Jamey Stegmaier has a
strong passion for creating games that bring people together in the spirit of
fun, competition, and strategic thinking. With a lifelong enthusiasm for
playing and designing board games, he runs the business side of StonemaierGames along with Alan Stone. Together through their start-up company,
the two produced Jamey’s first published title, Viticulture.
Stonemaier Games is seeking to publish Jamey’s latest design, Euphoria: Build a
Better Dystopia. Their Kickstarter campaign funded in, like, one hour (it was beast!), but it will still run through June 12. If you'd like to participate, there are still plenty of stretch goals to aim for and lots of neat-looking stuff that you can get in on! We asked Jamey a few questions about this title, and he was
gracious enough to talk with us.
Jamey, every
successful Totalitarian
State
A dystopian cityscape awaits your leadership as you make
strategic choices to construct markets, enhance allegiances, and expand control
in this thematic, dice worker-placement game.
Okay, so it's much
more complex that that! These mind-controlling governments are quite intricate,
so give our readers your “30-second pitch.”
Imagine that the only world you’ve ever known is one where
skyscrapers are painted in a thick layer of gold, illuminated by the electricity
you help produce by running in the endless generator fields day after day. You
go home to a full meal every day and enjoy one of the few books you’re allowed
to read by candlelight. You consider it a decent life because it’s the only one
you’ve ever known.
And then one day on the walk home from the generator, you
trip over something in the dirt. You pry it out of the earth and tuck it under
your state-issued shirt, waiting to open it in private. At first you don’t know
what it is, but then you realize: It’s a board game. You’ve never seen one
before – objects of leisure aren’t allowed in the city. Time is scarce, as is
paper. The only books you’ve ever read are digital.
The game ignites your curiosity. What other relics have been
forgotten to the past, and why? As you dig deeper, the more things don’t add
up. Why do you run on a glorified treadmill for 8 hours a day while the elite
sip daiquiris in their penthouses? Why are all citizens required to receive
shock treatments once a month? And what’s in the ubiquitous cubes of food
you’re served every day?
The more you learn, the more you decide that things need to
change. And you’re the one to do it. It takes time to position yourself for the
takeover. You work your way up the ranks, acquire a few workers under your
supervision. You recruit a specialist who pledges allegiance to you.
Now it’s time to take the next step. What are you willing to
sacrifice to build a better dystopia?
What particularly
about the post-apocalyptic, future sci-fi, neo-steampunk theme appealed to you
and the design team?
I like that you perceive the world of Euphoria as a sum of
those parts, because you’re right – it’s not just steampunk, nor is it just
post-apocalyptic or future sci-fi. There are three different factions with very
unique styles and specializations. The appeal to me in creating this world is
that I wanted a game that would tell a story in the vein of the dystopian
literature I love. I am consistently drawn to dystopian fiction—most recently
in the form of The Hunger Games, Pure, Wool, and Oryx and Crake,
but dating back much further to Fahrenheit
451 and Brave New World. Not to
mention a host of movies who have really interesting dystopian themes. I wanted
to capture the mystery of those novels, the way society becomes just twisted
enough that it’s different but we can still see glimmers of our modern-day
world in it. I wanted to capture the sense that a single person can make a
significant impact on the future of the world, but that it’s tough to do so
without making some challenging moral decisions along the way. Bringing all of
those elements to life in a board game is what appealed to me.
Do you read dystopian literature? If so, what are some of
your favorite books?
*gulp* So, the cross-examining begins, eh? No doubt, the beginnings
of a nefarious attempt to lure me in for assimilation! Is that shock treatment
you mentioned earlier going to be next?!
Well, actually, I do not
read much dystopian, per se, but
I do read a lot of steampunk. While my favorites all deal with an historically alternate
Victorian era, others utilize the genre's tropes in dystopian settings. My
favorite would be Philip Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles about stinking great
big cities like London on ginormous tractor treads rolling around Earth's
post-apocalyptic wastelands looking for unfortunate, smaller towns to – literally
– gobble up under the guise of 'Municipal Darwinism.' Of course, to start out,
the protagonist (a low level, professional apprentice lackey) knows no other
way of life and thinks that metro-munching is perfectly normally – but comes to
see differently and fights against the system to change things, much like it
sounds like in your world of Euphoria.
Now, put that needle
away! Why did you choose the "dice-as-workers" mechanic? It sounds
like Euphoria was more of a theme-driven project? How did the mechanics begin
to mesh with it?
Good question. Euphoria was extremely theme-driven. In fact,
I went through many, many mechanics before I found the right fit for the theme
– the theme always came first. The dice were a core part of the game from the
very beginning because I knew that I wanted the knowledge of the workers to
have an impact on the game. You can’t track individual worker knowledge using
standard meeples, but I realized that dice were perfect. The number on each die
would reflect that worker’s knowledge. Unlike other games where knowledge or
intelligence is a good thing, I knew that knowledge would be something that
you’d try to keep low in this dystopian world. After all, you don’t want your
workers realizing that they’re in a dystopia – if they do, they might run away.
I hate it when that
happens!
Of course, the mechanic changed over time. Early on, dice
were never rolled. When a worker gained knowledge, you increased the number on
that die by one. I quickly realized that dice are much more fun when they’re
being rolled, so the mechanics of randomness and luck changed quite a bit over
time. But the numbers on the dice reflecting worker knowledge has stayed the same
since Day One.
How do you feel about dice in games? There’s always the
roll-and-move stigma and the high-luck stigma, but I’m hoping backers will see
right away that dice aren’t used that way in Euphoria.
Oh, I’m just fine
with dice. They add spice and excitement; plus luck is a nice equalizer when
gaming with kids who may not be as experienced or think as strategically as
adults. In fact, while we’re on the subject, you’re right. Gamers are known to
engage in debates ad nauseum about
the pros and cons of randomness in hobby gaming and to the extent its inclusion
is "acceptable." Some can't stomach any form of luck, others relish
chaos, and most stand somewhere in between. Seeing as there is a dice mechanic
in Euphoria, what are your thoughts on the subject, in general?
Ah yes, the eternal question of randomness, variability, and
luck. If you asked me this question about a year ago, I would have said that I
want a game with absolutely no luck or randomness. But I’ve changed a lot since
then. Back then, I think I was overly influenced by Settlers of Catan. I still
enjoy Catan, but in Catan you’re at the whim of the dice. No matter how well
you diversify, if your numbers aren’t rolled, there’s absolutely nothing you
can do.
However, there’s a different kind of randomness that other
games utilize. It’s the type of randomness that keeps you on your toes and
makes you maximize opportunities at every turn. It’s the random hand of cards
you’re passed in 7 Wonders. It’s the random starting tiles you receive in Tzolk’in.
It’s the random dice roll in Alien Frontiers. To me, it’s that type of
randomness that keeps games fresh and interesting. How fun would 7 Wonders be
if you could look at every card in the deck and choose the one you want? How
interesting would Tzolk’in be if you had the same starting resources every time
(okay, still pretty interesting). And how interesting would Alien Frontiers be
if you got to choose the numbers on your dice instead of rolling them?
So the challenge with Euphoria is to make dice matter, but
not to put players at their whim. It took some work to get where we are, but
the result is really compelling to someone like me who wants to be in control
of my strategic choices.
How has your previous work on Viticulture helped or hindered Euphoria? This being your sophomore design, have you found things going smoother? Or have you run into other unforeseen difficulties?
Oh, I can’t even tell you how much my work on Viticulture
helped the design process for Euphoria. You know how when you played chess for
the first time, you could only think one turn ahead? But the next time you
play, you’re able to think two turns ahead, then three, then even more. I
experienced that with Euphoria. Although I never knew exactly what would work
(that’s what playtesting is for), there were many times that I knew what
wouldn’t work after playing it out in brainstorming sessions.
I did run into one unforeseen difficulty with Euphoria in
that my knowledge of existing board games and mechanics is exponentially larger
than it was when I was designing Viticulture. That’s a blessing and a curse
because I was strongly motivated to make something completely new, and yet I’m
more aware than ever of how hard it is to be innovative among a pool of
literally thousands of tabletop games. It made for a great challenge, and I’m
really pleased with the final product despite those odds.
What gamer type(s) do
you think Euphoria will appeal to and have you made any deliberate efforts to
serve a particular segment of the hobby?
Interesting question. I think Euphoria will appeal to gamers
who like Alien Frontiers, Tzolk’in, and The Manhattan Project. Those are all
Euro games with light sci-fi themes, just like Euphoria. Euphoria is a Euro
game, but I consider it strongly thematic in a number of different areas:
You’re digging tunnels to infiltrate other areas of the world, you have secret
allegiances and elements of deduction, there are things you can do that change
the rules during the game for other players, and each player has recruit cards
that strongly impact their strategy (not unlike Cosmic Encounter). Although the
end-game is to score a certain number of points, it’s not a matter of scoring a
dozen different categories and moving a token around a point track (I love many
games that do that, but let’s be honest: There’s nothing in real life that
equates to adding up points at the end of the day). Rather, it’s a matter of
placing 10 ownership tokens on the board as you grab swaths of land. The first
player to place his or her 10 tokens wins.
We didn’t intentionally target a specific segment of the
hobby – although I’m hoping that Euphoria appeals to gamers who turned a blind
eye on Viticulture because it involved making wine instead of exploring space
or fighting dragons. Really, as with Viticulture, I designed a game that I want
to play. I always try to keep the audience in mind – after all, we had 60+ blind
playtesters across the world – but I think you have to design games for
yourself first and foremost. If you’re trying to fill a gap in the market with
a game you could care less about, why? Where’s the fun in that?
Which Euro game that you’ve played has the best integration
of theme and mechanics?
Ah, a couple come to
mind quickly. More popularly known, I'd say Cyclades
– essentially it is a building game with a heavy bidding element and the
"victory points" are disguised as constructing parts of two
metropolises needed for the win. Of course you can only do what the gods
allow you to do, and there's some delicious interaction and wondrous creatures
and all three of those parts make sense. Very smooth and intuitive.
The rules for
Euphoria state that there are no specific phases. Resolution is a little
different than most other worker placement games where there are clearly delineated
"placement" and "collection" phases. How did that mechanic
develop and/or was it inspired by something particular? What kind of unique
game play did it bring to the table during playtesting that other titles might
not offer?
Well, I should clarify: When you place a worker, you pay the
cost associated with where you place the worker (if any), and you immediately
gain the benefit from that placement. So, if you place a worker on a tunnel,
you pay one commodity, gain one resource or one artifact, and you move the
progress token forward one space on the tunnel. When you have no more workers
to place, you have to use a turn to retrieve any or all of your workers from
the board, which you can either do for free (but lose 1 morale) or pay food
(and gain 2 morale – workers like when you feed them). Also, there are a number
of action spaces on the board where your worker can be “bumped” off the space
back to you if another worker is placed there. When that happens, you
essentially gain an extra turn so that you can delay your “retrieve.”
So the true innovation here is the flow of the game. There
are no phases, action checklists, or rounds in Euphoria. On your turn you
either place a worker or you retrieve all of your workers. Simple as that. The
game never stops – you don’t need to be that guy at the table who reminds
everyone what season or round it is. Nor does the game dictate when you have to
stop playing. You play until someone wins. The beauty is that a very meaty game
that could last 2 hours only takes 15 minutes per player once you know how to
play, and there’s hardly any down time at all. You roll your dice every time
you take workers off the board, so often by the time you’ve rolled and glanced
over the board, it’s your turn again.
The inspiration for this was partially Viticulture (which I
love, obviously, but I’m always that guy who reminds everyone that we’re moving
on to a new season or that it’s the end of the year and we have to age our wine
and grapes) and partially Alien Frontiers, Tzolk’in, and The Manhattan Project,
all of which have elegant placement/retrieve mechanics. However, the difference
between all of them and Euphoria is that for those games, you place ALL of your
workers during your turn. That’s too much down-time for me, especially in a 5-
or 6-player game. I like bite-sized turns where you have to make one decision.
Plus, it leads to new dynamics in the game. Do you try to bump your own worker?
Do you pile onto a commodity area that already has a lot of workers to get a
bonus? Do you join other workers on a construction site to build a market? All
of these choices open up thanks to workers being placed one at a time.
So, you mentioned
particularly enjoying Tzolk'in. What other types of games do you typically
play, when not designing your own projects?
I host a weekly game night every Wednesday, and the games
vary depending on the number of players. My gamer endorphins usually trigger
when playing analytical worker-placement games. You mentioned Tzolk'in – I'll
play that any time. Same with Agricola. 7 Wonders makes it to the table a fair
amount because it works well for larger groups. I was recently introduced to
Pandemic, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought – I liked the brain-burn of
it and the interaction it necessitates. Overall, though, according to my ranks
on BGG (username: jameystegmaier), my top games are Tzolk'in, Agricola,
Pandemic, Stone Age, and, of course, Viticulture. What is your top 5?
Ooh, I always I have difficulty
with these kinds of lists! I’d say, in no particular order: Citadels, Cyclades , Stone Age, Small World, and Jambo. How’s that
for strange bedfellows? Anything else in the works that we can look forward to
that you're willing and able to share?
Sure, I'm happy to share what might be next for Stonemaier
Games. Alan is working on a prohibition-era game, and I'm working on a game for
4-8 players that I'm excited to get to the table. Also, if Viticulture is
received well by the public, we'd like to release a cohesive expansion pack
that will expand the world beyond the vineyard. I've been brainstorming ideas
for those expansions for months, but due to Euphoria and the uncertainty of how
Viticulture will sell, I've been holding off on really moving forward with
them.
Good stuff, and all!
But enough silliness. I’ve yet to ask the most important question: You've just
discovered that you're in charge of board game entertainment at a dinner for
the President and First Lady of the United States
Pandemic. Definitely Pandemic. I would love to see how the
President and the First Lady respond to threats that arise throughout the game,
to see if they value some countries more than others. I’d like to see how they
interact with each other as they try to solve the puzzle. Plus, cooperative
games are really easy to teach, so that would make for a less stressful
evening. Because let’s face it: No matter your political affiliation, you have
to be on your best behavior when you’re playing board games with the President
of the United States.
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Wonderful interview! I cannot wait to try euphoria!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat. :-)
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