21st Century Cardboard

This last weekend, we had the always welcome opportunity to play games. Lots of games. Nonstop games for 4 days. Our second year attending SaltCON was a huge hit. The sold out event was a gamer’s paradise, with hundreds of tables and a fully stocked game library. The exhibitor hall was home to some of my favorite publishers and plenty of local folks involved in the industry. We scored some great deals in the game swap and barely had time to stick our heads in the miniature gaming room. We completely missed the RPG events and the many board game tournaments going on.

We learned several games and I had the chance to teach a few favorites to others. We were able to pick up a few more and began playing them immediately after we got home. Best of all we spent great time with family, old friends, and new friends. …

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Today we are taking a look at how board games are created, particularly at how independent designers and publishers have benefited from industry shifts and new technology. To bring us up to speed on how the world of tabletop game design and publishing has changed, I have asked Brandon Rollins, designer of the upcoming title Highways & Byways to join us for a discussion.

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Kyle: Welcome Brandon, care to tell us a bit about yourself before we dive in?

Brandon: My name is Brandon Rollins. I make board games and I write about making board games in my blog, Brandon the Game Dev. I cover just about every subject you need to understand to go from having an idea to a complete product: game design, manufacturing, marketing, and a lot more. My first game was War Co., an expandable card game about a corporate sci-fi apocalypse. My second game, Highways & Byways, is about taking epic road trips across the USA. It’s coming to Kickstarter late this March, and I’m really excited about it! …

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When I first tell others about my board gaming addiction hobby, I hear a variety of reactions that usually go something like this:

• “You mean like (insert mass market game from 50+ years ago)?”
• “Like Dungeons and Dragons?” Tabletop RPG’s are a whole different subject, though there is some overlap in the hobbies.
• “Have you played Catan?”
• “Oh we love Cards Against Humanity.”
• “I haven’t played board games since I was a kid.”

I often explain that there are a lot of great people making unique and innovative board games these days and offer an example of a current favorite. Here, I have attempted to gather some of my deeper, though scattered thoughts about the board gaming hobby and the benefits I derive from it.

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