Interview with Game Designer Jason Wong

After the success I had with Alien on Board, it was a no-brainer to track down This Game is Killer: Frozen Horror, the next game in the series. This one takes on the 1982 John Carpenter classic, The Thing. (We don't talk about the odd prequel from 2011.) I went to my three usual game stores, but no one had it in stock. I had one of them order it for me. When it came in, I went to pick it up, and saw that they added one to the shelf. Then, I was at another gameshop for an event, and now they too, had it in stock. I’m not saying I am a bellwether, but… In Frozen Horror, you and your team have discovered something in the ice that can shapeshift. Your team decides to make a stand in Arctic Outpost 13 with the United States National Science Institute; stop The Horror here, or risk all humanity. But now, you can no longer trust your fellow team mates to be human.Gather your team, sit around the neoprene mat depicting Arcit Outpost 13, crank up Ennio Marricone’s The Thing score, and try to survive the horror of Frozen Horror!

A few years back, I was a Geekway, and Smirk & Dagger Games had a booth (as they typically do). They had a few new hot titles, but what really caught my attention was a small 6x7 inch box. The game was called This Game is Killer, or so I thought. It actually had a subtitle: Alien on Board.When the person in the booth explained the game to me, I was hooked. It was a party style game (which I am not usually drawn to), but it says 15  minute playing time (which I am always drawn to). So, I handed over my $20 and off I went.It took longer to get to table than I anticipated, but the game requires 3 or more players, and my group does not typically like games like this. However, I finally got it to table at a local library event.In This Game is Killer: Alien on Board, you are playing out the quintessential horror movie, 1979’s Alien. It is one of my all time favorite movies. A local charity had it as a fundraiser one night (a long time ago now), and I had to go see it in the theater. It never fails to entertain.So, gather up your friends (the game plays 3-10) to be the crew on the NSS Ganymede, crank up the Jerry Goldsmith Alien score, or the James Horner Aliens, and see who can survive, and who cannot in This Game is Killer: Alien on Board.

In this episode, I am joined by Jackie Fox. She is the designer of Rock Hard: 1977 and published by Devir. We talk about how amazing the production and quality for the game is, how she designed the game, Boom Pandemic, and the usual stuff.Palmer Girl

In this episode I am joined by fellow podcaster and board gamer, Sean Jordan. I was a guest on his show a few months back. We talk about marketing a bit, and then get into some fun discussions about collectors' prices.Here are links to my interview on his show:Part 1Part 2

In hummingbirds, designed by Jason Tremblay and published by The OP, you and your opponents take on the roles of hummingbirds. You fly around getting nectar from flowers. The catch is, the nectar are the sand timers, you can’t see them, and the longer ones are worth more points. Leave the flower too early, no points. Stay too long and your bird is not being utilized to its best ability.Grab your fellow birders, and let’s see if this sand timer game is worth playing!

In this episode, I am joined by Jason Wong. He and his wife traveled the country and visited all the national parks. While there, he took pictures. Then, he knew there was a game in there somewhere. They worked on a spreadsheet, that I really want to see, giving out 16 different tags to these parks. Things like size, age,  how visitied, and geography. In the end, Jason put out a rummy style game called PocketParks. It is a great game that celebrates the national parks, and looks great doing it! We get more into detail on all of this, and talk the usual. Thanks for listening.

I am joined by Kirk Damman, a patent lawyer who has worked in the gaming industry on what is, and is not, protected by the law. We talk the usual, find out we have a weird history together we didn't know about, and more. Thanks for listening.

In this episode, I am joined by Ashy Feet Games founder Moe Poplar. We talk about how he is a converted TTRPG player and a recovering Magic The Gathering addict. How we met also was a bit serendipitous. All this and more follow. Thanks for listening.www.ashyfeet.com

There are so many great looking games from the 70’s and 80’s. Games that were probably too expensive at the time. Games that just had table presence to spare. Sub Search was one such game. Edward and I loved that game. It has led us to search out other games in that realm. Chopper Strike was our next purchase. Chopper Strike has a tag line on the box that reads: “The Two-Level land/air Battle Game.” And that was precisely what drew us to the game: the two-level aspect.Since the game came out in 1976, and it had many little pieces, I went to my board game dealer whom I trust. He had a complete copy with all the pieces intact. I brought it home, and Edward wanted to play it immediately. So, grab your favorite opponent, and let’s play Chopper Strike!

A lot of past guests have mentioned Elizabeth Hargrave’s Wingspan as an answer to a question. Whether as the current game, 60 minute game, or just in passing, there is no denying Wingspan’s impact on the industry since its debut in 2019. It was nominated for, and won, lots of awards that year and in 2020. It has had four expansions so far with a fifth in the distant queue according to the Stonemeir emails.Its deeper impact came in 2024 with the release of Wyrmspan, a reimaging, or reimplementation, of Wingspan, by Connie Vogelman with additional development by Hargrave. In this version, dragons replace the birds. Wyrmspan has an expansion as well.Then, last year, a third game entered the Span world, Finspan, and that game is the focus of this episode. Finspan was designed by David Gordon and Michael O’Connell. In this rendition, the birds and dragons have been replaced with fish. Each of the games in the Span world have varied the mechanics of the original.In Finspan, you are, according to the BGG page, a marine researcher seeking to observe aquatic life. You place fish in one of three zones, in one of three tracks, to dive down and observe. The marine researcher with the most points at the end of four weeks (or rounds) is the winner.Gather your fellow divers, and let’s take a look at the Rule Clarity for Finspan.