Introduction

This month we are highlighting the great work of Pedro Pereira and Agie Games. We stock two tricktaking games by Agie Games at the moment The two-player trick-taker Violet and the Grumpy Nisse and the very portable and excellent trick-taking game Hasp. In this blog we link to a podcast interview by Eric on the Boardgame Dojo. Have a written Q&A with pedro and we give away a lovely signed copy of Violet and the Grumpy Nisse.

Podcast

Pedro and Eric had a wonderful conversation over at the Boardgame Dojo Podcast you can listen to that here. I particularly loved hearing about the easter eggs hidden in his games.

Interview with Pedro Pereira

How do you approach generating new ideas for board games? Do you set out to design a game, or does an idea come to you and you follow it down the rabbithole?

Ha! well.... I don't consider myself a designer yet as I only got the one game designed on my own. So technically I haven't gotten a method set in stone yet that works for me. However, even for games in which I had a co-design role, I would always allow the theme to ask questions that help create a new design problem to see whether it improves or deteriorates the game experience. That has also been true for Botanists and Violet and the Grumpy Nisse. I am noticing that also with the new games I'm working on.
It's somewhat ironic to me because I am a Eurogamer at heart and whenever I play board games I really don't care much for the theme while playing. I abstract from it and focus only on problem solving (trying to be the best at it). But when I design a game, my experience this far is that I focus on theme first, and always ask "how would this work if it was a game?". I think, specially at the start of a project, once I got a theme that I want to focus on, I let the theme take the lead. But regarding the theme itself, I do think about something I'd like to focus on first and see if it could work as a game before becoming invested in it. So I do spend some time thinking about themes I'd like to address and I currently have a board with multiple themes that I'd like to explore. In Violet and the Grumpy Nisse the theme was about our experience as parents who live abroad and don't have extended family to look after our son if we feel like going out for a date night for example (Violet wanting to meet Ordep), it's not practical in our case because our Nisse needs looking after, and we are not confident enough in entrusting him to a babysitter.

**“Violet and the Grumpy Nisse the theme was about our experience as parents…”**

How do you balance complexity and accessibility in your game designs? And how does this vary between self publishing and being published by another publisher?

Good question and there are actually 3 different versions of me so far haha. I was employed by a publisher in the past and was designer relations, so I would be the point of contact for designers and do a first triage, looking for games that would fit the publisher's line. A game had to have a good mix of user interface (accessibility) and low complexity. The company was heavily (graphic) design oriented and looking to make games that look good and are highly user-friendly. So my role was really focused on representing these values and when playtesting, after determinng the fun-factor, we would ask questions about accessibility, and UI or UX.
Publishing on my own now I am much more reckless though. I find for example Violet and the Grumpy Nisse to have a pretty steep learning curve. I find much of the details are easily related to the theme, but when you buy the game, you are not yet familiar with the theme so you have to go through the rules first, and that's a tough one I find. But since it's my design and my publishing company, at the time, when designing it, I thought it was ok to treat it as a passion project and I also wanted to trust that experienced gamers might be interested in a game they felt a lot of heart was put into, despite a complex entry level.
After Violet and the Grumpy Nisse was published and shown at Essen Spiel 2022 we signed a license deal, so now my third version came to the surface. Different publisher has different concerns and they wanted to tune down the complexity of the game by a lot. So as a designer I understand that this might make a big difference to a wider success of my design and I have been working with the new publisher on a revised version of the game. So in this version of myself I am trying to be supportive of the publisher's concerns and really tailor the game towards their needs.
Based on my experience with Violet and the Grumpy Nisse I'm thinking that this is a good approach. I make the game the way I envision it, and try to make it the most unusual experience I think is feasible, and then put it to the test at the trade shows. If other publishers are interested in licensing our game, they can opt in on the original design, or work with me on readjusting.

What is your favorite imported game?

Currently I think Kung Fu is my favourite, but I'm really eager to get a copy of Dice Fishing also. Kung Fu is a lot of fun to play. You build a character with 10 cards and each card adds stats to your attack, defense, HP or evasion. Then each player prepares 3 cards that need to strike a good balance between attack and defense, or focus on just one but making sure you can take a good beating from others so that your HP doesn't drop to zero, and make theirs drop faster instead. It involves initial drafting, rolling dice, design your own character with its own flair. Love the rough penciled illustrations also. It's a super fun game.

**“There are loads other Easter eggs…”**

You included easter eggs within the names of the characters in Violet and the Grumpy Nisse, are there any other easter eggs in other work you have done?

Yes that's right. It was a lot of fun to think about the game from a personal perspective. The names are ours really. Torech is an anagram, Ordep is mine in reverse, and Violet is what people in Ireland call my wife because her (French) name is too difficult for them haha. There are loads other Easter eggs though. For example the entire cover was designed after a still from Super Castlevania IV. I'm a huge fan of the Castelavnia series and played almost all games. Super castelvania IV is still one of my favourites and the cover of Violet and the Grumpy Nisse is heavily inspired by the iconic image carried over from the NES to the SNES of Simon Belmont standing at the gates of Dracula Castle. We positioned the forest replacing the wall, the passage underneath the tree replacing the gate, the castle towers replaced by mountains and kept the moon in the same position.
On the backside of the cards, if you look really closely, you will find that Torech has a thin scar above his eyebrow, I asked the illustrator to include that after our son got one at the same place for bumping against the bed when playing around.
The fire in the distance is also a recurring theme in our games and a reference to the fire in the kitchen stove families used to sit decades ago in remote areas. That's where families would bond over and share memorable stories. We see board games as a replacement for that, how families sit around a board game and create memories and often still talk about a particular game days after they've played it. You will see a fire hidden across our future releases.
Fear is also represented by a spider symbol as I'm plagued by severe arachnophobia. We hike a lot in the forests around us and everything changes as soon as it gets dark. If a leaf brushes my head I immediately jerk around "shaking off the spiders" ... so that theme in Violet and the Grumpy Nisse is there too. They aren't real dangers though and instead fabrications of our minds, that is also the turning point in the game when the fear token starts moving on the track. Before that, it looks like moves in the opposite direction, but once it steps onto Violet's track

Do you have any favorite boardgame designers or artists?

I really don't actually. I am a true believer that a published board game is a team effort. Often it's the combination of a designer working with a particular publisher that yields the best results. It also has to do with how much a publisher is willing to risk for example. I think Tragedy Looper is a good example. There aren't many publishers that would feel comfortable publishing a game that talks about tragedies, crimes and negative emotions.
Illustrators also are heavy contributors to the game's success I think. It can make a real difference finding the right tone for the game, being able to translate ideas into visual imaginary. Again, the relation between artist and publisher is really important in finding the right balance is key.
I will actually look at publishers before I look at designers or artists. I find it easier to find new games this way when looking for anything in particular. It's not only the publisher's catalogue, but also their origin. I love looking up what's new from Taiwan for example.
Having said that, there are some designers I would always look up also. Rüdiger Dorn has a solid track record for solid Euro Games, I like Michael Rieneck a lot also, Tom Lehmann I will always have a look at, but I wouldn't buy a game, just because their names are on the cover and insist on trying them out first before making up my mind. Or at least heavily research the. There are so many great talents out there, I really want to make the most out of my gaming budget :)
Artists aren't usually a deciding factor for me. I love all the variety out there in style and genre and often prefer looking up quirky weird visuals over trying out the latest euro-hit, but ultimately it wouldn't be the artist's name that draws me. As long as the visuals don't hamper the fun of playing a game, I'll give all artists a shot.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of being a board game designer for you personally?

I think the most rewarding aspect is the quiet after the storm. To me the storm was having the game finished, produced and shipped. Now it's out there and out of my control and I don't know what people are going to think about it. When someone says something negative about something you made, it isn't personal, but you are so invested in your creation that you can't help feeling affected by it. So people not having anything negative to say about the game is something else!!! And of course, then all the positive feedback starts pouring in from people you don't know and who blindly bought your game... that is very rewarding and worth putting yourself in harms way one more time.
Also when people start asking you certain questions or praising a particular element that help you realise that you really need to belief in your own ideas. Someone came up to me at Essen saying that Violet and the Grumpy Nisse is the best title of the show. This is very cool. Specially because it took us a long time to decide on the title and how to display it, where to place it, what size it should have, etc. Some people, after playing the game, asked if it was based on a book or movie/series. You know you told the story the right way when you get asked questions like that. Ultimately I think it's the recognition of all the questions I had to ask myself to make sure I created the game the best way possible; when someone asks you a question and in your mind you go: "huh! I actually spent a ton of time thinking about that". And then you find yourself having that thought multiple times over several different questions. It's nice to see that people get curious because they pay attention.

Can you share any memorable anecdotes or challenges you faced during your journey as a designer?

Actually, not really. The design and development of Violet and the Grumpy Nisse was made entirely throughout the pandemic, so it was a very solitary affair. All initial playtesting and development was done at home with my wife, and then later, all playtesting and further development was about 95% done online, which is much more time consuming, so we were all always very focused on getting on with the testing and feedbacking.
The most memorable moment was really when consolidating the theme for the game and finding how well it comes to life when playing the game. Other than that, a very uneventful experience I'm afraid :D
The most challenging part was definitely the fine-tuning of the game. Playing around with the length of both Fear and Lantern track was tough! I know most players think the game balance favours Torech, but during development we had a really tough time making him win any games at all. In the end we finally managed a good balance where we didn't overdo it and he does actually win games. I still think that Violet is underestimated, but that's to do with how unconventionally she is played. As Violet, players can actually win the game by losing more tricks than what they win. But I get that she's a hard one to crack so the perception is that Torech is easier to win with. That perception in itself is another challenge entirely.

Are there any specific themes or mechanics you're excited to explore in future projects?

I am working on two games now. I have recently made a dramatic change to the theme of the more developed one and changed it's working title from "the Haunting of Carrickfergus Castle" to... wait for it... "Too many Kisses & Too many Hugs". I'm quite excited about that change. The reason was that the former theme wasn't helping me with asking certain questions.
Regarding the title, my son (5) would sometimes jump on me on the sofa and hug and kiss me, and I would pretend I was being a victim of too many kisses and too many hugs. So that's where the title came from, and because the game mechanics are already well advanced, the change in direction of theme helped me ask different questions or look at certain components from a different angle, because within the new story of the game, the characters now start having different motivations. This really helps. So I'm quite excited about this change, also the visuals are starting to come together much clearer now. I think the game is original and should be a fun dice chucker! (I love them, right?)
The other game is called Hostage Crisis and is about teenagers being hostage to love and how their impulses go on overdrive if they can't be with the person they feel in love with. I don't want to say more about it at this point because it's causing me a bit of a headache at the moment, so I'm focused more on Too many Kisses & Too many Hugs, but I will update you on Hostage Crisis when it's closer to taking its final form :)

Both Violet and the Grumpy Nisse and another game from Agie games, Hasp are set in a Fae world? Is this setting something which is part of Agie Games and your preferences or did it just fit the game?

Yes, Hasp is actually. For Agie Games I am interested only in real-like fantasy settings. I don't want to go too much Lord of the Rings, or Spell-casting-dragon-riding fantasy, but mild and not to unfamiliar to our reality. Botanists was a good example. It was about flowers but the flowers were freely designed without any real life reference. We were more concerned about colours and shapes. But the Botanists (the characters) themselves look like anyone you might know. It was just a really peaceful theme.
Violet and the Grumpy Nisse is a one time theme. I had a few ideas for an expansion (with personality cards for Violet that would change the function of Ordep's helpers, and also alternative Advantage tokens for example), but with the license and the changes to the game, this will have to wait a while to see how well the new version does and whether the expansion can be adapted.
Now Hasp though is part of what we currently refer to as Wolrd of Zura. Zura and Hasp were our first two publishing efforts and they both are part of the World of Zura and we are aiming to create a world around the theme kicked off by Zura. Each new game in the world will add new characters and story elements to it, and will be part of one of three categories: The main story & adventure, the culture & history of Zura, the legends & myths of Zura. So Zura is the first game in "Story & Adventure" and Hasp is the first game in "Culture & History" because it shows a little more about how people in that world live and how their religion works, what they use for food, etc. The story behind it is also related to a personal experience but that's a long story and maybe a topic for another time?
Wolrd of Zura has been slow to progress but now that things are coming back to normal (after the pandemic), I hope that we will be able to pick it up again. Zura II was up next and I even got a prototype here.

The most important question… what makes Torech grumpy? and what can be used to calm him down.

haha! We're actually really lucky. Our Nisse is not grumpy at all. He's pretty happy kid. There was just one phase when he was almost 3 when I asked him to do something and he would refuse and cross his arms. Literally lasted three days and it vanished. But I thought it was hilarious and it's the image on the back of the cards in Violet and the Grumpy Nisse. Right now though, give him some Lego or Playmobil and he'll forget about whatever tantrum he might be scheming...

Raffle Results

And finally… the winner of this months raffle is…

…* Drumroll*….

…Paul Suyat!!!! Congratulations a signed copy of Violet and the Grumpy Nisse is on its way to you!

Travel-Games Raffle and Spotlight: Agie Games - Violet and the Grumpy Nisse. (November 2023)