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!
| Name: | Scott Brady |
|---|---|
| Email: | scott@sahmreviews.com |
| Location: | Iowa |
| Day Job: | Retired |
| Designing: | One to two years. |
| Webpage: | SahmReviews.com |
| Blog: | SahmReviews.com |
| BGG: | ia2ca |
| Facebook: | Scott Brady |
| Twitter: | @sahm_reviews |
| YouTube: | SAHM Reviews |
| Instagram: | @meeplemom |
| Find my games at: | FLGS, Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, BGG |
Scott Brady
Interviewed on: 7/15/2020
You may know Scott Brady from such websites as SAHM Reviews and games like Cues & Hues. Scott has been a major contributor to board game reviews and media along with his family over at SAHM Reviews for many years. Recently, instead of playing and reviewing games, Scott decided to start designing games. His first published game is the hit party game from The Op, Hues & Cues, and he has plenty more in the works. Read on to learn more about Scott and his projects!
Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.
How long have you been designing tabletop games?
One to two years.
Why did you start designing tabletop games?
A personal challenge
What game or games are you currently working on?
Chicken -n- Waffles, Backseat Draw'r, Sonoma
Have you designed any games that have been published?
Hues and Cues, Gekitai (web-published), Brain Train (signed, not out yet)
What is your day job?
Retired
Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.
Where do you prefer to play games?
Home with a group of friends
If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Anything Feld or Lacerda
And what snacks would you eat?
Beef Jerkey, Veggie Straws
Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Nope
What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Current - The Crew, Least fav but enjoy - 7 Wonders, Worst - no comment
What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Fav - Worker Placement, Least - roll and move
What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Lorenzo il Magnifico
What styles of games do you play?
I like to play
Board Games, Card Games, Miniatures Games, Video Games
Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design
Board Games, Card 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?
Typically a mechanic first. I try to go for something that hasn't been done before and then marry it to an appropriate theme.
Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
Neither
Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Feld
Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
During twilight sleep.
How do you go about playtesting your games?
First with family, then with close friends when ready to present. After about 10 plays, I move on to other friends and strangers.
Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Typically alone. No one close by to partner with.
What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Overcoming personal criticism.
If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Anything from the late 70's or early 80's. My youth.
What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Listen to yourself. Ultimately you know what is best for your game.
What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Design for the experience first. Even a poorly put together game can bring people to the table if they have fun playing it.
Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have:
Hues and Cues
Games that will soon be published are:
Brain Train, Gekitai
Currently looking for a publisher I have:
Gekitai, Chicken -n- Waffles, Backseat Draw'r
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are:
Chicken -n- Waffles, Backseat Draw'r
Games that I'm playtesting are:
Sonoma, From the Rubble, Petris
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are:
Too many to list. Most of which will probably be burned before they hit the next stage.
Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Too many to list
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?
Trek, Coke, VHS
What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Various collections, particularly Dodge Viper 1:64 scale.
What is something you learned in the last week?
My kids have no idea what they want to study in college.
Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
80's Rap, biographies, SciFi
What was the last book you read?
Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design
Do you play any musical instruments?
I can play all of them. No one would want to hear it though.
Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
Supposedly my lineage has been traced back to Joseph of Arimathea (the man who removed Jesus from the cross). I don't receive any royalties from that...
Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
Scraped off the material from a full box of sparklers and burnt a hole THROUGH the road in front of my house (teenager).
Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
Mayonnaise and peanut butter
Who is your idol?
Billy
What would you do if you had a time machine?
Buy a sports almanac and head back in time.
Are you an extrovert or introvert?
introvert
If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Thanos
Have any pets?
Dog (chihuahua pom mix)
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?
Ice Fishing. Under the asteroid - prejudices.
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):
Hi dad! R.I.P.!
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions!
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment