Q1: The Landscape at Release

Grant Rodiek | November 21, 2016
Special thanks to Joshua Buergel for his assistance in this article.Dune (the game) was released in 1979 by Avalon Hill and from the designers Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, and Peter Olatka. This is the same team that created Cosmic Encounter two years before.
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Q1: A Primer on Dune

Grant Rodiek | November 20, 2016
Before we can get to Rex, we need to get to Dune. Before we can get to Dune (the game), we need to briefly examine Dune, the landmark science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. Rex is so much fun, for me, because it is derived so beautifully from my favorite book, Dune.
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Quagmire Issue 1: Rex

Grant Rodiek | November 19, 2016
Welcome to the first issue of Quagmire! If you're not familiar with Quagmire, you can learn about it here. This first issue is somewhat atypical, as it's about Rex: Final Days of an Empire, but also Dune, its predecessor.
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My 2016 Games of the Year

Grant Rodiek | November 13, 2016
2016 is almost at an end, and the time has arrived to reflect on my favorite games of 2016, some misses, and some hopes for 2017. I’ll also ruminate upon my collection and other such matters that are no doubt compelling to you.
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Introducing Quagmire

Grant Rodiek | November 07, 2016
The painting used in this article is Scotland Forever by Lady Butler. I design games I want to play, often because the game I want to play doesn't exist. Cry Havoc was designed because I wanted to play it and wasn't able to buy it.
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2016 Hyperbole Games Annual Report

Grant Rodiek | November 04, 2016
I look forward to my annual reports, because I enjoy the requirement for reflection, being transparent, and just “talking shop” with those who care about my work in the board game space. I must admit this year’s post is a little bittersweet, though cathartic at the same time.
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Abstract University

Grant Rodiek | July 30, 2016
I've been developing and testing an abstract strategy game for two players called Druids for months now. We've been testing it furiously, almost daily, due in large part to us enjoying the game and it being addictive to play.
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Three Development Sessions

Grant Rodiek | July 13, 2016
I was just on a walk and I began thinking about the three types of sessions I have developing my game. Two of these are obvious, but one isn't, so I thought it might be useful to others to discuss how I go about developing games.
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Solstice Beta Wave 1 Results

Grant Rodiek | July 11, 2016
You can read the rules for Solstice here. You can watch a still mostly accurate rules video here. You can download a Print and Play with all changes here.  The first testing wave of Solstice has been going for a month now, and a lot of small changes are going to be incorporated into the design to make it stronger.
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Identifying Opportunity

Grant Rodiek | June 27, 2016
A good way to begin a design is to identify a way to improve an established game. This is more or less the Blizzard strategy and it's worked fairly well for them. Sometimes, this isn't just a way to provide something new, but it's an essential approach to enter the market at all.
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