Recent Posts
3 Hacks for Any Roleplaying Game
Back in the 1990s Quentin Doucet–a buddy of mine and the best damn roleplayer I’ve ever known–introduced three rules to his games. In twenty-first century…
Roleplaying Campaigns as Television Shows
Roleplaying games were my first introduction to the world of professional game design. Every RPG ever published assumes–if it doesn’t actively encourage–its players will create…
Dramatic Structure For The Modern Game Designer, Part 2
The three act structure is fundamental to story creation and to game design. In the first act, players look at their position and are compelled…
Pandemic: The Roleplaying Game
Since there aren’t many examples of roleplaying games based on board games, I set out to create one. It’s been an interesting design exercise. If…
BGG.FAM After Report
BGG.FAM 2016 was last weekend. Since Comicpalooza is in June this year, we had a chance to slip out of Houston, escape the deluge, see some old friends, and…
Cross-Platform Game Design, Part 3
Luther and I were recently approached to design a boardgame to enhance an existing RPG product line. This project got me started thinking about cross-platform game…
Cross-Platform Game Design, Part 2
Luther and I were recently approached to design a boardgame to enhance an existing RPG product line. This project got me started thinking about cross-platform game…
Cross-Platform Game Design, Part 1
You know Dungeons & Dragons. You probably encountered it first in school. Perhaps you played. Perhaps a boyfriend/girlfriend played. My first exposure to was in the…
Designing My First Cooperative Game
So I’m working on a cooperative game. The game did not start out cooperative. Life can be surprising that way.
Primal Games
Primal games are so clean, so clear, that they seem ancient even when they’re new. Go is primal. Its rules are immeasurably concise while its…