Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
TILE LAYING
10 types of tile-laying
mechanisms found in
modern board games
PAGE 14
CULT OF
THE NEW
Are gamers buying more
and playing less?
PAGE 28
SNEAKY
CARDS
Gamewrights new Play It
Forward game experience
PAGE 42
Read more great issues of CGI on the go!
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CONTENTS
6 8
28
14
40
28 Cult of the New: Are Gamers
Buying More and Playing Less?
34 Board Games Are a Waste of Time
(And Thats the Point)
40 Playing it Forward: the Gamewright Experience
Contributing Authors: Adam Porter, Dann Albright, Eric Huemmer, Jason P. Pike, Matt Thrower
Bezier Games, Inc. publishes award-winning Gamelyn Games, founded by Michael Coe and
party and strategy games, including One Night best known for their Tiny Epic games, delivers
Ultimate Werewolf, Suburbia, Castles of Mad King thought provoking, high quality, and affordable
Ludwig, Terra, and Favor of the Pharaoh. products with top-notch customer service.
BezierGames.com GamelynGames.com
Game time is quality time! Our Mayday focuses on light, family- Cheapass Games is a small but
four award-winning games have friendly games like Get Bit!, Walk mighty tabletop game publisher.
gone from our kitchen table to the Plank, Click Clack Lumberjack, Theyve been designing quirky, in-
homes in many countries. When and Coconuts, plus some strategy expensive games for 20 years. Look
you want an engaging, portable, games like Bootleggers and Viceroy. for deluxe games, cheap games,
fun game, remember Grandpa We also manufacture an extensive and free games at their double-
Becks Games! line of card sleeves and accessories. secret website Cheapass.com.
GrandpaBecksGames.com MaydayGames.com Cheapass.com
Sor
ON
TM
P
or - s
improv party game Off Your card games for families, gamers,
n
StratusGames.com GreenCouchGames.com
p
SPONSORS
Daily Magic Games is a designer-friendly and cus- Calliope Games publishes family-friendly tabletop
tomer-focused publisher specializing in casual ta- games, including Tsuro and Roll For It!. Calliope games
bletop games that are easy to learn and play, yet are carefully crafted so kids and adults can play on
layered with strategy and depth. equal footing fun and affordable for folks of all ages!
DailyMagicGames.com CalliopeGames.com
Founded in 2010, Cryptozoic En- Ultra PRO International is a leading Looney Labs was founded in
tertainment, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of tabletop games & ac- 1996 by Kristin and Andrew Loo-
developer and publisher of origi- cessories based in California. Ultra PROs ney. Our mission is to create fun!
nal and licensed board games, Entertainment Division publishes a va- We publish Fluxx, Just Desserts,
card games, collectibles, comics, riety of strategy and deck building card Loonacy, and games for Looney
and trading cards. games under the brands Jolly Roger Pyramids.
Games and Stone Blade Entertainment.
Cryptozoic.com UltraPRO.com LooneyLabs.com
- SP
O
Ns
or - ons
ank
Blue Orange Games is a leading Thank you! Casual Game Insider
creator of tabletop games that wouldnt be possible without our
excite and challenge all ages. generous readers. Everything we
The company is driven to inspire do, we do it for you.
ou
sp
Exploring
D
esigner Scott Almes has proven time and
again that he is a renaissance man, able
to create wonderful games using a variety
of themes and concepts. Most recently, Almes has
partnered with Calliope Games (Tsuro, Roll For
It!) to reveal the summits of Dicey Peaks. In
this adventure dice game, players make
tough choices in a race to reach
the top of a fabled mountain,
avoiding the hazards of
nature and sinister yetis.
7 5
Ive played games for as long as I remember, Almes recalled. In college, I learned
a little game called The Settlers of Catan and my love for the hobby just grew! It
was then that he discovered he could actively contribute to his new hobby. Ive
always been a tinkerer at heart. When I started to get really into the gaming hobby,
I felt the need to give designing a try.
Almes sought a way to meet a demand. The Tiny Epic series developed due to a hole in my gaming collec-
tion, he explained. I love to travel, but its hard to throw big box games into a bag. So, I had a desire to
design games that gave a big experience in a tiny box. The game I started with was Tiny Epic Kingdoms, and
it has grown to many others. Published by Gamelyn Games, Almes Tiny Epic series is now a phenomenon,
sporting legions of fans. I love designing in the Tiny Epic space, but I also love exploring games outside
that space. I find its important to keep creative and try different things.
Almes newest title is Dicey Peaks . Its a push-your-luck dice game where you are managing risk versus
reward, Almes explained. A major concept is managing oxygen. When youre rolling, you want to race up
the mountain, but climbing uses a lot of oxygen. Deciding when to rest and replenish your oxygen, and
when to sprint ahead makes you walk a tightrope. The other twist is the mountain itself. Each space you
land on is a tile that needs to be flipped over for better or worse. Exploring the mountain and avoiding
the dangerous parts is a big part of the game.
Ice Cool
School is cool! At least it is when youre a penguin.
Na om i Laeuc hli
Game Reviewer and
Casual Game Groupie
The round ends after any Runner has collected all his
fish or the Catcher has taken the student ID cards
MSRP: $30
from all the players. Every player then draws a fish
card for each student ID card that theyre currently
Designer: Brian Gomez
holding. A new player is chosen to be the Catcher
Publisher: Brain Games
and another round begins. The game ends once each 2-4 players, ages 6+, 30 mins.
player has been Catcher once (or twice in a two player
game). Fish cards are then revealed and the player
with the most points wins.
After all the monsters are slain, all domain cards are
bought, or enough of the stacks have been exhausted,
the game ends and players count up their victory points.
Both domains and monsters are worth a certain number
5 10 Casual Game Insider Spring 2017
Phone Phever
A trivia game in which you dont actually have to know anything? Where looking up the answer on your
phone isnt cheating? Sounds perfect!
Epic Roll
Take on the role of a brave adventurer, slay evil monsters, and race to destroy the vile Lich in Epic Roll, a
press-your-luck dice game with plenty of fantasy.
Spyfall
Did you see those feathers? What feathers? Were they on a bird or a costume? Better figure it out fast
if you want to blend in. Thats the key concept in Spyfall, where one player has to figure out where he is
based on the questions everyone else is asking.
There are thirty locations. At the start of each round,
a location card is dealt to each player so that they all
MSRP: $25
have the same location, except one player who will
Designer: Alexandr Ushan
s e c re t l y re c e i v e a s p y c a r d . A n e i g h t m i n u t e t i m e r
is set, and players take turns asking one another
Publisher: Cryptozoic Entertainment
questions. After youve answered a question, you get 3-8 players, ages 13+, 15+ mins.
to ask the next one. You can ask anybody anything,
except the player who just asked you. The key is to
choose questions that are vague enough that it will At any point during the eight minutes, each player may
not tip off the spy as to the location, but which will stop the timer once to accuse another player of being
make it clear that you know what the location is and the spy. Everyone votes (except the accused) and if
a l s o h e l p y o u f i g u re o u t w h i c h p l a y e r d o e s n t . Fo r there is unanimous agreement, then the round ends
instance, if you are on an airplane, you might ask and the spy reveals himself. The players win if they
another player how they like the food. If the player is were right, otherwise the spy wins. The spy can also
a spy, she might suspect that youre in the restaurant stop the clock to accuse another player, or to reveal
location and say that the food is great (which, of himself as the spy and guess the location.
course, usually isnt true of airplane food).
If the timer expires, each player takes turns accusing
someone of being the spy as described above. If every
player has made an accusation and there is no unani-
mous vote, the spy automatically wins.
Three score cards are placed in the center of the table. If you have two sets of Roll For It! you can play with
Each card shows what numbers you have to roll with up to eight players. However, the game is best with a
your dice in order to claim it. Every player has six small group, in which you dont have to wait long for
uniquely colored, miniature dice. On your turn, you your turn and the gameplay is fast. The rules are simple
roll them and may choose to commit as many dice and the varying difficulty of the cards offers some fun
as you wish to the score cards. Each die may only be strategy mixed in with the rolling fun. 5
committed to one card and must match one of the
numbers shown on that card. On your next turn, you
will only roll the dice you have not committed, though
at the start of each turn you may choose to recall all
your committed dice. Once a player has matched all
the numbers shown on a card, they place that card in
their score pile and a new score card is drawn. The
harder a cards numbers will be to match, the more
points its worth. The first player to reach 40 points
wins the game.
Ad am Po r t er
Game Designer & Keen Curator
of Boardgame Mechanics
I
n a tile-laying game, players place cardboard, plastic, or wooden tiles onto the table,
constructing a board as they play. The earliest example, Dominoes, with its multiple variant
rule sets, dates back to the Middle Ages. The forgettable board game titles of the 20th century
were overshadowed by a handful of perennial favorites, Scrabble being one of the heavyweights,
and a tile-laying game to boot.
For decades, tile laying was reserved for word games and Dominoes variants. There were a few
exceptionsin the 1990s, I was a frequent player of Games Workshops DungeonQuest, whereby
players explored an emerging dungeon populated with monsters. Tile laying was the core
mechanism of the game. But my true introduction to this style of game came from Carcassonne,
a modern predecessor of the tile-laying genre. In the years that followed, I saw tile laying used
time and again in contemporary titles, each of which placed a clever twist on the mechanism.
This article explores the myriad of possibilities that the tile-laying mechanism provides for game
designers, and the wide range of experiences it offers players.
1 Real-time Tile Laying
In a real-time game, players race against a clock, sand timer, or
other players, taking actions freely without a system of player
turns. In Galaxy Trucker, we spend the first half of the game
building a spaceship, then spend the second half watch-
ing it fall apart as it is pummeled by asteroids. The
game involves timed tile-laying with players racing
to grab the best components from the table and
construct the most durable machine. Mondo is
a game about building a map of the world,
again racing to grab tiles before the other
players can use them.
2 Route Building
Route-building games incorporate roads, rivers, or paths a network of roads. Sheep move along these roads trying
enabling playing pieces to travel around the board or table. to reach scoring positions and protected areas where they
Tsuro features players placing tiles representing curved cant be rustled by the thieves.
paths which compel the playing pieces to fly around the
board. This is a route-building tile game at its simplest. Many of the most popular (and complex) route-building
Sheep & Thief is a rare example of a tile-drafting game using games are train games, frequently using tiles to form railway
the same pass-and-play mechanism as games like 7 Wonders tracks. Examples are Martin Wallaces Steam and many of the
and Sushi Go! In this game, cards are used as tiles to form games in the 18XX series (1829, 1830, etc.).Wallace revisited
Steam in 2016, taking the core concepts and creating the very
accessible (and beautiful) route-building game, Via Nebula.
5 16 Casual Game Insider Spring 2017
3 Destruction
However, tile laying can take on darker themes of disaster
and destruction. In The Downfall of Pompeii and the similarly
themed Eruption, tiles are used to destroy the board. Players
place lava tiles across the board in an attempt to mess up
their opponents plans. Survive: Escape from Atlantis! uses
a similar mechanism, only in reverse. Here the board is
populated with tiles from the outset and they are removed
throughout the game to represent a sinking island leaving
poor, helpless islander meeples to swim for survival.
4 Living Board
In games which utilize a living board, tile placement creates
a dynamic environment where the playing area evolves
throughout the game. Tiles might be compelled to move around
the board, or stack on top of one another. The cooperative
game Forbidden Desert features tiles which move with the
blowing of the wind. They can even become buried beneath
other stacks of tiles representing deep sand dunes, making
inaccessible the items players are searching for.
5 Exploration
DungeonQuest is an exploration tile-laying game, where tiles
make up a series of corridors, secret rooms and catacombs
within a fantasy dungeon. Each turn involves placing new
tiles and seeing what lies ahead. However, exploration is not
reserved for high-fantasy thematic gaming. Tikal is a classic
tile-laying game where players explore a jungle placing tiles
to reveal treasure and temples.
Casual Game Insider Spring 2017 17 5
8 Individual Tableau
In Quadropolis, Glen More, Castles of Mad King Ludwig,
and Isle of Skye, players connect their own tiles to create
a tableau which is personal to them. These examples all with a brilliant mechanism for selecting tiles without adding
feature activation and scoring of tiles dependent on what complexity; the playful title gives a nod to its Dominoes
other tiles are positioned around them. Such games do not ancestor. Honshu introduces a trick-taking phase as the
tend to feature interaction between players in the tile-laying method of obtaining tiles. Keyflower sits at the other end
portion of the game, but instead they frequently incorporate of the spectrum, with a complex series of player interac-
a dynamic marketplace, or clever drafting mechanism for tions (auctions, worker placement, resource management)
gathering tiles. Kingdomino is a delightfully simple example, driving the placement of the hexes.
5 18 Casual Game Insider Spring 2017
9 Shared Tableau
More direct interaction between players can be achieved in tile-laying on a board, because rules dictate that all tiles
a shared tableau. This is where players place tiles onto a must be placed such that they are immediately in contact
communal grid. The shared-tableau games tend to differ from with the grid, bringing players into competition and potential
conflict from the outset.
10 Tessellation
Tessellation is the use of geometric shapes (think Tetris),
interlocking to score points in various ways. An example
is the abstract strategy game Blokus. This is an underused
mechanism which occasionally crops up as a minor feature
in a larger game, for example the placement of buildings in
Arkadia or Princes of Florence. But it can be satisfying when
used as the central mechanism in a game: Uwe Rosenbergs
Patchwork is a stunning two-player tile-laying puzzle game
where players compete to produce the most beautiful tile-laying is a core feature. Cottage Garden revisited the
quilt!Rosenberg revisited tessellation as a mechanism twice lighter gameplay of Patchwork, but this game is playable for
in 2016 in the heavy strategy game A Feast for Odin, 1-4 players with a delightful flower bed construction theme.
Of course, many of the games I have mentioned could fit into Adam Porter is a game designer based in Wales, UK. His YouTube
several of my definitions inevitably, categorizing is not an channel, Adams Boardgame Wales, contains vlogs, top 10 lists,
exact system but it is evident that tile-laying is a versatile and reviews about boardgames. Follow Adam on Twitter at
tool. It can be used to create a game of high interaction @boardgamewales
and conflict, or a game of multi-player solitaire. It can be a
process of building and construction, or something a little
more destructive. It can be used in an entirely abstract
puzzle game, or something extremely thematic. Needless to
say, weve come a long way since Dominoes. 5
I
first met Peter Jacobson over 15
Minnesota
From years ago. We were both regulars in
the Minnesota Star Wars Collectible
Card Game scene, and we crossed paths
at plenty of tournaments. Peter always
stood out to me. Some people were there
And not just having fun, but making sure that The school library at AISC looks nothing like the library
ever yone there was having a great time, too. Hes a you remember from your school years. In fact, its not even
good-natured guy, always smiling (barring situations called a librarya few years ago, it was rebranded as the
where the game hangs in the balance of a par ticularly Collaboration & Inquiry Center (CIC). A modern trend
tricky play) and talking to players both old and ne w. for libraries is expanding their role beyond simply books.
He ver y obviously had a passion for playing games. Now libraries are also maker spaces, robotics labs, and
And that passion has followed him across the world programming centers, helmed by those who take a much
and become a ver y real par t of his professional life. more hands-on, collaborative role with students.
There are a number of more recent While AISC might not be the first insti tution to see
titles as well, such as Pandemic, board games integrated into school life , it might be
in which students strive to defeat the first to officially include anything other than spe-
potentially world-ending pathogens; cifically educational games or more traditional titles
Castles of Mad King Ludwig, which like Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, Boggle, and Risk. There
sees players building castles room- are certainly lessons to be learned from these classics,
by-room; and Tokaido, which offers but modern board games offer a significantly richer
a tour of Japanese culture along and more diverse platform for teaching.
the East Sea Road. When games
can integrate with the school Monopoly, for example, may teach students how to
curriculumlike using Civilization manage their money, but it also teaches them that
as an example for a social studies r uthlessly bankr upting their opponent s is the only
class, or Evolution for biologyits way to victor y. The Settlers of Catan , on the other
even better. hand, requires players to engage in trades that are
m u t u a l l y b e n e f i c i a l a n d s o s t u d e n t s l e a r n t o c a l-
Of course, not every game has to culate whether or not a par ticular trad e is likely to
connect with a class. Fury of Dracula, give them more of an advantage than an opponent.
Betrayal at House on the Hill, Dead
of Winter, King of New York, and Ta k e C l u e a s a n o t h e r e x a m p l e : t h e a l g o r i t h m i c
the Game of Thrones Living Card problem solving required to win the game is the
Game (LCG) might be a stretch foundation of myriad other skills, especially in the
for educational purposes, but they increasingly programming-oriented world of science,
certainly reward problem solving, technology, and math education. But Fur y of Dracula
communication, and planning skills.
Maker of these exciting games...
A micro game
of nuclear
proportions.
Not Your Average Game Library: requires that a number of players work together to
u n c ove r i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e h i d d e n m ove m e n t s
of the titular bloodsucker, while the player control-
ling Dracula must do their best to intuit where their
opponents will look next based on the information
they hold.
A n d b re a k i n g w i t h t h e c u r re n t t e c h n o l o g y t re n d ,
maybe board games, no longer a dying analog
pastime but a thriving aspect of modern geek culture,
a re t h e b e s t w a y o f t e a c h i n g t h e s e s k i l l s t o a n e w
generation of learners. 5
ALSO AVAILABLE:
Y
ou may have noticed it before: A whisper on the forums, some shifty looks at your local
game store. Whether it started with the consumers or the publishers, no one knows.
The signs are there if you lookan incredible title with outstanding reviews heading for
game of the year, only to be quickly discarded for a different seasons must-buy a few weeks later.
Popular games flying off the shelves one month, only to be shelved the next. Its as if theres some
Cult of the New that needs to buy the latest and greatest, play it once or twice, then sacrifice it
to the dusty shelf of obscurity
All right. Maybe its not as dramatic as robed figures, evil plots and
insidious chants of evergreen, but there has been a definite shift
in buyer trends over the past couple of years. As the board game
industr y and community grow, the market longevity of games
seems to shrink, as if the attention spans of gamers are
e ro d i n g . A re c o n s u m e r s re a l l y b u y i n g m o re a n d p l a y i n g
less? What has changed with the board game markets to
explain this shift?
I t s a t t h e s e c r o s s r o a d s w h e r e y o u b e g i n t o s e e s o m e t h i n g t r u l y
interesting: a cross pollination of hobby gameplay and creative
licensing to act as a gateway for new consumers. Take Harry Potter:
H o g w a r t s B a t t l e , M a r t i n p o i n t e d o u t . Yo u h a v e c o n s u m e r s t h a t
have never heard the concept of deckbuilding, but the game itself
is a hook. The title has been well-received across the board, and
it makes deckbuilders like Dominion and Ascension more accessible
to new audiences.
T h e k e y i s t o o v e rc o m e t h a t i n i t i a l u n f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h s o m e t h i n g
they know, Martin continued. Thats why youll see Batman Story
Cubes being sold next to Batman keychains, as someone will simply
pick it up for the novelty.
G
ames are a waste of time, and thats what makes h e a l t h , re l a t i o n s h i p s , e d u c a t i o n , a n d o u r c a p a c i t y t o
them invaluable. Hear me outmore than innovate. According to research, stress, creativity, and
frivolous escapism, board games contribute brain function are all improved by play, with the added
in indispensable ways to mental, physical, a nd social bonus that play with other peopleboard games, in our
health. They present a unique oppor tunity: w hat other casefosters tr ust between individuals.
area of your life grants you the chance to practice real-
life skills with friends, while simultaneously providing Most adults dont play enough. On why play becomes
a therapeutic effect for your mind and body that is taboo as we become adults, psychologist Kathr yn Hirsh-
centered on having fun? Pasek, director of Temple Universitys Infant and Child
Laborator y and author of Why They Need to Play More
W h e n w e t a l k a b o u t w a s t i n g t i m e p l a y i n g b o a r d a n d Me m o r i z e L e s s , e x p l a i n s : We a s s o c i a t e p l a y w i t h
g a m e s , w er e t a l k i n g a b o u t p l a y . I t s a t i n y w o r d c h i l d h o o d , a n d t h e re f o re p l a y i n g w i t h c h i l d i s h n e s s .
w i t h h u g e i m p l i c a t i o n s . T h e Na t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e o f [] By abandoning play, were abandoning an important
Pl a y a s s e r t s t h a t p l a y c a n d r a m a t i c a l l y t r a n s f o r m o u r par t of ourselves.
between wasting time playing board games and wasting the social ritual takes place
time engaging in other, perhaps less scrutinized, forms ove r c a rd b o a rd . Pl a t o i s
of socializing. Board games are tactile, social, kinetic rumored to have written,
things, and playing them requires face-to-face interaction You can discover more
and connectivity between players. about a person in an
hour of play than in a
The barrier to entry for board games is usually quite low, y e a r o f c o n v e r s a t i o n ,
because explanation of the rules is an integral part of the and nowhere is it more
social ritual. Everyone gathers, understands the objective, true than over a game board.
and agrees to play within parameters. Typical factors like Board games are a perfect
age, size, ability, socioeconomic class, gender, sex, or sexual example of using play as a catalyst
orientation that might affect accessibility in other social f o r re v i v i n g t h e s o c i a l a n d
scenarios dont really exist at the tabletop. If someone f o s t e r i n g c o m m u n i t y.
brings the game (or youre lucky enough to have access Wa s t i n g t i m e i s h o w
to a local board game shop that lets you play whatever we can connect and,
you want), youre in. The rest is just details. The act of f r a n k l y, b o a r d g a m e s
playing a board game is blatantly an act of socialization. are an exciting way to
T h e o n l y d i s t i n c t d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n i t a n d , s a y, do just that.
attending a baseball game or going to a nightclub, is that
Want to practice some important skills while wasting time? Check out these games:
Cooperation
Game: Escape: The Curse of the Temple
Time wasted: 10 minutes
Time management
Game: Karuba
Time wasted: 40 minutes
A group of intrepid explorers find themselves on the beaches of a mysterious
jungle island, and suddenly its ever y man for himself. Players slash ne w,
w i n d i n g p a t h s t h ro u g h t h e w i l d e r n e s s , h u n t i n g t re a s u re w h i l e t h e y r a c e
to discover and ransack a hidden temple. The faster they reach their goal,
the more points they score, but there are only so many ways to navigate
this no-mans land.
Grandpa Beck knows how to do
Game Night Right...
Feel Like a
MILLION BUCKS!
Cover Your Assets
Start with a nest egg,
Build up your Assets.
Capture your neighbors assets.
Cover Your Assets to keep
them safe.
Emotionally Charged!
Addictive fun for all ages.
Build relationships.
Great gateway to game time!
www.GrandpaBecksGames.com
Enter a Skull King tournament at a
Game con Near You!
5 40
Strategic Planning
Game: Machi Koro
Time wasted: 30 minutes
Youre the newly elected mayor of a burgeoning city, and your citizens
have some big demands. Balancing basic needs with long-term schemes
isnt as easy as it seems. Financial planning, taxing your opponents, and
choosing the right time to build key establishments all require foresight.
Negotiation
Game: Cosmic Encounter
Time wasted: 60+ minutes
A game of cosmic proportion, rife with opportunity for diplomacy, bluffing,
alliance, and backstabbing, players must seek individual dominion while
simultaneously working with (and against) their fellow galactic explorers.
With tons of options for customization, ever y trek into space is a different
experience, but knowing when to help and when to hunt is central to a
winning strategy.
Conclusion:
Perhaps there are deep-seated reasons that play for adults, even in this golden age of board
games, is viewed by some as superfluous. Thats another article for another time. The benefits
of play, on the other hand, are obvious: wasting time is a productive and vital behavior. Its
not ALL fun and games. 5
5 42
ay in g it F orwwa
a
PPl rrdd
Ma t t T hr ow er
Freelance Board and
Vid eo Games Journalist
L ets admit to a truth, because its a happy truth and not an elephant
in the room thats squashing us. Casual games often equates to
family games. That almost anyone anywhere can and will play
small, engaging titles is a key part of their appeal. Yet it feels like a market
thats more limited than it ought to be. Regular folks choose well-known
games while gamers tend to opt for things from specialists. So it was a delight
to see publisher Gamewrights mission statement pitched squarely in the
middle: create the highest quality family games with outstanding play-value.
43 5
I asked Jason Schneider, Game wrights Vice President When you dig into Gamewrights history, its not hard to see
o f Pr o d u c t D e v e l o p m e n t , w h y t h e p u b l i s h e r f o c u s e d where this focus comes from. Two sets of parents founded
on fa mily titles. Its well repor ted that fami lies dont the company in 1994, specifically to try and improve the
spend enough quality time together, he replied. Both kinds of games families played together. Its a dream thats
parents and kids have so many distractions in this done well enough to keep the company in business for 23
frantic-paced modern world. Games,andin par ticular, years. But of course thats not the only thing that keeps
non-screen focused games, are wonder ful catalysts for Jason going. We feel continually humbled by all of the
face-to-face family time. I always say that families who people who come up to us at shows and events, he told
play together, stay together. me, to tell us that our games were touchstone moments
of their childhoods and/or family gatherings.
However, these are well-worn tr uths. They dont justify
the genre needing a dedicated publisher. To Jason, its Rather than creating games in-house, Gamewright
a m a t t e r o f m a rk e t i n g , a n d o f t r u s t . W h e n yo u b u y publishes titles from a variety of freelance designers. These
a Game wright game, our hope is that adults will find include luminaries like Reiner Knizia (Loot), Phil Walker-
t h a t i ts f u l l o f r i c h c o n t e n t t h a t w i l l a p p e a l t o b o t h Harding (Sushi Go!), and Matt Leacock (Forbidden Island
p a re n t s a n d k i d s , h e e x p l a i n e d . W h i l e , a t t h e s a m e and Forbidden Desert). But theres room for first-time
time, not talking down to young gamers at t he exclu - designers, toolike Miranda Evarts with Sleeping Queens.
sion of their parents. Another such is Cody Borst who created the uniquepay-
it-forwardstyle game,Sneaky Cards.
Taking social games to a whole new level each card in Sneaky Cards
has a unique ID that can be tracked online.
In spite of the similarities between Codys goals for the The Right Games for Gamewright
game and the moviePay It Forward, he claims theres no
relation between the two. Sneaky Cards spawned its orig- To make it as a Gamewright game, Sneaky Cards had to
inal concept from a Digital Open contest in 2009, he pass through the publishers evaluation process. Deciding
explained. A game based on index cards called The Sneaky whether a game is worthwhile or not is always a tricky
Card by Harry Lee won. After the contest, the idea was process, but Jason made it clear that Gamewright looksfor
submitted to the public domain where it remained until I particular things. Of course it has to resonate with our
found it in 2013. Once I saw the idea for the first card I testers in regard to theme, ease-of-play, and repeat play
knew I had to develop it into a fully playable card game. value, he explained. Most of our games also have some
kind of humorous or unique twist to them. But then
One of my favorite things aboutSneaky Cardsis the way theres also this certain indefinable Gamewright nature
that it usesthe internet to build a community from those to the games we publish. Its hard to describe but lets just
whove encountered the cards. Each card has a tracking say that we know a Gamewright game when we see one.
number and a web address where you can register and
track it. You can then join in with an online community
of other people who, often unknowingly, have become
part of the game.
We a i m t o m a k e g a m e s t h a t h a v e a b r o a d a p p e a l
a m o n g a w i d e r a n g e o f f a m i l i e s , h e re p l i e d . Were
a l s o a w a re t h a t s o m e o f t h e m o re e x p e r i e n c e d g a m e -
playing families may find some of our games on the
l i g h t s i d e o f t h e s p e c t r u m . T h a t b e i n g s a i d , I d
challenge you to find many people who have beaten
Fo r b i d d e n D e s e r t o n L e g e n d a r y !
Jo k i n g a s i d e , h e f e e l s t h a t e v e n t h e l i g h t e s t g a m e s
i n t h e p u b l i s h e rs s t a b l e h a v e a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e t o
p l a y. I f s o m e o n e p l a y s o n e o f o u r g a m e s a n d t h e n
j u m p s i n t o a n o t h e r o f t h e c o m p a n ys g a m e s t h a t
o f f e r s m o re d e p t h , I d s a y w ev e d o n e o u r j o b, h e
s a i d . A s w e a l l k n ow, f o r m a n y f a m i l i e s , i ts a b i g
e n o u g h c h a l l e n g e j u s t t o s i t d ow n a n d p l a y a g a m e
together. If we get people to do even just that simple
a c t , o u r e f f o r t s h a v e p a i d o f f.
Wel l b e r e l e a s i n g Go Nu t s f o r D o n u t s ! i n 2 0 1 7 ,
Ja s o n r e v e a l e d . Its a g r e a t s i m u l t a n e o u s b i d d i n g
and set collection card game with a delectable
t h e m e . Wev e a l s o g o t t w o n e w i n s t a l l m e n t s t o o u r
Ca rd ve n t u re s i n t e r a c t i ve s t o r y b o o k g a m e s e r i e s . A n d
I m r e a l l y e xc i t e d t o b r i n g b a c k o n e o u r f a v o r i t e s
f r o m t h e p a s t .
LESS is
MORE
in this
subtle card
game!