Thank you for joining us for another board game designer interview! Today we will be talking to Tim Eisner of Weird City Games as he shares a little about himself and his upcoming new game on Kickstarter.
Tell us a little about yourself and your company:
I’m born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve always loved games and grew up playing a large variety of card and board games with my family. Magic the Gathering was very influential in my path to becoming a designer as was Catan and Carcassonne.
While I dabble in boardgame design making homebrew rules for Risk and even designed a card drafting game way back in 2003 I didn’t get serious about game design until 2012. I had been working as an artisan jewelry maker at the Portland Saturday Market and was getting burnt out on handmaking each piece that I sold. I was looking for a new entrepreneurial adventure and thought “Well even if I don’t make any money learning how to design boardgames will be fun and interesting.” Luckily it was just when games on Kickstarter were really taking off and my company Weird City Game’s first title “March of the Ants” was a solid success.
What started you into game design?
Playing games with my family, DnD, Magic the Gathering. Ultimately, in 2012 I was looking for a new business venture and my brother inspired/tricked me into starting a board game design company.
What inspired you to design the board game Canopy?
I had a fun little drafting mechanism for my game based on some 2 player Magic drafting variants in which piles of cards grow if you decide not to pick them. This got me thinking about nature and what grows and a forest was the natural choice. The game was originally set in northern forests but I was lucky enough to be working with Vincent Dutrait who was very excited to draw tropical rainforests.
At the same time there were lots of stories of fires in the Amazon and global warming due to climate change and so having a tropical rainforest theme made sense.
What are your goals and hopes with this game?
My goals are two-fold in that I’d like to make a fun, entry level game for 2 players and I’d like to make a game that makes people think about and appreciate the natural world.
Most of the games I have made up to this point are complex strategy games. I personally enjoy that weight of game a good deal but often want to have games to play with friends who are not quite into that heavy of games. With this game I have really endeavored to keep it simple while still offering fun and complex decisions.
With Canopy I am also hoping to explore ways to manufacture games in a more ecologically friendly manner. As the game is themed on the rainforest I want to lessen the impact that its production has. I know Weird City Games and the board game industry as a whole is just a drop in the bucket of global manufacturing but I am excited to explore ways to make games in as sustainable a manner as possible.
What are the current games we could play of yours?
March of the Ants with expansion Minions of the Meadow and Empires of the Earth. The Grimm Forest (simultaneous action selection and resource gathering in a race to build houses with your favorite fairy tale characters. The Grimm Masquerade (light social deduction) set in the fairytale world. Aquicorn Cove a cooperative game in which players balance the needs of their small fishing village with the impacts they have on the environment. Dungeon Hustle, a tile flipping, set collecting dungeon romp which may be out of print or hard to find.
What else is coming down the pipeline from you in the near future?
Tidal Blades will be available later this year and Wonderland’s War in the not to distant future. I also have a big post-Earth space game titles “Path of the Red Planet” that will be coming out sometime in 2021.
What do you think sets you apart in the industry?
While I make good games I don’t see that much difference between other designers and myself. I consider myself still a young designer and am always looking to expand my range and grow my understanding of game design.
Who are some of your game designer inspirations?
Reiner Knizia for his supremely elegant designs, Philip Walker-Harding for his great skill in making simple and fun games, Elizabeth Hargrave for her ability to dive deep into a theme and bring it to life. And really there are so many more fantastic designers out there which is one of the reasons I love this industry.
What was the first game you remember playing as a kid?
Aside from Chess and your standard cardgames I really have fond memories of a game called Dungeon where you played as a fantasy hero exploring a dungeon. It really had quite simple mechanics but the theme was very captivating.
What games (if any) inspired Canopy?
Sushi Go, Wingspan, Magic the Gathering – specifically winston drafting. All of these inspired it in different ways from theming to gameplay to style.
What is your ideal game night? Games, group size, snacks, etc:
I love party games like celebrity and codenames but also like heavy strategy games. My ideal night is with my good friends and co-designers playing something heavy that we already know. Dune is one of my faves, maybe followed up with Vegas. Beer and sparkling water, corn chips and salsa, and some dark chocolate.
So about the current Kickstarter-What are the details if I want to get on board?
Canopy Kickstarter will run June 9th – June 26th. In the Kickstarter backers will have the option to get the standard retail version of the game for $19 + shipping or the deluxe KS exclusive version fo the game for $29. We had a ton of fun stretch goals we hope to reach and ways to involve backers in the campaign as we work to grow the best game we can.
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