The Quackalope Podcast - Board Games Quackalope

Devon invites Justin Gary—designer of the popular Ascension deckbuilding game and CEO of Stone Blade Entertainment to sit down and have a conversation!
In this session, we talked about Justin’s journey from student of law to master of games. His path toward design was unique given his professional success as a Magic: The Gathering player that pivoted toward a career in design and entrepreneurship. While he still is pumping out content for Ascension (including an upcoming miniatures game to celebrate the original game’s ten-year anniversary), some of Justin’s most intriguing work actually involves his masterclass course of Think Like A Game Designer. He’s guiding designers-to-be through all of the obstacles he encountered along the way and provides accessibility, accountability, and reality to the design dreams of those who take the class.
Sit down with us on the banks of the board game pond and let’s have a conversation.
Learn more about the masterclass here.
Learn more about Justin Gary here.
Who should we bring to the table next? Let us know in the comments!
-Time Stamps-

2:17 - A Magical Start 
5:36 - Facing Failure and Uncertainty 
10:24 - A Shared Design Process 
13:36 - Collaboration in Design 
16:47 - Think Like A Game Designer 
24:01 - There is No “Creative” Person 
28:19 - Looking Back on Ascension 
35:07 - Ten Years 
37:38 - A Committed Community of Creators 
42:27 - SolForge Fusion  
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Everybody roleplays as Jesse but some ducks are inimitable and some coins should be left untossed! Today, in Shelf or Sell, Alex raids again (arguably) with Raiders of Scythia, Jan really likes rondels with Praga Caput Regni, and Will dusts off the board game years with Lords of Waterdeep. Afterward, for the Medley Minute, Jan celebrates Alex’s feature on the BGG creator spotlight, Alex can’t help but bring up more Zombicide, and Will talks shop with the first con coming back this year. Later, in On the Radar, Will’s wallet gets really thick with the Tussie Mussie expansion, Jan finally reads a book with Paperback Adventures, and Alex moonlights as a bard with The Witcher: Old World.
We hope you enjoyed this week's episode! If you disagree with our Shelf or Sell decisions or have other quacky thoughts, be sure to leave a comment!
Follow our newest Spanish channel here!
Join our Facebook Group here.

Join our BoardGameGeek Guild here.

Consider supporting us by joining our Patreon here.
Time Stamps- 
Shelf or Sell- 
03:00 - Raiders of Scythia ft. Alex
17:29 - Praga Caput Regni ft. Jan
30:35 - Lords of Waterdeep ft. Will 
Medley Minute- 
42:30 - BGG Creator Spotlight ft. Jan
44:34 - Zombicide: Army of the Dead ft. Alex
46:10 - Gen Con 2021 ft. Will 

On the Radar- 
52:14 - Tussie Mussie: Expansion Collection ft. Will
55:51 - Paperback Adventures ft. Jan
1:00:02 - The Witcher: Old World ft. Alex 
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Today we discuss Funfair, designed by Joel Finch and published by Good Games Publishing. It’s a lightweight tableau-builder that takes the mechanics of its predecessor Unfair and distills it into a more accessible, short game. Players act as managers or architects of budding theme parks and must construct the most epic attractions in the hopes of drawing guests. With a tight coin economy and quick rounds, it’s hard to ignore how easily you can get this to the table. Have you played Unfair? Well, it doesn’t matter either way because this game stands on its own. 
Learn more about Funfair here. 
Check out our First Impressions of Funfair and Unfair. See if Funfair or Unfair are something you’d play with our Right for You, Wrong for You reviews. Or read about the differences between them with this side-by-side comparison. 
Should we play it again? Bring it to the channel? Never touch it again? Let us know in the comments! 
-Time Stamps-

4:03 - Finally, The Intro 
6:56 - Overview 
10:06 - Context of Playthrough 
14:32 - Opinions on Restrooms 
17:29 - A Fast-Paced Tableau Builder 
22:57 - Player Actions and Mechanics 
25:21 - Paths to Go Through                                                                                                         27:29 - Enough Games to Get It                                                                                                              29:01 - To Fair or Not to Fair 
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Devon invites Dave Beck—designer of upcoming Kickstarter Distilled—and Brandt Brinkerhoff—designer of another upcoming Kickstarter Oros—to sit down and have a conversation!
In this session, we talked about board game design, from conception to production, with all of the steps that must be climbed that the typical gamer might not think of when seeing a finished product on the table or a campaign on Kickstarter. They share an inside look at the process behind both Distilled and Oros, as well as unique perspectives on what it’s like to design a game.
Sit down with us on the banks of the board game pond and let’s have a conversation.

Watch a trailer for Distilled here.
Watch a trailer for Oros here.
Learn more about Distilled here.
Learn more about Oros here.


Who should we bring to the table next? Let us know in the comments!


-Time Stamps-

4:39 - Oros Origins 
8:36 - Diary of Distilled 
12:17 - The Pizza Box Prototype 
15:05 - Kill Your Darlings 
17:17 - Machinations of the Mind 
20:31 - Getting Those Playtests In 
22:27 - The First One Should Be You 
26:02 - User Experience 
29:43 - Nine to Five 
32:50 - Under the Influence
35:46 - Teaming Up 
38:41 - One Man Job 
44:36 - Pandemic Play 
53:48 - WTUnpub? 
1:04:12 - Learning Kickstarter 
1:12:33 - Oros Sales Pitch 
1:18:09 - Distilled Tour 
1:25:48 - Design Advice  
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Today we discuss Red Rising, designed by Jamey Stegmaier and Alexander Schmidt. Published by Stonemaier Games, it’s a hand-management game based on the popular books series by author Pierce Brown. In a dystopian society bound by strict Color-associated castes, there is endless conflict and it will be up to the players to determine which Colors they ally with to create the most effective and highest-scoring hand. Does this slick card game measure up to the books and what’s it play like for people unfamiliar with the Red Rising trilogy?
Learn more about Red Rising here.
Should we play it again? Bring it to the channel? Never touch it again? Let us know by leaving a comment in playeditonce.com!


-Time Stamps-   

2:25 - Jan Retires 
3:33 - Intro to Red Rising 
5:06 - Overview 
9:32 - Context of Playthrough 
11:58 - Actually Played It Once 
20:22 - To Book or Not to Book
22:15 - Player Count 
30:18 - Going Red or Going Home
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Jesse has retired to a duck sanctuary but the pond sizzles with the arrival of special guest hosts: Board Game BBQ! Today, in Shelf or Sell, Alex talks about (you guessed it) powers with Adventure Tactics: Domianne’s Tower, Adrian brings out a horror classic with Arkham Horror: 3rd Edition, Jan romances Rosenberg with Hallertau, and Jules forms a tower with copies of Castell. Afterward, for the Medley Minute, Jules and Jan team up to take on Voidfall, Alex gets sly talking about The Witcher: Old World, and Adrian can’t wait for more reveals with Weather Machine. Later, in On the Radar, Jan can’t stop laughing about Fast and Furious: Highway Heist, Alex goes gladiatorial with Hoplomachus: Victorum, and Adrian digs through the layers of ICE.

Listen to Board Game BBQ here.

We hope you enjoyed this week's episode! If you disagree with our Shelf or Sell decisions or have other quacky thoughts, be sure to leave a comment!


Follow our newest Spanish channel here!
Join our Facebook Group here.

Join our BoardGameGeek Guild here.

Consider supporting us by joining our Patreon here.


Time Stamps- 
Shelf or Sell- 
03:55 - Adventure Tactics: Domianne's Tower ft. Alex
14:37 - Arkham Horror: 3rd Edition ft. Adrian
24:38 - Hallertau ft. Jan
33:39 - Castell ft. Jules 
Medley Minute- 
43:00 - Voidfall ft. Jan and Jules
44:43 - The Witcher: Old World ft. Alex
46:39 - Weather Machine ft. Adrian 

On the Radar- 
50:01 - Fast & Furious: Highway Heist ft. Jan
55:42 - Hoplomachus: Victorum ft. Alex and Jules
1:01:10 - ICE ft. Adrian 
Support the show