The Board Game Secret Show

Justin Gary is a Pioneer | Magic, Ascension & LOTR | BGSS ep_025

He won a Magic: The Gathering national championship at 17 — the youngest ever — and got the cards he won with banned. Then he built Ascension in 18 months, bet his life savings on 10,000 copies, and sold out at Gen Con. Justin Gary of Stone Blade Entertainment opens up 15 years of design secrets: why balance is a misnomer, how the One Ring broke his game (and the story moment that fixed it), and what's coming in Ascension: The Lord of the Rings.Guest: Justin Gary — https://x.com/Justin_GaryStone Blade Entertainment: https://stoneblade.comJustin's podcast & book: Think Like a Game DesignerLord of the Rings Ascension Campaign: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/stoneblade/the-lord-of-the-rings-ascension#/section/project-storyTIMESTAMPS0:00 Cold open & guest intro1:07 Welcome + the Tim Ferriss DM story13:53 The Magic pro years & the hacker mentality14:54 $30,000 and two banned cards25:59 Dominion & the deckbuilding boom29:25 Building Ascension: 18 months, 10,000 copies46:35 "Balance is a misnomer"1:07:07 Lord of the Rings Ascension1:24:03 Taming the One Ring1:28:33 Favorite set + what's next1:38:37 The crowdfund + where to find JustinGAMES IN THIS EPISODEMagic: The Gathering — https://crdbrd.app/hub/game/4dd82420-e5a0-4cc4-afaa-3b7d2b60ce97Ascension: Deckbuilding Game — https://crdbrd.app/hub/game/077eee6c-9a23-4f10-b72b-776c45514d2aDominion — https://crdbrd.app/hub/game/0b300d7c-f019-4594-8d4b-ef94c0e26585SolForge Fusion — https://crdbrd.app/hub/game/874e3f7f-413f-47df-bc57-8b603d33937bDiscover every game mentioned on the show: https://crdbrd.app#cardboard #bgss #ascension

John D. Clair is UNSTOPPABLE | BGSS ep_024

He invented card crafting — and he may have just reinvented deck building. John D. Clair designed 🚀 SPACE BASE, 🏴‍☠️ DEAD RECKONING, 🎲 CUBITOS, 🐎 READY SET BET, and 🔮 MYSTIC VALE — and his new "momentum" system in ⚔️ UNSTOPPABLE is the engine behind the smash-hit 👑 DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL board game. In this one, I review Unstoppable to the designer's face for the very first time.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE, WE GO DEEP:🧒 Designing his first game at 9 (thanks, Mom)💰 Quitting the day job — royalties, risk & the AEG deal🃏 Dominion, Ascension & why deck building is a design "cheat code"✂️ Card crafting — why it never spawned a genre⚡ Momentum deck building & the 2009 prototype that waited a decade🎲 Luck vs. agency — why new players blame the dice🌶️ The BGG comments he SAVES & the review that stung🗞️ BREAKING: Floors 5 & 6 in the works for Dungeon Crawler Carl🔮 What's next — Stormlight Archive, Mystic Lands & Electrify👉 If you want to get inside the mind of the most inventive card game designer working today, this one's a masterclass.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🔗 LINKS⚔️ Unstoppable — Renegade Game Studios▶ https://renegadegamestudios.com/unstoppable/👑 Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable + RPG▶ https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/renegade-game-studios/dungeon-crawler-carl-rpg-unstoppable❤️ Support My Work — Join Cardboard▶ https://crdbrd.app/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 TOO LONG TO WATCH? THIS IS NOW A PODCAST!🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-board-game-secret-show/id6785378165🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033GRnTDINaxqcoJksaCl4🔵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/01414914-23bd-4f4c-a29f-50daa231f364━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro — who is John D. Clair00:52 - Designing his first game at 9 (Monster Cards)05:19 - Maze books & gamifying mazes as a kid13:24 - Going full-time in 2018 & the AEG deal16:52 - Why Unstoppable went to Renegade — the IP bet18:52 - The games he loves (and the two kinds he doesn't)22:59 - Inspiration & giving credit to other designers27:12 - Playing Dominion for the first time30:46 - Why deck building is so addicting34:38 - Ascension's influence & Dead Reckoning's 2D market38:52 - Card crafting — a lateral evolution, not a genre42:16 - The deck building problem card crafting solves46:05 - Deck-driven board games — Dune: Imperium & Arnak47:35 - Unstoppable & momentum deck building50:45 - The 2009 prototype behind Unstoppable58:04 - The magic moment — two dead cards into a combo1:00:27 - Difficulty & learning to pump the brakes1:08:08 - Luck, agency & why new players blame the dice1:17:48 - How many plays before Unstoppable clicks?1:18:46 - What do reviewers owe designers?1:22:03 - BGG comments, Space Base's two bad cards & the review that stung1:31:36 - Fixing the card market — six levels, straight to hand1:41:44 - Has momentum transcended deck building?1:46:01 - The bosses & designing variety1:52:26 - My gripes — sleeving and that theme1:55:06 - The IP vision & the future of the Unstoppable line1:56:36 - Patching a physical game & the new co-op rule2:00:35 - Dungeon Crawler Carl's campaign mode2:04:47 - BREAKING — Floors 5 & 6 expansion in the works2:05:54 - What's new in DCC — looming bosses, races & mana2:13:39 - The "Unbeatable" difficulty & how John playtests2:15:17 - Stormlight Archive: War of Roshar (September)2:17:14 - Mystic Lands & the art problem of card crafting2:21:03 - Mistborn expansion, Electrify & a 2027 auto-battler2:23:01 - Wrap-up━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#boardgames #boardgamedesign #unstoppable #dungeoncrawlercarl #deckbuilding #tabletop #renegadegamestudios #boardgamepodcast

From Z-Man to Play-to-Z | 30 Years of Board Game Publishing | BGSS ep_023

One of the most storied résumés in the entire board game industry. Zev founded Z-Man Games, published 🦠 PANDEMIC and the first English 🌾 AGRICOLA (and basically invented the "animeeple" by deluxing it), signed the original ENDEAVOR, spent seven years exploding the WizKids catalog with ~100 games, and now runs his own publisher — ✨ PLAY TO Z.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE, WE GO DEEP:💰 The real economics of conventions🏆 Why Origins beats GenCon for a premiere🃏 The CCG days & Shadow Fist🤝 Betting on co-op when NOBODY wanted it📦 Under-printing Pandemic🌶️ His (spicy) take on expansions📜 IP licensing headaches & the Middle-earth project🚀 Crowdfunding, paid previews vs. review copies🔮 What's next for Play to Z👉 If you care at all about how the board game industry ACTUALLY works, this one's a masterclass.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🔗 LINKS⚔️ Siege Perilous — LIVE on Gamefound now (through July 14)▶ https://gamefound.com/en/projects/play-to-z/siege-perilous✨ Everything Play to Z has going▶ https://www.playtozgames.com/❤️ Support My Work — Join Cardboard▶ https://crdbrd.app/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 TOO LONG TO WATCH? THIS IS NOW A PODCAST!🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-board-game-secret-show/id6785378165🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033GRnTDINaxqcoJksaCl4🔵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/01414914-23bd-4f4c-a29f-50daa231f364━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 ▸ Intro — who is Zev Schlasinger00:39 ▸ Origins & how the con has changed03:04 ▸ Why publisher attendance is dropping04:15 ▸ Conventions are marketing — money is gravy05:03 ▸ The ROI secret: premiere something new06:56 ▸ Why release at Origins instead of GenCon🃏 THE CCG YEARS09:07 ▸ From CCGs to board games — the Z-Man origin09:53 ▸ Always a gamer: wargames, Magic & judging11:31 ▸ Grave Robbers From Outer Space changes everything13:16 ▸ Breaking into board games & the "Rio Grande wall"16:40 ▸ How you found games to sign back then18:33 ▸ Selling off Shadow Fist / leaving CCGs23:38 ▸ Would he ever do a CCG again?📈 BUILDING Z-MAN24:49 ▸ When did Z-Man feel like a success? ("one disaster from bankruptcy")28:21 ▸ Under-printing Pandemic & Agricola / print runs33:04 ▸ Lead times then vs. now / the Soothsayers reprint🦠 THE BIG HITS36:01 ▸ Meeting Matt Leacock & signing Pandemic38:03 ▸ Betting on co-op when nobody wanted it42:22 ▸ Play to Z's philosophy: engaging & different43:31 ▸ Signing Agricola, the $70 euro risk & animeeples48:48 ▸ Publishing the very first Endeavor52:40 ▸ Zev's honest take on expansions🏢 Z-MAN, WIZKIDS & IP1:05:00 ▸ Why he sold Z-Man (and kept working there)1:07:28 ▸ The WizKids years — 100 games in 71:11:47 ▸ The reality of working with IP & licensing1:20:54 ▸ The Middle-earth game & Asmodee's curation✨ PLAY TO Z & THE INDUSTRY TODAY1:27:08 ▸ Why start Play to Z — hitting the ground running1:29:40 ▸ Crowdfunding — why he resisted it for so long1:33:02 ▸ Crowdfunding vs. bank loans & publisher risk1:39:37 ▸ Paid previews, review copies & marketing ROI1:47:27 ▸ Social media & staying transparent with the community1:52:29 ▸ Board games vs. digital / BGA & the tactile future🎯 WHAT TO PLAY NOW1:54:40 ▸ Play to Z's lineup — Siege Perilous, 23 Knives & more1:56:52 ▸ The most slept-on Play to Z game2:00:45 ▸ Late-year releases — Dogs of War, Soul Journey2:03:21 ▸ Where to find Siege Perilous & wrap-up━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#boardgames #boardgamedesign #zmangames #pandemic #agricola #tabletop #playtoz #boardgamepodcast

Let’s Talk Rolling Deep & More w/ Peter C. Hayward | BGSS ep_022

Board game designer Peter Hayward (Rolling Deep, Things & Rings, That Time You Killed Me) sits down for a wide-ranging, 3-hour conversation about what actually makes a game fun, why he's stepping back from designing to chase screenwriting, and how he reverse-engineered the feeling of Balatro into a tabletop roguelike.We get into the apex of game design, the difference between fun, satisfaction, and winning, why Flip Seven sparked a friendly fight, the $120k debt that nearly ended it all, the "offer he couldn't refuse," and the absurd timeline that took Rolling Deep from first prototype to Kickstarter in under six months.🎲 Rolling Deep hits Kickstarter June 23rd: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitewinggamesnick/rolling-deep-and-eureka-dice-adventure-roguelike-and-campaign⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Cold open0:42 Designer vs. salesman: the dream nobody warns you about1:37 The real daily grind of a working designer3:02 Willow, his sisters & "external processing"5:27 23 Slack channels with his sister8:44 How does Peter have fun?9:07 Fun vs. satisfaction vs. winning11:02 The apex of game design11:48 Making "dumb apes feel clever"12:32 Puzzles, Sudoku & writing sitcoms15:47 Intrinsic vs. extrinsic joy22:20 Breaking So Clover (and co-op games)23:59 Is Flip Seven even a game?25:29 The threshold of agency26:03 Why Flip Seven might be a top design of 20 years30:34 Being a board game "sommelier"32:30 The Candyland question33:40 Why he's ending the Fun Problems podcast34:50 The screenwriting dream & getting into the US39:02 A "typical" day & external obligations43:12 $120k of debt to a net worth of zero44:32 The offer he couldn't refuse50:14 The ridiculous Rolling Deep timeline51:36 The Cuphead artist & the cover53:42 Why Peter designs mechanics-first55:05 The three hooks: mechanical, component, thematic1:08:42 Falling in love with Balatro1:09:31 What Balatro actually is1:24:08 So what is Rolling Deep?1:30:39 Translating planet cards into mushrooms1:33:08 Turning interest into a real decision1:38:13 Bosses & engine destroyers1:43:41 Jokers become tableau rows1:48:13 Broken combos: feature or bug?1:55:21 "Use the paints already on the tray"2:04:48 Custom dice faces & the rules budget2:19:11 Discovery cards2:28:35 Achievements & roguelike unlocks3:02:00 Going full-time: fuck around and find out3:07:45 Peter's other income streams3:09:40 Building an "engine" on YouTube3:11:17 Wrap up#boardgames #gamedesign #rollingdeep #kickstarter #tabletop #balatro

We Talk Board Games & Books w/ ⁨@ZeBoardandShield⁩ | BGSS ep_21

I need your help to keep this going. The #1 way you can support me is join my community here: https://crdbrd.app/Zeshawn from Board and Shield has played over 500 board games — and he's just as deep in the book world as the board game one. In this episode of the Board Game Secret Show we go all the way down the rabbit hole: how a Game of Thrones version of Risk pulled him into the hobby, why he merged books and board games onto one account, the narrative campaign games worth your table (Dragon Eclipse, Oathsworn, Spire's End), a hot take that might get him canceled (Castles of Burgundy is overrated), and his complete all-time Top 10 — including why Black Rose Wars will NEVER leave the #1 spot.We also cover the board-game-to-book pipeline: what to read if you love Blood Rage, the cozy parallel to CozyStickerville, and the standalone novels every gamer should pick up.🎲 Follow Zeshawn here:@ZeBoardandShield https://www.instagram.com/boardandshield/https://www.tiktok.com/@boardandshieldThe #1 way you can support me is join my community here: https://crdbrd.app/—————————————————⏱️ TIMESTAMPS—————————————————0:00 — Cold open / teaser0:30 — Who is Zeeshan & Board and Shield1:03 — How we connected on TikTok2:34 — Cross-posting TikTok / IG / YouTube + why he hates editing5:08 — Being authentic beats high production6:07 — His first videos: nerves, photos → talking to camera7:53 — Will we ever get long-form? The monthly-recap idea9:29 — The origin story: Game of Thrones Risk changed everything13:08 — Champions of Midgard & his first worker placement14:31 — Getting people into the hobby (the gateway-game problem)16:13 — Top 10 lists & the YouTubers that hooked him18:26 — Books or board games — which came first?18:53 — Between Two Fires: a horror book deep dive21:57 — His reading journey & the deluxe-edition parallel to board games25:01 — Why he merged books + board games onto one account27:21 — Niching down vs. being yourself (and dealing with haters)29:13 — Booktok creators worth following — and how huge that world is31:39 — The golden age of Lord of the Rings board games33:35 — There and Back Again & the "cozy" debate34:22 — Cozy Stickerville obsession37:15 — Corey Konieczka (Twilight Imperium → Cozy Stickerville) & Vantage41:33 — Narrative campaign games: Dragon Eclipse & Oathsworn44:04 — Dragon Eclipse as an arena battler ("I wish it were Pokémon")47:03 — Can board game writing ever match a real novel?48:32 — Tainted Grail & the Spire's End games53:08 — Sponsor break: Cardboard54:01 — Getting board gamers INTO books56:08 — Legends & Lattes: the cozy book pick57:06 — Can a book capture the *feeling* of a board game?59:36 — Standalone book recs (The Sword of Kaigen, Blood Over Bright Haven)1:00:21 — The paid-content & publisher journey1:03:36 — Staying selective + the one publisher he hasn't worked with (Awaken Realms)1:04:40 — Auto-buy publishers & designers: Board & Dice + Stefan Feld1:05:41 — HOT TAKE: Castles of Burgundy is overrated1:08:38 — Favorite Board & Dice game (Teotihuacan)1:09:46 — Windmill Valley & Danny Garcia1:11:20 — More hot takes: Ark Nova & Viticulture1:14:07 — THE ALL-TIME TOP 10 — #10 Marvel Champions1:17:36 — #9 Avalon1:19:09 — #8 Nusfjord1:21:13 — #7 Blood Rage1:22:23 — #6 Primal: The Awakening1:23:31 — #5 Dominion1:26:36 — #4 Santorini1:29:30 — #3 Inis1:30:57 — #2 Spirit Island (is it really cozy?)1:33:01 — #1 Black Rose Wars (the forever #1)1:38:09 — Breaking into the list: Grimm Coven1:44:15 — The future of Board and Shield & where to follow him1:45:20 — How he finds time for all of it1:46:37 — Closing thoughts: the stories behind the hobby#boardgames #boardgamecommunity #tabletopgames #booktok #blackrosewars

The Unhinged Takes of ⁨@BigPasti⁩ + Much More | BGSS ep_20

BigPasti makes $1,000 a month on YouTube, refuses every free game publishers send him, and is building his own game designed to make you miserable. So we sat him down and ran through 20 of the spiciest board game takes on the internet — Earth, Secret Hitler, Zombicide, FOMO, sleeving, AI art, and whether the designer even matters.Agree? Disagree? Drop your own hot take in the comments. 👇🎲 Back his game, SUNLIT'S EULOGY, on GameFound: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/dear-euthyphro-studio/sunlits-eulogy📺 Subscribe to BigPasti: https://www.youtube.com/@BigPastiSupport this show by becoming a member: https://www.crdbrd.app/pricingJoin the Secret Club Here: https://www.crdbrd.app/hub/clubs?club=the-board-game-secret-showWant to work together?: https://crdbrd.app/hub/creator/neon_gorilla━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ CHAPTERS━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━0:00 Intro2:58 Who is BigPasti3:31 How the channel blew up4:21 He makes ~$1K/month (and won't take free games)13:11 Why he refuses publisher copies18:10 His game: Sunlit Eulogy (the religion game)32:03 How Sunlit Eulogy actually plays49:14 Designed to make you miserable51:09 TAKE: If you bring it, you learn it52:10 TAKE: A game is 90% discovery58:43 TAKE: Bad rulebooks & the 30-second rule1:02:22 TAKE: House rules aren't cheating1:05:37 TAKE: Camel Up is the best game ever made1:08:12 TAKE: Did you even play the game?1:11:34 TAKE: Suboptimal play is still playing to win1:12:45 TAKE: Don't trash a borrowed game1:14:22 TAKE: Sleeving is a waste of time1:18:12 TAKE: "Good mad" is good game design1:30:10 TAKE: Multiplayer solitaire is boring1:33:48 TAKE: Can you trust BGG ratings?1:40:28 TAKE: What even IS a game?1:45:51 TAKE: All games are art1:53:00 TAKE: Looks-maxing wins1:53:52 TAKE: Be honest about player count on the box1:56:15 TAKE: Complexity isn't depth2:02:18 TAKE: Secret Hitler is a baby game2:05:02 TAKE: FOMO is the sin of the decade2:13:42 TAKE: Zombicide is Funko Pop board gaming2:14:35 TAKE: Earth is hollow2:16:16 TAKE: AI art is cringe2:27:26 TAKE: Reveal your income2:31:29 TAKE: Does the designer matter? (Phil Eklund)2:44:26 Wrap-up + the thumbnail A/B challenge━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#boardgames #boardgame #tabletop #hottakes #bgg #boardgamereview #gamefound #kickstarter

He Made 40+ Elder Scrolls Videos | BGSS ep_019

Daniel from@thinkgaming fled his country in 2022 with no job, no money, and no plan. Three years later he's running one of YouTube's most dedicated nerdy strategy channels — 500+ hours into Elder Scrolls, the official How-to-Play creator for Too Many Bones, and somehow he's never missed an upload week.We talked about losing everything in a single day, sleeping on a friend's couch in London, why he treats his channel like a library instead of a newsstand, and what it actually takes to build a niche board game channel without selling out to the algorithm.If you've ever been told "the only way to grow is top-10 lists and preview videos," this episode is your permission slip to ignore that advice.Support this show by becoming a member: https://www.crdbrd.app/pricingJoin the Secret Club Here: https://www.crdbrd.app/hub/clubs?club=the-board-game-secret-showWant to work together?: https://crdbrd.app/hub/creator/neon_gorillaChapters0:00 — Cold open1:24 — Fleeing Moscow with nothing6:15 — The bus across the border9:14 — Discovering the Global Talent visa10:25 — Falling into board games (Mice and Mystics → Gloomhaven)14:23 — Finding purpose during visa limbo16:11 — The first (failed) YouTube channel20:03 — "A library, not a newspaper kiosk"23:26 — Hobby vs. business: the Ali Abdaal scale31:55 — Ikigai and the why behind the work34:17 — The two things he's most proud of35:50 — Two jobs, never a missed week44:30 — Watching metrics without serving them49:58 — Only covering games he actually loves57:44 — Family, Cheltenham, and the introvert problem1:04:08 — "I have to do this. This is my mission."1:14:15 — Going deep on Grimcoven1:24:03 — Too Many Bones and the Wave 2 wait1:29:15 — Filming the official Too Many Bones tutorial1:32:41 — Elder Scrolls vs. Too Many Bones1:39:17 — Why he still hasn't reviewed Elder Scrolls1:49:03 — Advice for aspiring creators

The IV Studio Episode | BGSS ep_018

@iv-studio-games started making commercials for Nike, Amazon, and Bad Robot. Then one Christmas, Zac invited Austin over to "just make a board game" — for fun, for nostalgia, no plan. That became Moonraker. Six years later, IV Studios is one of the most design-forward indie publishers in the hobby — shipping on 9-to-12-month timelines, running 800-person community tours, and somehow maintaining a reputation for quality across many titles while Austin keeps losing his rondels every time he goes on vacation.We talked about the moment they stopped making ads and decided to make the thing itself, what it actually looks like when three designers with contradictory ideas have to build one game, why they published their press kit publicly, and what Zac wrote a 120-page screenplay for. (It's a board game. It ships next year.)If you've ever wondered how a small team ships beautiful games on time while also designing the next five and running a community tour — this is the blueprint.Check out Altera: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/iv-studio/alteraCheck out Honors End: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ivstudios/honors-endCheck Out Realm of Reckoning: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ivstudios/realm-of-reckoningSupport this show by becoming a member: https://www.crdbrd.app/pricingJoin the Secret Club Here: https://www.crdbrd.app/hub/clubs?club=the-board-game-secret-showWant to work together?: https://crdbrd.app/hub/creator/neon_gorillaChapters0:00 — Cold open0:34 — Intro1:48 — Animation studio to board games: the origin4:22 — Ten years making ads for Nike, Amazon, and Bad Robot5:34 — "We wanted to make the thing, not the thing talking about the thing"5:59 — The Christmas break that made Moonraker9:29 — "Grossly underqualified" — Austin runs the division anyway13:22 — When did they actually believe this could be real?15:06 — Six months in: "You should stop paying me"18:32 — What happens when the design team disagrees?24:03 — "Don't go on vacation — they'll take your rondel"27:52 — Who leads a project and how does it get handed off?28:46 — "You don't know anything until it hits the table"30:22 — The cutting room floor and the games that came back31:55 — Time to Panic was designed in a weekend (while Austin was traveling)36:16 — Moon Rollers and why it doesn't feel like a small box game38:40 — Toby Arnell and why Tend is a game they couldn't have made themselves43:09 — Tend's complicated Kickstarter — their lowest ever45:30 — How does one small team ship this many games?48:19 — Everyone wears multiple hats (and tariffs killed the hiring plan)49:27 — Direct to consumer, FLGS, and the Amazon experiment53:25 — Would IV Studios survive without crowdfunding?55:41 — What crowdfunding lets them do that nothing else can57:50 — 800 people on the Altera tour and how feedback actually gets used59:50 — How to parse feedback when half the room says opposite things1:01:46 — The playtest mistake Zach had to stop and correct1:03:38 — Danny Garcia barely plays his own games1:05:34 — Where IV Studios stands on AI1:09:22 — Designing for play 1 vs. play 501:11:38 — Why Leder Games impresses Zach as much as it does1:13:23 — "The cover is the most important part of the game" — Zach disagrees1:15:24 — Old Kings Crown and the second-game problem1:17:48 — Do they actually design for the 100-play game?1:19:04 — The guy who played Tend solo through 200 scratch sheets1:20:48 — Why Austin gives every content creator his personal number1:25:40 — Publishing the press kit publicly after the backlash1:28:47 — 100 tens and 100 sevens vs. 100 nines and 100 twos1:31:38 — "The worst thing we could possibly do is bore you"1:34:32 — Mythic Mischief: the outlier1:36:06 — Realm of Reckoning: the pitch1:40:07 — How Moonraker became a co-op game (Honors End origin)1:42:26 — The card-tucking breakthrough1:45:08 — "I'm a quarterback co-op player and I hate that about myself"1:47:16 — 9-to-12-month turnarounds (and why Honors End is late)1:47:38 — Austin wrote a 120-page screenplay for a board game1:49:21 — Nine chapters, nine envelopes, New Game+1:51:21 — Altera: dice-builder worker placement and 12 asymmetric factions1:55:59 — The "is this too big?" video and the unanimous playtesters1:58:42 — Why there are no metal dice (and the Moon Rollers math)2:00:28 — Pre-Columbian sci-fi and how they hire artists2:03:42 — Luck vs. skill ceiling in a dice game2:05:00 — "Toby demolished all of us yesterday"

Hangin’ With @BoardGameHangover | BGSS ep_017

Two Latvian guys, one YouTube channel, zero plans to stop — I sat down with Jānis G and Jānis T from Board Game Hangover to talk about building one of the most creatively ambitious channels in the hobby from Riga, Latvia, going viral with Eternals, refusing publisher money on principle, and what it actually costs to do this full time.We get into the messy reality of running a board game channel you love — failed outdoor videos, box-sliding rituals, child labor allegations, two years without a paycheck, and why they're "cowards" who won't launch a Kickstarter. Plus a lightning trivia round featuring a truly catastrophic guess at the Monopoly man's name.Board Game Hangover: @BoardGameHangover Support this show by becoming a member: https://www.crdbrd.app/pricingJoin the Secret Club Here: https://www.crdbrd.app/hub/clubs?club=the-board-game-secret-showWant to work together?: https://crdbrd.app/hub/creator/neon_gorilla— CHAPTERS —0:00 Intro0:32 Meatball & Worker Placement Dad Joke1:18 Their First Board Game Obsessions7:26 How the Two Giannises Met9:16 Latvia's Board Game Scene14:27 Starting the Channel in 202015:44 Evolving Away From Top Ten Lists20:18 Going Full Time22:15 Their Biggest Failures (The Outdoor Video)23:03 David's Camping Disaster ("Nobody at All")27:35 Growth Story & Getting Recognized at Essen32:35 Production Value & The Box Slide → Box Throw39:15 The Team ("Child Labor on Our Channel")40:12 Favorite Series to Make47:33 The Eternals Video Nobody Expected51:09 Covering Older Games vs. Chasing the Hotness55:27 "We Don't Take Publisher Money"1:01:35 Living Off Savings & Finally Getting Paid1:06:13 "We're Cowards" — Why No Kickstarter1:07:05 Review Copies: "Not Really Free"1:13:03 Do You Still Love It? (Follow-Up Reviews)1:18:19 Sons of Anarchy & Never Going Back1:22:13 How Many Plays Before You Review?1:29:49 Responsibility to Publishers1:37:23 TRIVIA ROUND1:48:54 Top Three Channels — "We're Not Leaving Until You Tell Us"1:50:44 Outro

Dani Garcia is a Genius | His Rise, Design & Diables | BGSS ep_016

Danny Garcia has quietly become one of the most thoughtful designers in board games — and in this episode, we go deep on exactly why. We talk about his unconventional design process (he builds entire games in his head before writing a single note), his obsession with action selection, why theme always comes first, and what it means to share your culture through cardboard.We also get an extended look at Diabolus, his upcoming crowdfunding game inspired by the Ball de Diables — a Catalan fire festival Danny has attended over 100 times. It's unlike anything he's designed before.In January, Danny announced he had been diagnosed with ALS. His resilience and dedication to doing what he loves, for as long as he can, make this conversation even more meaningful.Support People Like Dani Here: https://fundaciomiquelvalls.org/es/ela/Support Research Here: https://www.als.org---Go Follow Diables: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/saltandpepper/diablesSupport this show by becoming a member: https://www.crdbrd.app/pricingJoin the Secret Club Here: https://www.crdbrd.app/hub/clubs?club=the-board-game-secret-showWant to work together?: https://crdbrd.app/hub/creator/neon_gorilla---00:00 — Intro: Who is Danny Garcia?01:10 — Danny joins / host expresses his admiration01:45 — Is Coming of Age underrated?03:25 — "I was winning 1,995% of the times" — the luck debate04:08 — The frustration mechanic: thematic brilliance explained07:09 — Danny's background: 15 years in the video game industry08:40 — How he discovered Euro games (hint: a table across the room)10:49 — The night Brass changed everything11:23 — Learning to design by watching Rahdo12:28 — Weight preferences: tactical vs. strategic15:16 — "You make the games you want to play"16:34 — Danny's design process: no notes, just thinking17:23 — Building the entire game in his head before prototyping18:34 — Waiting for ideas to arrive (and why forcing it doesn't work)20:14 — Ideas coming at midnight — and redesigning the next morning21:12 — How he had 5 games signed before anyone knew his name23:21 — Getting publishers to take a chance on an unknown designer25:10 — Why he sends "unfinished" games to publishers on purpose26:09 — The mistake most new designers make: over-polishing28:40 — Choosing the right publisher for each game29:08 — Why Barcelona's theme was non-negotiable30:48 — Theme-first vs. mechanics-first: how Danny evolved32:25 — Why theme is now the only way he can generate original ideas34:35 — Diabolus: the game, the festival, the inspiration36:50 — The Ball de Diables explained — and why the drums had to be in the game39:42 — Danny's design signature: action selection41:03 — Why action selection is where originality lives44:42 — How action selection works in Diabolus47:48 — The main board modules and how scoring works51:34 — The social media mechanic — why it's in a medieval fire festival game54:15 — How Diabolus compares to Danny's other designs55:47 — Reinventing yourself with every game (Stefan Feld, Tomas Holik)58:29 — Games with lasting replay value / what Danny returns to01:00:19 — How Danny designs replayability into his games01:01:18 — The Barcelona expansion: does it make the base game better?01:02:16 — On designing expansions: "publishers ask, I prefer something new"01:04:38 — Why Danny never holds back content for future expansions01:05:47 — Does he ever regret a design decision after release?01:06:19 — His recent themes: Catalonia, culture, childhood, home01:07:33 — Using board games to share your culture with the world01:09:47 — What's coming: Gaudi, Windmill Valley dual, an archaeology + time game01:11:29 — Positive interaction as a design philosophy01:13:03 — His obsession with time travel (and a game being designed around it)01:14:15 — Do aliens exist? Does Danny believe in time travel?01:15:39 — Final words on Diabolus01:16:26 — Closing