 In this special live stream episode for TCTC 2021, we speak to Brendan McCaskell, lead designer of the forthcoming Stars of Akarios from OOMM Games.  Brendan tells us all about what's in his big-box space game and the steps that led to its million dollar Kickstarter campaign! TestCoastGames-033-Brendan-McCaskell.mp3     

Test Coast Games

Brendan McCaskell, designer of the forthcoming Stars of Akarios

We speak to Victoria Caña and Alex Uboldi, Seattle-based designers of Gladius, a card game where you bet on competing gladiators and attempt to rig the outcome.Victoria and Alex tell us about their journey co-founding Cat Quartet Games and running a highly successful Kickstarter campaign to launch Gladius. They also give insights into the game design scenes in New York and Seattle, and share valuable advice on playtesting and development for up-and-coming game designers.TestCoastGames-032-Cat-Quartet-Games.mp3Twitter: @AlexUboldi @victoriacana @catquartetgamesfacebook.com/catquartetgames kickstarter.com/projects/catquartetgames/gladius 

Cat Quartet Games

We speak to Jeremy Rozenhart, Vancouver-based designer of forthcoming Wild Wings, a fantasy-themed game where you pilot a dragon to collect and spend magical rings.Jeremy tells us about his unusual route into game design and how his Dev Support role at Electronic Arts informs his board game designs. He also shares valuable insights for indie designers from his successful Kickstarter campaign with Wizard Thieves.TestCoastGames-031-jeremy-rozenhart.mp3facebook.com/jrozenhartfacebook.com/wizardthieveskickstarter.com/projects/jrozenhart/wizard-thieves

Jeremy Rozenhart

 We speak to Quinn Brander, Vancouver-based designer of the forthcoming boardgame 'Rebuilding Seattle,' a polyomino engine-builder seven years in the making.Quinn tells us about his journey into game design, how his role as a mobile game designer informs his board game designs and the approaches that have helped him through ups and downs on the road to publication. He also invites digital playtesters to connect with him.TestCoastGames-030-quinn-brander.mp3Twitter: @QuinnBrander Centre for Digital Media article.'History of Rome' podcast 'History of Philosophy' podcast 

Quinn Brander, designer of 'Rebuilding Seattle.'

Representatives from Meeple Leaf, Rain City Games, Test Coast Games, and Vancouver Playtest Group discuss the topic of How To Build A Crowd.Twitch Panel Featuring: Andrea Robertson, Glen Dresser, Mark Ellis, Mark Yuasa, Nick Angiers, and Noe Escobar.TestCoastGames-029-Panel-How-To-Build-A-Crowd.mp3

Panel - How To Build A Crowd

In "Indie Spotlight" we speak to designers who are taking the first steps towards publication.   Glen Dresser is a Calgary, Alberta-based designer behind the upcoming boardgame 'The TransContinental.' Watch for the Kickstarter campaign coming in the Fall of 2020. IS-006-glen-dresser.mp3https://wheelhousegames.com/

Indie Spotlight - Glen Dresser of Wheelhouse Games

We speak to Tony Miller, an Oregon-based tabletop game designer who is one-third of the Breaking Into Board Games podcast.Tony tells us how he broke into board games, with his first game Fire in the Library from Weird Giraffe Games. He tells us the origin story behind his highly-anticipated follow-up, Kabuto Sumo. Tony explains his philosophy behind his partnership, New Mill Industries, a self-described punk-rock publisher of the forthcoming Science and Seance Society.TestCoastGames-027-tony-miller.mp3https://twitter.com/beardedrogue https://twitter.com/breakingintobg 

Tony Miller, of 'Breaking Into Board Games'

 We speak to Cody Thompson, founder of Jellyfish Game Studios (formerly Gold Nugget Games) whose debut game 'Vamp on the Batwalk' funded on Kickstarter in 2019.Cody tells us how he got inspired to launch a publishing company, what he learned from his first Kickstarter campaign and what the future has in store for Jellyfish Game Studios.TestCoastGames-026-cody-thompson-jellyfish-game-studios.mp3https://twitter.com/Jellyfish_GShttps://www.facebook.com/JellyfishGameStudios/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goldnuggetgames/vamp-on-the-batwalk/description

Cody Thompson of Jellyfish Game Studios

 We speak to Dan Goodman, founder of Robotic Arm Software and creator of Cocktail design software. Cocktail is a highly accessible tool that tabletop designers can use to create card layouts. Dan explores what Cocktail can do for designers and he tells us about his growing community on Discord, the exciting projects where Cocktail has been put to use and his plans to develop the tool even further.TestCoastGames-025-Dan-Goodman.mp3https://twitter.com/cocktail_inc https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDh1uCG6Gw-FCUBhc87ZOAQhttps://cocktail.software/

Dan Goodman of Robotic Arm Software

We welcome back friend of the show Jay Cormier, prolific Vancouver-based game designer (Mind MGMT, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Belfort and many more), publisher and creator of Fail Faster. Jay tells us about some exciting new developments from Fail Faster, including the ambitious Pitch Project, which launches this month with a huge chance for designers to pitch digitally to a host of publishers, participate in workshops and much more!We also learn about the new Fail Faster Early Playtesting Guide and its connection with the Board Game Design Starter Kit campaign on Kickstarter, and we get a sneak preview of what designers can gain by taking part in the Pitch Project’s upcoming event. Game designers, take note. The first deadline is on Oct. 2, 2020!TestCoastGames-24-jay-cormier-allbutpublished.mp3https://allbutpublished.comhttps://failfaster.ca/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gabebarrett/board-game-design-starter-kithttps://inspirationtopublication.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9vUF1Z0WZE6juTVxs9I1YA 

Jay Cormier and the Pitch Project

 In "Indie Spotlight" we speak to designers who are taking the first steps towards publication.  Ben Chhoa is the designer of Burnaby Treasure, a real-world treasure hunt based in the city of Burnaby in Metro Vancouver with a cash prize of $500. The hunt is live at the time of recording and can be solved largely from the comfort of your home.IS-005-ben-chhoa-burnaby-treasure.mp3https://www.burnabytreasure.com https://www.facebook.com/Burnaby-Treasure-612898502691076 

Indie Spotlight - Ben Chhoa of Burnaby Treasure

 We speak to Sharise Nicole  (Reecie), Producer at BeBold Games. Sharise tells us her origin story as a singer-songwriter and former beauty pageant queen turned game content creator.We learn about the challenges she faces in her role at BeBold; some technical, and others in the form of online trolls.   She tells us about her most inspiring person, a notable pop-star who lives day to day under incredible circumstances!TestCoastGames-023-Sharise-Nicole.mp3https://twitter.com/BoldReecie https://soundcloud.com/sharisenicole  https://www.missthurstoncounty.com/  http://pungeoncrawl.podbean.com/ 

Sharise Nicole of BeBold Games

We speak to Randy Flynn, designer of Cascadia from Flatout Games coming in 2021. Randy tells us the origin story of his forthcoming games Cascadia and Tabriz, as well as how he met Flatout Games and joined their "CoLab" game design collective.TestCoastGames-022-randy-flynn.mp3https://twitter.com/rf_seattle https://www.instagram.com/randy_flynn/https://www.flatout.games/cascadia-signup 

Randy Flynn

In "Indie Spotlight" we speak to designers who are taking the first steps towards publication.  Marie and Pauline are Hot Banana Games, the Vancouver, B.C. based design team behind the upcoming boardgame 'Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum.'https://testcoastgames.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/IS-004-hot-banana-games.mp3https://linktr.ee/hotbananagame

Indie Spotlight - Hot Banana Games

A panel of friends comes together to discuss the social and technical challenges of boardgame playtesting during Covid-19.  Featuring Kennedy Goodkey, Chris Morris, Marcel Perro and Mark Yuasa.We discuss a number of tools and topics including:BoardGameArena Tabletop Simulator Tabletopia Discord Vancouver Playtest Group GAC virtual meetup groups Nerdlab / Mastermind Groups TestCoastGames-021-playtesting.mp3

Boardgame Playtesting During Covid-19

The bi-weekly podcast about Tabletop games from a West Coast perspective.