Essen, Expansions, and other news
Happy Fall! I'm recently back from a family vacation in Montana and can't believe how quickly September is already slipping away. In this email:
Game news (Wingspan expansion, Tussie Mussie shipping, new game signed)
A belated Gen Con report
Upcoming travel (Essen, Tabletop Network, BGG)
Recent podcasts and video interviews
Bird of the month: Osprey
Game News
Wingspan: The first expansion will be out this fall! Apparently a preview copy is on its way to my house. That's all we're saying for now, but stay tuned...there should be much more info soon.
Meanwhile, it was just announced that Wingspan won the Deutscher SpielePreise, Germany's other big "game of the year" award. And I won a Play Creators award from MojoNation for Game Designer of the Year.
Tussie Mussie: shipping soon! You can read here about Button Shy's hands-on process for assembling their games. And you can still order a copy here.
Forthcoming: Development is coming along on my game that I've got signed with AEG. I've been working with Mark Wootton, who was lead developer on Legend of the Five Rings -- but before that, he was a park ranger. So he gets what I'm doing, and it's been awesome.
And at Gen Con, I signed a game with Pandasaurus. Jon Gilmour is lead of development for them now, and I'm really looking forward to working with him to make it shine.
Gen Con
Gen Con basically consisted of me hanging out at the MeepleSource/Stonemaier booth for 4 days straight meeting Wingspan fans and signing games -- and I had an absolute blast doing it! But the highlight was getting to FINALLY meet Natalia Rojas -- and see the original Wingspan illustrations, which she brought for sale. (You can order prints on her website.)
More Cons
Essen SPIEL: On Thursday and Saturday, I'll be at the Matagot booth in the morning and the Feuerland booth in the afternoon.
Tabletop Network: This is a game designer conference that is tacking 2 days onto the beginning of BGG.con. I've been working on slides for my talk, which is about women playing Wingspan, what we know about what women seek in games, and what we can do about it as designers.
BGG.con: I'm a "Special Guest." I haven't heard much yet about what this means for my schedule, but if you'll be there, I'm sure there will be a way for you to find me!
Recent Interviews and Panels
Video:
Dragons Demize interview (and Jenga!) at Washingcon, Sept 13 2019
Girls' Game Shelf interview at Washingcon, Sept 12 2019
BGG at Gen Con, Aug 4 2019
Dice Tower at Gen Con, Aug 3 2019
Audio:
So You Want to Be a Game Designer - WashingCon panel Sept 7 2019
Flip Florey's Super Saturday Board Game Serial Aug 24 2019
The Spiel: Panel on Iterative Game Design Aug 16 2019
Game Designers of North Carolina (immediately after winning the Kennerspiel) July 28 2019
Bird of the Month
I was in Montana and Yellowstone for 2 weeks in August, which was amazing. We went back to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and noticed an osprey nest on top of a rock spire, below the viewing platform for the waterfall. They weren't quite confident flyers yet, but they were making test flights to the other side of the canyon and back.
We set up our scope and what a treat to watch a big nest, from above! We also struck up a conversation with a local guide. Apparently that nest site has been in use for at least 80 years. Ospreys migrate, but every year either the previous pair or one of their offspring comes back to use the nest.