Summary: This week’s interview is with Chris Anderson, a board game designer (Blue Cube Board Games) and host of The Board Game Workshop podcast.<br> <br> The board game design community is full of great people who really want designers to succeed. Shout out to the chapter of the <a href="http://www.gamemakersguild.com/">Game Maker’s Guild</a> based on Boston. There’s very little competition; rather, everyone wins because there are more good board games.<br> We experience some bonding over our love of <a href="https://www.bostonfig.com/">Boston FIG</a> and its family-friendliness.<br> Chris is having one of his games published with <a href="https://buttonshygames.com/">Button Shy</a> – an indie publisher that publishes a large quantity of small games. Most of their games fall into one of three categories: wallet games (18 cards), postcard games (rules only for a game that uses standard components like dice, coins, or a standard deck of cards), and nano-games (9 cards or less). We decided that with their Game of the Month club, Button Shy probably publishes 30 or more games per year!<br> We ask about the game In Vino Morte (which should be available as part of the next Kickstarter from Button Shy). This was a favorite game of Anitra’s at Granite Game Summit. (See <a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/episode-42-granite-game-summit/">episode 42 – Granite Game Summit</a> for more.)<br> Chris started <a href="http://www.theboardgameworkshop.com/">The Board Game Workshop</a> podcast because he wanted to give back to the game design community, and because he listens to a lot of podcasts. It started as an interview show and has evolved into a roundtable format with multiple designers.<br> “I want to design board games. Where do I start?”<br> <br> * Read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts on board game design.<br> * Follow the resources cited in those media to find even MORE media to read/watch/listen<br> * Just start making a game. Realize that your first game will be terrible. “You have to get that out of the way, because your next one will be better.”<br> * Never stop designing.<br> * Join (or create) a community of designers. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in person. Chris is a part of several meet-ups in the Boston area, but also mentions online groups that have helped him with his designing.<br> <br> Up next for Chris: His next project, titled Plutocracy 3022, is a large-scale space exploration game where no one controls the space empires, but instead players use their money/influence/etc. to build their own wealth.<br> His next podcast will probably be on worker-placement. Andrew and Chris discuss their shared love for worker-placement games, especially Tzolk’in.<br> Find Chris on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/bluecubebgs">@BlueCubeBGs</a>, or check out the websites for <a href="http://bluecubeboardgames.com/">Blue Cube Board Games</a> and <a href="http://www.theboardgameworkshop.com/">The Board Game Workshop</a>.<br>
