Victory Pointers

  In this episode: It's a big crossover podcast for Action Points and Victory Pointers as we all got together on the last day of PAX Aus 2016 to chat about the expo, the games we enjoyed, the panels we attended and other cool stuff we saw. Feel free to send us any feedback at mail@theactionpointspodcast.com. You can also follow us on Twitter as @action_points and @victorypointers, and on Facebook and Google+. You can also find us on Twitter as @ehronlime, @adam_holdswater, @MostStrange, @pinkytweets and @melodatron. For Victory Pointers, you can follow @syelon and @goodgamespub. Music: Theme for Harold (var. 2) and Overworld by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a CC Attribution 3.0. Something Small (Instrumental) by Minden is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Based on a work at http://needledrop.co Links for the things we talked about: Tabletop Game Designers Australia Dungeon League The American Dream Swordcraft Ticket to Earth Mini Metro Paper Mario: Color Splash Nintendo S

We were at PAX Aus 2016 and had a chat with some local creators about their projects, with the organizers behind the TGDA, and chat about connecting with the local RPG design community. Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / Good Games Publishing Aaron Lim - @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson - @syelon / syelon.com   Feel free to send us any feedback or questions for the show at mail@theactionpointspodcast.com (for now). You can also follow us on Twitter as @victorypointers. What we talked about 1:22 - Interview with Allan "Chesh" Chesher of Kingdom of Aer: Kingmaker 7:29 - Interview with Alex Wynnter and Wesley Lamont from Tabletop Game Designers Australia 23:30 - Interview with Sam Appleby of Final War from Games Lab 31:01 - Interview with Michael "Barantas" McIntyre, designer of the Hand of Fate board game and Sugoi Bento 48:22 - Interview with Steve Dee of Tin Star Games   Links to what we talked about Kingdom of Aer: Kingmaker Tabletop Game Designers Australia Tabletop DevCon 2016 Dice Hard

  We are joined by Sean Carroll of 93 Made Games to chat about Gen Con 2016 from the perspective of a publisher attending for the first time. Sean Carroll - @93MadeGames / 93 Made Games Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / Good Games Publishing Aaron Lim - @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson - @syelon / syelon.com   Feel free to send us any feedback or questions for the show at mail@theactionpointspodcast.com (for now). You can also follow us on Twitter as @victorypointers. What we talked about 0:44 - Introducing Sean Carroll of 93 Made Games 2:20 - The power and beauty of spreadsheets in designing games 10:30 - How UI design affects how people play games 12:05 - Considering emotional highlights in balancing games 14:10 - The Kickstarter for Unfair just launched after GenCon 15:05 - Learnings from running Kickstarters: You can't please everyone all the time and maintaining communication 17:50 - What is a "murder board", and why should you have one? 21:40 - Exhibiting games is difficult 23:45 - T

We are joined by guests Phil Walker-Harding and David Harding (in a rare back-to-back appearance) to chat about their different paths taken in designing and publishing games, getting your foot in the door with publishers, game design competitions, theme in games, and second editions of games. Phil Walker-Harding - @AdventurelandG David Harding - @grailgames / Grail Games Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / Good Games Publishing Aaron Lim - @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson - @syelon / syelon.com Feel free to send us any feedback or questions for the show at mail@theactionpointspodcast.com (for now). You can also follow us on Twitter as @victorypointers. What we talked about 2:58 - How did you start designing? 14:30 - How did crowdfunding platforms impact your experience designing and publishing games? 17:38 - Getting your name out there at the start 19:27 - Setting a design goal based on a publisher's catalogue/style 21:00 - Breaking in and pitching to publishers 26:20 - Advice for budding de

We were just in Albury for BorderCon, an annual board game convention that attracts plenty of board gamers from the surrounding states.  While we were there, we caught up with fellow game designers/publishers Joel Finch and David Harding to chat about what they've been up to.  We also talk about games that we played at the con, setting up consecutive playtests and other conventions coming up where you might find us. Joel Finch - joelfinch on BGG / Unfair David Harding - @grailgames / Grail Games Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / Good Games Publishing Aaron Lim - @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson - @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 1:14 - Chatting with Sye about BorderCon and games we played there 10:38 - How the presentation of a game affects the expectations of the game length/weight 14:03 - Interview with Joel Finch, designer of Unfair 23:00 - Interview with David Harding, game designer and publisher at Grail Games 24:45 - Upcoming games from Grail Games 44:48 - Three types of pla

We are joined by consummate game designer, Philip duBarry to talk about designing games around experiences, working with intellectual property, getting games published in the era of Kickstarter, playtesting on Tabletopia, and designing with kids. We also chat about searching out uncommon themes, editing content as part of game design, and what happens when someone else makes the game you were also designing. Philip duBarry - @pdubarry / Phantasio Games Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / secretbasegames.com Aaron Lim - @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson - @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 2:01 - Variants in games and publisher changes 4:05 - Looking out for uncommon game themes 10:08 - Getting into the thought processes behind Codenames 13:23 - Epic failure moments in games 14:24 - Editing content for games 20:26 - Letting go of game designs when someone else designs a similar game 25:18 - Inspirations and sources of ideas for games 28:23 - Graphic design for Spirits of the Rice Paddy

Kim's game, Monstrous, is now being shipped to backers! We also chat about shipping games, dexterity games and designing games with kids and families in mind. In the second half of the show, we are joined by ex-Melbourne based designer Peter C Hayward about his (just finished) first Kickstarter for Scuttle!, designing with kids in mind, and the benefits of networking when making board games. Also, we have our own iTunes feed now! (Huge apologies for the lateness of this episode. Aaron's hard drive suffered a catastrophic failure and we couldn't get this episode out in time while Peter's Kickstarter was still running. Sorry!) Peter C Hayward - @peterchayward / beard.blue / jellybean-games.com / scuttlegame.com Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / secretbasegames.com Aaron Lim - @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson - @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 1:16 - Monstrous is being delivered to backers! 2:48 - Early bird shipping vs early bird discounts 4:55 - Shipping games with Send From China

  Kim and Sye have been busy attending some game industry conventions, GAMA in Las Vegas and the Toy Hobby and Licensing Fair in Melbourne, so we catch up with them to find out what goes on at those events. We also chat about playtesting etiquette, especially in typical board game convention settings. Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / secretbasegames.com Aaron Lim – @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson – @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 1:00 - Playtesting etiquette, tips on playtesting 6:08 - Pitching and promoting a game while playtesting 11:00 - Information on local playtesting events in Melbourne and Sydney 13:30 - What goes on at the GAMA Trade Show? 16:05 - How to get to the GAMA Trade Show 19:30 - How costly is the GAMA Trade Show? 20:18 - Dealing with distributors 23:45 - Being a designer at GAMA 26:54 - Investing in graphic design for board games 32:22 - Going to GAMA as a publisher 34:18 - Importance of US presence for publishers outside the US 38:56 - Alternate avenues for b

We are joined by Allen Chang and Alistair Kearney from Rule & Make to discuss collaborating on designs, focusing on the core of games, Kickstarting a publishing company, communicating with backers, taking backer suggestions, ideal player counts and building relationships. Rule & Make – @ruleandmake / ruleandmake.com Aaron Lim – @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson – @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 2:37 – Collaborating on making games in Rule & Make 4:55 – Craziest things Alistair has said yes or no to when designing with Allen 9:00 – Major changes late in design for Rise to Power and Burger Up 14:10 – Reassessing the core of a game 16:14 – What makes a “Rule & Make game” 19:10 – Focusing on core mechanics in a game 20:43 – Kickstarting a publishing company 25:05 – Designing games vs publishing games 28:53 – Lifestyle games and competition 36:00 – Communication with backers post-Kickstarter, maintaining a record through regular updates 42:48 – Taking on backer suggest

We are joined by Matt Dunstan to discuss finding a community, collaborating on designs, how we come up with game ideas, working with publishers, and recognizing different philosophies of game design. Matt Dunstan – @wisegoldfish / matthewdunstan.com Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / secretbasegames.com Aaron Lim – @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson – @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 1:50 – Starting game groups and Australian game design scene growth. 6:00 – Collaborating on game design 8:48 – On the spectrum of design and development 10:00 – How we come up with game ideas 17:10 – On missing rules documents in prototypes 26:17 – Setting design goals and agreeing on a vision for a game 31:10 – Will collaboration lead to more projects being finished? 35:39 – Working with publishers in developing games and finding the “best direction” for a game 41:43 – Level of polish in game prototypes at the pitching stage 44:26 – Building relationships with publishers 47:10 – Philosophies of game de

We are at yet another board game convention, recording at CanCon 2016. We take some time to take stock of what we’ve achieved in our game design journeys in 2015 and look ahead to what excites us in 2016. Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / secretbasegames.com Aaron Lim – @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson – @syelon / syelon.com What we talked about 2:30 The impact of timing and the lag between designing and publishing games 9:40 Designing with the constraint of an existing IP (Sye’s been working on a board game design tying in to Rule & Make’s Rise to Power) 11:00 Playtesting games at a general board gaming event, managing expectations of prototypes 15:40 Planning ahead and setting output goals for making board game design a career 19:20 Connecting with the board game community and building networks 21:20 Global Game Jam 29:00 The importance of board game communities and conventions for designers 33:30 Good Games Publishing to bring Unfair to Kickstarter in 2016 36:00 Being a game designe

We are joined by Jamey Stegmaier to discuss seeking excellence in board game design. We discuss setting expectations, blind playtesting, how our views on excellence have changed, and figuring out what games to publish. Jamey Stegmaier – @jameystegmaier / stonemaiergames.com Kim Brebach – @secretbasegames / secretbasegames.com Aaron Lim – @ehronlime / theactionpointspodcast.com Sye Robertson – @syelon / syelon.com   What we talked about What makes a game exceptional? 2:20 Meeting audience expectations 8:25 Changing views of excellence across Stonemaier games 11:12 Blind playtesting 13:40 Play testers as promoters 28:00 Our changing views on excellence and uniqueness 30:00 The game ‘experience’ 34:30 Studying the craft of game design 37:40 Outside inspiration 42:28 Top 3 resources for improving your game design craft 46:45 How important is the meld between theme and mechanics in game design for the promise of excellence? 56:00 Importance of art in the promise of excellence 58:33 What does Stonemaier games look

One of the things we want to do on this podcast is examine what it’s like to make games outside the European and American hotbeds of the industry. I was very excited to catch up with some board game designers from Malaysia during my last trip home and find out what it’s like for them. Big thanks to all of the designers who stopped for a chat, and to All Aboard Community Gaming Center for organizing KotakCon Mini to support the budding Malaysian industry. Links for things we talked about: All Aboard Community Gaming Center Some photos from KotakCon Mini 2015 here, and a report on the event here. Boardgamecafe.net Malaysian Table Top Game Designers Tokyo Game Market Avarium Academy Avarium Academy on BGG Politiko BoxFox Games Monster Hero Academy Blue Mana Games Music: Something Small (Instrumental) by Minden is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Based on a work at http://needledrop.co

One last convention related podcast to end the year. Sye and I checked out what was on at MeepleCon, and chatted with Mathew Utting (organizer of MeepleCon) and fellow game designers Josh Harvey (CatTube Famous) and Stacey Borg (Deeply Boring). We also chat about our different approaches to conventions and game design in general. Links for things we talked about: MeepleCon CatTube Famous You can find interviews with Josh and Stacey on the Action Points Podcast as well: Josh and CatTube Famous Stacey and Global Game Jam 2015 Two Rooms and a Boom Johann Sebastian Joust Trotofant Games Laboratory Incubator Robots and Rockets Galaxy Trucker Games vs Play on MeepleCon Games vs Play Video Round Up of MeepleCon Music: “Take a Chance” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We close out the month with the last of our PAX-related podcast episodes. Join us as we share our experiences at the convention and also share tips on how to survive one of these and how to pitch to publishers at conventions. Links for things we talked about: Check out our previous episodes for more on PAX Aus 2015 I live-tweeted the other panels I attended at PAX Monstrous Rise to Power Robots and Rockets Entropy Ninja Dojo Fight El Luchador Fantastico Grande COGZ Fragged Empire CatTube Famous Burger Up Skyward Dreary Hamlet Elevenses F**k the Game Too Many Cinderellas Ragnaroll Cacao Hedron Monster Town NinjitZoo No Fish! Articulate Sex Tempest: Shards of the Gods Neurobota Spy: Goonz Dizzy Goblins Funemployed Glory to Rome Pandemic Legacy Rhino Hero Tabletop Game Designers Australia Boardgames Australia Other resources for board game designers in Australia Music: Gaslamp Funworks by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a CC Attribution 3.0.

Aaron interviewed some indie board game designers, publishers and artists while he was at PAX Australia 2015. Listen on to find out what’s going on here in Australia. Links for things we talked about: Grail Games Circus Flohcati (on Kickstarter now) Medici One Zero One Matcha Elevenses Too Many Cinderellas 93 Made Games Viewpoint No Fish! Skyward Rule & Make Rise to Power Robots & Rockets (designed by Victory Pointers host Sye Robertson) Entropy Tabletop Games Design Australia (TGDA) Game Salute Area 1851 Nothing Personal Poseidon’s Kingdom Skyway Robbery The Princess Bride: A Battle of Wits, As You Wish, Miracle Pill Cyborgs: Earth Twin I Sweet Tooth (on Kickstarter now) Cookie Defender Burger Up (on Kickstarter now) Drinking Quest Haiku Warrior Billionaire Banshee QPC Games Prettiest Princess Games Music: Gaslamp Funworks by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a CC Attribution 3.0.

This was a panel that Aaron organized at PAX Australia 2015, titled “Growing Local Board Game Design Communities”. Here’s the panel description: “No designer is an island. You’ll need people to playtest your games and help you make it the best it can be. A party of fellow brave adventurers. People who share your passion. Where do you go? Who’s there to help you? The Australian board game design community is growing, and we want to share it with you. Our panel of playtest organizers and designers discuss the challenges and lessons learned from running tabletop game design communities and events. And you? You may have just found your party.” Links for things we talked about: Panelists were: Aaron Lim (@ehronlime) – Games Laboratory Incubator, The Action Points Podcast, this podcast right here Ben Nelson (@concentricgames) – Concentric Games Jason Kotzur-Yang (@endgamegames) – Brisbane Playtest Fest, End Game Games, Tablepop Kate Raynes-Goldie (@oceanpark) – Playup Perth, Games We Play, FTI Paul Sztajer (@pdyxs)

Welcome to the first ever episode of the Victory Pointers podcast! In our inaugural show, we talk about what it’s like to be designing board games in Australia. The panel for this episode consists of: Aaron Lim (@ehronlime) – board game enthusiast, designer and podcaster Kim Brebach (@secretbasegames) – board game publisher and designer Sye Robertson (@syelon) – board game designer and graphic designer Our plan is to have some other regular panelists joining us on and off as well, so look out for them in future episodes! The main focus of this podcast is on creating games everywhere. We mean this in the geographical sense, since we’re interested in how designers work outside the main board game industry hotbeds in the United States, Germany and France, and also the metaphorical sense of taking a holistic approach to design and inspiration. We hope you enjoy our first episode. We’re still  figuring out the best way to run this podcast and growing, but we guarantee it will be an entertaining and hopefully enlig