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Raising My Bar
Post by: Grant Rodiek This is a long, very personal, and in parts, difficult post that’s taken me a few days to write and edit. Bear with me! I noted the other morning on Twitter that one of the more...
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Josh and Grant Discuss 3.0
Post by: Joshua Buergel and Grant Rodiek If you read the Raising My Bar blog post, you may have a hunch that we decided to take another look at Hocus Poker to make it better. Spoiler: We did. We...
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Apples and Oranges: Joyous Asymmetry
Post by: Grant Rodiek Last week at game night I was able to enjoy a second game of Rex: Final Days of an Empire, Fantasy Flight Game’s revision of the classic Dune. Once again, I was blown away by the...
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A Smidge of Orb
Post by: Grant Rodiek The majority of my development brain is focused on Hocus Poker right now. The revision is testing very strongly and we (me and Josh) think we’ll be able to bring a very pretty...
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Pre-Baking with Dopamine
Post by: Grant Rodiek I’m going to play FAST AND LOOSE with science for this past. I hope you’re ready for it. One of my favorite publishers, Uwe Eickert of Academy Games, frequently talks about the...
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Researching Theme
Post by: Grant Rodiek A few days ago I asked the excellent Cardboard Edison for blog ideas. They quickly came up with two, one of which is the topic of this post. It was a great idea, but also...
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Ignoring Kind Feedback
Post by: Grant Rodiek In Friday’s post, I noted that the folks at Cardboard Edison had asked me two questions. The result of the first question was Friday’s post. The second question is answered, or...
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The Constitutionality of Rules
Post by: Grant Rodiek Today’s post is me transcribing and odd thought process going through my head the last few days. The thesis is a tinge weak, but I find the notion fascinating and hopefully it...
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Eureka Moments
Post by: The Design Community! I asked a handful of designers about eureka moments they’ve experienced in designing a game. Something that really opened their eyes to how things could work in their...
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Self Doubt is my first Tester
Post by: Grant Rodiek I have several games in the works right now, which on one hand diffuses my focus and may not be entirely healthy. But, on the other, all of them are in weird places: long term...
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Version 5 and the Brink
Post by: Joshua Buergel and Grant Rodiek Grant: When you reach a design iteration you dub “5.0” it may be time for what my mom refers to as the “come to Jesus meeting.” We’ve been scrambling for...
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I’m Original, No I’m Not
Post by: Grant Rodiek Friend and fellow designer Kyle Van Winkle asked me if I’d ever written about a moment where I thought I had a killer idea or mechanic, only to find someone else has already done...
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Me and BGG 2014
Post by: Grant Rodiek About two weeks ago now I attended BGG Con 2014. I was there from Wednesday afternoon until about Sunday at noon. This was my first time attending the convention and I enjoyed it...
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Hocus Poker: The Pitch
Post by: Joshua Buergel and Grant Rodiek Grant: It turns out Hocus Poker 5.0 is pretty dang fun. We were pleased with the results from our own local tests, BGG Con tests, and family tests over...
View ArticleDesigning for Alchemy
Post by: Grant Rodiek I am very much a combo driven designer and frankly, and probably not surprisingly, it’s something that I love as a player. I often say I design the games I want to play, which is...
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Design Muscle Memory
This post sponsored by the Hocus Poker PNP! Download it from BGG (and give us a thumb!) or read the rules. Post by: Grant Rodiek Design should become easier the more you do it. No, conceiving a unique...
View ArticleSayest Thou Poker?
Post by: Grant Rodiek I have some thoughts on branding, naming, and pitching your game to others that have been culminating for some time. Though this is a specific case study, I think what I’ve...
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A Low Chance of Success
Post by: Grant Rodiek Earlier this week, I played Columbia Games’ Napoleon: The Waterloo Campaign, 1815. This is an old, classic war game design, with blocks to allow for fog of war, rather elegant...
View ArticleBalancing the Balance
Post by: Grant Rodiek Balancing a game is arguably the most difficult and time consuming phase of design. When refining the mechanisms and trying to reach an Alpha and Beta state, you can grab new...
View ArticleFunny Games
Post by: Grant Rodiek I find myself greatly drawn to the notion of humorous games lately. More specifically, designing games that are legitimately funny for those playing them. I don’t mean games like...
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