Games
As a child, I constantly made up 'house rules' for my favorite board games. I introduced 'Leader' and 'Hero' unit types with custom rules to the classic game Risk. I created homemade cards featuring my friends as characters in the original Star Wars CCG by Decipher. This continued in larger and larger scopes until one day I decided I should just make my own board game that combined all of my favorite mechanics and pieces from other games into one game to rule them all!
I started writing rules and cutting out paper-prototype pieces, and after about 20 hours realized that finishing this behemoth of a game I was designing would take several hundred more hours. I put that idea on the shelf and decided I wanted to make a small game in order to learn all the details needed to complete making a game. Something relatively simple - just a few mechanics - that could be played in less than an hour. The focus was no longer "make the best game" - it was now "finish making a game". Build something small (a done increment, if you will), then iterate based on what I learned.
That first game was Square Tactics - a set of 24 square cards with numbers on each of their four sides. The game was inspired by the Triple Triad mini-game inside of Final Fantasy 8. The differentiator I introduced was simply that when you play your card, you must "process" the numbers on your card linearly - comparing them to the cards adjacent to it starting with the number at the top of your card and continuing clockwise. If your number is higher, you capture your opponent's card, if yours is lower you stop processing and can't check any of your card's remaining numbers.
Through the experience of making this game - I learned a lot of details about component design, writing clear rules, layouts for components and rulebooks, packaging design, branding, production logistics, and more. Since then, I have iterated on Square Tactics four times, adding game text abilities to each card, expanding the number of character cards from 24 to 72, adding action cards, and adding support for up to 4 players!
I have since completed 3 other games - Food Truck City, Defcon Zombies, and Sabotage Pizza - and they are all available print-on-demand and drop-shipped through TheGameCrafter in Madison, WI.
Sabotage Pizza
You are the chef at a startup pizza restaurant, trying to build a reputation of delivering the best pizzas in town - but you’re not above sabotaging your competition! Deliver your pizzas with the toppings ordered while sneaking disgusting toppings onto your opponent’s pizzas!
[Coming Soon] Learn to play Sabotage Pizza, see the game in action, and more here.
2 - 6 Players | 15 - 30 Minutes | Ages 7+
DEFCON ZOMBIES
It is the distant future and rampant overpopulation of Earth is having disastrous effects. Ancient texts foretell of 8 constellations that - when charted - will reveal a path to a system containing a verdant planet with abundant water, landmasses, and natural resources. The nations on the space council have agreed to a tenuous treaty to halt hostilities and cooperate in exploring the systems within reach of Earth. Take to the stars with hope - but beware - the reaches of space contains a threat unbeknownst to humanity...
Cooperatively explore unknown space - flipping over hexes to reveal what each system contains as you move. When you reveal a Zombie system - it will start generating zombies each turn to swarm out across the galaxy. Buy new ships and unlock upgrades to fight off the zombie swarm. Race to discover all of the constellations before the zombies overrun Earth!
[Coming Soon] Learn to play DEFCON ZOMBIES, see the game in action, and more here.
1 - 6 Players | 15 - 30 Minutes | Ages 7+
Food Truck City
You are a food truck entrepreneur competing to expand your food truck fleet and create the most valuable food truck empire! Explore the city, selling your food to hungry customers to grow your brand - but watch out, the other food truck operators in the city might be up to mischief!
Flat tires, speeding tickets, staff strikes, and sinkholes are just some of the impediments that might get in your way. Keep your momentum going with a strategic application of food truck festivals, building billboards, award winning recipes, and more!
[Coming Soon] Learn to play Food Truck City, see the game in action, and more here.
2 - 4 Players | 45 Minutes | Ages 7+
Square Tactics
Use your team of wacky characters to capture your opponent’s cards and control the most spaces on the board. Watch out for each character’s special ability and use your action cards to surprise your opponent!
[Coming Soon] Learn to play Square Tactics, see the game in action, and more here.
2 - 4 Players | 15 - 30 Minutes | Ages 7+