The Misplay

Jason and Mark go through the logistics and planning leading into Jason's weekend at KublaCon and the 3rd annual Misplay trip to GenCon. They give in depth updates about Under One Sky's, art, manufacturer, logistics, and next steps.Jason gives a special thanks to Game Crafter for a donation towards the summer board game design program Jason will be teaching this summer.

Jason and Mark discuss the possibility of pitching Under One Sky to publishers. Mark shares an outline for how to go from concept to submitting to publishers. Jason explains the reasons why The Misplay never considered looking for a publisher. He also shares a little glimpse into the plan for the summer after a sit down with Randy O' Connor before KublaCon later this month.

We were fortunate to have Dan Thurot of Space-Biff join us for a conversation. Dan shared his thoughts on his ethics based approach towards reviewing games. He also broke down the difference between previews, reviews, and how to play videos and shared his insight into the nuances and objectives of each from his perspective.

https://spacebiff.com/

We took a half step back to review our work on the constellation cards for Under One Sky. The constellation cards have always been challenging to the game's design and we are coming up to the deadline we need to meet to continue moving forward with the game's art. Jason is still millimeters deep into working out the physical dimensions of the game board for the manufacturer.

We took the podcast and Under One Sky down the road to San Jose for the March edition of Game Market West. Jason manned our table and got to teach the game to another group of playtesters. Mark continued learning about manufacturing by interviewing designers that had games for sale at the event. The Misplay would like to extend it's appreciation for the organizers at Golden Gate Game Makers and Guildhouse.

We follow up our components exploration with some in depth discussion of the decisions around our tiles and board for Under One Sky. The questions we grapple with will have implications for our search for a manufacturer and influence the continued direction we ask the artist to go for us. Later, Jason tells some stories from his visit to GDC.

We just turned the page on two milestone opportunities in the development of Under One Sky. We found out if we made the cut or not for the Cardboard Edison finals and Jason ran a set of blind playtests. We took turns running each other through the feedback we received from each event and debriefed in real time about what the feedback means for our game going forward.

We recount the steps we took to prepare our submission for the prestigious board game design competition Cardboard Edison. We dig into how we crafted the game’s written description, planned and filmed our introduction video, and refined the rulebook to present the strongest version possible. At the end of the episode, we reveal the official title of The Misplay’s debut board game.

We interview graphic designer Drew Corkill, whose passion and talent for designing board games shapes his thoughtful approach to the craft. He shares insight from his experience working at the intersection of board game production and graphic design, unpacking the practical and creative decisions that bring a game to life.

Season 3 of The Misplay starts now! Same game. More mistakes. For new listeners, we recap the first two seasons to get you caught up. Join us on the path to crowdfunding!

This is it—the end of Season 2. We look back on how we got here and share highlights from the year, including our recent two-player meetup. Are we ready to launch a crowdfunding campaign for our abstract game? Will there be a Season 3?

We ask ourselves every episode, “Where are we?”—and today we really mean it. We take stock of our abstract tile-placement game and ask the big question: Are we ready to move into Season 3 or head toward crowdfunding?

At Kublacon, we asked the ultimate question: Would you play the game again? Hear what playtesters told us, our responses to their feedback, and how their honest insights may shape the next version of the game.

We’re hitting the road—the road to Season 3! But before we get there, we’ve got some serious playtesting ahead to make sure the game is both fun and replayable. Next stops: Kublacon, Golden Gate Gamemaker events, and a Misplay board game community night.

We play a live match of Starfold that you can watch along with in real time. Follow the action to see who wins—and get a better feel for how the game works.

https://tinyurl.com/mujmabd9

We’re getting close to locking in a theme, so this week we explore where and how it can weave into the game. Mark takes “The Night Sky” and runs with it—imagining two friends lying on the ground, gazing up at the stars.

We present to you "Starfold"—our abstract game with a theme! We talk about entering the BoardGameGeek Two-Player Design Contest and how playtester advice pushed us to build a proper Print-and-Play to meet the requirements.

We kick things off with a funny misplay in Harmonies and share news about our new sponsor, Spielmas. Then it’s time for a round of “Jason Can’t Possibly Disagree,” where we debate whether our abstract game Currents should have a theme—or stay theme-free.