LoanWolf's recent activity
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Comment on What have you done in the last ten years? in ~talk
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
LoanWolf LinkI'm nearly at the end of several years of work on this one, but my upcoming party game being published by Roxley Games, Gorilla Marketing, will soon be available in stores! I did a quick...I'm nearly at the end of several years of work on this one, but my upcoming party game being published by Roxley Games, Gorilla Marketing, will soon be available in stores! I did a quick runthrough of it at a convention called SHUX last month and they just posted the video yesterday: https://youtu.be/YZwjdj8e_lg
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
LoanWolf LinkI don't play many video games, it's mainly all board games, but I've been playing a lot of Into the Breach for the past year. On Saturday I finished it... like, finished every possible thing you...I don't play many video games, it's mainly all board games, but I've been playing a lot of Into the Breach for the past year. On Saturday I finished it... like, finished every possible thing you can do in it. Beat every mission length on hard difficulty with every squad, earned every achievement, and unlocked every secret pilot and squad. It's one of my few impressive gaming achievements because it's not an easy game. I had so much fun with it!
Squads: https://imgur.com/trrgZyY
Achievements: https://imgur.com/42nMBa7
Stats: https://imgur.com/913UB1i -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
LoanWolf LinkAll board games for me: Gorilla Marketing - I'm biased because I'm the designer, but I love this. It's the next release from Roxley and it's coming out in February. I got the final pre-press...All board games for me:
Gorilla Marketing - I'm biased because I'm the designer, but I love this. It's the next release from Roxley and it's coming out in February. I got the final pre-press sample this week and manufacturing is now a go. Players are monkeys at an ad agency trying to name ridiculous products/movies/companies/etc based on acronyms. And then in round 2, come up with marketing tag lines for the things named in round 1.JAWS - A surprisingly good one-vs-many game where one player plays the shark, and up to 3 other players are characters Quint, Brody, and Hooper from the movie. The game is very thematic and plays in 2 acts: Act 1, the shark is trying to eat as many swimmers from beaches as possible, while the 3 humans are trying to detect the shark and attach barrels to it. Depending on how well the shark does in Act 1 determines how powerful it is in Act 2... where the 3 players are on the boat trying to kill the shark, and the shark is trying to either kill all 3 players or destroy the boat. A lot of deduction and second-guessing and just plain fun. The 2 times I've played, the humans have beaten the shark despite the shark dominating Act 1, so I'll be curious to see what the shark's winning percentage is over time.
Welcome To... - May be my favourite game in the "roll and write" genre, even though there's no rolling involved. This one has the huge advantage of playing ANY player count in 30 minutes or less (you could play with 100 people at once if you have enough score sheets).
For Sale - This is a bit of an older game, but it's brilliant... definitely my favourite auction game. Each player starts with $14,000 to use for buying property in the first half of the game, which you will then sell in the 2nd half of the game, aiming to have the most money at the end. We played with 6 players, so in the first half of the game 6 properties are drawn each round. The properties are numbered 1 through 30 with no duplicates. When play comes to you, either outbid the latest bidder to stay in the bidding, or pass to take the lowest-numbered property remaining and pay half of any previous bid you've made this round. The last player remaining in the bidding round pays their full bid and takes the highest numbered property. So there are 5 rounds of bidding in the first half of the game and each player ends up with 5 property cards that are hopefully closer to 30-value than 1-value. In the second half of the game, draw up 6 money cards each round. Money cards have values $0 through $15,000 and there's 2 of each in the deck. Seeing what money cards are out there, players simultaneously choose one of their properties from hand to play. Flip them up, lowest-numbered property takes the lowest money card, 2nd lowest takes 2nd lowest, and so on. All those properties are discarded and new money cards are drawn for the next round. That happens 5 times until all properties are sold and players compare final money. I can't recommend For Sale enough, especially for how inexpensive it is.
Century: Golem Edition - Eastern Mountains - The 2nd game in the Century series. I'm all on board with the Golem Editions of these games, even though the theme is nonsense - it's just more attractive than trading spices. I think I like it better than the 1st game, though it has quite the same feel. We played twice, and then second time through I played a strategy based entirely on building all my outposts and crushed everyone. I don't think it's an imbalanced strategy, but I will have to play it some more. I think it's like letting a player run away with science in 7 Wonders - they're going to win if no one stops them. I'm looking forward to combining both games into one supergame!
Played some other things too but these were the new ones / standouts.
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Comment on What is a subject you could talk for 2+ hours about with a great degree of accuracy and no preparation whatsoever? in ~talk
LoanWolf Link ParentDefinitely. The quality of the ideas coming out each year is what got me into the industry. The passion people have for tabletop games, the amount of games being put out each year, and the amount...Definitely. The quality of the ideas coming out each year is what got me into the industry. The passion people have for tabletop games, the amount of games being put out each year, and the amount of games people are buying... all speak to a lot of people out there doing a lot of great things.
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Comment on What is a subject you could talk for 2+ hours about with a great degree of accuracy and no preparation whatsoever? in ~talk
LoanWolf LinkBoard Games! Mostly focusing on the design process, but also playtesting, board game development, quoting, manufacturing, crowdfunding, logistics, the state of the tabletop industry.Board Games!
Mostly focusing on the design process, but also playtesting, board game development, quoting, manufacturing, crowdfunding, logistics, the state of the tabletop industry.
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Comment on Amber Enderton on why Wil Wheaton got chased off Mastodon in ~tech
LoanWolf Link ParentI wasn't sure if it was just me needing coffee, but the article was just incredibly poorly written and haphazard. It requires knowledge of a bunch of background drama for context, and without that...I wasn't sure if it was just me needing coffee, but the article was just incredibly poorly written and haphazard. It requires knowledge of a bunch of background drama for context, and without that it's just noise.
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Comment on Is there a gamedev community here? in ~games
LoanWolf Link ParentI got started first just by playing a lot of tabletop games; experiencing what was out there, what had been done, and what was possible. I started tinkering with my own designs, playtesting with...I got started first just by playing a lot of tabletop games; experiencing what was out there, what had been done, and what was possible. I started tinkering with my own designs, playtesting with family and friends. The biggest step forward was finding a local design group that met weekly. The ability to have your games played by fellow designers, more harshly critiqued, and the chance to iterate and try out changes a week later... was enormous. I started entering and winning design contests, going to conventions, growing a network, and getting games signed and published. Now I'm working for a publisher as well as doing my own designs on the side.
I come from a software engineering background, but these days video games just don't really interest me. Tabletop provides interesting challenges and restrictions, but also benefits. Undertaking a solo-effort game design is much easier in the board game world than it is in video games - I have complete control. I can scrap mechanics or the game entirely and move onto something else if it's not going the way I want. I don't need to understand graphics, sound, and all kinds of other related systems in order to design a successful game. I'm focused only on mechanics and player interaction, with just enough graphic design to make the thing playable.
Maybe the biggest thing I like about board games over video games are the permanence. You have your entire experience right there in the box. The rules to create an experience with friends around the table is included inside. Better games might come along in the future, but nothing within that box is going to become obsolete or unplayable.
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Comment on Is there a gamedev community here? in ~games
LoanWolf LinkI suppose I'm a professional game developer at this point; though in the tabletop world, not video games. I have 3 published games, a bunch more on the way, and work for a publisher named Roxley....I suppose I'm a professional game developer at this point; though in the tabletop world, not video games. I have 3 published games, a bunch more on the way, and work for a publisher named Roxley. My whole day is games and game-related stuff, so I'm always happy to chime in to the occasional tabletop discussion.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~life
LoanWolf LinkI went to university for software engineering, got a summer job for an engineering company while I was still in school, developing little programs and automation and some IT. I just continued...I went to university for software engineering, got a summer job for an engineering company while I was still in school, developing little programs and automation and some IT. I just continued there when I was done school because the pay was good, it was stable, and it was easy. I realized quickly that I didn't have a whole lot of career aspiration in the field. I wanted to do a good job where I was at, but I wasn't particularly interested in keeping up with the latest and greatest in software and IT. I attribute it partially to being pretty easy-going... I probably didn't really like it, but I didn't really dislike it either. So I kept going. For 10 years until the company made some bad decisions and went under.
I was lucky and kind of stumbled into a new job right away doing software and database development for energy billing. I felt unqualified at first and there was a lot to learn about the new industry, but I quickly became good at what I was doing. But still, I didn't really like it. It was a job and it provided a paycheque.
Nearing the end of my long-term job I had gotten into board game design as a hobby. That was a passion. I could work on games for hours and I loved it. But it's not really something you can make a living on... so it was just a hobby. Until I started winning design contests and getting games signed by publishers. It wasn't going to be much money, I knew, but I got 3 games signed in quick succession, and then another, and then another and another. Some contracts came with small signing bonuses but it was not money to live on.
Luckily my wife is amazing. She knew I didn't love my new job, and that I had a passion in something else, even if it wasn't something lucrative. On a vacation to Mexico we made the decision. As a couple without children, we could survive on my wife's income alone if we downsized our house and took on a smaller mortgage. And I could pursue life as a board game designer. We put things in motion when we got back from vacation and we were in a smaller home and putting money aside a few months later. We moved in in August and the plan was to quit my job in May the next year after saving up a bunch of money.
Well that all changed when I was laid off in October. The small company I was working for couldn't afford my salary any more and was cutting back. So I was suddenly a board game designer!
Well, me making very little money was stressing my wife out. She didn't want to admit it, but she was very nervous (I knew we'd be fine, we did lots of planning). I had been doing a little bit of contract work for a board game company, run by a friend, called Roxley Games. If you're into tabletop games you may have heard of Santorini, Steampunk Rally, Super Motherload, Dice Throne, or Brass! Well, at the time Gavan was looking to grow; putting out more games per year and moving his own life into the board game world full time as well. So I took on a greater and greater role, to actually make some money while still working in the tabletop world doing something I love.
I now handle logistics, some game development, bookkeeping, and even a little software development for Roxley Games and I couldn't be happier. I design my own games in my spare time still. I have 3 games that you can find on store shelves (or board game conventions like Gen Con, happening next week!), and I have 4 or 5 more that will be out over the next couple years.
I do what I love now, but it took a while to get there... and some fortuitous timing.
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Comment on Any game developers here? Share your projects and insights in ~games
LoanWolf LinkI work full time in the board game industry, both designing my own games and working in logistics and game development for Roxley Games. It’s amazing and I’m so lucky to have found a passion that...I work full time in the board game industry, both designing my own games and working in logistics and game development for Roxley Games. It’s amazing and I’m so lucky to have found a passion that allows me to create and play for a living.
I started designing board games about 4 years ago and currently have 3 games you can find on store shelves or at conventions:
Head of Mousehold from FoxMind Games
Masque of the Red Death from IDW Games
Poetry Slam from Mayday Games
My designer page is here: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/97437/adam-wyseI have several more games signed and on the way, and many more games at various stages of development. Highlights this year include: leading development on a redesign of an amazing but little known game from a very well known designer, and having companies come to me with an IP and asking if I could design the game for it. I can’t announce either project yet, but they’re both going to be amazing.
I could talk for hours about board game design, the tabletop industry, and breaking into it as a new designer!
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Comment on Terminator 6 to be direct Terminator 2 sequel in ~movies
LoanWolf LinkWow, this is the first I'd heard of this an I'm incredibly excited. T2 is one of my favourite movies of all time. July 26, 2019 release date!Wow, this is the first I'd heard of this an I'm incredibly excited. T2 is one of my favourite movies of all time. July 26, 2019 release date!
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Comment on Where are you from? in ~talk
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Comment on Advice for people terrified of board games? in ~games.tabletop
LoanWolf Link ParentSeconding Hanabi as a perfect co-op game for you. Though it's not my favourite, something like Flash Point as well. And agreed, look into games that have indirect player interaction or no player...Seconding Hanabi as a perfect co-op game for you. Though it's not my favourite, something like Flash Point as well.
And agreed, look into games that have indirect player interaction or no player interaction as a jumping-off point until you're more confident. Things like NMBR9, Flamme Rouge, Fabled Fruit, Sagrada, or Super Motherload. -
Comment on Poetry Slam - A word/party game from Mayday Games. I'm the designer and we went live on Kickstarter this morning! in ~games.tabletop
LoanWolf Link ParentThanks! I Kickstarted Paperback and we don't play it super often, but I do like it. It just seems to drag a bit between turns, but the overall concept is fun. I've met Tim Fowers and I'm really...Thanks! I Kickstarted Paperback and we don't play it super often, but I do like it. It just seems to drag a bit between turns, but the overall concept is fun. I've met Tim Fowers and I'm really impressed with a lot of his games. He suggested I go the self-publishing route instead of pitching games to publishers, but I don't think that's really for me.
I think Poetry Slam is fantastic (though I'm a bit biased)! It does a lot of the things I wished other word/party games would do and I feel it fills a unique space. Some of the selling points are:
-Plays 3 to 10 players and it's equally good at any player count
-It doesn't outlast its welcome. Games will be about 45 minutes in length. Shorter if you play with 3 to 5 players.
-Good with non-gamers, it's very easy to pick up. It's one of my mom's favourite games and she is not a gamer at all.
-It's very easy to handicap if you're playing with kids or people who are intimidated by the poetry - make it so their poems don't need to rhyme. (though once people play one or two rounds of the game they usually find it easy)
-There are so many funny moments. Often people's words and poems are just ridiculous, and it leaves you with a lot of memorable things that you'll talk about later.
-It makes you think in a really different way. Trying to wrap your words around the word prompt and the letters you're not allowed to use is interesting to me, and then the poetry part sends you thinking in a different direction again. It's far from a mindless party game.Conveniently, if you're interested in seeing it in action, we recorded a live stream at my FLGS last night:
https://www.facebook.com/sentrybox/videos/10156328694703428/Mayday cancelled the Kickstarter, which was the right move, but they'll be selling copies at Origins (I'll be there to demo) and then releasing to retail shortly after.
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Comment on Introductions | May 2018, part 1 in ~talk
LoanWolf LinkHey all! I'm LoanWolf and I don't really post much, I'm more of a lurker. I heard of Tildes because I'm Deimos' brother in law and I really want to see this succeed! If I'm posting, it will mostly...Hey all! I'm LoanWolf and I don't really post much, I'm more of a lurker. I heard of Tildes because I'm Deimos' brother in law and I really want to see this succeed!
If I'm posting, it will mostly be about board games and the tabletop industry. Designing board games has been a hobby for 4 years and is now a career. I independently design games, several having been published with more on the way; and also work for Roxley full time doing logistics, bookkeeping, software development and game development!
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Comment on What do you do to become better at your craft? in ~talk
LoanWolf LinkI design board games, so I get better by playtesting. Weekly playtesting nights where designers bring their games and they’re played and feedback is given. Then iterate and improve your game over...I design board games, so I get better by playtesting. Weekly playtesting nights where designers bring their games and they’re played and feedback is given. Then iterate and improve your game over the following week to have it ready for playtesting night again.
It’s also really important to just play lots of existing already-published games. Explore trends, themes, ideas, new mechanics. Something you try might inspire a new way of looking at your current project.
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Comment on Golden Knights beat Jets to pull even in Western Conference Final in ~sports.hockey
LoanWolf Link ParentThis has been a strange playoff for me, because I'm happy with any of the remaining 4 teams winning (ehhh maybe not Tampa). The Jets would bring the cup back to Canada finally, the Knights are an...This has been a strange playoff for me, because I'm happy with any of the remaining 4 teams winning (ehhh maybe not Tampa). The Jets would bring the cup back to Canada finally, the Knights are an even better story, and I want to see Ovechkin win at last... he's been dominant these playoffs.
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Comment on Poetry Slam - A word/party game from Mayday Games. I'm the designer and we went live on Kickstarter this morning! in ~games.tabletop
LoanWolf Link ParentThanks so much! I actually haven't played Twilight Struggle, but it's been one I've been meaning to try because it's so well regarded! I should just buy the iOS adaptation so I can try it out and...Thanks so much!
I actually haven't played Twilight Struggle, but it's been one I've been meaning to try because it's so well regarded! I should just buy the iOS adaptation so I can try it out and play against the AI.
I feel the game I most recently felt that "Wow this must have taken years to develop" feeling is with A Feast For Odin. There are just so many action options, so many occupations, so many settlements and buildings. It's daunting to punch out the goods tiles (and takes forever) before you even get into your first game. But it just works very well. It's not as elegant and tight as Agricola, but it is really well designed and I'm in awe of it.
Another two games that I feel that way about are from my favourite designer, Vlaada Chvatil. Through The Ages and Mage Knight both seem like they would be such an undertaking to design. Not just because of the amount of content created for the games, but playtesting and balancing a >2 hour game hundreds of times is an incredible amount of work. The designers who create these really big games owe a lot to their playtesters for sticking it out through what I'm sure are very many very long playtests.
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Comment on Poetry Slam - A word/party game from Mayday Games. I'm the designer and we went live on Kickstarter this morning! in ~games.tabletop
LoanWolf Link ParentOften a company will take a long time to produce a game simply due to not having many resources (small staff) and having a lot of other games in the queue. Since there was really no development...Often a company will take a long time to produce a game simply due to not having many resources (small staff) and having a lot of other games in the queue. Since there was really no development needed for Poetry Slam from a game mechanics perspective, all the effort was in art, graphic, and component design. I feel that for the most part the game sat for almost a year before much progress was made on it.
Mayday has another of my games under contract that I'm hoping will also Kickstart later this year. I've just heard very little in the way of progress so far. I'm loving the end result of Poetry Slam, but it's definitely taken some time.
A lot happened in my decade from age 26 to 36: