Game Nite Magazine Issue 26

Game Nite

Free

the magazine of tabletop gaming

July 2018

nestor romeral andres

designer/publisher

v

Issue # 26

board game design advice

game reviews

In this issue: Interview 20

Nestor Romeral Andres Game Designer/Publisher

mobile Review 06

Among the Stars For Android and iOS

Book Review 04

Board Game Design Advice

Mobile Review index 46

Index of Reviewed Apps

Interview Gallery 42

10

Cthulhu Dice

12

Zombie Dice

16

Codenames: Marvel

28

Fog of Love

Back Issue Index

Lose Your Sanity.

Horde Edition.

Make Mine Marvel.

Unique Game.

abstract games 38

Solo Gaming: The Gallerist

abstract games 34

Index of Past Interviews

Review index 48

game Reviews

YINSH

Calendar 58

August 2018

Contributors 57

Game Nite Contributors

Š Game Nite 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

All information contained in this magazine is for educational purposes only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of release. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers with regard to the price of their products. All material remains the property of its respective creators. Opinions expressed by the writers are their opinions alone and may not reflect the opinions of Game Nite. Disclaimer: Game Nite receives review copies of games, but does not accept payment for reviews.

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Game Nite Issue #26

From across the table

Game Nite ISSUE # 26

H

aving just “survived” through an intense heat wave and just starting to enjoy the followint reprieve of nice weather, I just realized that things are just about to get “hot” all over again as the convention season is under way with Gen Con quickly approaching. It is safe to say that there will be many companies revealing their “hot” new games for the summer, as well as the rest of the year. I’m sure that I can speak for everyone by saying that we are looking forward to seeing what the companies have to offer in the upcoming year. Hot times, indeed!

In this issue: Tom M Franklin’s Abstract Games column takes a look at “YINSH”.

Cover Photograph by Serge Pierro.

Thanos Rising © USAopoly

Editor in Chief/Publisher: Serge Pierro

Tom also reviews: “Fog of Love”.

Editor:

Jeff Rhind is back with another installment of his popular column “Solo Gaming”. This time he takes a look at “The Gallerist” Special thanks to Nestor Romeral Andres for taking time from his busy schedule to share his thoughts with our readers.

The August calendar features “Codenames: Marvel” and provides the release date for issue #27.

Eric Devlin Writers:

Photographers:

Tom Franklin Serge Pierro Tom Franklin Jeff Rhind Jeff Rhind

If you are interested in contributing to Game Nite, feel free to contact us, as we’d love to hear from you!

Serge Pierro

Editor in Chief/Publisher editor@gamenitemagazine.com

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@GameNiteMag

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Book Review

By Serge Pierro

Board Game Design Advice

O

ne of my favorite things about Game Nite is interviewing the industry personalities. It allows me to ask many of the same questions to different designers, publishers and artists and getting a variety of responses. Although I tailor several questions per interview to the person on hand, it is the questions that are repeated from interview to interview that I find most fascinating, as it allows us to compare the responses.

Gabe Barrett has used a somewhat similar approach in “Board Game Design Advice”. The results are an excellent collection of insights provided by many of the top minds in the industry.

The 252 page book features a Table of Contents that lists the interview subjects. In addition to this there is an excellent section in the back of the book that lists the questions asked throughout the book and lists each of the respondents per question, as some designers didn’t answer all of the questions.

The premise of the book is based on 12 questions that aspiring designers will find of interest. An example of some of the questions include: “What game, or games, that you recommend most to fledging designers, and why?” Thirty-five designers answered this question and you are treated to the thought processes of these individuals and gain some inspirational insight as to what games you might want to try. The other questions cover a broad range of subjects, though they all provide insight into the thoughts of the designers.

Many of the top designers in the industry are represented, such as: Bruno Faidutti and Bruno Cathala. The list of participants also contains many of the “newer” designers and they provide an interesting bridge between the long time pros and the inspiring designers who will find this book fascinating.

Each designer chapter features the same format. At the top of the page is the designers name and a greyscale image of a subject matter related to the designer, example: Gil Hova has a TV image, that represents his design of “The Networks”. Also included is a

short list of games that the designer is best know for. In some instances there is a mention of the person being a “Founder of…” with an associated corporate logo. Example: JT Smith is listed as the “Founder of The Game Crafter”.

Scattered throughout the book are some pages that are devoted to just quotes from many of the participants. This includes quotes from the likes of Eric Lang, who is not one of the designers interviewed in the book.

The vast majority of the book is devoted to the interviews themselves, but there are several sections in the back of the book that deserve attention.

The first is a list of games that were recommended throughout the book. This is a nice touch, as it presents all of the games conveniently listed in alphabetical order, instead of having to search throughout the book.

Another list is that of the top 10 episodes of “The Board Game Design Lab” podcast. The episodes listed cover a wide range of topics and feature many prominent personalities within the industry.

And of course there is the excellent resource that was previously mentioned, that of the questions themselves being listed and the which designers answered them. This provides a convenient way to zero in on one question and then flip around the book to read the responses. All of the answers have the designer, as well as the page number.

This is an excellent collection of thoughts by a large pool of designers and will provide much inspiration and insight for those interested in game design. The book should also appeal to fans who are interested in seeing what their favorite designers have to say. This is a welcome addition to the growing list of books available on game design, and is a book that I am happy to add to my collection of design related books.

Author: Publisher:

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Gabe Barrett Barrett Publishing

Highly Recommended www.boardgamedesignlab.com

Mobile Review

By Serge Pierro

Among the Stars

I

am definitely a fan of engine building games, it always brings a sense of satisfaction and creativity that other mechanisms can’t seem to match. Among the Stars is a popular engine builder that is somewhat reminiscent of a combination of Surburbia and 7 Wonders.

The user interface is not bad, however, none of the sections are labeled, so you will have to memorize what is where, which can be a bit daunting for new players of the game. Fortunately, not every section needs to be accessed in order to enjoy the game and with repeated plays it does become more accessible.

Whenever trying an app for the first time for a review, the first thing that I always try is the tutorial.

This is especially true for a game that I’ve never played before. I want to experience what it is like for a new player to try and learn the game. The tutorial here is a bit basic. It does cover most of the important key concepts, but after taking it I was still a bit unsure of how to play. While playing through the rest of the tutorial game I was able to stumble upon solutions to problems I encountered. I would highly recommend that you also read the rules, as there is an unlabeled icon on the main screen that contains the rules for the game. Between the tutorial and the rules you’ll have a good foundation for playing.

The graphics and animations of the game are excellent. However, like most of the game, the use of “cool graphics” tend to make the game less intuitive. For instance, while you are building your space station you will have tiles that say “When placed next to XXX” and your screen is filled with all of these nice looking tiles that are Unlabeled, so you have to click on each one to see if it matches the criteria of the tile you are considering buying.

Another option is to “make believe” that you are buying the tile and it takes you to a screen that has the names of the tiles laid out on your ship. This seems like an unnecessary step, as the tiles should just be displayed with at least the tile’s names so that you can at a glance know where everything is.

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The gameplay itself is fairly straightforward, especially if you are accustomed to drafting games.

Each turn you have a group of tiles to choose from.

You choose one tile and pay its cost and place it on the space station that you are building. The the remaining tiles are passed to the next player and you receive a new stack of tiles from the appropriate player. Play continues in this matter until all the tiles have been played. This marks the end of a “year”. The game ends at the end of four years.

One of the things that really impressed me with the 7 Wonders app was just how fast the game played, this was due in large part to the lack of analysis paralysis of the players or AI. The AI of Among the Stars was a bit slow at times and could take several seconds per move as the game progressed towards the end. You will certainly want to click the “Skip All” button, otherwise you will have to wait for each of the AI opponent’s to decide on their move and then deal with the animation of them attaching it to their space station. I would love to see a setting

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Mobile Review

(Cont.)

that did this automatically, as it was a bit annoying to have to tap a series of buttons each turn to skip the AI’s turns and begin your own. However, if you want to take your time and savor the animation and graphics, the game does an excellent job of putting forth a nice series of animations for each of the AI’s as they build their space stations. Keep in mind that even with the “Skip All” button, most of the games took around 30 minutes to play, so this is not a quick game and it would be extended considerably by not using the buttons.

on my first try when I had no idea of what I was doing. As a matter of fact, I haven’t lost a single game that I’ve played against the AI. I prefer to get pummeled in my initial playing of a game so that I have an incentive to try and beat it, as well as having a sparring partner that at least presents a challenge.

One of the highlights of the game is the inclusion of Races and Objectives, as both add to the depth of the game. Perhaps my favorite Race was the Qualeens.

They allow you to draw an extra 2 Objectives and keep one, this is a secret Objective known only to As someone who enjoys a quick game against an you. The Objectives are pretty straightforward, such always ready AI, I was somewhat disappointed with as “Build the most “A” type structures”. the strength of the AI. I was even able to beat it

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Although the graphics look great at the start of the game, as the game progresses they become a bit smaller in order to fit on the screen and at the same time become a bit too homogenous and an already troublesome layout becomes a bit cluttered as it is hard to differentiate between the various tiles.

Overall this appears to be a game that I would be interested in investing some more time into. As previously mentioned, it reminds me of Suburbia meets 7 Wonders and that’s not a bad thing! The graphics are excellent, but at the cost of elegant game play. I would be very interested in revisiting

it when the AI has been upgraded in strength, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more additions to the Campaign section. Even in its current state, this is a game that is worth taking a look at and has the potential to become even better!

Version # Price: Devices:

1.3 $4.99 Android and iOS Developer: Cubio

Worth Trying www.cubiogames.com

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Cthulhu Dice

By Serge Pierro

Lose Your Sanity...

C

thulhu themed games continue to hit the market and Steve Jackson Jackson has entered the foray with “Chtulhu Dice”.

We will have to keep an eye on the market to see when the consumers have finally lost interest in this theme, but as it stands right now, there appears to be enough interest to continue to support it. Let’s see what this game has to offer.

Cthulhu Dice comes in a blister card with a clear plastic square that contains the glass stones and instructions, as well as a custom molded section that holds the game’s Cthulhu die.

The instructions for the game are folded in order to fit in the packaging and when unfolded reveal a 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” glossy sheet of paper. Other than the symbols that are on the die’s faces, there are no illustration or examples. The rules are simple and the only real thing to memorize is what each of the five symbols mean.

The game includes 18 Glass Stones that are stored in a resealable plastic bag.

The game’s main component is the custom 12 sided die that features various Cthulhu themed icons. The die is clearly the highlight of the game and it looks great.

The game is ridiculously easy. Each player receives three Glass Stones and on a player’s turn they will take on the role of a Caster and choose another player to attack. They roll the die and apply the results.

After the results are applied, the Victim then rolls against the Caster and applies the results. That completes the Caster’s turn and the player to their left goes and does the same, with the Caster choosing the Victim and then the Victim responding.

The winner is determined by being the only player left with Sanity at the end of a turn.

Everyone who played this said the same thing, “Is that it?”. Yep, sadly that is it. I’m not sure that I would even call this a game. Other than choosing a Victim, there is no strategy or decision making, just random dice rolls and apply the effects. My dislike of dice games and luck have been stated in other reviews, but this game takes it to a new height. While it is a common theme amongst Cthulhu games that you are trying to maintain your sanity, this game just drove me mad, as it was a complete waste of time. Steve Jackson is a smart businessman, so clearly he feels that there is a market for this game.

However, I am clearly not the targeted consumer, nor were any of my friends.

When I sit down to play a game I expect to have some type of intellectual engagement, otherwise it is just not worth my time. This was a game that was so simplistic, that no one wanted to play it again. I’m sure that there are some people out there who might find this game to be enjoyable. If it wasn’t for the theme, I would consider this as a children’s game. However, no one I played it with fell into that category. I was even given some strange looks when we were done playing it, as if to say, “Are you serious?”.

It’s never fun having to write a negative review, after all someone invested their time to design the game and the money to manufacture it. This is only the third time I’ve Passed on a game that we’ve reviewed. Perhaps someone will enjoy it, but as for me and my friends, we’d rather go insane than play this again.

Designer: Publisher: Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

Steve Jackson Steve Jackson Games 2+ Roll a Die 8+ 5-10 Mins.

Pass 10

www.sjgames.com Game Nite Issue #26

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Zombie Dice: Horde Edition

By Serge Pierro

Push Your Luck Filler

F

or those who are unfamiliar with Zombie Dice

by Steve Jackson Games, it is a classic “push your luck” filler game. With the Zombie Dice: Horde Edition, the base game is enhanced by the inclusion of two expansions. Let’s see what they bring to the table.

One of the bonus features of the box set is the inclusion of a black dice bag that has a skull and “Zombie Dice” silkscreened in red. It also contains two drawstrings and can easily be used to carry all of the components.

Another perk of the Horde Edition is the inclusion Zombie Dice: Horde Edition comes in a 9 1/4” x 6 of a small color scoring pad that features brains that 1/4” x 1 3/4” box and contains a cardboard insert can be crossed off to keep track of the score. that has a small well for the components and two large wings to support the dice bag and rulebook.

Also included are several cardboard tokens that are used with the “School Bus” expansion.

The rules to both the core game and its expansions are printed on a double sided 8 1/2” x 14” sheet For those who haven’t had the opportunity to play of glossy paper stock. The front is devoted to the standard version of Zombie Dice, it is a pretty the “classic game” and the “Double Feature” straightforward “push your luck” dice game. At the expansion, while the back contains the rules for start of a player’s turn they will reach into the bag and the “School Bus” expansion. Since this is a basic select three dice. The available dice come in three push your luck dice game, the rules are easy to colors; red, yellow and green, and these indicate the understand. All of the icons on the dice are clearly “toughness” of the humans that you are pursuing. explained.

Red is the toughest, yellow is medium toughest and green is the easiest. The player rolls the dice and The dice used for the base game and each of the sets aside any Brains (good) or Shotgun Blasts (bad) expansions are nicely produced, in particular, the and will have the opportunity to reroll any dice with School Bus die. Each die is a solid color with an Footprints. After the appropriate dice are placed engraved die face that is painted. aside, dice are drawn from the bag to add to any

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of the remaining Footprints to equal three dice.

Example: two Footprints are left, you draw one more die from the bag so that you are rolling three dice each turn. A player’s turn ends when either 3 Shotgun Blasts have been rolled or the player has decided to no longer press their luck and score the amount of Brains that they collected that turn, otherwise players can continue to roll three dice per turn until one of the above conditions is met.

The end of the game is triggered when a player has collected 13 Brains, then play continues for the rest of the round and the player with the highest score wins.

The Horde Edition contains two expansions, both of which add some more interest to the game. The first of these is the “Double Feature” expansion which introduces 3 new dice to the game. These can be used either separately or together. The first “movie” uses the Hunk and the Hottie dies and introduces a new rule to the game, as well as doubling some of the risks and rewards. In order to use them in the game, two yellow dies are removed from the base game and replaced with these dies.

Play is similar to the base game with the exception that the Hottie and Hunk can “rescue” each other under certain conditions. The victory conditions are still the same and for the most part the game The base game is a typical “press your luck” dice play is the same as the base game. It adds a nice game. There is little depth here, as the only real bit of variety of the base game, but nothing overly decision is whether to push your luck or not. But, profound. that is expected. It was simple, yet fun, and makes for a fun filler game.

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Zombie Dice: Horde Edition The second part of the “Double Feature” expansion is the “Santa Claus Meets the Zombies” module that adds a Santa Claus die. A green die is removed from the base game and replaced with this die. This adds two interesting features to the game. One of the die faces is that of an Energy Drink which converts any Footprints that you roll into Brains. The other face of interest is the Helmet face. When this is rolled you place it in front of you and now it takes 4 Shotgun Blasts to end your turn. We found that this die added some more interest to the game and we included it (as well as the previous module) in all of our games. The pace of these games were faster than the base game and kept everyone on edge due to sudden changes in fortune/misfortune.

The second expansion is called “School Bus” and it adds one oversized 12 sided die and fourteen counters (10 Brain and 4 Shotgun Blast). The School Bus die is not put in the bag, but may be chosen to be used at the start of the player’s second turn onward.

To use the School Bus die, after the player’s first turn they may opt to substitute the School Bus die for one of the three six sided dies. You are still rolling three dice per turn, but in this case one of them is the School Bus. The unique element about the School Bus die is that it isn’t placed aside like the other dies in the game. This is why there are counters for Shotgun Blasts and Brains. When a player rolls the 12 sided die and reveals either Brains or Shotgun Blasts, they take the appropriate amount of tokens and place them aside. The tokens take the place of a die that has been set aside, so this

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(Cont.)

allows the School Bus die to be used again. There are various effects that are listed in the rules, these range from multiple Shotgun Blasts to multiple Brains, as well as faces that turn Shotguns into Footprints and Footprints into Brains. The range of results are tempting and add a layer of interest to the game.

The ability to use all of the expansions with the core game makes this a worthwhile addition to a filler game collection. Once you’ve played with either expansion you will find it hard to go back to just the core game. We won’t even consider playing the core game anymore, we found that the game shines with all of the expansions added.

Filler games are always welcome additions to the gaming library. Zombie Dice: Horde Edition fills a nice niche for those looking for a “push your luck” dice game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages.

With high quality components and a simple but solid ruleset, this is a game that many people will want to take a look for those situations where a simple, but fun, “push your luck” filler is suitable.

Designer: Publisher: Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

Steve Jackson Steve Jackson Games 2+ Push Your Luck 10+ 10-20 Mins.

Recommended www.sjgames.com

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Codenames: Marvel

By Serge Pierro

Marvel and Codenames Team-Up

L

ike many, I originally was a bit surprised to hear that Vlaada Chvatil was working on a word/party game. However, soon there was a murmur within the community of this new game and it was getting glowing accolades from those who played it. That game turned out to be Codenames. And while I am not a fan of party games, I absolutely love Codenames. In fact, I believe it to be the quintessential family game and is always my first choice when there is a large group of people interested in playing a game. Due to the success of the game, it should come as no surprise that there would be spinoffs. USAopoly brings us an interesting version that will appeal greatly to fans of Marvel Comics. Let’s see what this edition is all about.

Codenames: Marvel comes in a 6 1/4” x 9 1/4” x 2” box that features two spot varnished silhouettes of Spiderman and the female Captain Marvel. The interior contains a standard cardboard insert that features a large central well that stores the games components, as well as providing two shelves for the rulebook to rest on.

The 12 page rulebook is the size of the box and contains numerous illustrations and examples. Several pages at the start of the book contain instructions for people who have never played the game before, while the last couple of pages are devoted to those who already know how to play, as well as some variants. All of the directions are clear and bolstered with the inclusion of “a game in progress” graphics.

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The game’s main components are the 200 Asset cards and 40 Key cards that measure 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” and are made of card stock.

Also included are 25 Cover cards that are 2 10/16� x 2 10/16� and are made of cardboard, as well as a plastic stand for the Key cards.

For those unfamiliar with how Codenames is played, the 200 Asset cards are shuffled and 25 of them are chosen for the game, the others are placed aside. The cards are placed randomly in a 5 x 5 grid. (This edition of the game has pictures on the front and text on the back. You can choose either side, but all of the cards have to be the same - either all pictures or all text.)

After the cards have been setup, one of the Key cards are chosen and oriented onto one of the four sides and placed in the plastic stand. The color bar alongside the edge of the Key card determines who goes first.

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Codenames: Marvel (Cont.)

The Key cards have red, blue, purple and yellow squares. The S.H.I.E.L.D team players will be trying to guess the blue squares and the HYDRA team players will be trying to guess the red. The purple squares are neutral and the yellow square is the Assassin, which if guessed, causes that team to immediately lose.

On a turn, the team’s Director will give a clue to their teammates. A clue is composed of two parts: one word and one number. Example: Green and 2. This would indicate that the Director has given a clue “Green” and that there are “2” of the cards within the grid that match this criteria.

If a team correctly guesses the clue, their team covers the clue with one of their Cover Cards. If they incorrectly guess and it is one of the the other team’s cards, the card is covered with that team’s Cover Card. If the card guessed is of neither team, a Neutral Card is placed over the card, unless it was the Thanos/Assassin card, then that team loses immediately.

The game is won when either team places all of their Cover Cards or if the other team reveals the Thanos/Assassin Card.

As stated earlier, Codenames is one of my favorite games, especially with family members and large groups of friends. And while this version of the game is just as good as the main version, there is a bit of a “problem” with bringing this to the table for “regular” participants. This game is clearly targeting the Marvel Comic book fan or comic book fans in general… and that’s not a bad thing, though it does limit it hitting the table more often than the regular edition.

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With 200 Asset cards, the game offers a tremendous amount of replayability. The table presence of the 5 x 5 grid looks great with a variety of artwork, though there is always the option of using the backs of the cards which only contain the words. And as much as I enjoy the artwork, there are times when the art and the word don’t seem to match well or are nebulous. While the text version of the game helps in this matter by not having a “distracting” illustration, let’s face it, we are playing this game because we enjoy the artwork and characters. This is by no means a deal breaker, however, a few of the cards can cause a bit of confusion. The other “problem” with the game is that you have to be fairly fluent in the Marvel Universe to truly enjoy the game, even I didn’t recognize a character named “Lash”, even after collecting comics for decades and owning two comic book stores. Of course there are ways around this, but we found the game to be most enjoyable by giving clues that would appeal to the hardcore fans and having them become immersed in the theme of the game.

Overall this is a game that I would happily bring to the table for all of my comic book friends, and as such it is a brilliant addition to the Codenames line of games. It probably has little appeal to non-comic fans, but then again, that’s not the target audience.

Codenames is one of my favorite games and now I’m happy to say that the Marvel edition is an excellent addition to my collection… especially for those times when we have a group of comic fans available and get to “ooh and ahh” over the cards and revel in the world of Marvel Comics.

Designers:

Vlaada Chvatil Publisher: USAopoly Players: 2-8+ Mechanic: Deduction Ages: 9+ Length: 15 Mins.

Highly Recommended www.usaopoly.com

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Interview • Way of the Dragon • Sugar Gliders • Arcade • Red Nestor Romeral Andres - Designer/Publisher Thank you for taking the time to share your What games over the years have you enjoyed thoughts with our readers, can you tell us a little most, from both the point of personal enjoyment, something about yourself? as well as those that influenced your growth as a designer?

Thank you, Serge.

I’m an Engineer, math teacher and entrepreneur that finally managed to make a living doing what I love: designing and producing boardgames. I’m 46, married and I have a wonderful daughter. I’m also a decent archer.

I’m a math geek, so I’ve always enjoyed math challenges and puzzles. Regarding games, the usual suspects, I guess… Chess, checkers, traditional card games,… Later on, I’ve played Carcassonne, Lost Cities (5000+ times), Samurai, Schotten Totten, Catan,…

Did you start designing games at an early age? If I’m not a player though. I enjoy creating games so, do you remember what your first game design more than playing them. was like?

When the opportunity presents itself, what games I started after reading some articles by Martin have you currently been playing?

Gardner and some puzzles and games magazines.

At first, it was just playing with mechanisms and doing some math. I don’t remember the first one, but one of the games that I designed was Pentactic.

I was 8 or 9 at that time. It was good enough to keep stuck in my mind ever since. I published it 30 years later after some tweaking.

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I’m open to any game that hits the table, except those above 2 hours playing time or with large rulebooks. Also I’m not fond of co-op games or wargames much.

By Serge Pierro

Who are your favorite game designers?

I think the games by Reiner Knizia touch a chord with my brain. Samurai is one of my all time favorites. Also, as mentioned above, Lost Cities and Schotten Totten.

Is there a particular designer that you would be interested in collaborating with? If so, what type of game would you be interested in making?

I’m a lone designer. A lab rat. But I’ve already collaborated with my good friends Cameron Browne, Stephen Tavener and Dieter Stein. I think designing a game with Herr Knizia could be fun.

What do you think defines your “style” as a game designer, is there a specific mechanic or rule set or… ?

Definitely ‘balance’. Not regarding first or second player advantage (I got that covered). I mean balance between ‘tensors’. Tensors are goals or tactics that pull in opposite directions and you have to find the optimal ‘middle ground’ between them to win the game. For example, in Adaptoid, the more powerful your pieces are, the weaker they become (as they need more free spaces around). In RED, you must balance the size of the groups of two different types of features in the tiles. And so on…

I’m also quite obsessed with ‘elegance’ in games. A few rules, but lots of replayability and depth.

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Interview

(Cont.)

Which one of your games do you consider your Good question. It’s a tug of war, I think. My designs are very constrained by what I can and can’t do best design, and why? in production, but some games have forced me

to improve my manufacturing capabilities: new Oh, I don’t know. It’s a matter of taste and mood. materials, new formats, new providers...

Here’s when a designer lists a lot of his games and explains why he likes this one or that one. Right?

Maybe my best design is always the next one.

Gardens of Enceladus is coming soon, so be it for now.

Seeing as how you are both a publisher and designer, how does the business side influence your game designs and how does your game design influence your business decisions?

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You are primarily known as an Abstract game designer. What is it about Abstract games that you find fascinating?

Elegance, as mentioned before. I don’t enjoy this trend of overdesigned crowfunded games. You don’t make a game better by simply tossing mechanisms and components into it. Making it simple, but fun, deep and replayable is the Holy Grail, IMHO. There might be exceptions, of course.

Do you have any plans to do a euro-type board game or something similar?

I’ve already designed some light-euro family games: Gardens of Mars, Gardens of Io and the upcoming Gardens of Enceladus. Other family games are Top Speed, Space Defenders, Asterion, The House Of The Flying Blades, Way Of The Dragon...

I enjoy designing family games a lot, so definitely more will follow.

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Interview

(Cont.)

“Sugar Gliders” is one of your designs that has been published by another publisher. What made you choose to have the game published by White Goblin Games, instead of under your own brand?

White Goblin Games contacted me. I simply couldn’t refuse. Not part of my plan, but publishing with other companies is great.

Although I am not a huge fan of dice games, “Way of the Dragon” is one of my favorites. Can you give us some insight in how you designed this excellent game?

Thanks! It’s my wife’s favorite, too. I don’t remember the design process for it. It seemed to pop up in my mind directly. Even the theme was clear to me right from the start. I just had to tweak the path lengths and come up with the special powers.

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In vol.2 no.1 (2016) of the peer-reviewed journal “Game & Puzzle Design” you had an article that dealt with Upcycling as both an eco-friendly design concept, as well as being inspirational for design purposes. Are you still using this concept today for any of your more recent designs? If so, which ones?

Not exactly upcycling, but I try to create or publish games that I can manufacture with components or materials that I already control. If I decide to add a new material or production method (such as the recent 3D printed pieces) I must be very sure that I can release a lot of new games with it. You can lose control of production very easily if you’re not careful.

However, I sometimes break my own rules. You have to make room for exploration, too. For example, ARCADE uses large mats, fluorescent acrylic and a tube; that no other game does.

Regarding pure upcycling, the recent Mini edition of Epaminondas uses cutouts from the game Unity, for example.

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Interview

(Cont.)

In addition to designing games, you have also designed puzzles, such as “Gadeiro”. How do you go about designing a puzzle such as “Gadeiro”?

You can see the Gadeiro symbol in many places in my home town Zaragoza. A few years ago, my japanese friends Ken (designer of Glaisher and Yavalax), Tchie and Masa (Amoeba, Flip Flop...) came to visit me. I saw the symbol again while showing them the Pilar square, next to the cathedral. That symbol. I had to make something with it. Why not breaking it into pieces?

You have authored some books that feature Abstract games. Are there any plans for some new titles?

Not in the near future. I did it for pleasure, but it’s not profitable at all.

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Are there any other upcoming projects that you are at liberty to discuss or announce?

Yes, as mentioned, Gardens of Enceladus will be released in July for the nestorgames 9th anniversary. I will also offer the whole saga (Mars, Io and Enceladus) at a reduced price.

What advice would you have for would be game publishers?

I don’t know. My business model is so weird and unique. I don’t think it would work for anyone else. It’s taken me a lot of effort. You can win, but prepare to lose.

What advice would you have for aspiring game designers?

Do it for pleasure. Have fun. If you’re looking for fame and fortune do anything else.

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Fog of Love

By Tom M Franklin

Thematic Game for Couples

F

og of Love is a semi-cooperative role-playing game that claims to be a “Romanic Comedy as a Board Game”. As someone who appreciates unique approaches to the hobby, I was intrigued by the concept – and more than a little bit skeptical.

Could a designer really pull that off?

of Trait cards and are kept hidden from the other player. Your Personal Goals are met if you make enough decisions on the Personality Dimensions track that match the requirements on your Trait cards.

Relationship Goals are based partially on the Story, partially on Destiny cards that describe the type of relationship you want to have at the end of the game, Each game centers around a pre-written Story. and partially on the number of Heart points you earn These Stories are played over three to four throughout the game.

Chapters, with each Chapter being comprised of a set number of Scenes. Scenes are played from The game starts with each player choosing a color your hand of five cards and move the story along. (stereotypical pink or blue) and a gender for their Most Scenes have choices that one or both players character. (The game uses gender-neutral language, make that affect both their relationship and their allowing for both same sex and opposite sex individual goals. character couples.) Players take five Trait cards and select three to keep, followed by three Occupation Winning conditions vary from Story to Story. cards, choosing one for their character. Traits are Regardless of the Story, however, there are two kept hidden; the Occupation card is placed face up separate tracks each player will need to manage: on the matching spot on the board. Players then your own Personal Goals and your chosen introduce their character to the other player, stating Relationship Goal. Personal Goals are chosen by their occupation and name. Five Feature cards are each player at the start of the game from a deck then dealt to each player. Players take turns placing

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Photo: Tom M Franklin

a Feature card in front of the other player, telling a brief story about how this feature was one of the things they first noticed about the other.

Stories open with a brief introduction that sets the theme for that game and for the players to roleplay within. The opening game, for instance, opens with brunch the day after the couple meets for the first time at a party. Other stories include a couple who were High School sweethearts, and a couple agreeing to give their new relationship a year and then see how they feel about continuing.

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Fog of Love (Cont.)

Each player has a hand of five Scene cards. Scene cards are drawn randomly from three Scene decks: Sweet, Serious, and Drama, with each deck name describing the type of scene you can expect. Players take turns playing Scenes and resolving the issue(s) the card and the players’ decisions introduces to the relationship.

Most Stories start with each player having a mix of Sweet, Serious, and Drama cards in their hands, but only re-drawing up to five cards from the Sweet deck. Later Chapters focus on the other decks, thus building drama in the game and the relationship.

As with all role-playing games, Fog of Love can be a fun game, providing you have the right people playing. You need to be willing to role-play your character and make the choices your character would make, not the ones you yourself would make.

Most Scenes will require one or both players to make a choice. Choices are made in secret with each player choosing the thick plastic poker-style chip with the letter that matches the answer on the Scene card they wish to choose. Players reveal their choices at the same time and then resolve the ramifications of their choices.

Role playing games require a different mindset than most other games. To fully engage with the game For example, it’s your First Visit to IKEA as a couple. and the other players you need to leave you and The card asks, “How do you both approach furniture your personality behind and fully take on another shopping?” There are four answers to choose from: persona. In Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), you “We really don’t need much”, “Let’s get this and this may be a human or, more likely, a creature that and this!”, “I’m sure we can find something that has humanoid characteristics. You may encounter suits us both”, and “I really don’t care”. Since each people or creatures that have more arms and fewer response earns you different points on the Personality eyes or lack corporeal form altogether. In D&D Dimensions track, you need to balance whether you it’s easy to differentiate your characters decisions should answer in alignment with your Traits cards and actions from your own. (for instance, if you had the Trait “Narrow-Minded” you would be looking to score down on the Curiosity In Fog of Love you are definitely human, playing aspect. The “I don’t really care” answer will earn you with another very human player and character, one point there) or work together to match what working through realistic situations. This calls for you think your partner will answer (which often has a different type of role-playing. And, given that positive results for you both) or choose the answer the game revolves around relationship decisions, if that, on this card, awards both players additional you’re not accustomed to role playing games, the Heart points on their player card. lines between playing the game and real life could seem easily blurred.

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Photo: Tom M Franklin

All this to say the members of my weekly gaming group agreed that Fog of Love was both fun and funny. Everyone wanted to play it again and enjoyed each the different Stories. At the same time, to a person we each agreed we would never play it with a significant other. Not only are none of them role-playing gamers, but even so, there would be a constant worry that our in-character choices would be misinterpreted. Badly.

Fog of Love has one of the best methods for getting you playing the game minutes after opening the box that I have encountered in all my years of gaming – and it’s one that I truly hope becomes the standard for more games in the future. The rule booklet

essentially starts by telling you to stop reading the rule book and follow the diagram on the back page to set up the board for the introductory game. Then start playing.

Each deck initially comes with a series of sequentially numbered Tutorial Cards. These are turned over and read aloud. They describe the game and the initial actions you will take to establish your characters with the Traits, Occupation, and Feature cards and then how to start playing the game. After enough cards have been played to almost end the Chapter, another Tutorial card appears to guide you through the next Chapter. The entire learning process was simple and clear making the gameplay feel almost intuitive.

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Fog of Love (Cont.)

The rule book comes with instructions on resetting the decks to their original, Tutorial state. Following these directions, I was able to test the Tutorial with two different new players, allowing them to guide the game play. Both times the game proved to be easy to learn and we were involved in the game and the Story very quickly. Even though Fog of Love is not an overly complicated game to learn, I fully believe game designers should strive to be like this – getting you playing and involved in the game as quickly as possible.

I have two issues with Fog of Love, one minor and one major. The minor issue has to do with their choice of colors to represent the two genders. If you’re truly trying to push away gender lines to allow for same sex couples, how about using something besides baby blue and pink? Yellow and green? Blue and white?

My larger problem with the game has to do with the number of Scene cards. At first glance, there seem to be more than enough of each kind of Scene card. However, we were seeing many repeats on our second game. By the third and fourth game we had seen almost all the cards before. Each new Story (or in-box expansion) comes with Chapter cards but less than a dozen additional Scene cards in support of the new Story’s theme. I hope future expansions will either come with dozens of additional Scene cards and that a second and third set of Scene cards is released.

Scene cards are all oversized cards, meaning they fit into large hands comfortably. The Trait, Occupation, and Features cards are all small, but given they aren’t handled much throughout the game, this is fine. The choice chips are thick and nicely weighted, reminiscent of the chips used in Splendor. All the components fit back into the open-top box easily – a box that slides into a thick slipcase for storage. The design of all elements to the game is very impressive.

We had a lot of fun playing Fog of Love and I would love to revisit it with new decks of Scene cards and Winning and losing Fog of Love, quite honestly, new Stories. Until then, I’ll happily reset the decks took a back seat to the fun of playing. Some of this to their Tutorial orders and lend it out to friends was due to the amount of laughter around the table who want to have an evening of laughter and and partly because we knew about halfway through amusing role-playing relationship decisions. the game we were not going to manage to meet any of the winning conditions. (In most cases, this was Designers: Jacob Jaskov due to the luck, or the lack thereof, of the cards. In Publisher: Hush Hush Projects one game a player role-played his character so well 2 Players: that he sabotaged the relationship, allowing himself Mechanic: Roleplaying, Storytelling a Personal win at the expense of the couple.)

Ages: Length:

17+ 60-120 Mins.

Recommended

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Photo: Tom M Franklin

www.fogofwargame.com

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Abstract Games

By Tom M Franklin

YINSH

Y

INSH is a game about turning pieces over, from black to white or from white to black. And back again. If this sounds familiar it’s because the main mechanic in YINSH dates back to the late 1800s when the game Reversi was introduced to the public. In the 1970s, Japanese salesman Goro Hasegawa made a subtle change to the game’s opening and patented his version of Reversi as the name you may be more familiar with: Othello.

Both YINSH and Othello feature pieces that are black on one side and white on the other.

During moves, these pieces may be turned over, leaving the opposite color in play. That, however, is where the similarities end.

The playing field for YINSH is a six even-sided shape with the point where two sides meet is missing. Lines are drawn from side to side along multiple points creating intersections where pieces can be played.

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Each side starts off with five rings of their color, either black or white. In the Placement Phase players alternate turns placing their rings on any open intersection on the board. In the Movement Phase, players again alternate turns, placing one of the black or white pieces in the center of one of their rings with their color facing upward (i.e., a white-facing piece is placed inside a white ring). They then remove the ring, leaving the piece behind, and move the ring in a straight line to a new, unoccupied intersection.

Rings cannot pass over other rings, either of their own color or their opponent’s color. Rings may pass over pieces, but they must land at the first opening after a piece or row of pieces. All of the pieces your ring passes over must then be turned to their opposite side. (The piece left behind where the ring started remains its original color as always.) In a given turn you may well not only turn your opponent’s pieces over to your color, but turn some of your pieces to your opponent’s color.

Photo: Tom M Franklin

The object, much like GIPF, is to create an unbroken row of five of your color pieces. When this is done, the player removes those five pieces from the board.

As with all of the GIPF Project games, there is one small but vital rule that makes YINSH special: Along with the five pieces the player takes from the board, the player also removes one of their rings from the board. This means with each five-in-a-row you make it will be harder to form your next five-in-a-row. Or, put another way, the closer you are to winning, the harder it can be to win (or, just as importantly, not lose).

With so many intersection points on the board it can be difficult to know where to start when placing your initial rings on the board. There are many online forums where YINSH strategy has been discussed and the consensus appears to be that there are no set opening positions.

In general, you’re looking to create open paths for yourself while working to cut off access for your opponent. An early overall strategy was to dominate an edge and create your own wall of pieces, however later tournament gameplay has shown those tactics to be flawed and beatable.

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Abstract Games (Cont.)

Photo: Tom M Franklin

In 2004, YINSH was both a Spiel des Jahres Recommended game and a Nederlandse Spellenprijs Nominee. That same year it also won the International Gamers Award for General Strategy: Two-players, and was a Mensa Select Winner. The following year it won Games Magazine Best New Abstract Strategy Game.

It’s not hard to understand why. YINSH is quick to learn and get players playing. Almost immediately the game demonstrates its depth of play.

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As with all of the Project GIPF games I feel like I should be better at it than I am. However, I do think I have become at least slightly better at it than I was when I started. The game still overwhelms me with possibilities and I still cannot think several moves ahead. I do feel like I’m getting a better sense of how to keep better control of the game through the rings.

YINSH is my personal favorite of the Project GIPF games, so it’s no surprise that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.

Photo: Tom M Franklin

Instead, the best approach to YINSH seems to be to pay close attention to your rings. Although the pieces on the board may flip from color to color, they will remain static on the board until removed as part of a five-in-a-row. Your rings are the only pieces that move. Therefore, it’s important to keep your attention on your rings, keeping them flexible and open to movement while also forcing your opponent’s rings to be trapped or at least having fewer options.

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Solo Gaming

By Jeff Rhind

The Gallerist

W

hen I first saw The Gallerist on Kickstarter a few years ago, I was, for the most part, a fledgling gamer - inexperienced - and thought that this game was way out my league. I had only played one other Vital Lacerda game up to this point and that was CO2. After watching several videos on The Gallerist, I had the opportunity to trade another game away for it. Fast forward to today, The Gallerist has become one of my favorite go-to solo games. Admittedly, I have not played it multiplayer and that’s OK, because The Gallerist is a solid, solo Euro game, albeit a bit on the pricey side.

In The Gallerist, you are a museum curator showing fine works of art from sculpture to paintings to photography in your gallery. You will be acquiring contracts from interested art buyers, buying and selling new art from up and coming artists, and perhaps discovering new ones along the way. You will be performing actions that will increase the renown of artists you have discovered and using your assistants to gain majorities in the International Market to gain points. Your assistants can also gain

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you bonus actions when you get bumped out by another player. As you get more VIPs, collectors and investors from the plaza to the lobby and finally into your gallery, you will earn money (which are worth points at game’s end) and earn reputation points, so that you can win that final masterpiece and edge out your opponent to have the most successful art gallery.

You will be playing against a rather simple AI bot called, oddly enough, Lacerda, that will loosely mimic a second player’s actions through “blocking” as well as kicking you out of spaces. At the beginning of the game you will choose one of four worker placement spots to start on and gain the randomized bonus token placed there during setup. This is important not only because of what tile you choose but also the space you choose won’t be available to you initially. Further, Lacerda will begin the game opposite you on the board. So, you might spend a few minutes deciding these points as you figure out your strategy. There are quite a few avenues to explore.

Photo: Jeff Rhind

The Gallerist is not as “sand-boxy” as other games, but you do have some leeway in coming up with a plan to meet the various win conditions of the game. As Lacerda moves around the board, he leaves behind his assistants at each worker placement space. As you jump to various worker placement spaces on the board, you will kick out his assistants out which, at the end of your turn, will force you to discard one of the 30 starting tickets in the game. These tickets act as a timer in the game. On the other hand, if you get kicked out by Lacerda, you get to take a bonus action. Keeping these bonus actions and Lacerda’s next move in mind and planning ahead for them is part of the overall

strategy in playing the game. Plus, you can’t forget your end game objective cards called ‘curator cards’ as well as your ‘dealer cards’ which lists the types of art you need to sell for money/points.

As the game gets close to the end, there will be a brief scoring phase when one of the ticket stacks runs out. This is an opportunity to keep your eyes on, to maximize your reputation points, and gain some extra cash for the push to the end. The end game has multiple win conditions that you will evaluate to determine how well you did: Apprentice, Experienced or Master Gallerist. At times, you find it very obvious what you should do on your turn

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Solo Gaming (Cont.)

Photo: Jeff Rhind

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Vital Lacerda is known for making big, heavy games with lots of components, lots of moving parts, lots of things going on, and this is no exception. The game looks complicated and intimidating at first but once you get the hang of it, which doesn’t take long, you begin to see how everything is linked and interconnected -- very smooth and very well designed. Although hard to appreciate and do a heavy game justice in such a short article, The Gallerist is an impressive and expansive Euro game that makes for an enjoyable, challenging and “artful” solo experience.

Photo: Jeff Rhind

while at other times you will need to be more careful in your decisions. It helps knowing where Lacerda will go next as he just moves clockwise around the board. The only time he actually does something is in the International Market. There is a systematic approach to how he gobbles up majorities there – again, predictable. There are instances where you know you have to go to that space I order to prevent Lacerda from taking away opportunities from you.

This and the fact that there is a limited number of turns to get things done is where the tension in this game lies.

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Interview Gallery

Steve Jackson #1

Dan Verssen #1

Paul Herbert #1

Reiner Knizia #2

Franz Vohwinkel #2

James Ernest #2

Mark Copplestone #2

Reiner Knizia #3

Peter Adkison #3

Brom #3

Chenier La Salle #4

Ryan Dancey #4

Brian Snoddy #4

Beth Sobel #5

Bruno Faidutti #5

Tom Jolly #6

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Antoine Bauza #7

Dennis Lohausen #7

Ryan Laukat #8

Chad Hoverter #9

Matt Leacock #9

Greg Isabelli #9

Ignacy Trzewiczek #10

Jacqui Davis #10

Johan Koitka #10

Jamey Stegmaier #11

Michael Menzel #11

Kay Wilke #11

Vincent Dutrait #12

Mike Fitzgerald #12

Sandy Petersen #13

Mihajlo Dimitrievski #13

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Interview Gallery

Bruno Cathala #14

John Ariosa #14

Friedemann Friese #15

Joshua Cappel #15

Eric Vogel #15

Mac Gerdts #16

Keldon Jones #16

Steve Finn #17

J. Alex Kevern #18

Richard Ham #18

Ludovic Roudy #19

Bruno Sautter #19

Phil Walker-Harding #20

Luke Peterschmidt #21

Mike Richie #22

Grant Wilson #22

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Curt Covert #23

Daryl Andrews #24

Rob Dougherty #25

Nestor Romeral Andres #26

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Mobile Review Index

Issue #12

Issue #13

Issue #14

Issue #15

Issue #16

Issue #17

Issue #18

Issue #19

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Issue #20

Issue #21

Issue #21

Issue #22

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Issue #24

Issue #25

Issue #26

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Game Review Index

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• • • • • •

This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the 2-4 of Us Small World Stella Nova Shoot-Out Postcard Cthulhu Postcard Empire

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Tile Chess Cards of Cthulhu Samurai Spirit Golem Arcana Pairs Sutakku Timeline

• • • • • • • • •

Baseball Highlights 2045 Samurai Sword Paperback For the Crown Trench Firefly Cutthroat Caverns Rise of the Zombies Shadow Throne

• • • • • • • • •

Rhino Hero Attila Spurs and Sprockets Chaosmos March of the Ants AquaSphere Fidelitas Rise of Cthulhu Maha Yodah

• • • • • • • • • •

Animal Upon Animal Sushi Draft Stones of Fate WWII: Stalingrad Stockpile The Magnates Sentinel Tactics Flip City Space Movers 2201 Dark Tales

• • • • • • • • •

Nevermore Gold West Arcadia Quest

Dragon Flame

New York 1901

Lift Off! Tesla vs. Edison

Yashima Targi

• • • • • • • •

Outer Earth 1944: Race to the Rhine Runecast Cycling Tour Witkacy Firefly: Fistful of Credits Dozen Doubloons King Down

Game Nite Issue #26

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Game Review Index

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• • • • • • • • • • • •

Steam Works Web of Spies Cartography Xia: Legends of a Drift System Orleans Raiders of the North Sea Hoyuk Wizards of the Wild Myths at War Ring It! Hogg Wild for Wealth The Martian Investigations

• • • • • • • • • • •

Cosmic Run Imperial Harvest Under the Pyramids (Eldritch Horror Expansion) Bomb Squad Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Luna Biblios Dice Trekking the National Parks Fuse Skulldug!

Horrible Hex

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Cuisine a la Cart Foragers The Shadow Over Westminster Scoville Valeria: Card Kingdom Onitama Knit Wit Worlds Fair: 1893 Flip City: Reuse Gruff The Walled City Empires at Sea

• • • • • • • • • • • •

JurassAttack!

Oh My Gods!

Looting Atlantis 13 Days Apotheca Tiny Epic Galaxies Automobiles Daxu Slaughterville Kheops Scoville: Labs Ancient Conflict Treasure Chest

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Dr. Eureka Stockpile: Continuing Corruption Sugar Gliders Dawn of the Zeds: Third Edition Vast: The Crystal Caverns The Networks Grifters Trajan Conspiracy!

Secrets of the Last Tomb Best Treehouse Ever Matryoshka

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Imhotep In the Name of Odin Centauri Saga Draconis Invasion Dastardly Dirigibles Flamme Rouge Haspelknecht Hansa Teutonica Star Trek Panic Theomachy Commissioned San Ni Ichi Small City Game Nite Issue #26

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Game Review Index

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• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Kanagawa Lunarchitects Hero Realms Santorini Vinhos: Deluxe Colony Sun Tzu Bermuda Crisis Tavarua Explorers of the North Sea America San Allies Crisis

• • • • • • • • • •

Hanamikoji Element Villages of Valeria Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition 7 Wonders Duel Oceanos Herbaceous A Feast For Odin Schotten Totten This Belongs in a Museum

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Ninja Taisen Space Invaders Dice!

The Dresden Files Card Game Pyramids Quests of Valeria Amun-Re Cultists of Cthulhu Magic Maze Knot Dice The Cohort Crazier Eights Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu

• • • • • • • • • • • •

7&7 March of the Ants: Minions of the Meadow Honshu Web of Spies Saga of the Northmen Tournament at Camelot Haspelknecht: The Ruhr Valley Plague Inc. Zephyr Terrible Monster 5ive Duress

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Fantasy Realms Space Race Isle of Skye Unearth ION Escape from 100 Million BC Battle for Souls COG Near and Far Terraforming Mars Caverna: Cave vs. Cave Pocket Mars Terra Mystica Hafid’s Grand Bazaar

• • • • • • • •

The Climbers Whistle Stop The 7th Continent Witches of the Revolution Viral Sentient Road Hog PeltaPeeps

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Game Review Index

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• • • • • • •

Mini Rails Nightmare Forest: Alien Invasion The Ruhr Summit Seikatsu Tulip Bubble Covalence

• • • • • •

Joraku Michael Strogoff Minute Realms Castle Dukes Rajas of the Ganges Cytosis

• • • • •

Ancestree Exodus Fleet Tak Mistborn: House War Expedition: RPG Card Game

• • • •

ShutterBug Divinity Derby Wakening Lair Planet of the Apes

• • • • • •

Vast: The Fearsome Foes Vast Miniatures Expansion Vast Bonus Cards Wildcatters Alexandria Tzolk’in

• • • •

Gretchinz!

Button Men The Flow of History The Game of Nines

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Game Review Index

•

•

•

• •

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• • • •

Dicey Peaks Coldwater Crown Thanos Rising Peak Oil Wordoku

Zombie Dice: Horde Edition Codenames: Marvel Fog of Love Cthulhu Dice

Contributors Serge Pierro Serge has playtested numerous games for several companies, including

Wizards of the Coast and AEG. He has also written for Duelist, Inquest and Gamer print magazines. His award winning photography has appeared in both newspapers and magazines. He has self published a game, and has several other designs ready... but, currently finds his free time devoted to doing Game Nite.

Eric Devlin Eric has been the North East Regional Representative for Wizards

of the Coast, the brand manager of Legends of the Five Rings, as well as working with Sabretooth and Third World Games. He has an extensive background in playtesting for top companies. He has also written for Games Quarterly, Duelist, Inquest and others.

Jeff Rhind Jeff is a single father raising a 19 year-old son and a 8 year-old daughter, and slowly coaxing them into the world of tabletop gaming. He has been gaming for many years and shares his love and appreciation for the hobby by reviewing and talking about games on his web site: completelyboard. com as well as his You Tube channel at youtube.com/completelyboard.

You can also follow him on twitter @jeffrhind

Tom M Franklin Tom lives in North Carolina where he and his wife are staff to their five cats.

His writing has appeared in his agent’s Inbox and the occasional hand-written letter to friends. He grew up playing Abstract Strategy Games (back when they were simply called games) and still regards dice of all kinds with suspicion. His Board Gaming Claim to Fame is having taught over 300 kids how to play Chess. Considering he’s been playing board games for over 50 years he really should be much better at them than he is.

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