Related: Local Designer Series: Christina Ng and Yeo Keng Leong, Designers of Three Kingdom Redux

1. So although it is not done yet, what can you tell us about your new game in the works, Race for the Chinese Zodiac?

It is a racing game based on the Chinese myth about the Great Race that formed the Chinese Zodiac. The story goes that the Jade Emperor summoned all the animals to a race to decide the order of a 12-year cycle for mankind to keep time and the top 12 finishers would be immortalised by having their species named after a year in the Zodiac.

We designed this game with the wife's in-laws in mind as they were unable to playtest or try our first game, Three Kingdoms Redux due to the heavy amount of text involved. As a result, only the wife's brother was able to partake in the design process of Three Kingdoms Redux. Thus, we wanted to do a shorter and more text-light board game for our next project so that they can be involved too. We do hope to play the finished published version with them in 2019.

 2. What do you think are the essential prototype pieces and tools a budding game designer needs to have in their home?

We do not feel there is anything in a particular that is essential. For us, imagination, knowledge of probability, prior board gaming experience and concepts of game designs probably comes first.

Tools wise, once you hit upon an idea, then you can decide what kind of game components you will need to make the prototype. Initially, usually cardboard and paper are sufficient.

3. When it comes to game design, do you focus on the game mechanics or the theme first?

We design from the setting/theme up. We first think about the setting we want and then ponder over which or what game mechanics suits the game best that will bring the game's theme to life.

For example, in Three Kingdoms Redux, worker placement represented the many generals of the era and the alliance mechanic, the changing nature of alliances of the era.

As for Race for the Chinese Zodiac, simultaneous card play represented the racers having to make decisions on the go at the same time. And the nature of the different actions which are drawn from the various actions taken by the animals is based on the folktale itself.  

4. Where do you usually find your playtesters and what are the biggest challenges in the playtesting period? 

Playtesters have mostly been our family and close friends. Finding playtesters who are willing to try the same game design repeatedly has always been a big challenge. The Keyword is “repeatedly” as it is only in the later stages that we seek out new playtesters, to get fresh views.

This is because the initial intensive playtesting stage requires the same playtesters to yield the best results. Now for a shorter board game, this issue is not as severe but for a board game as long as our previous game, Three Kingdoms Redux though, it was a major issue but we were fortunate enough to get around that with the support of a few close friends and family member (Wife's brother).

5. How many times do you think a game needs to be playtested or at what point do you think a game is "done"?

There is no definitive answer to this. For us, we set our own expectations in our hearts on how fun and balanced we want the board game to be and just keep playtesting and tweaking it until it passes those expectations. We value quality over quantity.

Given we have day jobs, it means our design process is always a long drawn out process. Thus, why we have been experiencing a four-year long design and development period for just our first two games.

6. What kind of board games do you think the current growing board game market is favouring? 

When a new sector grows and matures, it usually moves towards the masses. It is therefore not surprising to see board games appealing to the mass market. A few examples being shorter game times which accommodates larger player counts, games with nice miniatures and certain settings/themes such as Zombies and Vikings.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.

"...if we had to highlight one piece of advice, it would probably be to enjoy the design process."

1. Welcome to this designer series of articles. So if you would be so kind as to introduce and tell our audience about yourself and your history in boardgame design?

We are a married couple who enjoy boardgaming. We did play boardgames when we were younger but it was infrequent. We really became serious boardgamers in 2009 and was then exposed to a wide variety of games which led to much discussion on the strategies and design processes of these games. From these discussions came the idea to design our own games. This culminated with the creation of Starting Player which we hope helps to expose more people to this hobby via our game designs.

Three Kingdoms Redux is the first game we designed and published under Starting Player. Prior to that, we did not have any experience in boardgame design or publishing. We had to learn everything from scratch like how to procure artwork, manufacturing, distribution, storage, marketing to fulfillment. This experience definitely is invaluable to us in our future designs and game launches. 

2. What is the biggest challenge of making a boardgame in Finland?

As pointed out above, we do not have any experience in designing and publishing boardgames prior to Three Kingdom Redux. We therefore tried to make up for that by seeking reliable and experienced people to work with, e.g. artists, manufacturers, etc.

The biggest challenge for us was the marketing and selling process of the game as our geographical location puts us at a disadvantage. This is because the main markets for the sale of boardgames are the USA, Canada and Europe and since we are based in Finland, the cost of shipping adds a significant amount to the final price of our game. This extra cost applies to both the selling of our game directly from our online store or through distributors/retailers. Furthermore, it is not within our budget to attend overseas boardgame conventions such as GenCon or Essen Spiel to promote, demo and sell our games there. Although, we are very fortunate and grateful to all our fans and reviewers who have helped us to spread the word about Three Kingdom Redux!

3. What kind of game would you recommend for a first-time designer? For example, card or boardgame, etc.

We do not recommend a person should proceed in a particular design or direction even if it is their first design. It really depends on what the designer hopes to achieve in the final product, e.g. the depth of the game, a particular theme they wish to bring out or the target audience.

Many well-meaning gamers may recommend a first time designers to start with a lighter game before venturing into a heavier one but from the start, we chose to design and publish a game that is heavier in depth. This is due to the design objective we had for Three Kingdom Redux to emphasize the historical setting and the many characters of the story. We then were able to tweak the game and develop this idea with the help of many friends in the playtesting process. In short, we feel there is no hard and fast answer to this question and it very much depends on the designer’s intention and goals.

4. From your experience, what is your biggest piece of practical advice for aspiring boardgame designers?

My significant other has prepared a Geeklist on BoardGameGeek sharing about what we have learned for both the design and publishing side of Starting Player but if we had to highlight one piece of advice, it would probably be to enjoy the design process. For example, I tend to get more stressed up when we are stuck on an idea while my significant other tends to be able to handle it better and advise me to be patient. This is because if I was to rush and look for a quick fix to the problem, it is more likely to reduce the quality of the games.

5. What is the hardest part of the production process of making a boardgame? Example, looking for a supplier, printer for the game, etc. 

The search for the right partners to work with is probably the hardest part. We therefore, did a lot of research before making our final decision on the artist and manufacturer to work with. This is because they will be significant contributors to the making or breaking of the game's success as they are the ones who will be responsible for the look and final physical product of the game. We were very happy with the people we decided to work with and it all ended up being an enjoyable experience. It was definitely worth the time we had spent looking for them. 

 (Sourced from The New Paper)