Designer Spotlight

Isaac Childres: The Man Who Turned Dungeon Crawls into Euro Puzzles There are designers who make good games. Then there are designers who accidentally build subcultures. Isaac Childres is firmly in the second camp. He started with Forge War in 2015, founded Cephalofair Games to publish it himself, and then did the sort of thing that sounds ridiculous until you remember this hobby loves ridiculous ambition. Fresh off finishing a PhD in Physics at Purdue, he went all in on Gloomhaven, a box so absurdly oversized it became a meme, and a design so successful it changed what people expected from campaign games. ...

Designer Spotlight: Cole Wehrle Some designers make elegant systems. Some make thematic spectacles. Cole Wehrle makes arguments. That is the bit that separates him from the pack. Sit down to a Wehrle design and you are rarely just pushing cubes around for efficiency points. You are navigating power, instability, opportunism, and the deeply human talent for making a mess of every institution we touch. His games do not just use history as wallpaper. They poke at it. Sometimes they grin while doing it. Sometimes they leave you feeling a bit grimy. Usually both. ...

Daniele Tascini: The Gear-Driven Mind Behind the Board Daniele Tascini is a name that pops up frequently in the world of Eurogames, and for good reason. The Italian designer has crafted some of the most intriguing and mechanically rich games in the hobby, with a penchant for blending historical themes with head-scratching decisions. But what makes Tascini’s work stand out in a crowded field of talented game designers? This article explores his world by dissecting his design philosophy, ranking his major games, and suggesting the best starting point for newcomers. ...

Look, if you’re even remotely interested in board games, you’ve heard of Vlaada Chvátil. This guy is a legend in the board gaming world, and not just for cranking out hits. He’s the kind of designer who makes you scratch your head in disbelief at how he can jump from one genre to another without a hitch. We’re talking about the creator of Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization, Mage Knight Board Game, and Codenames — each a titan in its category. ...