Kickstarter Deep Dive with Ben Bertoli

Under One Sky is officially live on Kickstarter! Your support means the world to us, so head over, back this two-player tile-placement puzzle, and become part of the story. Plus, this episode is a special one: it’s our very first live studio recording, now available on YouTube!https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/themisplay/under-one-sky/

We are joined by Micah Heiselt to celebrate and continue promoting the success of his new game, Bucket List. They learn about Micah's journey from graphic designer to game designer. Micah shares insights into what success looks like for Bucket List’s Kickstarter campaign. Jason even manages to sneak in a few more questions about the business end of shipping and fulfillment.

We sat down to test and theory-craft a couple of possible 11th-hour changes to Under One Sky. First, we talked about changing the art for one of our tiles. Then, we discussed playtest feedback that may lead us to introduce three new tiles to the game. Lastly, we went over the pros, cons, and action items if we decide to move forward with those changes.

We step outside the usual program for a different perspective. Jason’s partner, Monica, joins us from the car on our road trip to The Cruz Room in Santa Cruz to talk about what it’s like to live with someone designing an indie board game and making a podcast. We talk finances, scheduling, marketing, and all the other ways a hobby can take over your life.

We sat down with Ben Bertoli of Radish Games for a crash course in Kickstarter, prelaunch marketing, and—much to Mark’s dismay—shipping. We also talked launch timing and the revised Kickstarter timeline for Under One Sky.

We had author, board game designer, and board game design teacher, Joe Slack join us on the show. We got to learn about Joe's board game design story, ask questions about game design theory, and ask all the last minute questions we have about launching our kickstarter campaign. it was like getting a high quality preview class of the online board game design course that Joe teaches on his website.

We discuss the feedback from the First Exposure Playtest Hall and events we ran at Gen Con this year. We share notes from blind playtests, quotes from our wonderful players, and plot out our next steps for Under One Sky. With our Kickstarter launch coming up we also go over our plans for the local events we will be organizing to promote the game's launch on kickstarter.

We sat down on the 50 yard line again of Lucas Oil Stadium to reflect on Gen Con 2026. We recapped the different types of events we ran over the weekend in the First Exposure Playtest Hall, the event halls, and event the hotel lobby. We also told stories about the new friends and familiar faces we got to see and spend time with over the course of the weekend.

We preview The Misplay's trip to Gen Con 2026—including the itinerary of the formal events we'll be running during the weekend. We also talk about our marketing strategies, metrics, and goals. At the end of the show we spotlight fellow game designer Mike C's game “Avarice”.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/themisplay/under-one-sky

Jason took The Misplay on the road to the 2026 Bay Area Protospiel and he came back with a bounty of feedback for Under One Sky, live audio from his introduction to board game design workshop, and good vibes. We assess the feedback and celebrate Jason's growth as a game designer.