Hyperbole Games

The Joys of Youth (Part 1)

Grant Rodiek | April 16, 2012

One of my favorite things about board games is their tactile qualities and toy like nature. The joy of holding cards, throwing dice, and moving little figures around the play space. It's fun to touch and hold the pieces and imagine a greater world before you (as opposed to having a video game dictate things to you).

Poor Abby Progress Report

Grant Rodiek | April 13, 2012

I've reached a minor milestone with my newest game, Poor Abby Farnsworth, and I wanted to take a moment to write about its development so far. I just ordered my first print version of the game with nicer cards and some rough, but passable graphic design and iconography.

On the Take (That!)

Grant Rodiek | April 09, 2012

A Take That! mechanic in a board or card game is essentially griefing that's allowed, encouraged, and promoted by the rules. Take That! is typically defined by overtly aggressive player actions that are performed to the detriment of one's opponents.

Crafting a Story through Design

Grant Rodiek | April 06, 2012

Benny and I have been design peers for a while. Both from his Twitter feed and his interview with Bellwether Games, it's clear Benny approaches design from a different angle than I do. Benny's all about story and theme, whereas I tend to be more mechanically driven.

Mechanically Sound #1

Grant Rodiek | April 04, 2012

In addition to writing as ideas come to mind and posting guest submissions, I have a handful of semi-regular features I'd like to introduce. Mechanically Sound is the first.The idea is to share interesting mechanics from existing games in the hopes of providing inspiration for your own creations.

The Idea Machine

Grant Rodiek | April 02, 2012

When I wrote Chasing Inspiration last week, I almost thought of it as a throwaway post. I almost didn't put it on the site. However, the reaction to it was incredibly strong (check out the comments).

Chasing Inspiration

Grant Rodiek | March 28, 2012

This post is a bit of a case of "thinking out loud." It's not overly personal and shouldn't be awkward, I just wanted to arrange some thoughts that are relevant to design and my processes. Post by: Grant Rodiek I think every designer has inherent strengths, portions of the design process with which they have a certain affinity or strength.

In Defense of Monopoly

Grant Rodiek | March 25, 2012

Post by: Grant Rodiek Monopoly is every "real" gamer's favorite game to hate. It's random, it takes too long, there are better games to play, people only play it because they don't know better...these are all some of my favorite critiques.

Card Design Commandments

Grant Rodiek | March 21, 2012

I have a thing for card games. I like playing them and I like designing them. Every time I try to veer away from cards to tackle another component like dice, I always end up right back with a box full of index cards and penciled scribbles.

Pitch Like a Pro

Grant Rodiek | March 19, 2012

I bumped into Corey Young on Twitter like I have many of my design peers. Like an athletic team recruiter seeking his first round draft pick, I began bugging Corey to write a column for Hyperbole because the man is opinionated, well-spoken, and has not one publishing deal, but many publishing deals.