board, not because they result in any interesting experiences.
• Even at three players some actions taken left the last player with nothing to do, especially early in the game.
• Game has very little arc and doesn't ramp up in tension or complexity.  It gets repetitive and feels the same from beginning to end.
• In the standard game Holmes' movement is completely random and directionless.

Final Thoughts:

H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle has a lot going for it.  It uses some great mechanics put together in a straightforward, simple to understand way that makes the game great to introduce to new players.  The inspiration for the game is pretty dark and macabre, but its presentation in the game is much less so.  The game is more about the mystery behind the hotel and exploring it than it is about the murder and malice that surrounds the Holmes mythos.  The artwork throughout the game is mildly gruesome (some blood stains, morbid imagery, and a few dead bodies - you could have been featured as a cadaver as a Kickstarter pledge level), but far from gory or disturbing.  Most of the rooms are empty with a few odd props scattered about.  The game doesn't satirize or make light of the history it represents, but it also doesn't glorify or sensationalize the history either.  In fact, the theme is just very lightly incorporated into the game and the artwork.  

Beyond the theme, the game is pretty mechanically sound.  The rulebook covers most situations pretty well and there's a FAQ on Board Game Geek that covers the couple of areas where questions might arise or where the specific rules may be easy to miss in the rulebook.  Mechanically and strategically the game is pretty light, so it's good for families or casual gamers.  A lot of the game relies on luck - are the colors of evidence you need coming around on the Ferris wheel, is Holmes going to end up in your room, is an event card going to help you or hurt you, etc.  

Unfortunately, however, we found the game almost too light.  I love gateway games - they're great to play with my family or newer players, and this has all the right ingredients, but there's no escalation to the game.  The actions and strategies you use at the beginning of the game are the same as what you'll use at the end of the game.  You're just moving around from room to room picking up the colored cubes that you need.  And the evidence cubes are just that, various colored cubes.  They have no bearing on the game except for you needing to collect a slightly different combination than everyone else.  The only sense of urgency is if you can get your cubes before someone else gets theirs.  Everything else is just happenstance - does the Ferris wheel happen to have the color cubes you need to collect, do the colored cubes happen to be in a room that you can get to and collect evidence from, did Holmes happen to move to your room, etc.  Even the methods of messing with your opponents are just random chance event cards.  

In the game we played, my wife collected her last evidence cube and just had to move back to the Pharmacy.  There was nothing anyone else could do to stop her except draw event cards and hope one would mess with her or hope Holmes would move into her room.  So we just sat back for two turns hoping something would happen that would stop her from being able to move, but with two move tiles and everyone getting to take those actions, there wasn't anything we could do to stop her.  And both of the other players were only one evidence cube away from having our full sets, too.  But we couldn't move to rooms to get our cubes without giving my wife the movement actions she needed to win.  

So the end was very anticlimactic and helpless feeling.  Up to that point the game was interesting, but felt very repetitive.  There was probably too much flexibility.  With everyone getting to do every action that was selected every round, the bonuses for being the player to take a specific action didn't feel significant enough to matter.  The game ended with everyone very close, but it felt like we were close because we were all basically doing the same things as each other, over and over.  I think the game would be more interesting without the bonuses for taking an action, and having only the active player taking the action.  That would give some tension, wondering if you're going to be able to move this round, or collect that evidence you need.  It would also add some strategic choices and ways to mess with other players.  We could have taken move actions, even if they wouldn't have been optimal actions for us, just so my wife wouldn't get to move to the Pharmacy.  Then she would have had to figure out other ways to achieve her goal (maybe through events or by purposely getting Holmes to move toward her so she could use her special ability).  Alternately, let players choose to take the bonus and give everyone else the base action or forfeit the bonus and only take the action themselves.  Either of these options would have kept the gameplay simple, but allow for more strategic choices.

I was also disappointed in the rooms themselves.  In Betrayal at House on the Hill, which has a similar exploring the house mechanic but very different gameplay otherwise, almost every room has some special effect, action, or rule.  This keeps the game exciting and unpredictable, and even gives you a purpose for visiting specific rooms sometimes.  In H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle only a few of the rooms have special effects.  Most of the rooms are just plain rooms with different artwork.  So the only reason to go to those rooms is if they have the color evidence cubes you need.  But those are placed mostly randomly and even in a three player game rooms were quickly emptied of cubes.  So there was no reason to move to (or avoid) most rooms.  The only thing that matters is if evidence cubes you need are in a room.  This keeps the game simple, but also not very interesting.  One room is pretty much the same as any other room.

Finally, in the standard game anyway, the movement of Holmes is very uninteresting.  You draw a card and move Holmes to one of the named rooms if possible.  If someone is in that room they get a Holmes Strikes cube and have to discard one or more of their evidence cubes.  The room Holmes moves to is completely random, and many times Holmes doesn't move at all.  The story is that Holmes knows all the secret passages and can appear in any room at any time, but there's no tension in that.  I'd much rather see Holmes prowling through the hotel, moving from room to room.  If he moved through all the rooms between where he was at and his destination, there would be a lot more tension and fear.  This might mean a lot more interactions with Holmes, but it would also really add to the experience.

Keep in mind that these observations were with a three-player count game.  In a five or six-player game the board will be tighter, there will be more competition over the available evidence cubes, and rooms will empty quicker, requiring more strategic decisions.  And with the one-vs-all mode, a player is controlling Holmes' movement, so there should be more tension.  However I believe a game should play well at all player counts listed, especially in the middle range.  Since the game is rated for 1-7 players, three should have played fine but it really felt like it was missing something.  Mechanically everything worked well, thematically it was interesting, but the game felt repetitive and lacked the excitement and tension that would deliver the "thrilling" experience the box promised.

Crimes in History H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle gets a Bud.  It's a solid gateway level game that you may enjoy, especially if you like games like Betrayal at House on the Hill, true crime, or action selection mechanics.  It's somewhat disappointing though, especially because I feel that just a few tweaks could turn an okay game into an amazing game.  It's not far off the mark, but it falls just a bit short.  A lot of things in the game reminded me of one of my first game designs - Polterheist, a game about exploring a haunted mansion and trying to find a hidden treasure.  Mechanically the game worked, and it was even fun, but it suffered from many of the same issues that H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle suffers from - every room felt the same, finding items was random, and players felt like they were just wandering the house for the sake of just getting to the next spot they could search a random deck.  Someday I'd like to get back to Polterheist because I feel the same way about it as I do about H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle - there's a great core idea, but it needs something to bring it up a notch to make it great.  Maybe someday H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle will get a second edition that addresses some of these issues, and if it does, I'll be all over it!

If Crimes in History H. H. Holmes' Murder Castle sounds like a game you'd like to try, you can pick up a copy from Blueprint Gaming Concepts or your favorite online or local game store for $64.

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Rating:

Bud!  This game definitely has some
great moments.  It's good for several plays
and should appeal to most gamers, especially
if you enjoy other games like this.

Pictures:

There are a lot more pictures in the Unboxing Post.

Yes, we did play one rule incorrectly and added an extra room in the basement.

Did you like this review?  Show your support: Support me on Patreon! Also, click the heart at Board Game Links , like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter .  And be sure to check out my games on  Tabletop Generation.

GJJ Games Reviews are independent, unpaid reviews of games I, George Jaros, have played with my family and friends.  Some of these games I own, some are owned by friends, some are borrowed, and some were provided by a publisher or designer for my honest feedback and evaluation.  I make every attempt to be both honest and constructively critical in my reviews, and they are all my opinions.  There are four types of reviews on GJJ Games: Full Reviews feature critical reviews based on a rubric and games receive a rating from 0 to 100.  Quick Reviews and Kickstarter Previews are either shorter reviews of published games or detailed preview reviews of crowdfunding games that will receive a rating from 0 to 10 based on my impressions of the game.  Buds, Blooms,and Thorns reviews are shorter reviews of either published or upcoming games that highlight three aspects of a game: Buds are parts of a game I look forward to exploring more, Blooms are outstanding features of a game, and Thorns are shortcomings of a game.  Each BBT review game will receive an overall rating of Thorn, Bud, or Bloom.

People Behind the Meeples - Episode 262: Keith D Franks III

Welcome to People Behind the Meeples, a series of interviews with indie game designers.  Here you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the people who make the best games that you may or may not have heard of before.  If you'd like to be featured, head over to http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html and fill out the questionnaire! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples. Support me on Patreon!

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Name:	Keith D Franks III
Location:	Sydney, Australia
Day Job:	This is my day job, but I moonlight as a design and marketing consultant.
Designing:	Two to five years.
Webpage:	Cutlass Boardgames on Patreon
BGG:	Keith D Franks III
Facebook:	Cutlass Boardgame/
Twitter:	@CutlassGame
YouTube:	Cutlass Boardgame
Instagram:	@cutlassboardgame
Other:
Find my games at:	https://cutlassboardgame.itch.io

Today's Interview is with:

Keith D Franks III
Interviewed on: 1/1/2021

This week's interview is with AUstralian designer Keith D. Franks III. Keith has a number of self-published games that he's designed, including a successful Kickstarter for Castles of Caleira a couple of years ago. He has a whole bunch of games in the works, so read on to learn more about Keith, his company Cutlass Boardgames, and his projects.

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Two to five years.

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
I was inspired by the challenge to be able to tell a story, create a universe, and tell it to people using components, and art. Most of my games revolve around a greater story, and the game itself is only a window into those events, that the players get a chance to witness first hand. I think that unique challenge in creative design is what drew me in. Seeing giants like Magic: The Gathering be able to drop hints at a greater story using only a few lines of flavour text amongst a huge series of cards, and art depicting different parts of the story, was a huge inspiration.

What game or games are you currently working on?
I have two major projects I'm working on at the moment, the first is Winning Love by Daylight; a Sailor Moon inspired boardgame where you are a teenage super hero trying to balance school work, study, romance, and protecting the city. It has a really intricate story, amongst eight main characters that spans an in development visual novel, and webcomic. All which will culminate in the game's release, where you get to play in that world, as those characters. The second is; The Murders at Tealwoods Manor, a reverse murder mystery worker placement and drafting game, where players are trying to manipulate the events of a 19th century banquet to protect certain guests, and ensure the murdering of others. It's light mechanically, but highly strategic.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
I've self published a tonne of games, which sometimes feels like it doesn't count. The ones that you would most likely be able to find in a brick and mortar store in 2021 are: Castles of Caleira, my first game: a gorgeously illustrated medieval fantasy castle building microgame, where you attempt to build a greater castle than your rival on a neighbouring hillside. The second is Spaceship Redoubt, a Sci-fi social deduction game where players must repair the ship and uncover the identity of the shapeshifting saboteurs who have killed the captain and are attempting to blow up the engine!

What is your day job?
This is my day job, but I moonlight as a design and marketing consultant.

Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.

Where do you prefer to play games?
The only boardgame events that I've attended regularly have been in function rooms of pubs in the city near me. Game stores in Sydney are too small, and most other places are too expensive. I'd play board games at my place, but there's no chairs in my living room or dining room. Only a billiards table.

Who do you normally game with?
Usually people that are regulars at the local events. All my local game design fam live too spread out to hang out together.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
I've always got some untested prototype that I've inflicted upon my friends. Although some of my favourites lately include: Hues n Cues, Azul, Reef, and Blood on the Clocktower.

And what snacks would you eat?
Licorice is my go-to for in most cases, I'm also a big white chocolate fan. Often, Krispy Kreme doughnuts too.

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Lo-Fi hip-hop. If you're going to play anything that has lyrics in it, I can't concentrate on what you're saying to me. Elevator music, please.

What’s your favorite FLGS?
My favourite, friendly game store was Gamezilla that closed down too soon. My favourite local one, is Good Games Hurstville. All of the stores I've liked the most, either have changed management for the worse, or shut down entirely. Which is pretty upsetting.

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Current favourite game is still: Blood on the Clocktower. It will be tough to dethrone. Least favourite that I still enjoy is Spirits of Carter Mansion; it's one of mine that I have a huge love hate relationship with, I'm really proud of how it accomplished the design brief, but damn was it a clunky failure. Worst game I ever played goes to any "point at the funny card I wrote, and laugh" that people are still making to this day.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Social Deduction historically, it's inspired the most creations out of me. Lately, I'm really getting into action selection. Least favourite is probably player voting, it never really accomplishes what you want.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
This second: The Murders at Tealwoods Manor. COVID makes it hard to get anything to table, and I'm super excited about this game, and it's really hard to get it happening for people to play it.

What styles of games do you play?
I like to play Board Games, Card Games, Video Games

Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design Board Games, Card Games, RPG Games, Video Games

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
No

You as a Designer
OK, now the bit that sets you apart from the typical gamer. Let's find out about you as a game designer.

When you design games, do you come up with a theme first and build the mechanics around that? Or do you come up with mechanics and then add a theme? Or something else?
Depends on the game, I've done a little of the both mentioned above, and also a few games where I've just created all of the components, and then tried to figure out how they all come together to make a game. I think what motivates me the most is the challenge, sometimes the challenge is creating a immersive story with three-dimensional characters, sometimes the challenge is to create a game with infinite replayability with only 18 cards. The fun in a Haiku is knowing you have to tell a story with a limited amount of syllables, when I design a game, the challenge exists first, and that motivates me to build something, which eventually evolves into the final product.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
The Calling: A Cthulean Social Deduction game, placed as a finalist in TheGameCrafter competition for Social Deduction games. The game featured a unique moderatorless mechanic where players performed an action, then woke the next player up around a circle. Also, instead of voting to execute, any three players alive or dead (all dead players are auto-evil) could form a murder party, and instantly kill a named player. The game is HAVOC, and super fun.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Usually is the local talent that inspires me the most, and more-so because they kick my ass about improving too. Also Omari Akil, out there killing it everyday, and makes me want to level up to match his game.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
When: Half asleep usually. scribble some notes, and come back to it, or pull an all-nighter to make a proof-of-concept. How: Usually it's in response to a what-if, or trying to improve upon an existing concept. which comes from anywhere.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
You're asking Mr. Bring-your-work-to-Board-Game-events-2020

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Whether or not it's my preference, all of my projects have for the most part been: Me hiring an artist to do the illustration work that I can't, and me taking the idea all the way to shelf. Designers out there that want to collab? Hit me up fam!

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
The distance between Australia and America. Not being able to attend the convention circuit makes me feel like I don't exist compared to the indie scene over there. Australia's talent just doesn't get a spotlight on the global stage, and we have some crazy cool folks down here.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Godzilla. Without a second's hesitation.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
That I should do it. I was a DJ for TOO long.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Anyone can do it. It's about telling a story to people through play. Build a story that you think will be fun. Even if playing it for the first time sucked, that's a lesson learned, tweak until it works, or it'll turn into something useful later. Some of the things I had written off the hardest, turned into great ideas when presented as part of a different project.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Castles of Caleira, 90s Tapes, Crikita, Spirits of Carter Mansion, Strange Sites, the Calling, Treachery of the Paper Fox, Wingfalls of Dusk, Wings of the Eve, Spaceship Redoubt.
Games that will soon be published are: Journey into Death's Grasp: (A RPG system that uses 2 D20; a D+20 and a D-20, and a dynamic alignment system from (+)heartless to (-)wholesome, where your skills affect whether or not you have heartless or wholesome outcomes in combat, dialogue, and so-on.)
The Murders and Tealwoods Manor: (Mentioned earlier in this interview.)
Galactic Cartel: (A Social Deduction game where you bid on people to be executed instead of voting.)
I'm planning to crowdfund: Winning Love by Daylight: (Mentioned earlier in this interview.)

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
I'm in so many that the folder of bookmarks for them doesn't all fit on my monitor at once.

And the oddly personal, but harmless stuff…
OK, enough of the game stuff, let's find out what really makes you tick! These are the questions that I’m sure are on everyone’s minds!

Star Trek or Star Wars? Coke or Pepsi? VHS or Betamax?
Star Wars, but not by much. Coke. VHS, it's become such an iconic LoFi aesthetic filled with glorious 90s Nostalgia.

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Video Games, mostly. I watch a tonne of movies.

What is something you learned in the last week?
A random Facebook post shed some light on some ancient personal trauma. Super unexpected, but very wholesome and helpful.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Music: LoFi and Riddim, I like snappy snares. Books: Currently reading Piers Anthony's Xanth series, all of the world building is done with Puns and that is weird and interesting to me. Movies: I usually pick things based on the people in it, but I have a love for Monster Movies, Romantic Comedies, Regular Comedies, High-concept Sci-Fi and the occasional Drama.

What was the last book you read?
A spell for Chameleon: Piers Anthony

Do you play any musical instruments?
No, but I can Beatbox pretty damn well.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
People always seem surprised that I'm very tall, probably because they usually see me sitting down a lot. I'm a big fan of sit.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
Funded a Kickstarter, did all the graphic design and production myself, and got it delivered to backers earlier than scheduled, while I was homeless. Looking back on it, I have no idea how I accomplished it so well with so little money.

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
Ask my parents.

Who is your idol?
Steve Buscemi is way too underappreciated for how cool he actually is.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Get more hours out of everyday. Shock everyone by how productive I am.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Ambivert with huge introvert leanings.

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Mystique probably, I dig that whole infiltrating and disappearing angle, where most other heroes are kind of all about the big rumble with the villain.

Have any pets?
Not currently, but eagerly waiting until my lease is up so I can get a Cat.

When the next asteroid hits Earth, causing the Yellowstone caldera to explode, California to fall into the ocean, the sea levels to rise, and the next ice age to set in, what current games or other pastimes do you think (or hope) will survive into the next era of human civilization? What do you hope is underneath that asteroid to be wiped out of the human consciousness forever?
I feel like the mostly likely to survive is the deck of 54, and whatever games people can invent with that. Hopefully it'd be a role-playing game. I'd be pretty stoked if human greed disappears in the future.

If you’d like to send a shout out to anyone, anyone at all, here’s your chance (I can’t guarantee they’ll read this though):
Shout out to all the artists I work with. Arianne Elliot, Seth Rutledge, Klaudia Bezak, Kaionalpaca, and more. They're the real rockstars here.

Thanks for answering all my crazy questions!

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