The State of Games, Ep. 122: The One About Bits & Pieces

stateofgameslogonewWe love having special guests on The State of Games, and this time around we get to talk to the always awesome Chris Matthew of Panda Game Manufacturing. We take a big look behind the green curtain of game production and all the decisions that go into which components are the best for a game, and how to keep costs down while making sure the production is awesome. We also talk in-depth about some of the changes in the industry over the past couple of years in terms of component quality escalation and how it can affect the board game market. Oh, we also talk about awesome games we’ve played, so there’s that.


 

firstclassImportant things mentioned on the podcast

Unpub Network

Panda Games Manufacturing

Anachrony

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Terra Mystica

Skull

Scythe

Forbidden Stars

Eclipse

Space Hulk

Celestia

Bottom of the 9th

Compounded

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Insider

Trick of the Rails

Herbaceous

Pentaquark

Luna

Kings of Air & Steam

First Class

Amun-Re

Delve

Heroes of Land, Air & Sea

 

 

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

Please visit our new game store! You can now find all the Dice Hate Me Games titles at the Greater Than Games store!

 

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Related posts:

  1. The State of Games, Ep. 92 – The One About Taking Care of Business
  2. The State of Games, Ep. 100 – The One About the State of Games
  3. The State of Games, Ep. 87 – The One About Growing New Gamers
  4. The State of Games, Ep. 109 – The One About Origins 2016
  5. The State of Games, Ep. 121: The One About the Best Games of 2016
Comments
2 Responses to “The State of Games, Ep. 122: The One About Bits & Pieces”
  1. Lee says:

    I like the idea of an I Hate Myself blog on solo games (funny working title, by the way). That was a very good discussion with Chris from Panda Games this episode. Attention to detail in game components goes a long way to the enjoyment of a game. With that said I have to thank you for making the decision to create custom ship meeples for New Bedford. I really dislike the standard single sail ship meeple included in most Euros. More games could use a better design for ships like ones you created or the ones found in Ruhrschifffahrt which are still my favorite design.

    As long as cards are printed at an industry standard as TC mentioned then I’d prefer to see dice given the best treatment in component production. I’ve played a few games where stickered dice were included to cut costs, and while serviceable the let down isn’t worth the savings. Nice custom dice add a lot to a game. I still remember how excited I was as a teen to learn I could buy nicer polyhedral dice to replace the dull ones included in the old D&D red box.

    My favorite thematic component in a game are the constructible ships from Pirates of the Spanish Main both for their aesthetics and functionality. It’s fun to put them together, they provide a nice 3D element in the game and it’s nice to be able to reference the piece itself for game play information. Metal coins like the ones in Island Siege are probably my favorite addition to any Euro. The heft and shine from that component upgrade provides a ton of tactile pleasure for games which include them. My favorite classical piece is the tower from Dark Tower. The large sculpted housing for the computer that swivels to face the current player is a great focus for the game. Plus the now iconic sound clips it plays to accompany moves in the game add a nice touch to the game play experience. Like Darrell I also have a special fondness for those Strategy battlements.

  2. Lee says:

    *Stratego battlements (darn, autocorrect!)

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