In the summer of 2008 I started a contract designing monthly non-digital games for Escapist Magazine, complete with write-ups of my design process. The Game Design Friday series gave me an opportunity to hone my design craft, while creating a bevy of weird little games — many of which I’m still quite proud of.
Magic Numbers
A basic dice game for two or more players, with a minor bluffing mechanic and the ability to “give” your roll to another player, sometimes with unintentional results. (Published July 2007)
Officeball
Less a proper game, and more a core mechanic, Officeball is designed to be a casual, subtle game of possession played in a corporate atmosphere. (Published August 2007)
ARROWGAMÉ
A personal favorite of mine, ARROWGAMÉ is a two-player game played on a single index card. The result of gameplay is a somewhat beautiful arrow-laden battlefield. I even wrote a haiku about it! (Published September 2007)
The Filler
The Filler is about the fictitious yet grueling job of pouring cement into graves to prevent zombie uprisings. One player plays the woeful titular character, and the other the undead hordes trying to rise from their concretized tombs. (Published October 2007)
9am Class
A board and dice game about staying awake during an early-morning college class. (Published November 2007)
Fictionless
A board game that played with allowing players to use their dice rolls to either move, or bank the rolled value to pass gates on the board. (Published December 2007)
Petrol Panic
A two-part Game Design Friday entry, Petrol Panic was an attempt at building the mechanic of Fictionless into a more fully-fledged board game, complete with a dystopian gas-siphoning mechanic. (Published February 2008)
Gygaxian
Created to honor the memory of designer Gary Gygax — who had then recently passed — Gygaxian is a storytelling game for one player and three competing Game Gods. (Published April 2008)
myNo
Combining the real-time pattern recognition of Set, the rolling and scoring of Yahtzee, and the fast-paced momentum of Pounce, myNo is a small dice game designed for two to six people, and playable in under 20 minutes. (Published April 2008)
You Have to Lock the Entry!
A competitive card game about fighting over Wikipedia edits. (Published May 2008)
Turfy
On the elementary school playground, it’s kill or be killed. Do or die. Win, or go back inside. Compete for control of the jungle gym in Turfy, a “Risky” game of single-territory warfare. (Published August 2008)
omg hire me
Oh noes! You’re out of school and now you need to enter the real world! Build a resume and get on those job sites! omg hire me is an ode to the stressful, cyclical process of trying to get hired out of college. (Published August 2008)