ENGN 91 – Designer Roundtable for Solo Variants, Part One – featuring Keith Matejka, Mike Mullins, and Ricky Royal

Before we get on to the episode, we want to remind every one about the contest we are running for our community. As of this podcast’s airdate (6/15), you only have a few days left!

We are now offering more prizes. One winner will get a prize pack which includes Herbaceous and Sunset Over Water from Pencil First Games! Another will receive their choice between Hoplomachus: Origins and Comancheria. If we reach 75 likes on our Geeklist, we will give away a copy of Legacy of Dragonholt.

All you have to do to enter the contest is:

1) Join the new Every Night is Game Night Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215849212533088/
2) Put a comment in the general comment section of our BGG Geeklist: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/228542/every-night-game-night-episode-guide

Each entry is worth one point. If you do both, you will get credit for five entries! Contest will end Tuesday, 6/18, at 10 PM EST.

Welcome to our second designer roundtable episode! The first time around, we had a few designers of massive, scenario-based games to talk about what it’s like to design in the fantasy adventure space. This time, we were able to gather some of the best minds in solo variant design for a discussion about how they go about turning your favorite multiplayer experiences into games that the soloist can enjoy. We had a fabulous and edifying discussion with Keith Matejka (Roll Player, Sunset Over Water variant), Mike Mullins (Bottom of the 9th, Pentaquark), and Ricky Royal (Renegade, Guilds of London variant).

In Part One of our conversation, we get to know our three guests as gamers and as designers. We then discuss their overall approaches to solo variant design and the different kinds of variants one can make – high score challenge, binary win-loss conditions, or different kinds of “robot” players.

If you ever had any interest in getting under the hood of a game, either as a fledgling designer or as someone who is curious as to how professional designers make it all works, this is the show for you!

  • Anthony lives and plays games in Philadelphia, PA. A lover of complex strategy, two-player war games, and area control, Anthony is always eager to try a new game, even if he's on rule-reading duty.

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