Interviews

‘If I was designing Monster of the Week now it would be very different’: Michael Sands on the RPG’s origins, inspirations and what comes next

Plus, his advice for new players.
“The idea was to kill players with cuteness”: Flamecraft designer Manny Vega on making 2022's best board game

And their love of Root!
BackerKit discusses challenging the 'big green K' as it moves from crowdfunding tool to competitor

From background support to leading player in crowdsourced financing.
The Adventure Zone’s Griffin and Travis McElroy chat discovering D&D, dream celeb players - and reveal their favourite RPG

“Critical Role would be nowhere without us!”
“Diverse voices make characters come alive”: Anansi’s Tapestry of Lives creator on making D&D 5E NPCs more inclusive

Written by Eberron and Forgotten Realms designers.
Kickstarter's new CEO talks future of tabletop crowdfunding, Gamefound rivalry and blockchain plans

"We have a lot to improve on that will keep our hands full."

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"Daybreak reminds us if we can imagine it, we can make it happen": Pandemic designer on his climate change awareness game

And how Wingspan and Terraforming Mars influenced it.
'TCGs are exhausting': Richard Garfield on Netrunner’s afterlife, Keyforge’s future and making a Yahtzee dungeon-crawler

And what he's been playing!
‘People will feel our love for Disney in this game’: Lorcana co-designer on the House of Mouse's TCG rival to Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon

Ryan Miller talks keeping gameplay friendly, plans for “inclusive” organised play and why the card game won’t “reinvent the wheel”.
‘D&D takes itself so seriously’: Dr. Grordbort RPG creators on sending up 5E and swapping magic for science

Plus, grab an exclusive quickstart adventure ahead of Scientific Adventure Violence’s Kickstarter campaign.

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‘All our RPGs start with the people’: Chris Spivey on Harlem Unbound, Haunted West and what comes next

The multi-ENnie-winning designer on mixing horror with history, uncovering untold stories and his highly ambitious weird west game.

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Red Opera and Sirens RPG writer Rick Heinz discusses the tribulations of working at Apotheosis.

Heinz alleges shady contracts, long overdue payment and a work culture of distrust and ego-stroking.

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‘My dream is to create the first massively-multiplayer tabletop RPG’

Teburu developer Xplored reveals its ambitions for the tech-enhanced board game platform.
Dead by Daylight: The Board Game creator on turning the hit video game into “co-op murder Battleship”

D. Brad Talton talks making the ultimate Halloween party game, why bigger boxes aren’t always better and ensuring players have fun 99% of the time.

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Disney Villainous, Horrified and Jaws studio Prospero Hall talks legacy games and creative freedom at Funko

“The Jurassic World board game is a really great representation of how far we can chase our dreams.”

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Keepsake game designer Jeeyon Shim branches out with chess-based RPG The Snow Queen

The award-winning artist has left Kickstarter behind to build a two-player tragedy focusing on community.
Swedish kid melange: how Martin Takaichi designed Tales from the Loop’s board game from his own childhood

Deep in the Swedes.
‘What pain do we want to experience?’: Fandom Tabletop address community license backlash

Bart Vickers reflects on what went wrong and how the second iteration aims for clearer communication and more transparency.
Return to Dark Tower studio owner discusses unions, expensive towers and the Heroquest that got away

Restoration Games' Justin Jacobson reflects on six years of pumping new life into old titles.
The original Orb Ponderer talks sourcing memes from an old Lord of the Rings RPG

Having a crystal ball.
How Sabrina, Pitch Perfect and ’90s romcoms inspired D&D’s Strixhaven book - lead designer Amanda Hamon

And explains how classes work in the Magic: The Gathering inspired book.
Cowboy Bebop RPG lead designer on the anime adaptation’s ‘jazzy’ gameplay and satisfying cynical fans

“Haters gonna hate and we accept that.”

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‘It was important that the characters feel like real people’: Nikki Valens on representation and storytelling in Artisans of Splendent Vale

“We hope players will be able to see themselves in each of the characters in one way or another.”
“Why do we play games?”: DIE’s creators and Grant Howitt discuss adapting the comic into a tabletop RPG

The tabletop team-up have planned more than a simple almanac for Gillen and Han’s twisted polyhedral world.

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Design degistif: Apothecaria creator Anna Blackwell discusses creating a commentary for her solo RPG

Potent potables.
“Passion is coming through in spades right now” - Funkoverse game studio talks licensed board games

IPs are making board gamers happy.
Pokémon TCG expert talks the collecting boom, celebrity fans and why your cards probably aren’t worth anything

“Almost everyone thinks they have something of value.”
“No-one wants their nostalgia slapped onto something without care”: Disney Gargoyles: Awakening creators on the cult series’ tabletop revival

Why should you care about a board game based on an animated show from the ‘90s?
Adventure Zone DM Griffin McElroy and Bureau of Balance co-designers chat about their new board game

And why there isn’t an Adventure Zone RPG yet.
Descent: Legends of the Dark designers on why it’s not a Journeys in the Dark sequel, making an app essential and why it took 10 years

“If there’s going to be a new Descent game, it has to come from a great idea and not just exist for the sake of being made.”

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Anjali Bhimani, Exandria Unlimited’s Fy’ra Rai, talks D&D, roleplaying versus acting roles, and joining the Critical Role series

“I take roleplaying with me whenever I’m performing in any other medium.”
“The impact of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game can’t be overstated”: LCG co-designers discuss its decade-long legacy

Alongside its descendants and its future.
Studio head of Critical Role publisher, Darrington Press, talks Uk’otoa and “artist dad Liam O’Brien”

“The first [Darrington Press] product was important, it needed to be familiar to fans.”

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Stonewall Uprising: The Fight for Gay Civil Rights creator on representing LGBTQ+ history in a board game

“I understand that playing as The Man may be uncomfortable.”
The creators of horror anthology RPG Campfire talk killing characters and creating a truly scary experience

Cryptkeeper, eat your heart out.
Nova RPG creator on bringing Destiny and Overwatch-inspired 'looter shooter' action to the tabletop

Designer Spencer Campbell talks insights, inspirations and washing his hands of gamers.
Once More Into the Void tells emotionally fraught RPG stories in a Mass Effect 2, Picard framework

The duo behind the upcoming game talk translation, betrayal and the joy of being a Renegade.
“It is not yet known in society that the game is something very special”: Tikal, El Grande and 6 Nimmt! creator Wolfgang Kramer

One of board gaming’s first celebrities reflects on designers’ rising recognition.
New RPG book ARCON is ready to leave tired ideas about cyberpunk settings in the past

Building a better dystopian sandbox.

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Shawn Tomkin has reached the stars with Ironsworn: Starforged, but he couldn't do it alone

The designer talks influences, making a good thing even better and the importance of community feedback.

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“We want to amplify that games are truly for everyone”: Keystone studio founders on championing diversity and community in tabletop

Isaac Vega and Lindsey Rode discuss launching Rose Gauntlet Entertainment and the label’s debut release.
One More Multiverse co-founder on helping give tabletop RPGs a ‘good nudge into the mainstream’

Sara Alfageeh talks focusing on indies first, helping designers make a living and giving players customisability.
Former Overwatch, Warcraft and Diablo devs on their debut D&D 5E book Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent

Auroboros chorus.

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Blades in the Dark creator John Harper talks Chamber, Paragon and new details on his Fast & Furious-inspired RPG

Life one quarter of a hack at a time.

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Bardsung: How Critical Role, Final Fantasy and a piece of potato peel inspired this year’s most ambitious dungeon-crawler

Designers on Mat Hart and Sherwin Matthews on taking inspiration from classics for an RPG board game that doesn't skimp on the roleplaying.
D&D and Betrayal co-designer Elisa Teague to head up Clank!, Kids on Bikes and Overlight studio’s RPG output - exclusive

Senior producer talks next year's 5E adaptation of Power Rangers, Renegade’s plans for original games and the potential of a Clank! RPG.
Lancer: Inside the cockpit of the mech RPG looking to a positive future for roleplaying - and the universe

Co-creators Miguel Lopez and Tom Parkinson-Morgan on drawing from classic sci-fi and moving away from D&D’s “old racist shit”.

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Tellstones designer Chris Cantrell talks following Mechs vs Minions, going small and taking inspiration from The Princess Bride

The mind behind Riot’s latest tabletop release on designing a traditional game, relying on memory and the potential for a League of Legends roll-and-write.
Cyberpunk Red co-designer Cody Pondsmith on bringing the RPG’s future to the present, keeping its ‘80s style and building up to 2077

'Red was always kind of in development, but the video game really pushed it into overdrive.'

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“We're not trying to make fun games. We're trying to make good games”: Root, Pax Pamir and Oath designer Cole Wehrle argues on (and off) the tabletop

And talks joining forces with his brother Drew for Wehrlegig Games.

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“I feel like we told a good story”: Pandemic Legacy creators Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau on ending the series at its beginning

The designers discuss closure in Season 0, the trilogy’s influence and whether there’s a chance they’ll ever return.

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"It's difficult to keep things fresh": Pandemic creator Matt Leacock on Legacy, co-ops and Lego

A viral success.

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“I won’t rest until Instagram influencers are posing with the game book”: Quest creator TC Sottek on making the world’s friendliest RPG

How podcasts, social media and Adobe InDesign inspired one of the freshest roleplaying games in years.

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