Hey, I’m Chris Backe (rhymes with hockey). I make tabletop games and help others make games.
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[#025] adding theme to mechanics, shelving a game, and more
Welcome to your weekly dose of board game design!UKGE is right around the corner, the sun is finally shining more consistently, I went on my first Parkrun (for the non-Brits, volunteer-organized 5K runs at local parks near you)… Life is good.A quick shoutout /...
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Book Review: The Board Game Designer’s Guide (2nd edition) – by Joe Slack
Sometimes, you just want a guide. Joe Slack's newest book is actually the 2nd edition of one of his previous books, just with 13 new chapters and five more years worth of experience under his belt. In that time, Joe's had 6 games and expansions published (2 of which...
Destination: Airecon 2023 – or, why my second time around was the charm
Held at the Harrogate Convention Centre in northern England, Airecon is second only to the UK Games Expo in terms of size. This was my second Airecon, and I'm happy to mention I had a great time. There wasn't any one thing that stood out (perhaps my first play of...
Book Review: Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made
Or, what the heck’s a pöppel? If you’ve heard anything about board games for more than a minute you’ve heard of the Spiel des Jahres - the German game of the year award is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the industry. The French offer up their own...
Review: The Fail Faster Game Design Program, by Jay Cormier
For beginners and people looking to get some help making their game the way they want, this structured course is what you're looking for. The course itself is run on Thinkific, a solid platform to creating video courses like this one. Once you're in, you'll see the...
Destination: Mojo Pitch and the Play Creators Conference 2022 (London, England)
If you're more into hobby classics like Carcassone, Ticket to Ride, and so on, you already know about a lot of the big conventions / shows to attend - Gen Con and Origins in the US, the UK Games Expo in England, Essen in Germany, Cannes in France... This is my world,...
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