I first learned about Scott Rogers from listening to the Ludology podcast. Scott Rogers would do a semi-regular segment called the Biography of a Board Game by Professor Scott Rogers. These were some of my favorite segments of the podcast. I always had a picture in mind of Scott rocking a tweed jacket and reading glasses surrounded by many leather bound books. Scott would go deep on a board game and tell its story from the early design and inspiration to the market reception. I sat in my office’s parking lot many times trying to finish the episode even though my commute was over.

In 2019, I was fortunate enough to attend a board game design workshop co-located with BGG.CON. On one of the networking breaks, I heard Scott’s distinctive voice. I turned and walked over to him saying, I just had to say thank you for all that you have given the community. I had Gabe Barrett’s board game design advice book in my backpack and remembered that Scott wrote a chapter on game design in it and shared his best advice for new game designers. I asked Scott to sign the chapter. Shameless.

Turns out that Scott was at the Tabletop Network design workshop to give a lecture on horror themed board games, so I got to learn from the professor himself. Scott would go on to design the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Board Game based on the iconic film from 1974.

Again… Thank you, Scott Rogers. You have given a lot to our community. I appreciate your contributions and inspiration over the years. I wish you well.

The Game Designers Movie Premier at BGG.CON 2019

My last in-person board game event was BGG.CON 2019. This Board Game Geek convention hosted the premiere of The Game Designers documentary and Q&A panel featuring the producers, director, and stars of the movie. I was thrilled to be a part of the event!

The movie premiere was a great time to meet the designers, take selfies, and collect some autographs. Everyone was super generous with their 15 minutes of fame. Matt Leacock signed my copy of Pandemic Legacy Season 2 and wrote a message to George: Good luck saving humanity. Eric Rayl presented the producers with a commemorative plaque and we signed posters for the team.

Lunatix Loop and Matt Leacock

One of the fascinating bits in The Game Designers documentary is when Matt Leacock talks about his start in board game design and shows us his first game, Lunatix Loop. Matt wanted to create his own board game after playing and tinkering on games in his childhood. Not only did he make a new game, but he also made all of the copies by hand. The documentary tells the story of how they made boxes and custom tokens. They sat on the couch and put stickers on thousands of bingo chips and glued paper to cardboard. This time investment paid off. Matt went on to design the Pandemic series of games, landing the Spiel des Jahres game of the year award, and starring role in a documentary. Ever since I learned about Lunatix Loop from the documentary, I wanted my own copy and have a part of board game history. I set an eBay alert and after a few years, a copy came up for sale. I didn’t haggle. I hit the Buy It Now button as fast as I could. It’s glorious.

Each copy of Lunatix Loop was handmade: the box, componetns, board, and rule book. Each game was signed and numbered. It definitely now feels like a limited edition. You can tell Matt had high hopes for his game design career and he really landed it.

I appreciate that The Game Designers documentary gives us a look into the game design world. Games are about people and people are the ones struggling over the design, the art, the rules, and getting everything right to create experiences for other people. I highly recommend checking out The Game Designers Documentary and checkout the Director’s Diary on Board Game Geek for more behind-the-scenes on how the project got started. Maybe you will be inspired by the people the movie features. Maybe you will design a board game?

Subscribe to Zoom Out Media for new and upcoming film projects, including Crafting Arzium, a documentary featuring the game design and production duo, Ryan and Malorie Laukat.

In my latest board game design, I want to use dice as both a way to resolve combat and to enhance abilities on a player card. The random dice I have sitting around my desk were quite large and helped me get my idea across.

I wanted to fit more dice on the player card, so I started looking for smaller dice. This lead to a few hours of research one late night and I found some options on The Game Crafter. I bought 8mm dice in different colors… and some Arkham Horror-inspired dice… and a t-shirt.

I placed my order and it only took a few days to get my bounty. What I am concerned about is that I didn’t move the design forward at all while the order was in process. Yikes. I wasted a lot of time thinking about some new dice, visiting a bunch of sites, and finding a vendor. I wasn’t game designing. I might in fact enjoy collecting dice more than designing games. And, in some cases, I might enjoy collecting dice more than playing some of the games that I have.

The new dice arrived. 8mm is really small – probably too small for practical purposes. They don’t feel like “real” dice in terms of size and weight, but they are functional. I played around with them for a few hours, and eventually, I came back to my game design work that prompted my purchase.

So, how small are 8mm dice? I took some dice out of my component bins and found a few that represented different sizes. 16mm is considered the standard size. You are probably the most familiar with the 16mm size.

I can’t vouch for my board game design process. If I had better results, I would be advocating for everyone to take a break and look around for dice or some specialized component. Board game design is hard and it does require some discipline. You (I) probably have everything you (I) need to prototype a new game sitting around you (me). Hours are hard to come by in my schedule and I would have been better served to just move forward without the little dice. I am now trying to salvage this faux pas by sharing my experience with you. Maybe one day I will create a hit board game and then I can claim that my lack of disciple was the key to success.

How do you stay disciplined?

Dice Game

The little game that I invented for us to play has two rules:

1. Roll a D6 – a 6-sided die
2. Yell out the results

The new game that I just invented collapsed. On the very first die roll, I yelled out, “4!” and George yelled out, “5!”. This is why game design is so hard. You can create a game with two rules and it breaks down under the slightest pressure. Imagine trying to make any game work with pages of rules.

Conventions

When I ask myself what is the result of a die roll, I interpret that to mean what symbol is on the top face of the die. This is a convention that I learned and I assume it to be true. Board game rules don’t have to say it, this is just known by everyone. Or, is it? My son hasn’t learned this convention. To him, the result is one of the sides facing him… that he can see.

Perspective

No matter what we do, no matter what we read, we have to pass it through our own understanding of the world. Our understanding of the world is our set of conventions layered on top of experiences and opinions. I am starting to appreciate that things can be true to individuals. My perspective can produce something that I believe to be true, but it does not mean that it is truth. Even with the most basic of games, it’s impossible to have absolute shared understanding. Now, imagine this with billions of people, laws of physics, laws of physics we don’t know about, politics, human nature, climate, etc. What is truth? Is it what’s true from your perspective?

When I loaded up my podcast app on my phone this month, the app started downloading around 400 episodes of the podcasts that I missed over the year. I realized that I will never be able to catch up. I uninstalled the app, cleared the cache, unsubscribed, and started over. This time around, I am going to be deliberate with what I am going to listen to and when. I am not commuting, so now, I am listening to podcasts on walks instead of music. I have also been listening to episodes during my early morning coffee before the family wakes up. I used to watch YouTube clips sometimes deliberately, most times mindlessly.

I recommend three podcasts: Searching for SaaS, Masters of Community, and Board Game Design Lab.

Searching for SaaS

The Searching for SaaS podcast is a “fresh perspective on the stages of building a SaaS business” hosted by Josh Ho and Nate Bosscher, two founders in different stages of their SaaS journey.

Searching for Saas podcast

I enjoy listening to Josh and Nate share their thoughts on topics related to their experiences while building Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies and products. Josh and I still talk once a month after meeting over 20 years ago at an internship. Even though we talk on a regular basis, I have learned new things about Josh’s latest project, Referral Rock, and how it got off the ground. In Episode 5, Nate and Josh talk about MMVP – Minimum Minimal Viable Product. The topic came about after I listened to their first episode and I sent in some feedback. Josh shared an early story of Referral Rock and that sparked a lot of interest for me. I wanted to learn more about it and also hear Nate’s take on it. The show is evolving almost like an MVP and they are responsive to feedback. I highly recommend the Searching for SaaS and send in your questions and topic ideas.

Masters of Community with David Spinks

Community is more important than ever. The Masters of Community show brings you conversations with the top community builders, leaders, and experts in the world. Hear their stories, insights, and advice, and take your community strategy to the next level.

Masters of Community podcast

My passion is with building online communities. I have built developer and maker communities to support projects around the world. I am fascinated by community dynamics, how they grow, how they die, and how they support business. I can’t say enough about the Master of Community podcast. I look forward to new episodes and have been binging the ones that I missed since the show launched in 2020. I recommend that you start with the How To Build a Social Media Community with Matthew Kobach episode.

Board Game Design lab

The Board Game Design Lab is a community built on one central purpose: To help you design great games that people love. BDGL started its podcast in 2016 hosted by Gabe Barrett.

Board Game Design Lab podcast

I love board games and I love to design board games. I have been following Gabe since he started. He has built the largest board game design community over five years. He’s started a podcast and gave a lot of people related to the board game industry a voice, he’s released books on game design, he’s released his own games, and consistently shares what he learns as he learns it. The podcast is like clockwork and has been evolving over time. I like that he not only has game designers as guests but also has guests that support the industry, like editors, artists, and marketers. I recommend starting with the How to Market Yourself, Your Game, and Your Company with Debbie Moynihan episode. In this one, you’ll hear from Debbie Moynihan, COO of Wise Wizard Games, and learn the seven P’s of marketing.

What podcasts do you listen to?

Warning

If you like stuff organized and have things put away into bins, stay away from The Container Store. I am addicted to organization hacks and The Container Store is my drug of choice.

Cricut Cutting Mat Storage

The sticky cutting mats used for the Cricut cutting machine are really important to keep dust free and stored properly. I never know what to do with them. I now store them on the Elfa Utility Board using a slim hook. This keeps the mats in a convenient place and protected from accidentally sitting things on them. Also, write the date of their first use on them with a marker. The mats do not last long, but I recommend using the Monicut brand of mats. The Monicut mats are about 66% cheaper and work just as well.

Cricut Tools

The Elfa slim hooks are also perfect for hanging the Cricut tools. By handing up the tools, you get easy access to them and keep the sharp parts out of the way.

Magnetic Storage Bins

The Elfa Utility Board is made out of metal and magnets like metal. Over at Dollar Tree, I found magnetic storage bins for $1. This is a great deal. The bins also have a clear lid. I use them to store game components and keep them in view while designing games.

How much time have you wasted trying to choose the best salad dressing?

Jeff also mentioned the paradox of choice. He recommended that we watch a TED Talk from Barry Schwartz on the subject of choice and try to apply it to game design. Barry does not talk about game design in his TED Talk, but his message about choice can easily apply. A game with no choice is not fun. A game with too many choices is also not fun. You need to find a balance and do not overwhelm your players with too many options. Choice is central to the art of game design. You need to decide which choices to present to players and which ones that can be removed from your game.

I recommend that you watch Barry Schwartz’s TED Talk, The Paradox of Choice, to get the full context and see how you can apply it to game design.