On the 12th episode of the Board Game Times podcast, Clark speaks to board game designer Ben Rosset, the designer of many games including The Search for Planet X, Between Two Cities, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig and Homebrewers, among others!
You’ll hear how Ben’s family brought him to gaming from the very beginning, where he got the inspiration for some of his best known games, how having a good cry on a plane led to full-time work in the game industry, and how he’s managed to play over 1,200 games of Seven Wonders Duel!
Ben also talks about his long-time game co-creator Matthew O’Malley, why he prefers to design games with another person and how Matthew’s background in particular was a boon to the development of The Search For Planet X. You’ll also hear about his “other” professional life in gaming as the Director of Training and HR for Panda Game Manufacturing. As always, Ben answers the questions to the Board Game Times Minigame questionnaire!
Interview times
12:30 Getting into game design
16:30 Changing careers and focusing on gaming
18:25 Working with Matthew O’Malley and having a co-designer
24:50 Between Two Cities
27:25 Between Two Cities of Mad King Ludwig
29:15 Beer Crafters and Homebrewers
32:17 The Search For Planet X
37:50 Growing as a designer
42:00 Upcoming games
45:55 Working at Panda and challenges in the board game business
51:00 The Minigame!!
Ben’s designer page on BoardGameGeek.com: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/60749/ben-rosset
Panda Game Manufacturing: https://pandagm.com/
Send your feedback, questions and suggestions to Clark at: clark@boardgametimes.com
Visit the Board Game Times site at https://www.boardgametimes.com and like our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/boardgametimes
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