Hop on the Magic School Bus!

Featured Kickstarter Interview

Argent: The Consortium

Game Designed by Trey Chambers
Published by Level 99 Games
Interview with D. Brad Talton Jr. (Founder and President of Level 99 Games)

Argent: The Consortium, one of my current Featured Kickstarters, has less than 14 hours left and I had the great opportunity to ask Brad, the founder and president of the game's publisher a few questions.

I for one am very excited about this game. Thanks Brad for taking the time to answer just a few questions. The project is doing so well and it has almost reached its final posted stretch goal. Congratulations! Let's start into the questions.

Q - I am very excited about the theme of this game. As I first read about the theme of Argent I personally thought about my growing up years reading Harry Potter and most recently The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. What was the inspiration for the theme and did the theme come before, during, or after the actual game design?

Argent was actually where the World of Indines--the world of BattleCON, Pixel Tactics, and Disc Duelers--actually began. When I played Trey's (the designer of Argent) game at BGG.CON 2012, I knew that the game was a perfect match for the theme :)

Q - What one word would best describe Argent?

Vivid. The game really leaps to life, despite the stereotype of Euro mechanics. Everything you do feels like part of a vast conspiracy.

Q - If you were one of the professors or students at the school, what department would you be in?

My trade skill is computer science, so I'd probably be in the Department of Planar Studies.

Q - The game comes with so many goodies and I love that you already have an expansion ready too. How much will this thing end up weighing?

We're looking at 6 pounds, probably 7 with the Kickstarter bonus content we're planning (Summer Break).

Q - This game is chalked full of really interesting game mechanics and components.  Name and discuss 3 of your favorite components or game mechanics that set Argent apart from other games.

For me, I'd say:

1 - Secret Voters are the biggest one. Not knowing the victory conditions unless you do your homework, and not having VP as a pure gauge of progress is really refreshing.

2 - Spells are pretty huge. Having a tool belt of different powers and capabilities that will change in each game means that you have to adapt new strategies by what you have at your disposal.

3 - Variable Time Rounds really add pressure. In Worker placement games with removal, you usually play Chicken to see who will take the high-value spot first and get zapped. However, in Argent, the Bell Tower mechanic makes rounds end early, and means that you often have to seize opportunity while you can, or you won't get anything.

Q - Replay ability is a big factor for me and your Pixel Tactics games did such a great job providing huge playing variation that keeps each game fresh and always offering something new each time it's played. Does Argent have that same level of replay ability or more in your opinion?

I'd say Argent has more total variations, though two matches of Pixel Tactics probably feel more different than two games of Argent. With large games, you have to make sure the baseline is solid across multiple plays, so that skill and strategy have room to develop. But no two games will ever be quite alike!

Q - Artwork. Wow. I guess that really isn't a question. :)

There's an artbook/lorebook too! :D

Q - I really can't wait to see and play the final product, I think it is going to be epic. I really am in awe of this game and I can't stop thinking about it. It is doing so many things right. Any suggestions on what to do to pass the time between now and June?

Play BattleCON: Devastation! It'll be at your FLGS by the end of January!

I know many are excited for Argent to come out this year and can hardly wait, but playing Pixel Tactics or BattleCON as we wait doesn't sound half bad!  I hope to be able to provide you all with a review of Battle CON: Devastation! soon and I should be able to provide you all with a review of the final game come summer time when the final game is released. If you are interested in backing Argent on Kickstarter, you may only have minutes left! If you miss it, I'm sure you will be able to get a copy eventually, but why miss out on the great Kickstarter rewards and that is How Lou Sees It.

My Suns are Burning!

Featured Kickstarter Interview

Burning Suns

Game Designer Emil Larsen

Burning Suns, my current Featured Kickstarter, has just about a week left and I had the great opportunity to ask the game's designer, Emil Larsen, a few questions.

Emil, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions. I will try and make the questions different/interesting since I know you have answered the same questions again and again for other people.

Thanks a lot Lou, I'm glad you wanted to take time to interview me. I really appreciate that. 

  

Q - First question is very random and perhaps a bit strange (perhaps some background is in order: I'm a big Superman fan and Bizzaro is the opposite version of Superman as Jerry Seinfeld so nicely explains to us...)

Snus Gninrub. That is Burning Suns spelled backwards. Describe for us a game that is a "Bizzaro Burning Suns" (or what would be the exact opposite version of Burning Suns).
Haha, that's a great question... the opposite game of Burning Suns would be something along the lines of:

Snus Gninrub is a game of meaningless choices done by placing cubes on different actions that will maximize the decay of your one race. Every player spends around 6-7 hours in order to conclude who have won using the most Cthulhu friendly strategies available in the game. It's about staying apart and try to avoid moving around the static board. The game comes with a limited variety of pale clip-art tokens made in Word, together with some wooden zombie meeples.

Nicely done! I don't think we will be seeing Snus Gninrub hitting the store shelves anytime soon. Burning Suns however is a different story. Speaking of stories...

Q - Story time! Can you give us a little prologue or set up for the theme of the game?

The story of Burning Suns takes place in the end of a 1,000 years peace across the galaxy. Many empires had grown strong during this period, which increased the tension between many of the empires. New races have since appeared trying to gain foothold in the galaxy... all leading up to a climactic event that set the galaxy on fire.

I can't really say anymore, since my backers will be formulating these stories together with me (we'll soon be voting for the backer to write the event).

Another reason why this Kickstarter is so great. The involvement of the gaming community and backers of the project. What better way to make a game than to include those who will be playing the game in key decisions and brainstorming.

  

Q - What is your absolute favorite thing about Burning Suns? (I'm still trying to decide between the awesome Dieships/miniatures and the hundreds of different empire combinations.)

Hmm.. choosing one thing, that's unfair :D .... Well, I'll have to go with the Dieships I think. Mostly because of how spontaneously I created that concept, and how well it turned out. While I really like a lot of other elements, this one came just from me fiddling around - and that's the beauty of a creative process.

With the great success of the Dieships, it makes you wonder what people will start sticking die into next. I would really like to see a drinking glass with a die suspended in the middle of it in some sort of gyroscope device. Just saying, pretty cool. If anyone is interested in making this happen, let me know and we can make it a reality. Sorry, side tracked.

  

Q - Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Wars any day. While I do like the science and setup of Star Trek. When it comes down to it, Star Wars is the epic story that became a part of my life.

I agree 100%. The new Star Trek movies are great by the way, I only hope that the next Star Wars movies will be good. Star Wars, such an epic universe. I think it inspires a lot of people. A fun fact: I grew out my beard recently and have had a co-worker start calling me Wookie. I take it as a complement (also, funny video and tutorial on how to make a "wookie sound" if anyone is interested).

Q - Where did you derive your inspiration from for this great game?

The greatest influences on atmosphere is Star Wars, Sins of a Solar Empire, and Twilight Imperium.

When it comes to influences on mechanics, I found most of my inspiration in Rebellion, Starcraft, and Eclipse. I actually think the reason why Burning Suns doesn't really feel like the other great 4X games, is because of the heavy influence from computer games.

That is really cool. I remember the good old days playing Starcraft late into the night... And for those unfamiliar with "4X" you can click here and read about it on Wikipedia. 

Q - Describe for us what a normal turn consists of.

Income (yay!) > Refill and exchange some tokens and the action sheets > Placing your leaders on the actions you want to take (this will also tell us who start out in next round) > Execute the actions in the order they have been placed...

Sounds pretty straight forward to me. Clear as crystal.

  

Q - What is your favorite color?

Green - the color of nature, balance and hope. 

Good choice. Green is a great color. Hooray for St. Patrick's Day! Right?

  

Q - I really like that you have involved the gaming community in the creative process and included us in the game development. What are some key things that you have gained from others during this process?

*phew* There's A LOT!

Just to name a few: Ideas for expansions, balancing ideas, design choices, solutions on some Kickstarter issues, unit naming, stories, stories and more stories. It's simply awesome. I could be mistaken, but I've yet to discover a campaign/production that involves backers on such a level. I mean, that's what I believe is the spirit of Kickstarter.

Emil, I don't think you are mistaken at all and I think that involving the backers and gaming community as much as you are is one of the great things about your project. Sure, the game is awesome and you have sweet Dieships, but involving others in the game making process is very cool! 

Q - It is really important to have a supportive wife when you undertake ventures like this one as well as have support from friends. How has your wife and friends supported you and how would you like to thank them?

Yea - without a solid foundation at home, you won't be able to reach any goals whatsoever. I'm so thankful for the wife I have. She's used to having me away all week (army), and then when I come home there's also the Kickstarter. It's crazy, but she's been there for me every day. The amount of thanks I owe her can't be formulated in plain text.

I've had some very understanding colleagues at my work - and some very cool board gaming industry colleagues in Denmark giving me a push in the back. It's awesome to be surrounded by such people, especially with this kind of almost one-man-show I've been putting on for the last 30 days!

Well said.

Q - What is your favorite planet? (Remember when we were growing up and Pluto was still considered a planet?)

Hahaha... true... dissed by the men of science :D I've probably always been kind of a Mars person. 

Favorite color is green, but favorite planet is the red one eh? I do like the fact that Mars is nearby allowing us to explore it more easily than any of the others. Sadly, Pluto was always mine.

Q - I love the Dieships, and I know a lot of others do as well. And I found out that it is your favorite thing about the game. How did you come up with this brilliant idea?

This is what sometimes happen when you just play around with components. I was doing some 3D figures, imported some dice and started to play around with some robot parts.... and suddenly the d4 had legs. The rest is Dieship history ;)

Seriously, they are killer. I think the Dieships alone should make everyone want to back the project right away.

  

Q - What is your favorite board game?

It's cheap to go for your own game ;) ... Hhhmm... at the moment it must be X-wing miniatures, it's just a wonderful blend of theme and mechanics.

I really enjoy that one as well. Very fun even though my wife piloting the tie-fighters seems to defeat me every time.

Q - Describe Burning Suns with only one word.

Gamer's

Q - This is a huge project and future projects may be very far from your mind right now, but tell us - do you have something on the back burner for a future game after this one?

I do.... though it's still in early beta since I don't have time to prototype more at the moment ;)

It's a spiritual successor or predecessor I guess - called Burning Rome (and you're the very first I tell it to).

In short, it's going to have the same tactical level and adaptation of Burning Suns. It'll (if they want to continue) feature the same wonderful artists... you could probably call it an epic scale board game implementation of the computer game "Rome - Total War".

Thanks to me being so talkative - Now I have to go an register the name on BGG :D

Wow! Thanks for sharing. I feel honored indeed to be the first. I think you have a bright future in board games my friend across the pond.

  

Q - Name the top 5 things that make you happy.

My wife...

Our still unborn son she carries around ;)

My parents.

Appreciation of my work.

My dreams

It is important to surround ourselves with happiness. Great list.

Q - 8 days remaining. What would you like to tell others about the game? Anything else you would like to share?

Join forces with me and my backers, go to our Kickstarter > http://kck.st/1d2sRN6 > and become part of this cool experience, it doesn't end with the Kickstarter :)

I'm really looking forward to share the final development and game with all of you!

Thank you very much for your time and putting up with my off the wall questions. You were a great sport. I think you have a fantastic game  here and I can't wait for the finished product!

Thanks a lot for interviewing me Landon, that's really nice of you - and I had a blast answering your questions!

If you are not convinced yet; check out the Kickstarter page, Sun Tzu Games, or the Board Game Geek page. What are you waiting for? Go get involved in creating what is to be one of the great games of 2014 when it is unveiled in all it's Dieship glory and that is How Lou Sees It!

Q and A with Carmarace Game Designer Luca Caltabiano

Luca Caltabiano founder of Board to Death TV and designer of the featured Kickstarter project Carmarace provides some As to my Qs.

I am very excited about today's post as you get to see the results from my very first interview (or Q and A) session. And since that interview was with someone as talented and well known as Luca, I feel very honored to have this opportunity. My purpose in interviewing Luca was to get some inside scoop on Luca and his new game Carmarace which is currently on Kickstarter.

Kickstarter 101
For those who don't know, Kickstarter is a great website that allows people to gauge how well received some new product or project will be by asking the world to pledge a certain amount of money that will help them complete their project. Board games can be very expensive to publish (or so I have been told) and this is a way for people to say, "Hey! This game looks awesome...of course I will pay in advance for a copy so that the entire gaming population may partake in its perfect mayhemness!" If the project doesn't get funded (people don't pledge enough to meet the minimum goal) then no money is actually given and the project doesn't get too move forward. Frown Face. But, if the game does meet the minimum goal, all money will be taken from the people who pledged and this money will be used to produce the product. Stretch goals are usually then given to encourage continual growth of the pledged amount which usually enhances the quality of the game or adds really other cool rewards (I really hope Carmarace can meet 30k - foiled cards and box...sweet!). So, with that being said, check out my currently featured Kickstarter - Carmarace and enjoy my interview with its creator.

Interview with Luca

Q - As founder of Board to Death TV, can you briefly give us a little background about yourself and what inspired you to start making videos about board games in the first place?

Well I never intended on making video reviews, it happened by accident. I was a film student making short films for film festivals and then started a video production company. One night, during game night, I thought I would try out my new camera and film our game. I then posted that video online to show people the quality of the camera and other specs, but most people actually just commented on the Boardgame istself. They wanted more, and we got plenty of emails telling us to make reviews. So I emailed companies asking them to send us review copies to start off the website. Some companies jumped right in like Rio Grande, Gamewright, AEG, and others. Fantasy Flight however did not want to support us. But now that we have grown to what we are today, we do not send emails out anymore, luckily, the companies come to us. I saw how many people loved our videos, so I just continued doing them.

(I think I can speak for the gaming community when I say that we are all grateful that you have continued doing them and we are all excited for this new game of yours.)

Q - What is your all time favorite board game?

Oh man...nice question. Um...I would have to say my First board game. Fireball Island. Why? Well, because it's the first game that always comes to mind when people ask me that question. If I would get that game for Christmas, I would probably cry a little. No other game would do that to me. It's probably the game I have played the most too. I must have played 'till it broke.

(Very cool! I have never actually heard of this game before, but after checking it out online - I can see why it would be a favorite. It looks like any of our readers could be the proud owner of a copy if you win the bid on e-bay for $150 plus. Check out info on Fireball Island at Board Game Geek.)

Q - Give us a little background on how you came up with the idea for Carmarace. What games would you say influenced your design of Carmarace the most? 

Well, I love racing games and there isn't that many out there. I play lots of video games too and my favorite games are the Need For Speed ones. I wanted to make a simple card game at first, which anyone can play, even children. But then as we play tested, the guys said why not add abilities to some of the cards? And so, we did. Once we play tested that for a while, we thought, man, it would be cool to actually visualize the race. So, we made a board and play tested that until we knew we had a really fun game.

The Karma aspect of that game came to mind when I accidentally hit a cat with my car. I went back for it, he was still alive, so I picked him up and brought him to the side of the road and called the SPCA to pick him up. I waited 1 hour there with him, he was always starring at me, as if to thank me or something for not leaving him on the road. This was at 2 a.m. and I might have been seeing things, but he really looked like he was thanking me.

The next day, I went to pick up my fiance and in front of her house there is a bus stop. Someone had left their bag under the bus stop bench. I went to go check if it was school stuff or something I could return, but when I opened it, there was a camera in it. I brought it in and tried to see if there was any info or footage that I could use to bring it back to the owner but there was nothing. I told my fiance and she said it was Karma for what you did for the cat. I waited to see if anyone would come back for it, but saw no one.

(I know that I enjoy racing games. Mario Kart anyone? A friend of mine hit a dog once. He really just grazed it I guess, because it seemed to be just fine. There was a terrifying yelp though that caused us to look back and see the dog run off back into its yard. Karma. A nice theme for this sort of game. I hope if that person out there missing their camera is reading this that they will now know where their camera ended up. It is in good hands.)

Q - When I learned about the game, I immediately thought of the card game Milles Bornes taken and made much more interesting! I loved playing that game growing up, and this game looks like a really fun improvement on that. Would you mind comparing the two games? 

I have a confession to make, I never played that game. A lot of people told me about it and if I take a quick glance at the game, the artwork is very different and I think CarmaRace has more abilities and will be easier to Expand with new maps, new cars, and new mechanics. I will have to try that game one day.

(For those who don't know, Milles Bornes was a French card game where players are racing to travel 1000 km before anyone else. Playing speed limits, giving each other flat tires or stop signs, etc. This definitely takes that concept and improves upon it greatly - very excited!)

Q - Have you ever hitchhiked before?

No, but I have traveled a lot. I've been to Japan, Italy, France, South America, and more... I've taken all my experiences from those travels and incorporated them into this game. Actually, we have over 50 cards that are NOT in this game which are reserved for expansions. If my artists were required to make these cards too, we would have to wait longer for the game to come out. So we are launching with this and then expanding it with card packs.

(I haven't either. Heard some interesting stories though... One in particular, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Expansions, nice.)

Q - I love Kickstarter. The only thing I really struggle with is being patient for delivery of the game. This Kickstarter seems to have a pretty quick turnaround on the game relatively speaking and getting it just before Christmas is a brilliant idea. Where are you currently in the game making/publishing process?

The game is ready for print. The day we get the funds, we ship the artwork to china for print. Once printed, they will ship out to AMAZON and from there we will ship them to the backers and distributors.

(Music to my ears.)

Q - I really like the artwork for the game. How did you decide to work with Squish Image?

She is a local artist who is exploding in popularity. She does all the conventions I can think of and mostly works with pins, prints, t-shirts, etc. When I approached with the game, she was on board and took a HUGE risk making all the art for it with no pay. She believes in it so much that she knows it will be a success and she will get something out of it for sure.

(That is really cool that you can incorporate a local artist in this process. Readers, you can check out here webpage here: Squish Image)

Q - If you had to describe yourself with one word, what word would that be?

Gamer.

Q - If you had to describe Carmarace with one word, what word would that be?

Mayhem.

Q - Open mic! What would you like everyone to know about Carmarace and why they should click over to the project page and back it now?

As a reviewer, there are some things I've learned to love about games. Fun artwork (Dark Humour), great player interaction (You never WAIT for your turn), awesome bluffing mechanics and quick gameplay.
The strategy is there for hardcore gamers and the fun of gaming is there for the noobs as well. Not to mention that it's customizable and expandable. We play tested with a panel or reviewers, and the play tested with my little cousins, and then play tested with my fiance's girlfriends and they all had a blast and played more then once. I think you should back this game because it's something that you'll pull out more then once from the shelf. You'll WANT the expansions, you'll want the new maps, and you'll want to customize the decks to make you gaming group happy. It's just an awesome, growing, game that you don't want to miss out on.

(I can echo you on that. I think we are all excited about this project and will be ready for more expansions before you can say "Road Trip!")

A big thanks to Luca for taking the time to answer these questions. Check out the video trailer for the game below and check out the Kickstarter page for Carmarace to pledge now and secure your copy of this sure to be a "hit and run" game that you will be sure to enjoy and the game will sure to continue expanding and that is How Lou Sees It!