Hans Scharler Games

I love to play board games. I read a lot of game rules, edit game rules, refine games, design new games, and develop other people’s games. I have developed a 10-week board game design workshop and currently teaching it near Boston, MA. My favorite part of the game design process is refinement. Tightening the gameplay to create a lasting experience. Tightening the rules to create a meaningful experience.

If you want to talk games, I am active on BoardGameGeek (@nothans) and the Board Game Design Forum (@hans).

Board Game Design Workshop

I have developed a 10-week board game design workshop. Here’s the entire course in a 30-minute video.

My Games

Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer is an abstract strategy board game for 3-4 players published by Light Fun Games. As the Commander of a battalion of troops, you plan out and execute troop movements to secure objective regions around the game board. Your opponent’s competing troops will cause you to tangle and engage in conflict taking on causalities and slowing your pace to victory. You must anticipate the other players’ strategies by moving with precision and seizing the initiative. Sometimes your position is defensive to block an opponent from an objective and other times you are invading occupied regions to weaken the offensive of another player.

The game mechanics for Divide and Conquer are based on mathematics and game theory, which provides an additional opponent. If you plan optimally, you will not only defeat the other players, but you will also solve the game with a minimal number of movements.

Divide and Conquer Board Game Box

Tabletop Game Design Tools

Tokens

For most game prototypes, you can use a 1 inch (25.4mm) round token. This happens to also be the same size as the Arkham Horror LCG chaos token size. Use Avery Round Labels to print a sheet of 1″ round stickers or print on regular printer paper. The stickers can be placed on poker chips or on top of a 26mm coin capsule. I recommend that you use Avery brand even though they stickers are a bit more expensive. I have used different brands and Avery labels work the most consistently.


If you can also print on regular printer paper and use a 1″ punch tool to punch them out and place inside of a 26mm coin capsule. There are many brands of coin capsules and they all vary in quality. Expect 5% of the coin capsules to have issues like scratches or cracks, or they won’t stay closed.


I like to use cheap 1″ punch tools since they get dull very fast. You want one with an open bottom so you can see what you are punching.


Advanced Tools

Cricut Explore Air 2

I have been using the Cricut Explore Air 2 for cutting card stock and slightly thicker chipboard. You will need the Deep-Point Blade for Explore in order to cut thicker materials and a lot of patience. You will ruin some cardboard while you learn the settings. If the blade is tearing the cardboard, you might have to replace the blade.

(More Tabletop Game Design Tools)

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

I am obsessed with Arkham Horror: The Card Game and going mad trying to collect everything related to the game. Fantasy Flight Games announced Arkham Horror: The Card Game on August 2, 2016, on their website. Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a Living Card Game® based on H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, monsters, and madness. Check out my stories chronicling the collection of the Arkham Horror cards at events, from pre-orders, and on eBay.

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