design

Let's Talk About Gloomhaven

Let's Talk About Gloomhaven

I don’t like the combat in Gloomhaven. I’m the sap who read the rulebook enough times to know how all the bad guys act, so I end up being the computer my friends play against. It’s like being a Dungeon Master with none of the creative flair. Gloomhaven is a big enough game that it can take critiques from one more rando, but I’m driven to write this because of a persistent comment on Far Away’s creature management. Some folks can find that phase tedious or disproportional to the explorer phase. It’s a fair observation and, obviously, you can say whatever they want on the internet. To me, Gloomhaven has all the same problems and fewer of the emotional or narrative rewards Far Away offers. In analyzing the difference, I want to understand the role these systems play on the player.

On House Rules

On House Rules

I started writing a blog around reviews and feedback. 250 words later, I realized the blog I actually wanted to write was about a peculiar phenomenon I’ve been observing in BGG reviews and demo comments. Some folks will play a game with us, then comment that they enjoyed it but wish rule X was different. The polite version of me listens intently, but my actual internal reaction is always “then play that way”.

On AI at CPG

On AI at CPG

Far Away: Corporate Espionage has a new behavior module for the alien creatures. In the lore, they are controlled by a nanobot AI. These days, the term “AI” has become overused and dripping with connotations skewed based on how much of your net worth is tied to a tech company. While I hold the controversial view that board games are not “art”, board games are one of the mediums that stand to be affected by the recent surge in AI technologies, much like illustration, graphic design, and writing. Generative AIs can create card art, write manuals, and make advertisements, all in service of Cherry Picked’s goals. Those are also things humans do. Given the tension around these AIs, I wanted to describe how CPG views generative AI and plans to use some of these tools.