Hyperbole Games

Mars Needs Mechanics: An Interview with Ben Rosset

Grant Rodiek | September 04, 2012

There's a been a slight hum about Mars Needs Mechanics for a while now. It tested very well at UnPub and it was picked up by Nevermore Games. I had the pleasure of meeting the game's designer, Ben Rosset, at GenCon AND playing the game with him and two other great guys.

Imperial Iteration

Grant Rodiek | September 03, 2012

I haven't received my updated prototype of Empire Reborn from The Game Crafter yet, but that hasn't stopped me from working on it. I've had many helpful people provide feedback, as well as a gamer named Adam Goodmurphy who has been testing the game in the woods of Canada.

Story Realms: An Interview with Escapade Games

Grant Rodiek | August 31, 2012

I encountered Angie, like many folks, via the growing board game community on Twitter. For a long time, she's been talking about this wondrous storytelling game called Story Realms. I offered to help, and over the past several months I've read over a few revisions of the rules to provide feedback.

Poorly Boxed

Grant Rodiek | August 30, 2012

Before I begin, I want to clearly state that I chose the box art for The Settlers of Catan because it's so well known. I am making no specific commentary on their box or this game. I was thinking about Empire Reborn the other day and how I would potentially market it to others.

Salmon Run: An Interview with Jesse Catron

Grant Rodiek | August 29, 2012

Almost a year ago, Jesse Catron mailed me a prototype for a game then called Pond Farr. It was a very clever, well-designed, and highly entertaining game about Salmon Racing. He told me in confidence then that the game had been picked up by Gryphon Games and it'd be on Kickstarter.

A Makeover for Empire Reborn

Grant Rodiek | August 28, 2012

I was smugly satisfied with the quality of the prototype I brought to GenCon (shown above). Perhaps it was the actual design, but for some reason I looked upon the hideous prototype much like a 4 year old proudly gazes upon his heap of mud.

GenCon Diaries: Testing Empire

Grant Rodiek | August 23, 2012

Some of the photos for this post were borrowed from Jason Tagmire's post on GenCon here. Secondly, I want to thank the many people who helped me test Empire Reborn. If you're reading this and your name isn't in the playtester section, hit me up in the comments.

GenCon Diaries: The Games

Grant Rodiek | August 22, 2012

GenCon was full of many most excellent games. Due to the fact I had an exhibitor's badge, I was able to snag a few of the games that sold out very quickly (Seasons, Battle Beyond Space, Cities). And, due to the fact I hang out with a solid core of designers, I also played many prototypes in development.

GenCon Diaries: Stories

Grant Rodiek | August 20, 2012

GenCon is a place to buy games, play games, pitch games, or sell games, depending on your role in this nerd ecosystem. But, as I quickly found, and hoped, it's really the site for great stories. GenCon attracts a mass of people dressed as 10 foot wookiees, the skinniest Spider-Man I've ever seen, lads with incredible beards, little steam punk children, and normal Tom and Sallys.

GenCon Diaries: Intro

Grant Rodiek | August 20, 2012

I just returned from an amazing 4 days in Indianapolis, which is where GenCon 2012 was held. You probably know what GenCon is if you're on this site, but if you don't, it's the biggest board game convention in the United States.