People Behind the Meeples - Episode 210: Emma Larkins

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:	Emma Larkins
Location:	Seattle, WA
Day Job:	board game designer/board game media
Designing:	Two to five years.
Webpage:	emmalarkins.com
BGG:	emmalarkins
Twitter:	@emmalarkins
YouTube:	Emma Larkins
Instagram:	@emmalarkins/
Other:	https://www.twitch.tv/emmalarkins
Find my games at:	BGG

Today's Interview is with:

Emma Larkins
Interviewed on: 8/20/2019

This week's interview is with Seattle designer, Emma Larkins. Emma has a few published designs to her name and has just been added to Gamewright's catalog! Abandon All Artichokes will be coming from Gamewright this year! Emma runs a weekly designer meetup in Seattle, so if you're in the area head on out to say hi! Read on to learn more about Emma and her 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?
made my first board game as a Valentine's Day present for my then boyfriend/now husband

What game or games are you currently working on?
Abandon All Artichokes (simplified deckbuilder), Split the Loot (card-swapping tableau-builder), What to Eat After the Apocalypse, Have You Had Enough Cheese? Comeuppance (using a see-saw to simulate reaping what you sow)

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Heartcatchers, ...and then we died

What is your day job?
board game designer/board game media

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

Where do you prefer to play games?
At a friend's house

Who do you normally game with?
local Seattle Tabletop Game Designers, friends from Mox Boarding House

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Anything new!

And what snacks would you eat?
Cheese. Lots of cheese.

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Sometimes - instrumental electronic music.

What’s your favorite FLGS?
Mox Boarding House (I used to work there!)

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Current favorite: Fantasy Realms.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Current favorite game mechanic: deckbuilding.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Keyforge.

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, RPG Games

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
it has its uses.

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?
Whatever works. What to Eat After the Apocalypse - theme first. ...and then we died - mechanics first. Abandon All Artichokes - name first.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
Entered and won selection to the Indie Megabooth.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Elizabeth Hargrave.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
Everywhere. All the time. In my dreams, on the bus, while talking with friends...

How do you go about playtesting your games?
I run a weekly playtest event - Seattle Tabletop Game Designers.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
I like to work with a team.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Getting that first prototype to the table. Ideation and development are easier.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Steven Universe.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
It's okay to make weird stuff.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
The earlier you can get your design in front of people, the better.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Heartcatchers, ...and then we died.
Games that will soon be published are: Abandon All Artichokes
Games that I'm playtesting are: Split the Loot
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Sofas for Sale, What to Eat After the Apocalypse, Merge Game
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: Untitled Space Botany Game, Have You Had Enough Cheese? Comeuppance, Portmanteau

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?
Yes. Coke. VHS.

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Playing video games, hiking, watching movies, traveling, karaoke

What is something you learned in the last week?
RPGs are an incredibly powerful tool to help with therapy and reintroducing previously incarcerated people back into mainstream society.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Anything catchy. Science fiction. Action/adventure.

What was the last book you read?
The Martian.

Do you play any musical instruments?
Electric guitar.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I wrote and self-published a science fiction novel called Mechalarum.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
Road trip from Texas to California.

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
Accidentally moving to New York City.

Who is your idol?
Amy Poehler.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Tell myself that everything's going to turn out great.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Both, depending on the time of day.

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

Have any pets?
Two cats - Inigo and Fezzik. They're brothers.

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 hope the concept of using play and design thinking to improve all areas of human life survives.

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):
Hello Seattle Designers! You rock!

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

Thanks for reading!

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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 La Viña by Devir Games

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Review of La Viña by Devir Games
Disclaimer Support me on Patreon!

Vitals:
Title: La Viña
Designed by: Jose Ramón Palacios
Publisher: Devir Games
Year Published: 2019
MSRP: $25
2-5p | 30-45 min | 8+

Introduction:

A very old viticulturist has passed on to a better place. When his heirs meet at his house, the question of who will become the new owner of the vineyard is brought up. The jewel of all the old man’s property is this small plot of vines, producing grapes of the highest quality, which has sadly fallen into neglect. The various types of grapevines have overgrown the area without any care or supervision. The deceased owner left a will stating that he wanted the vineyard to be brought back to its former glory. In order to avoid splitting up the plot, he declared that the vineyard would be granted to whomever is able to obtain the best yield from it. The grape harvest has just started, and there are many wineries that have offered a good price for the grapes they need.

Taking turns, each player will move his grape picker down the aisle between the vines on the trellises. The player looks at the grape cards and chooses which one he wants to collect, then puts it into one of his baskets. When he comes out of the vineyard at the end of the aisle, the grape picker can deliver the grapes in his baskets to the wineries, so long as he has collected the minimum quantity they require. He then receives the reward that the wineries offer. When a player carries out his last delivery, the game ends. The rest of the players continue to play until they come to the end of the aisle for the last time. The one who has obtained the most prestige is then declared the winner.

—description from the publisher

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

• Outstanding presentation, artwork, and component quality.  I especially love the prestige tokens.
• I love the mechanic that allows you to move as far forward along the path as you like, but the person at the back moves first.
• Great balance between gaining resources (grapes) and racing to the end in order to sell for points.
• I like how the barrels are used to count down to the end of the game, with the last player to sell at a particular winery gaining a bonus and the game ending once someone places their last barrel. It's a nice blend of racing to end the game and timing your sales for maximum benefit.

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

• A lot of different Grape and Winery cards mean there will be a different mix every game, making each game play differently.
• The game scales great from 2 to 5 players, with some minor changes for 2 players (each player controls two workers).

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

• The rulebook is pretty poorly translated.  There are a few areas where the description of gameplay is not as clear as it could be and a few other areas where things are missing or just left unexplained.  It took watching the gameplay video and reading forum comments to make sure we had all the rules correct.
• The basket upgrades felt very unbalanced.  I thought it was a translation error at first, so my second game we played a little different, but then later I learned that the unbalanced feeling rule is correct.
• Not much gameplay arc.  There's no sense of growth in the game; what you do in the first round is pretty much what you do in the last round, and it feels like it takes too long to get to the end because of this.

Final Thoughts:

There are some things that La Viña does great - incorporating the theme, balancing resource gathering versus racing to sell, etc.  However, there are some areas where La Viña just doesn't quite hit the mark.  The rulebook leaves a lot unclear, and there's not much game arc, however the biggest issue is that the basket upgrades feels very unbalanced.

There are always fewer upgrades available than players and there's no rule against upgrading from a small bucket to the large bin, skipping over the medium basket.  The first time I played we thought this was wrong, so the second time we said you could only upgrade one step at a time.  So you couldn't upgrade your starting 2 card bucket straight to a 4 card bin.  You'd first have to upgrade it to a 3 card basket.  You could upgrade your 3 card basket at the start to a 4 card bin, but then risk getting stuck with a 2 card bucket that can't be upgraded because all the 3 card baskets are taken.  That change felt a lot more balanced.  But then, after watching a gameplay video with the publisher, I saw that it was allowed to upgrade directly from the small basket to the large bin.  It seems like an obvious move to shoot for in the first round, which isn't too hard since the difference is only 7 prestige, and that means the player(s) finishing last have no shot at getting that upgrade.  That feels wrong and unbalanced, but I guess that's correct.

La Viña is very close to being a Bloom game for me.  I think for what it does though, Parks from Keymaster Games scratches the same itch and does it a bit better.  If I hadn't played Parks, I probably would have enjoyed La Viña more.  But the unbalanced feel of the basket upgrades, the poorly translated rulebook, and lack of any game arc are enough to knock it down to a Bud.  It is quite a bit cheaper than Parks though, so if you want this style of game, La Viña is a great affordable alternative.  For me though, since I have both games, I'd choose to play Parks over La Viña pretty much every time.

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:

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 209: Alex Wolf

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:	Alex Wolf
Email:	alex@spielcraftgames.com
Location:	Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Day Job:	I am a data analyst at an insurance company.
Designing:	Two to five years.
Webpage:	Spielcraftgames.com
BGG:	Spielcraft Games
Facebook:	Spielcraft Games
Twitter:	@spielcraftgames
Other:	For Glory on Kickstarter
Find my games at:	On Kickstarter

Today's Interview is with:

Alex Wolf
Interviewed on: 8/13/2019

Last summer at Gen Con I got together with a few other game designers for a few hours to chat and play a few games. One of the games I played was For Glory by Alex Wolf. This was a fun deckbuilding and arena combat style game that blended some interesting combat mechanics with very unique deckbuilding elements that seemed to blend elements from many other deckbuilding games into its own interesting combination. Be sure to check out For Glory on Kickstarter today!

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 started designing tabletop games without a particular reason. I just started having ideas and started doing the work to get them out of my head and into the world.

What game or games are you currently working on?
I am about to launch a Kickstarter campaign for what will be my first published game, called For Glory. It's a 2-player game about building a gladiator school, sending gladiators to different arenas, and fighting arena battles in Ancient Rome. The focus is on the arena combat system. Players use a deck-building mechanic to build a network of patrons, recruit gladiators and train them in various tactics in preparation for the arena battles.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Not yet.

What is your day job?
I am a data analyst at an insurance company.

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

Where do you prefer to play games?
Literally anywhere.

Who do you normally game with?
I play a lot with my wife, Bobo. There is also an awesome gaming community here in Omaha, and I play with loads of friends that I've met over the years at various local game stores and board game cafes.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
I usually go for medium-heavy games, in terms of strategic depth (as opposed to complexity).

And what snacks would you eat?
Salisbury steak

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Sometimes. All kinds.

What’s your favorite FLGS?
All of the FLGSs around Omaha are awesome.

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
My current favorite is Imperial by Mac Gerdts.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
I think all mechanics can potentially be used effectively. I don't have a favorite. When a mechanic works in a game, it just works.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Diplomacy. The mind games in Diplomacy are some of the most fun interactions I've had as a gamer, but it's an event if it ever gets played.

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

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

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 basically always have the idea faucet turned on, and sometimes an idea pops out. The theme and mechanics are pretty intertwined usually.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
When I am not being inundated with information from the internet, ideas flow pretty freely.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
My wife is my number one playtester. I also constantly invite friends to play, and I am a member of the Spielmasons, a group of game designers that help each other develop games here in Omaha.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
I like to work alone, because I need to spend a lot of time just thinking.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
There are a lot of challenges, but the biggest one is probably sticking with a game for the time that it takes to develop it (well over a year for me), and not getting discouraged when a play test uncovers a big problem with the mechanics.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Rick and Morty. Actual history is a pretty sweet IP though, and the license is free.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Have an idea? Make a prototype and play test now! Literally right now.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
This is what I have currently crowdfunding: For Glory on Kickstarter
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Too many
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: Way too many

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
All of the ones that I know about

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?
Starship Troopers. Diet Pepsi. VHS.

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
What do you mean, besides tabletop games?

What is something you learned in the last week?
Theseus was the dude who defeated the minotaur.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
All, Sci Fi, Sci Fi

What was the last book you read?
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Do you play any musical instruments?
I dabble in synth and guitar.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I once ordered a thin-crust pizza from Papa John's.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Visit past and future civilizations, just to look, but I would get sucked into some plot that would end up ruining the present and whatnot. I mean, I'd like to think that I could resist changing stuff, but I know myself well enough.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Both.

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Superman. Perhaps not as exciting as others, but I'd want to be ridiculously overpowered. Lol.

Have any pets?
Not at the moment.

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 the play testers out there. You are the real heroes.

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

Be sure to check out For Glory on Kickstarter right now!

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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 Heroes & Tricks by Pencil First Games

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Review of Heroes & Tricks by Pencil First Games
Disclaimer Support me on Patreon!

Vitals:
Title: Heroes & Tricks
Designed by: Eduardo Baraf, Jonathan Gilmour
Publisher: Pencil First Games
Year Published: 2017
MSRP: $20
2-6p | 15-25 min | 8+

Introduction:

No matter race, creed, gender, or empire – each child of Gamedor is born with an affinity to one of The Four Suits: Card, Meeple, Die, or Token. In Love and War these suits are absolutely meaningless, but in Game, well, they mean everything. A true leader uses their cards, and any means necessary, to gain the favor of other heroes of the land. Can you best the other Lords of Gamedor and build the biggest party of Heroes?

Gameplay:  The goal of Heroes and Tricks is to be the player to win the most tricks (thereby having the most Heroes) in the game. Each Trick is lead by a Hero card that defines the target suit and color, dramatically changing the play dynamic of typical trick-taking games. Players then play into the trick, but only see the last played card and need to use deduction, item play, and hand management to win the most tricks.

—description from the publisher

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

• The artwork and component quality is great.  Characters and items are fun and comical, the cards and dividers are great quality, and the magnetic box is outstanding.
• The ability to have the game playable without a table is very interesting.
• Trick taking with some additional cards to give powers and abilities is a fun twist.

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

• I'm curious to know if repeated plays adds a better sense of strategic choice.  
• There is a variant to play more like a traditional trick-taking game, without the box.  This may feel like you have more control of your game.
• The rock-paper-scissors style hierarchy of suits is an interesting way of figuring out the trick winner if nothing matches the hero exactly.

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

• Felt like it was mostly luck.  
• Very limited information about what other players had made choices feel very limited and just a shot in the dark.
• The general mechanics seemed straightforward at first, but felt a bit kludgy in practice.
• Though you can play without a table, it's very helpful to have a place to lay down cards as you win tricks.  It's tough to juggle your hand, your won tricks, and the box as it's passed around.
• There are four suits, four colors, and various ranks of cards within each suit and color.  Each color has two suits, each of which it shares with another color.  That's just too much going on and it results in chaos.

Final Thoughts:

Admittedly I didn't play this game much, but what I did play felt like it was mostly luck since there was so little known information about what anyone had and what was played.  You can only see the card that was played before your own turn.  Unfortunately I couldn't ever find anyone interested in exploring the game further.

I do like the idea of games that you can play without needing a table, and you can play this without a table, but that's very cumbersome.  You need a place to put the cards you win.  It also gets tiring to have to pass the box around, open it to see the last card played, pick something from your hand, then place it in the box.  Then resolving tricks requires that everything be emptied, the winner figured out based on suit, color, rank, and if any of that happens to match the hero that started the trick or if any gear cards changed anything up along the way.  It all ends up being very chaotic and fiddly.

There are interesting ideas in Heroes & Tricks, but they don't feel well thought out and aren't implemented very well.  So much has been done and added that the game just feels like a random, chaotic mess.  All you're doing is guessing the whole time.  I think instead of expanding to essentially 8 suits (if you consider each suit/color combination separately), since you can only see the card played previously, reducing the number of suits would have been a better idea.  Then you'd be able to make some deductions based on cards you have in your own hand.

This may be more interesting as a standard trick-taking game, where you can see everything played, but only the first player gets to see the Hero that they are attempting to win.  I could see this played where the first player gets to see the hero.  Then all players play one card, visible to everyone, possibly with a Gear card played secretly behind their played card.  I think that would be a lot more interesting, add some clever player interactions and deduction, and feel much less chaotic.  You'd have to eliminate the box novelty though.

As it is, I can't recommend Heroes & Tricks, which is a shame since it looks great and has some great ideas.  If you are looking for something to play while in line at a convention, or at a restaurant with limited table space, I think there are better games to play.  But if you like the theme, and don't mind a game that's more an activity and exercise in randomness, then you may get some enjoyment out of it.  Be warned though, whether you win or lose will have more to do with chance than any choices you make.

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Rating:

Thorn!  I can't quite recommend this game,
although you may enjoy it if you like games
like this.  I feel this game has some flaws and
there are areas that it could improve in the
experience it provides.

Pictures:

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 208: Mallory Shepherd

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:	Mallory Shepherd
Email:	Contact@cleverfoxconsultants.com
Location:	Dallas, TX
Day Job:	I have a consulting company for marketing and project management. Clever Fox Consultants. I help people complete their projects on time and on budget and also do marketing for their products! And manage crowdfunding campaigns/product photography, etc.
Designing:	Less than six months.
Webpage:	Cleverfoxconsultants.com
BGG:	LittleBug627
Twitter:	@LittleBug627
Instagram:	@TheMeeplesMadeMeDoIt
Find my games at:	Nowhere yet!

Today's Interview is with:

Mallory Shepherd
Interviewed on: 8/20/2019

This week's interview is with Dallas designer, Mallory Shepherd. Mallory has been a part of the board game industry for a while now, doing project management, marketing, and helping with crowdfunding through her company, Clever Fox Consultants. Recently she's turned to the design side of board games and I'm excited to see what kinds of games she creates! Read on to learn more about Mallory and her projects!

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Less than six months.

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
I’ve been involved in the industry as a playtester and with marketing/project management for several years, and I finally made the jump over into designing. I made the jump because there were games with themes I wanted to play that didn’t exist. And I was honestly inspired a lot by Elizabeth Hargrave.

What game or games are you currently working on?
Currently unnamed game involving libraries.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Not yet, but I’ve done playtesting and marketing on a lot of published games! Most recently Unmatched and Lanterns Dice.

What is your day job?
I have a consulting company for marketing and project management. Clever Fox Consultants. I help people complete their projects on time and on budget and also do marketing for their products! And manage crowdfunding campaigns/product photography, etc.

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

Where do you prefer to play games?
I love all types, but party games and games with mostly luck are my least favorite. I equally love Ameritrash and Euro games.

Who do you normally game with?
I have a game group and then a few friends that we play a lot of two player modes on.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Whatever one of us just got fulfilled off of Kickstarter. I just got the expansion for Inis so maybe that.

And what snacks would you eat?
I’m lucky, my friend usually makes something in her air fryer or bakes things for us. When I’m hosting we usually have delivery of some kind and chips/some kind of dry snack around the games. And cheese. Always cheese.

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Sometimes we play mood music based on the theme of the game.

What’s your favorite FLGS?
Madness Comics and Games

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Favorite: I’m on a Champions of Midgard kick because I’m excited to get my Kickstarter copy of Reavers. Least: Smash Up. It’s on my shelf and I don’t want to get rid of it, but it doesn’t make it to the table at all anymore. Worst: Do prototypes count? Hmmm a published game I really didn’t care for is a Fantastic Beasts Dice game. It’s basically co-op Yahtzee and there just wasn’t any substance to it.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Favorite: this one is hard. I like a lot of different mechanics. But if I had to pick, I’d say deck building. I really love deck builders and the thrill you get when you can get that perfect turn off. Least: PLAYER ELIMINATION. I hate it and it needs to go.

What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
I tend to get a lot of games to the table, but I haven’t played Dead of Winter for a long time because it’s hard to get people to commit to a game that takes a bit more to teach and play.

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, 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’m a theme first person and let the mechanics evolve from there into what feels natural and makes sense for the theme.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
Haven’t entered one yet!

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
I’m sure he’s a lot of people’s but Jamey Stegmaier. He puts a lot of thought into his games and takes risks and I admire him for that.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
From all over. First, I pick themes that I love and am passionate about. You have to be if you are going to be researching things about it. I get a lot of inspiration while I’m doing research on the theme too. A lot of mechanics make sense from learning about the theme. Another place I get inspiration from is playing a lot of games. I mean A LOT of games. Of all different types. And third, I listen. I listen to my game group when we are playing a game and someone says “man I wish I could do this in this game.” And I also get a lot of inspiration from playtesting other people’s games. You have those “aha!” moments when you see a mechanic and realize if you tweaked it a bit it would work really well in your game.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
I’m part of a design group and we playtest for each other. I also get my friends involved. Then after that I ask my friends to find friends and so on.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Both!

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Killing your baby. I think that’s the hardest thing for any designer to do. Apart from that, it’s knowing when your game is ready to be pitched or to go on Kickstarter. There is always a “I could make this better” and knowing when to stop can be hard for me.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Harry Potter. I’m a giant Potterhead.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Just do it. Just get out there and start making one. There are no bad ideas at the start. I sat on the sidelines for so long testing games and wishing I knew how to make one before I realized they don’t have any more idea what they are doing than I do in the beginning. I’d have started designing a long time ago if someone had told me to just start making a notecard prototype with all your weird ideas and it’s fine if it’s bad. That’s where we all start.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Pick themes/mechanics you care about and wish existed. You will spend a lot of time with them. It’s also better to start making a simple prototype right off the bat than trying to plan it all out on paper first.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Library Game

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Dallas Design Group

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, Dr Pepper, and I had to google what a Betamax was.

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
There are other hobbies? JK, I really enjoy reading and listening to podcasts. And geeking out over fandoms. I also like photography.

What is something you learned in the last week?
I’m teaching myself how to edit video so a lot of video things.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
I don’t have a favorite type of music, but I love sci-fi/fantasy/post apocalyptic books and movies.

What was the last book you read?
Tiny But Mighty. It’s a book written by a kitten advocate and rescuer. She’s really reminded me that even one person doing small things can make a difference.

Do you play any musical instruments?
No, I wish I did but don’t have the time to practice.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I don’t like ketchup, mustard, or mayo.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I touched a Monet painting in Paris. The actual painting. Pretty sure you can get arrested for that.

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
I kind of accidentally adopted my cat. She was just supposed to stay for the weekend and it’s been two and a half years now. She’s my constant companion and is pretty awesome.

Who is your idol?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She’s done so much for equality in the United States and didn’t let anything stop her in a time it was unheard of for a woman to be a lawyer.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
I’d treat it more like a time turner and do over certain little mistakes. And maybe go to the future. I’d be tempted to go to the past but be terrified of the butterfly effect. I’d love to solve some historical mysteries though!

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Ambivert. It’s a thing, look it up!

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Captain Marvel. She’s strong, has a lot of powers, and can fly through outer space! How cool is that?

Have any pets?
An awesome cat. Her name is Kat.

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’d hope for Star Realms to survive. Imagine an Ice Age people playing a game with spaceships. I’d be okay if Cards Against Humanity was never played again. (Sorry, not sorry.)

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):
Lindsey Rosenthal, for getting me into the design group I’m part of. They really pushed me to start making my ideas into reality.

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

Be kind to people.

And...

I really like cheese.

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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

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Press Release: Announcing Succulent - A Beautiful Strategy Game! From Renegade Game Studios

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Announcing Succulent - A Beautiful Strategy Game! Compete to find out who is the master horticulturalist!

We’re thrilled to announce Succulent - a beautiful and strategic tile-laying game designed by J. Alex Kevern and illustrated by Anna Daviscourt. You are a gardener tasked with thoughtful selection, delicate pruning, and tireless care. You’ve earned a reputation as a master horticulturist. In Succulent, you compete against your peers for lucrative and prestigious projects that will cement your place as the community’s premier succulent gardener.

The game is played over a series of turns where players collect succulent cuttings from their gardens along with water crystals and use them to complete projects which grant various benefits, including earning points. Optimize every turn to become your community’s premier succulent gardener and earn the most victory points to win. Succulent is designed for 2-4 gardeners, ages 10+, cultivating their gardens in 45-60 minutes.

Lucky gamers will be able to catch an early release and demo day of Succulent at select friendly local game store on April 4th with Board Game Expo!

Find a local store and ask if they’re participating in Board Game Expo!

Pre-order the Game Now!

Did you like this press release?  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.