People Behind the Meeples - Episode 138: Nat Sanderson

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:	Nat Sanderson
Email:	nathaniel.d.j.sanderson@gmail.com
Location:	Canada
Day Job:	I paint houses.
Designing:	One to two years.
Webpage:	Brokenthings.ca
Blog:	On the website, don't have a link though
Facebook:	Borken Things (yes, the typo is on purpose)
Twitter:	@borkenthings
Instagram:	@borkenthings
Find my games at:	Kickstarter in September

Today's Interview is with:

Nat Sanderson
Interviewed on: 8/8/2018

Nat Sanderson is another designer from Canada who also makes up part of the Broken Things team. They'll be releasing Builder!, a deck-building game about building skyscrapers, on Kickstarter very soon. He was also part of the design team on 2016's Neverland Legacy. Read on to learn more about Nat 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?
I love the math behind the games, and creating mechanics.

What game or games are you currently working on?
A game called Builder! It's a game you play where you play competing contracting companies vying for a big city grant.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Neverland's Legacy

What is your day job?
I paint houses.

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

Where do you prefer to play games?
Usually my place or a cafe

Who do you normally game with?
Often the same people I design games with, but also with childhood friends.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Terraforming Mars. I'm obsessed with that game.

And what snacks would you eat?
Uh... dinner?

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Usually no.

What’s your favorite FLGS?
The Dragon

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Terraforming Mars. Risk, I don't particularly like it, but it still has my heart. Worst game is monopoly.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
The way Evolution's watering hole food mechanic. Least favourite is using dice to move along a static board.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Axis and Allies Europe and Pacific. People don't like that it can take upwards of 30 hours to play.

What styles of games do you play?
I like to play Board Games, Card 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, RPG 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?
I usually go for theme first and build mechanics to marry to the theme so that they work together in harmony.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
I have not.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Eric Lang is pretty awesome.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
While painting houses. The monotony allows me to mull over ideas.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
I start small with the team I design with, slowly opening it up to my friends. Finally I bring it to cons so to get a larger crowd.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
I prefer to be part of a team, as each member brings different skills that I definitely don't have.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Graphic design, it is my nemesis.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Any IP ever? Harvest Moon. Love that game so much.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Simpler mechanics tend to easier to learn games with higher skill caps.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Every idea is great, they just may need to be refined a little.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Neverland's Legacy
I'm planning to crowdfund: Builders!
Games that I'm playtesting are: Magical Girl, Ragnar is Okay
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Star Fighter, Tower Defense

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Canadian analog game designers

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(I don't think I remember this battle)

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
I play video games and read quite a bit.

What is something you learned in the last week?
High charisma can overcome many a great challenges.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
I really like punk music, sci fi books, and most movies.

What was the last book you read?
A book called Iron Gold by Pierce Brown.

Do you play any musical instruments?
Sadly no.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I'm a 90% extrovert

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I left my house once...

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
I tripped down a flight of stairs into a flip once, people said it looked rad.

Who is your idol?
Terry Crews, the man is quite inspiring.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Literally nothing. Time is not a thing to be messed with.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
extrovert.

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Frozone.

Have any pets?
I wish I had enough spare time to own a pet.

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'm open to most games surviving, but I certainly hope that monopoly never makes a comeback.

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):
Tyler Omichinski is a wonderful human/genius

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?  Pleasse 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.

People Behind the Meeples - Episode 137: Tyler Omichinski

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:	Tyler Omichinski
Location:	Canada
Day Job:	Writer/Game designer for RPGs, tabletop, etc
Designing:	One to two years.
Webpage:	www.omichinski.com
Facebook:	omichinskityler
Twitter:	@tyler_roi
Find my games at:	DriveThru RPG, BGG, etc.

Today's Interview is with:

Tyler Omichinski
Interviewed on: 6/15/2018

Tyler Omichinski is a Canadian designer with quite a bit of experience writing for RPGs. He's even had stories and scenarios nominated for awards! Coming in a few weeks he'll have his first card game on Kickstarter. Builders! is a deck-builder about building skyscrapers that he designed with a group of friends with various talents and experience in game design that call themselves Broken Things​. I'll be interviewing a few of them in the next few weeks. Be sure to keep an eye out for Builders! on Kickstarter on September 25!

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?
Started in getting work for RPGs, transitioned to tabletop games due to access

What game or games are you currently working on?
Builders! The Building Buildings deck Building Game, Magical Girls and Victoriana Remix

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Yes (Reanimator & RPG stuff)

What is your day job?
Writer/Game designer for RPGs, tabletop, etc

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

Where do you prefer to play games?
At home

Who do you normally game with?
A bunch of friends

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Terraforming Mars has currently taken over our lives

And what snacks would you eat?
I love to cook - so whatever I have whipped up for the day. In the past has included blueberry scones, homemade pizza from scratch, and much more

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Thematic & non-lyrical, based upon game

What’s your favorite FLGS?
The Dragon

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Terraforming Mars, Munchkin, and Magic the Gathering

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
This is like asking me my most favorite and least favorite tool - I don't think there is one because it is all in the execution

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Diplomacy or Scythe

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

Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design Board 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; some have started with the core of a mechanic and grown from there, some have grown from a specific design challenge, and others have started from an attempt at a specific theme and gone from there

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
200 word rpg challenge

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Woof - Kenneth Hite probably?

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
From working hard, or in the shower

How do you go about playtesting your games?
Minimum viable product with co-designers, testing with co-designers until at an acceptable beta, testing with outside designers. Bring to a beta state then wider testing with friends and gamers we know. From there bring to a near final and get to yet wider still testing including blind testing.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
team - have a team I'm trying to work with a lot right now that includes a few of us as co-designers

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
having enough time

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Mass Effect

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Not to take a specific contract

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
It is one part art, and one part science. You're going to need to wear a lot of hats, but project management and a lack of ego are probably your two best friends.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Reanimator + RPGs
Games that will soon be published are: Builders!, Magical Girl, Victoriana Remix
This is what I have currently crowdfunding: Builders! on September 25th
I'm planning to crowdfund: Builders!
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are: Builders!
Games that I'm playtesting are: After Ragnarok
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Magical Girls, Victoriana Remix
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: LOTS - Starfighter Game, Turret D, Starve, etc

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Lots - both of the above, a Canadian game developers one, RPG brain trust and others

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, No, VHS

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Writing, ukulele, fitness lamestuff

What is something you learned in the last week?
that no one in Columbus Ohio seems to know that Coywolves are a thing

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
nerdcore, all of them, heist movies

What was the last book you read?
The Quantum Thief

Do you play any musical instruments?
bad at guitar, bass clarinet, and ukulele

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I have been stabbed

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I was in a fight club

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
blurting out I wanted to marry someone at totally the wrong time

Who is your idol?
Neil Gaiman

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Probably stop myself from going to law school

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Depends on the day? Probably slightly introvert?

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Any of them with healing/immortality based upon not dying of old age

Have any pets?
Yes! technically one dog, not counting the family farm

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?
Jeez - hard questions here. I'm a proponent of creative destruction, so I really just hope that at the very least records of a bunch of the things going on in the industry last. Maybe something really cool at the edge of how we play and understand games like that lantern game who's name escapes me. As for the other side - probably Magic the Gathering honestly, but I'm weird.

Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions! Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?

check out my latest project with a bunch of awesome teammates I feel lucky to work with at www.brokenthings.ca :D

---

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?  Pleasse 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.

Eye on Kickstarter #49

Welcome to my Eye on Kickstarter series!  This series will highlight Kickstarter campaigns I am following that have recently launched (or I've recently discovered) because they have caught my interest.  Usually they'll catch my interest because they look like great games that I have either backed or would like to back (unfortunately budget doesn't allow me to back everything I'd like to).  But occasionally the campaigns caught my attention for other reasons.  Twice a month, on the 2nd and 4th Fridays, I'll make a new post in this series, highlighting the campaigns that have caught my attention since the last post.  In each post I'll highlight one campaign that has really grabbed my attention, followed by other campaigns I've backed or am interested in.  I'll also include links to any reviews I've done.  Comments are welcome, as are suggestions for new campaigns to check out!

You can also see my full Kickstarter Profile to see what I've backed or my old Eye on Kickstarter page that was too unwieldy to maintain.  Also, check out the 2018 Kickstarter Boardgame Projects geeklist over on Board Game Geek for a list of all the tabletop games of the year.

Support me on Patreon!

So, without further ado, here are the projects I'm currently watching as of the FIRST* Friday of September, 2018:

* It's been a while since I've posted an Eye on Kickstarter - 6 weeks! In the weeks following GenCon the Kickstarter world was fairly quiet and nothing really grabbed my attention. But in the last few weeks Kickstarter has come alive again! Technically I should wait until next week for this post (I usually do the 2nd and 4th Fridays), but I had so many campaigns pop up, plus I know there are a ton more awesome ones on the near horizon (Lockup, Tiny Epic Mechs, and tons more) that I decided to get this out a week early.

Live Campaigns from Past Eyes:
Aromat

---

HIGHLIGHTED CAMPAIGN
For the Love of Board Games

• GJJ Games Review
• GJJ Games Backed
• For the Love of Board Games approaches the subject at a much deeper level. This is a book that you'll actually invest time into. The chapters aren't short summaries, they're in-depth interviews and essays with each designer. If you're all about tabletop games, especially if you're a designer yourself, this should be an invaluable read. Personally, I look forward to learning more about some of my favorite designers.

For the Love of Board Games is a book that explores how modern, popular board games were created by interviewing the designers behind the games. Stories in this book come from some of the industry’s biggest board game designers: Matt Leacock, Jamey Stegmaier, Bruno Cathala, Richard Garfield, Reiner Knizia, and many others.

Every chapter features a different board game designer and discusses not only the inspiration behind the game(s) they designed but how they started playing board games and got involved in the industry.

Designers will also reveal stories about board games they designed, but never published!

Readers will discover the fun facts and challenges behind some of their favorite board games and be able to catch an exciting glimpse of the designer’s future plans. Full of exclusive interviews and never-before-told stories, For the Love of Board Games is a must-have gift for tabletop gamers of all ages.

---

Rap Godz

• People Behind the Meeples Interview
• I'm not really a fan of rap music, but this game looks like an interesting peek into that world with some interesting mechanics and fun artwork and rap culture parodies.

---

The Ancient World 2nd Edition

• People Behind the Meeples Interview
• ENDING TODAY!!! I'm a huge fan of Ryan Laukat's work. I haven't played the first edition of this game, but it's been on my radar. Now there's a chance to get the updated 2nd edition, plus some really awesome metal coins. What's not to love!

---

Sword of the Stars: Control

• This lighter hand management and area control game makes me think of Smash Up, however it feels more strategic and thematic. I'm not sure about the take-that aspects of the game though.

---

Midnight Legion: Portal of Life

• This is the third book in the Midnight Legion trilogy, a fully colored, illustrated choose-your-own-adventure style game book series. I've recently discovered this genre of games and am quickly falling in love. I loved the CYOA books as a kid and recently worked my way through Journal 29 with my wife. I also have the Graphic Novel Adventures books that I'm just itching to have the time to play through. This looks like another excelllent title in that genre.

---

Planetarium: Primordial

• Planetarium has been on my wishlist for a while now, with it's gorgeous artwork and astronomy theme. Now there's an equally gorgeous expansion available.

---

Nanty Narking

• I just couldn't get into Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, so the Ankh-Morpork game that's been out of print for a while wasn't especially interesting to me thematically. Now there's a reprint of it, with an awesome Victorian London theme that brings in a combination of historical and fictional characters from the era and includes some really fantastic artwork. This will definitely make me take a second look!

---

What's For Dinner

• This just looks like a silly, fun game with some set collection and hand management mechanics. The theme is cute and the gameplay looks fast, fun, and solid.

---

Bad Maps

• Programming games can be quite fun, but a bit chaotic. Bad Maps looks like exactly that. Work with other players to build a treasure map, then resolve it and see if your pirate goes where you want to go.

---

Dice Coins 2018 2nd Release

• A few years ago I reviewed Ultra Coins, a game about battling armies that used these spinning coins to resolve combat. The game itself was just OK, but the coins were incredible. Now the coins are back in the form of dice coins. You spin them and then stop them with your finger to see the result. This mechanic works wonderfully and there's something fascinatingly addictive to spinning the coins. These are definitely a unique way to get a set of dice.

---

Eye for an Eye

• Eye for an Eye is a game set in the Occulites universe, as in Dawn: Rise of the Occulites (a 2-4 player scenario based skirmish game that is in my review queue). The first game is huge and absolutely gorgeous. Eye for an Eye looks to be a much smaller, simpler game, but with some very interesting real-time mechanics.

People Behind the Meeples - Episode 136: Jonathan Thwaites

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:	Jonathan Thwaites
Email:	jonathan@noescapegame.com
Location:	Canada. British Columbia
Day Job:	I am a full time contracted board game designer, and have been since 2015. Prior to that, I worked 11 years as a Health and Safety manager, national safety adviser, and Regional IT tech for the Canadian branch of Aramark, an international food-service company focusing on cafeterias for university's, schools, businesses, entertainment facilities and prisons.
Designing:	Over ten years!
Webpage:	www.oommgames.com
Blog:	https://oommgames.com/news/
BGG:	Jonathan Thwaites
Facebook:	Jonathan Tthwaites
Twitter:	@jonathanthwaite1
YouTube:	OOMM Games
Instagram:	@oommgames/
Other:	IGA - OOMM Games
Find my games at:	BGG, Amazon

Today's Interview is with:

Jonathan Thwaites
Interviewed on: 6/17/2018

Jonathan Thwaites has been designing games for quite a few years, previously working on the team to design the Vikings: Raid & Conquer deck-builder for High Roller Games. He currently has a Kickstarter going for No Escape and has a slew of other games set in the same universe (and some that stand on their own). Look for a ton of exciting stuff from Jonathan in the future and read on to learn more about him and his projects.

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Over ten years!

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
I started as a general hobby for fun, and as a way to focus my attention while dealing with stresses in my life

What game or games are you currently working on?
The following 6 titles all occur in a shared universe:

No Escape
A tile laying, maze building game for 2-8 people: You are newly arrived recruits to Titan Station, when the unthinkable occurs: core containment breach. With your direct escape route cut off, you must flee into the maintenance corridors of the station and find an escape pod. An explosion rocks the station, and to your horror you realize most of the remaining escape pods have been destroyed. Your initial briefing told you about one emergency pod somewhere in these maintenance corridors. Find it before somebody else does. One of you can make it out, for everyone else, there is No Escape! We just Re-launched the Kickstarter last week.

Imperium - Working Title
Co-op. Players: 1-9. Play time: about 2 hours. Completion: 80% In Imperium, the players have been hired by the galactic corporations to solve a mystery in a key quadrant of space. Players reveal a random objective to be completed at the beginning of each game, and work together to solve the mystery of this area. But be careful, as things continue happening every turn, and each turn players must decide between stopping things from getting worse, or finding the cause of all the problems. However, take to long, and it will be too late to stop it.

E-X - Working Title
Deck-Building. Players: 1-6. Play time: about 1.5 hours. Completion: 75% In E-X, Each player owns of their own ship, and are competing to complete corporate missions, while finding the equipment needed to improve their ships or purchase even larger ships. While you know what abilities will be needed for a mission, you don't know until you attempt a mission just how difficult it will actually be. Of course accidents sometimes happen, and a stray missile might "accidentally" hit an opponent's ship. Become the most famous privateer before one of your opponents do.

Dominus - Working Title
Living. Players: 2-6. Play time: about 1.5 hours. Completion: 50% Take control of one of the major empires during the First Galactic War, and conquer your opponents settlements. Will you use military force, subterfuge, or political manipulation to become the dominant empire? Design your deck to take advantage of your race's strengths, and to advance your colonies. Your colonies are your strength, defend them at all costs.

Bellator - Working Title
Tabletop Wargame. Players: 2-6. Play time: about 1.5 hours. Completion: 60% In Warriors, players control the forces of one of the many factions within the No Escape Universe. Warriors takes place during the first Galactic War, when the manipulations of the evil Olygin lead the various races to weaken their forces. Take control of a racial faction or a corporate entity, as the war for galactic supremacy begins.

Finalem Imperium - Working Title
Role Playing system. Completion: 70% Players can become fully immersed in the intrigue of the No Escape universe. Join a corporate entity, the true powers of the universe, or one of the many races attempting to re-gain their dominance. Play in the time period after the collapse of the Galactic Imperim, with the defeat of the imperial overlords, the Olygin, still fresh on everyone's minds.

Other Ongoing Designs

Dice Designers - Working Title
Worker placement, Dice collection. Players: 2-4. Play time: 60 min. Completion: 30% Compete to design the most successful electronic games, as players take control of their own game studio. Will you stay small and continually produce small but fun games, or will you expand, higher a team of designers, and take on A+ games. Maybe you'll focus on casual mobile games. It's your studio, where will it take you?

Epic Snails
Arena Combat. Players: 2-4. Play time: 30 min. Completion: 40% It's time for epic arena combat ... with Snails! Based on the new electronic game Epic Snails, players compete to gain the most kills on their snail competitors. Epic snails is being developed with a full 3-dimensional movement system. Sneak up on your opponent from underneath, and unleash a full barrage from you rocket launcher.

DB - Working Title
Co-op. Players: 1-4. Play time: 30 min. Completion: 20% It's time for adventure, fame, and LOOT! Grab your friends, and go on a series of adventures, saving the land, defeating monsters, and gaining EPIC LOOT! keep your character progress saved between missions, and continue building the best character, with the BEST LOOT!

AA - Secret Project - Contracted Design
I can't say much about this project at this time, it's just that secret.

BB - Secret Project - Contracted Design
I can't say much about this project at this time, it's just that secret.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Vikings: Raid & Conquer. A deck-building game based on the TV series Vikings. I was one of the co-designers when I worked for High Roller Games.

Trailer Park Boys: Park Wars. This is a licenced tabletop war-game set with the Trailer Park Boys that I was the sole designer for. This game was about to be released when I left High Roller Games. Even though advertising had begun, a release date was set, and a BGG listing was made, the release ended up being cancelled after I left the company.

What is your day job?
I am a full time contracted board game designer, and have been since 2015. Prior to that, I worked 11 years as a Health and Safety manager, national safety adviser, and Regional IT tech for the Canadian branch of Aramark, an international food-service company focusing on cafeterias for university's, schools, businesses, entertainment facilities and prisons.

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

Where do you prefer to play games?
At my place, or a friends place.

Who do you normally game with?
Myself and 4 friends usually meet up once a week for games.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
At the moment, we are going through Charterstone, a campaign of Infinity, and whatever random game(s) are brought that night. They are also good sports, and make time for the newest rendition of one my prototypes. Sometimes we will finish a night with a few rounds of CAH.

And what snacks would you eat?
Usually some Pop (Coke or Barq's), and a couple bags of chips.

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Yes, we usually have rock or indie music playing

What’s your favorite FLGS?
Quantum Games. I regularly go in and talk to the owner about trends in the game industry as he sees them to get the perspective of a game store owner. Plus I've been going there for 15 years and he's always been great.

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Favorite game currently is Pathfinder card game: skull coast, but I will freely admit that my favorite game very regularly changes. Least favorite that I'd still play is Legends of Andor - I would play anything except the last mission, as the game is too unbalanced when you play the rules as-written. Worst game I have ever played (and own) would probably be TOMB. As players acquire equipment the game very quickly becomes unbalanced.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Dice collection and Worker Placement. Mechanics I dislike when I come across I see as a challenge to make a game that fits the mechanic better. As such, I don't really have a mechanic that would be my least favorite.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Civilization the board game - The original.

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, RPG Games

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
Yes

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?
I have done both. Vikings and Trailer Park Boys were both theme first, while No Escape was mechanics first. It depends on what I have for an idea to begin with.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
No, but I plan to.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Jamey Stegmaier.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
Playing other games, watching movies, or just conversations with friends. One concept came from looking at a broken toy from my kids, and thinking the shape would make a cool game piece.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
I have a core group of friends I test initial designs with. Later designs I then bring to local game meetups, such as the University Games Club, the Library games meet, a local pubs game night, and my FLGS

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Both. I feel both methods lend themselves well to different types of designs.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Limiting my focus and time to only a few designs, and not spreading myself too thin on multiple designs.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Star Trek, Firefly or Stargate

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Just start designing. don't think about where the design will lead, if you'll make money off it, or if nobody will ever see it. Just do it. And once you've made something, put it in front of people. Take criticism for what it is, a way to help you. If somebody doesn't like your game, there is always a reason why. Learn why without being defensive, and you will become a much better designer. Becoming a good designer does not happen overnight. It takes time. Lots of time. So if you want to design, start it as a hobby, and don't plan on it being any more. That way you will not be disappointed if nothing becomes of it, but happy if something does.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Ideas are a dime a dozen, and you’ll never improve on your designs if you don't talk to people about them. Get past the idea that somebody will steal your hit concept, and start designing, then showing it to others. Only then will you be able to make a game that people will enjoy.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Vikings: Raid & Conquer
Games that will soon be published are: Trailer Park Boys: Park Wars
This is what I have currently crowdfunding: No Escape
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are: Imperium, E-X
Games that I'm playtesting are: Dominus, Bellator, Finalem Imperium
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Epic Snails, DB
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: Dice Designers, AA, BB

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Game Makers Lab, Board and Card Game developers Guild, Art and Graphic design, Startup Board and Card Game Designers, Tabletop Game Publishers guild, Canadian Analogue designers guild, Board Game Design Lab

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 Trek (but not Discovery), Coke, VHS

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Hiking and Writing

What is something you learned in the last week?
Hotspot volcanoes, such as Hawaii, are thought to be created by the trailing plume from a volcanic burst. The burst would have happened millions of years ago, and could have caused an extinction level event.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Rock music, Sci-fi military opera books, and sci-fi movies

What was the last book you read?
Book 2 of the Manticore Ascension series by David Weber

Do you play any musical instruments?
Trombone

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I took years of vocal training, and used to be able to sing in 3 octaves. However, that was 18 years ago.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I tried to take the bed frame of my girlfriend’s (now wife's) bed apart to help her move, by hammering the frame apart. The hammer slipped, and I hit myself on the head, giving myself a major concussion. I then drove the vehicle full of stuff to her new place, and helped unload it, before going to the hospital.

Who is your idol?
My dad. He's survived cancer, multiple stokes, several heart attacks, meningitis, a broken back, a skull fracture, abusive parents, got out of a gang alive, was made an honorary Blackfoot, and has hiked the entire Thompson river.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Find out more about the Age of Sail.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Introvert, that works hard to be an extrovert

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Batman

Have any pets?
my wife has a cat

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):
My wife. Without her patience and understanding I never would have had to chance to pursue professional game design.

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?  Pleasse 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.

GJJ Games Reivew - Wakening Lair - By Rather Dashing Games

Wakening Lair
Designed By: Mike Richie
Published By: Rather Dashing Games
2-6p | 30-40m | 14+

GJJ Games Reivew - Wakening Lair - By Rather Dashing Games
Disclaimer Support me on Patreon!

Game Overview:

About two years ago I won a contest and received both Pirates, Ninjas, Robots, & Zombies and Graveyards, Ghosts, & Haunted Houses, both part of Rather Dashing Games' Drawn & Quartered series of games (which also includes the more recent  This Belongs in a Museum).  I love those games for their relative simplicity, yet fun gameplay.  They're great gateway games that I've used to play with quite a few non-gamers.  They're also fun fillers with my game group, too.  Then last year I reviewed Element and loved the game.  It made the #7 spot on my Top 10 11 New To Me Games of 2017 list.  So this year at Gen Con I decided to stop by the Rather Dashing Games booth and say hi in person and tell them how much I liked those games.  I chatted briefly with them and then was thrilled to receive a copy of their latest game, Wakening Lair, to review.

Wakening Lair is a cooperative dungeon crawler that simplifies the genre to just the essentials: revealing dungeon rooms, battling minor monsters, discovering treasure, leveling up with weapons and artifacts, and fighting a big boss monster.  All this is accomplished with a few decks of cards, a handful of cubes, screen printed tokens, boss monster boards, and three dice.  It plays up to 6 players and takes about 45-60 minutes (although the box says 30-40 minutes).  The box also says its lower player count in 2, however I recommend playing 2 (or even three) characters each at that player count, and there's no reason you can't play solo if you don't mind playing multiple characters.  The box also says it's for ages 14 and up, but there's no reason a much younger player can't play.  I'd say the game is good for 8+ and, with a bit of help, could even work with a 6 year old that's familiar with games.   So, does Wakening Lair do for dungeon crawlers what the Drawn & Quartered series does for tile laying games?  Is it as ingenious as Element?  Read on to find out.

UPDATE: Please note that we played with one rule incorrect - namely that Heroes should move with the Monstrous Terror.  This would have given us a few more actions when fighting the Monstrous Terror.  See updated notes regarding this inline in yellow italic text.

Components & Packaging:
As is the case with all the titles I've seen from Rather Dashing Games, the components are top notch.  The cards are huge tarot sized cards for the dungeon rooms, characters, monsters, and treasures.  The player tokens are large, thick wooden disks with screen printed symbols on each one.  There are also six boss monster boards that are double thick with indents to hold damage cubes.  A few dozen white and red wooden cubes and three D6 dice round out the components.  As expected, everything is very high quality, but it's the box that really steals the show.

I'm not a fan of the monster peering out from the cover of the font and style of the title,
but the rest of the box looks awesome.

Wakening Lair comes in an absolutely gorgeous box that looks like a huge, monstrous tome.  The box has a magnetic flap so that the cover opens more like a book than a game box.  Inside the cover are pictures of all the playable characters with a bit of backstory.  Inside the box is a amazing insert that keeps everything in perfect order and condition.  Everything has a spot and fits perfectly.  Even while traveling and being jostled around, everything stays put.  This is an amazing insert and a gorgeous box.

For a cheaper game this is one of the best organized storage solutions I've seen.

My only criticism of the components is some of the artwork.  It's not bad, in fact the characters, treasures, and monsters are great.  The only artwork I'm not really wild about is the room cards and the box cover.  As I mentioned, the box is designed to both look, and open like a book.  But the cover has a big black square with cartooney looking monster eyes peering out (yes, I know it looks a bit like the GJJ Games logo), and a blue and gold stylized font logo.  This really detracts from the feel of a grimoire, or mystical tome, that the rest of the box design portrays.  The room cards, while functionally great, don't feel like they meld well with the rest of the artwork in the game.  They almost have the feel of neon signs instead of dungeon rooms.

I really don't like the look of the room cards.  The rest of the components look great though.

Where Grant Wilson's art shines, however, is in the monsters, characters, and treasures.  The artwork is whimsical and cartooney, yet still has the feel of danger and adventure that's appropriate for a dungeon crawler.  The art perfectly conveys the concept of family friendly fantasy.  And each of the nine character classes has two play options.  Each character card has both a male and female side, each with the same abilities, but with unique artwork.  This is great for inclusiveness and I'm happy that more games are doing more to be welcoming to everyone.

The characters are wonderful!

All characters have both a male and female side.

There are 12 different monsters, two for each type of attack.

Score: 9/10 x1

Rules & Setup:
Setup of Wakening Lair is pretty simple.  There are 12 room cards that need to be shuffled and laid out in a line.  The first card is revealed as the starting dungeon room.  On top of the last card one of the boss monster cards (the Monstrous Terror) is randomly selected and placed face-down.  Then the treasure deck is shuffled and the monster deck is shuffled, with the Monstrous Terror Awakens card shuffled into the bottom third.  Then each player selects a character and takes the corresponding character card (with either the female or male side up) in front of them and the character token on the first dungeon room.  The white and red cubes (effects and damage) are set near the play area.  Decide on a first player and you're good to go.

Setup is pretty quick, but it'll take up a lot of table space.

The rules are also generally pretty simple.  On each player's turn they first roll 2 of the dice to reveal one of the 12 rooms.  The first room is revealed at the beginning of the game (and you can't roll a 1), and the last room won't be revealed until the Monstrous Terror (boss monster) awakens, so if you roll a 12 you get a pass on revealing a room.  Each room card has a 1 or 2 on it that tells how many monsters initially populate the room.  Draw monsters from the monster deck and place them next to the room card.  If a room is already revealed simply add another monster instead (max 3).

As rooms are revealed you'll add monsters to the right side.

After revealing a room and/or adding monsters, you may take three actions.  Actions include: Move, Attack, and Abilities.  Abilities may be character specific abilities or abilities granted by collected treasures.  Some abilities are passive or conditional and don't require an action.

Moving is pretty straight forward.  For one Move action you can move through any connected rooms that don't have monsters or traps.  Unrevealed rooms, monsters and traps stop your movement.  If you move into an unrevealed room, reveal it and place monsters there.  Traps must be triggered, but monsters can be ignored for now.  After triggering a trap if present you can take another action (if you haven't used all your actions).  This action can be to move again, even if that means moving away from a monster.

Three actions don't get you far, but they make for quick turns.

Attacking is the heart of the game.  You'll want to attack monsters because doing so gains you weapons and powerful artifacts that give you special abilities.  Attacking monsters (and when they attack you back) is an interesting mechanic.  Each monster has 2-3 numbers written across the top of their card.  They also have one of six different attack symbols, indicating the attack type they are vulnerable to.  When attacking, you'll roll between one and three dice to try and hit the monster.  You'll do damage to a monster by rolling equal to or higher than the leftmost visible number at the top of the card.  If you make a successful hit you'll get to cover that number with a Damage cube.  Then the next number is the strength of the monster that rolls must be higher than.  Generally the monster's numbers get smaller as they go from left to right, so as you damage the monster it'll get weaker.

Once all the numbers have been covered with damaged the monster is defeated and you'll gain a treasure card, which will have a weapon on one side and an artifact on the other.  You'll be able to equip the treasure to activate either the weapon or the artifact, but not both.  The weapon will increase your attack strength and the artifact will give you a special ability.  You can also choose to not equip the treasure and save it to trade off to another player at some point that you are both in the same room.  This is useful for getting weapons to the players they are most effective for.  Beware though, some of the treasures are actually traps that will do damage until your team manages to disable them.

Tons of weapons and treasure can be collected.

The number of dice you can roll depends on a few variables.  You'll always get to roll at least one die, but weapons can bump that up to two or even three dice.  Each character has a class symbol and two attack symbols indicating their preferred attack types.  Each weapon also has a class symbol and an attack symbol indicating the preferred class for the weapon and the type of attack the weapon does.  If your character's class matches the weapon's class you'll gain an extra die.  Also, if your character's preferred attack type matches the weapon's attack type you'll also gain an extra die.  If both match you'll roll a total of three dice.

You'll also get a bonus to your rolls depending on the room your'e in.  Each room has one of the six attack types indicated on it.  If that attack type matches either of the symbols on your character card you'll receive a +1 to all attack rolls in that room.

Finally, you may be able to press the attack.  If you complete at least one hit on a monster and the attack type you used matches the monster's weakness, you can attack again without using another action.  This allows you to keep rolling and doing damage to the monster until you can take it out.

You can either equip a weapon or artifact when you collect treasure.  Weapons help you attack better,
artifacts are magical items that help you in other ways.

One last thing can help boost your die rolls and help you take out the monsters.  Throughout the game you can acquire Effect markers.  These are the white cubes and each one can be spent to increase the value of a die by 1 (or decrease a die when you're being attacked by the monsters).  These can be pretty useful in a pinch.  You can get these through character or artifact abilities.

Honestly, figuring out how many dice to roll and all the modifiers can be a bit confusing at times, especially the first few times you're trying to figure it out.  Once you do figure it out though, it's pretty quick to resolve attacks.  New players had to be reminded several times how many dice they could use, what bonuses they got, and when they could press different attacks.  Sometimes you need to make a decision on if it's better to roll one die but be able to press the attack or roll multiple dice but not press the attack.

After you are finished with your three actions it's time for any monsters in your room to attack.  Each monster will get to roll up to three dice to try and do damage to you.  Monsters will roll one die for each undamaged number on their card.  Monsters will do damage to you the same way you damage them, except the numbers on your character card run from top to bottom.  If the bottom number ever gets covered your character dies.  If you die and can't be revived the game is over and you lose.

You apply damage from top to bottom, so some characters actually
get stronger as they receive more damage!

If your entire party manages to survive until the Monstrous Terror Awakens card is revealed you've done a great job, but now that job just got exponentially harder.  When the Monstrous Terror Awakens card comes out you'll reveal the 12th room and the boss monster.  Each Monstrous Terror has a ton of hit points and special rules for how it can be attacked.  They each also have a weakness (that let's you press the attack), and a strength (they're invulnerable to that type of attack).  Each Monstrous Terror also has a wicked mean attack, but they'll only attack if there aren't any other monsters in the room with them.

Once the Monstrous Terror is revealed, after each player's turn it will advance 1 room.  It'll also take with it any monsters that weren't defeated in it's room.  These monsters protect the Monstrous Terror, so you have to keep defeating those minor monsters before you can attack the Monstrous Terror.  Luckily, the Monstrous Terror's only goal is to escape the dungeon, so it'll ignore you and won't attack, unless there are no other monsters in the room with it.  If it does escape the game ends and you lose.  So, essentially, once the Monstrous Terror is revealed you have 12 turns to defeat it before the game ends.

Here comes the Monstrous Terror!  Whiptail in this game.

For the most part the rules are pretty good.  They do include four examples of different types of attacks and combinations of weapons and attack types.  The rules could use a little more clarification on pressing attacks though.  It's also not clear if the 12th room gets populated with monsters in addition to the Monstrous Terror or not.  There are also a few other outside cases that aren't clarified in the rules, especially with the details of some special abilities or Monstrous Terror behavior.  The BGG forums are starting to answer some of these questions and I'm sure there'll be an official FAQ released at some point, but for now you'll have to make some assumptions if those cases come up.  Be sure to check BGG for the latest answers before you play (or have it handy during play in case any questions come up).

UPDATE: There is one major issue with the rules that resulted in us playing incorrectly when battling the Monstrous Terror.  In  the section of the rules that describes the Monstrous Terror behavior it states that only Monsters move with the Monstrous Terror, but another section of the rules it mentions that Heroes move, too.  If you don't notice this second section and rely only on the first you'll have to spend a Move action every turn to catch up with the Monstrous Terror.  This has a greater effect on lower player count games where you'll have to move to catch up more often.  It'll also help out in higher player count games because chances are the Monstrous Terror will catch up to players faster, and then carry them with it as it moves before their turn comes up.  This will likely give teams 5-10 additional actions that can be used to attack or boost the team during this final phase.

Highlight of the conflicting rules.  They're on two separate pages, too.
Also note that #2 says to not populate any of the revealed rooms, 
but #1 shows Room 12 populated with a Monster.

Score: 6/10 x2 (Downgraded from a 7)

Gameplay:
Playing the game is pretty straightforward.  Turns are pretty quick and there aren't a whole lot of difficult decisions.  Most of the game hinges on dice rolling, so if the dice gods are with you you'll fare better.  There are quite a few things that can adjust the values needed to be successful, but there's very little to be done to actually modify the dice.  The Effect markers can be spent to adjust dice, but that's about it.  The decisions in the game come from figuring out where your attacks or abilities will be most likely to help most.

Combat in Wakening Lair is arguably the most fun element of the game.  It's a blast to roll the dice and take out the monsters.  However, each character has a special ability that really determines their role in the team.  So your Bard should really spend actions healing the team and passing out Effect markers.  Other characters have other abilities that are often more useful to the team than actually fighting.  For example, the Witch can move monsters to different rooms (useful for moving monsters behind the rest of the party so they don't protect the Monstrous Terror) and the Wizard can move other characters to different rooms (useful for bringing the strong fighters to the battle).  This is great for a cooperative game, and keeps the feel of an RPG where each character has abilities that help the team as a whole, but the problem is these other abilities don't feel as fun as fighting the monsters.  So, for a game that's supposed to be a gateway game to introduce new players to the dungeon crawler genre, it unfortunately presents players with the difficult choice between having fun or helping the team.

Each character has a special ability that can help the team out.

In addition, this game is hard.  I mean really hard.  Especially if the dice rolls aren't helpful, you're going to have a tough time.  Once the Monstrous Terror is revealed you only have 12 turns to defeat it.  That's not much time, considering you usually have to spend at least one action to move and probably have a few monsters to defeat , so you'll get at most two attacks.  And if you don't have a weapon that both gives you extra dice and let's you press the attack, your two attack actions will run out quickly.  Since each Monstrous Terror has between 18 and 34 damage spaces this means your attacks have to be nearly perfect.  Expect to die pretty often in this game.  I haven't won yet, although we came pretty close in a 6 player game we had - if we had one more turn we probably would have defeated the Monstrous Terror.

UPDATE: See my notes above about the rule we got wrong.  The Heroes should actually move along with the Monstrous Terror and Monsters, so you don't have to spend an action moving to catch up.  This will give you anywhere from about 5-10 additional actions as a team to attack or boost the team.  This should help make the game a bit easier, especially for higher player count games where your total damage as a team is much higher (you still have the same number of monsters to fight overall regardless of player count).

Two turns before Whiptail escapes and he's still pretty strong.
We should have had about 4 extra actions at this point, 
so he wouldn't have been quite this strong.

With such a high level of difficulty you'd think there's be ways to scale it for an easier, or even harder, game.  However there are no options for adjusting difficulty in the rules.  You could house-rule a few things to make the game a bit easier, like allowing you to press an attack if the monster's weakness matches either the weapon you use or your two character preferred attacks, maybe give all players a couple of Effect markers at the start of the game, only allow one monster per room to attack after your turn, have the Monstrous Terror advance only if he doesn't attack, or discard some monsters at the beginning of the game so fewer come out before the Monstrous Terror awakens (although this means fewer opportunities to gain treasures).  But none of these options are in the rulebook (and I haven't tried them, so I don't know what they'll do to the balance).

Player count is another issue with the game.  I don't feel that the game scales well for different player counts.  The game is a lot easier with more players because you get more special abilities, your team can take more total damage, and as a team you have more options for specializing in attacks.  With only two or three characters you are very restricted and vulnerable.  Of course, since the game is fully cooperative with no hidden information, there's no reason each player can't play multiple characters, but there's no in-game scaling for player count.  Likewise, the box says it plays 2-6, but there's no reason you can't play the game solo if you want it to be super punishing or don't mind handling multiple characters.  The biggest down side to playing with a full complement of players is that you'll only get two chances to fight the Monstrous Terror when it awakens.  You feel pretty helpless for most of that end game, and that should be the most exciting time of the game.

Whiptail left a path of defeated heroes in its wake.

Score: 6/10 x3 (Upgraded from a 5)

Replayability:
I think the difficulty is the biggest problem with a game that is geared at families and newcomers.  Without a way to scale the difficulty, and the standard difficulty being so punishing (less so if you use the correct rule about Heroes moving with the Monstrous Terror, at least for higher player count games), it's going to be a hard sell to get someone to play a second time.  For me the game relies too much on luck - either lucky dice rolls, or lucking out and finding just the right treasure.  There aren't enough opportunities to feel like you are in control of the situation.  The combination of a feeling of helplessness in an onslaught of monsters plus a choice between helping the team or having fun fighting monsters makes me feel that the game won't get much replay among casual players.

I played with my game group and even though we came close to winning I don't think I can get them to play again.  A couple said possibly, but most of them felt the game was too random.  They like games that are difficult and punishing, but only when they can see that there are various strategies to work with.  They're fine with getting stomped on as long as they can sit back after and say "We should have done this..." or "Next time let's try that...".  With Wakening Lair the extent of the strategy discussion was whether it would have been useful to have everyone storm toward room 11 and wait for the Monstrous Terror there instead of spending a lot of time fighting monsters and then being too far from the Monstrous Terror to do much for the first three turns after it was revealed.  I think the game is too random and doesn't offer enough opportunities for real strategic decisions to appeal to more experienced gamers.

Fighting monsters is fun, but gets repetitive when there aren't too many other fun options.

At best I think the game will be a casual filler, but it doesn't play quite fast enough for that.  The box says 30-40 minutes, but the games I've played have taken 45 minutes (a two-player game where we died before the Monstrous Terror was revealed) to about 80 minutes (a six-player game where we almost won, but couldn't defeat the Monstrous Terror before it escaped [we probably would have won with the correct rule]).  I feel there are other games that make better fillers, although they don't really scratch that dungeon crawler itch.

Score: 6/10 x1 (Upgraded from a 5)

General Fun:
Wakening Lair is fun to play, when you're getting decent die rolls or have a large enough team that really embraces their characters abilities.  I really do like the combat mechanic and how the strength of monsters and characters changes as they take damage.  There are even a few characters that get stronger as they take damage (the barbarian, witch, and necromancer), which is really fun and clever.  That really makes the decision to heal those characters tough - if you heal them they're more likely to get hurt again, but if you don't and they do get hurt they're closer to perishing.

However, in the end, the lack of opportunities to mitigate bad luck leave you feeling helpless and at the mercy of the dice gods just a bit too much.  The actual gameplay is fun, but the end result felt somewhat unsatisfying.  You do get those "Woo hoo!" moments when the dice go your way, but there are also plenty of "Ugh." moments when you just can't do anything useful.  Those "Woo hoo!" moments don't happen quite enough to outweigh the "Ughs".

These baddies are tough.  And if you happen to specialize in their weakness, you'll be nearly worthless in a fight.

Score: 6/10 x2

Overall Value:
The MSRP for Wakening Lair is $35, which seems about right for the style and target audience for this game.  The game components are awesome, and of a quality not often seen at this price range for a game of this size, too.  So for what you physically get, $35 is a pretty good value.  However I feel the gameplay falls short of what I've personally come to expect from Rather Dashing Games, so I can't call this a great value for the money.  I think for $35 you can find better games.  However, if this does sound like a game you'd like to try, you definitely won't be disappointed with what you get in the box (and don't forget the awesome box itself).

Again, this box and insert is awesome and the component quality is excellent.

Score: 6/10 x1

Final Thoughts:
Overall I was a bit disappointed with Wakening Lair.  It's not a particularly bad game, but it's not great either.  If you're OK with a game that relies so heavily on luck you might enjoy the game more.  I did enjoy the combat mechanic, although I wish there were more opportunities to manipulate the dice after they were rolled.  I also loved the theme, components, and artwork everywhere except the box cover and room cards.

A ton of attention was given to the characters and the flavor throughout the game.  Each character has a bit of backstory and explanation of their abilities on the inside cover of the box.  The character names are very thematic and sometimes humorous (the male bard is named Lars for all you Metallica fans, and the female necromancer is named LaVeau, presumably after the Louisiana Voodoo queen).  Each of the Monstrous Terrors also has a bit of a story, too.  The characters and Monstrous Terrors are my favorite part of the game.  They really add a lot of flavor to the world you're playing in.

I love the flavor in the paragraphs that describe the character abilities.

For all it's great points though, it just falls short.  As someone from my game group said, it felt unfinished.  He said if it was a prototype that I had brought to play he'd think it has potential, but still needs some refinements and balancing.  For a published game to feel that way though is disappointing.  Wakening Lair is almost there, but it feels like it should have spent a bit more time in the development phase.  It's a shame that the rules about Heroes moving with the Monstrous Terror are contradictory and unclear since that would likely have resulted in a win vs Whiptail.  This is just another example of the game feeling rushed to market and not fully playtested though.

This game really wants to be great, and is so close, but ultimately it falls short.

I think something that may have made the game a bit more interesting, and give you more of a sense of control, would be to have the defeated monsters provide Gold or Magical Items instead of Weapons or Magical Items.  Still give players a choice of whether to use the treasure for the artifact or gold, but then let the gold be spent to acquire specific weapons.  Different weapons could have different costs, and weapons could only be purchased if your hero was at the dungeon entrance at the beginning or end of your turn.  That way you can choose the weapons that are best for you, but at a cost.  Yes, this would take more components so you'd have separate weapon and treasure cards, but I think it would have improved the feel of control in the game a lot, without adding a ton of mechanical overhead.  Like I said, the game is almost good, but feels like a few tweaks could have made it a lot better.

As I said in the introduction, I've loved the other games I've played from Rather Dashing Games, but unfortunately for me, Wakening Lair doesn't quite measure up.  If you love dice chucking dungeon crawlers you may get more mileage out of this than I will.  You definitely won't be disappointed with the physical aspects of the game, so if the gameplay sounds like something you'd enjoy, be sure to check out Wakening Lair over on the Rather Dashing Games website.

I do plan on trying to get this to the table again with the correct rule about moving with the Monstrous Terror.  If that playthrough changes any of my opinions I'll be sure to make another update.

Overall Score: 63/100 (Upgraded from a 61)

Rating Scale

Want another opinion?  Wakening Lair was also reviewed by Benjamin on the Everything Board Games Network!  Check out his review here!

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.

GJJG Game 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 are print and play versions of games.  Where applicable I will indicate if games have been played with kids or adults or a mix (Family Play).  I won't go into extensive detail about how to play the game (there are plenty of other sources for that information and I'll occasionally link to those other sources), but I will give my impressions of the game and how my friends and family reacted to the game.  A score of 1-10 (low-high) is given to each game in six categories: Components & Packaging, Rules & Setup, Gameplay, Replayability, Overall Value, and General Fun.  Rules & Setup and General Fun are weighted double and Gameplay is weighted triple.  Educational games have an extra category and Gameplay is only weighted double. Then the game is given a total score of x/100.