PAX Unplugged was an unforgettable experience that granted me unfettered access to some of the hottest, newest, latest, and greatest board games in the industry. It is my great joy to bring these experiences to all of you and open the gates to new hobbies and pastimes. In this series we will learn more about the industry and different companies directly from people in the thick of it. These will be released in standard Q&A format with answers transcribed from audio taken during Unplugged. Some answers may have been edited for clarity as the actual interview was done in a discussion format that gave the developers, designers, and staff more room to talk about their ideals and products.

This is our Developer Spotlight series, please enjoy!

Now Interviewing: Rachel from New Experience Workshop
http://www.newexperienceworkshop.com/index.html
@NEWgamespage

Side note: During this interview, Rachel was kind enough to demo their newest game, Showdown! for me, so the format of this one might be a little bit different than some of the others.

Q: Tell me a bit about how you and your partner got started in this industry.

Chris really liked making games and I slowly became roped in by helping out with some of the smaller things. Over time it grew on me and it went from “oh gosh not another game” to “let’s play another board game!” Now we’re here with our Showdown! game. We do all of the rules and playtesting together. Chris’ passion comes from loving that people play games together. Couch co-op was one of his favorite things but with the growth of the internet you gained the ability to play with anyone in the world, however that meant you no longer had to meet anyone face to face.

A board game forced people to meet and sit down together. It brings your friends back to your side. We had a desire to get away from technology. We’re surrounded by it on a daily basis and it’s nice to get away from it and sit with our friends and hang out together again. Online anonymity fosters harsher interactions and we’d like to bring back friendlier times. A lot of our friends are parents trying to bring up kids in this world of technology. It’s very hard to do. There’s a lot going and it’s hard to keep up. It’s a lot to take in as a grown adult, let alone as a parent with kids. Everywhere kids go they use iPads or touchscreens. It’s great to bring them back to the kitchen table and have family time away from all the screens.

Simple enough for a child and complex enough for an adult, that’s the goal we strive for.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

A: We have a KS coming up in March for On the Merry Way which is a resource management game. We always have international shipping. Our company policy is we want to create games that are different, family friendly, and affordable. We want to incorporate things we haven’t seen and we always deliver our KS on time. We have a quick turnaround time and we do our best to account for everything such as Chinese New Year.

For more information check out their website here: http://www.newexperienceworkshop.com/index.html

Also stay tuned for a review of Showdown!