Over a year ago I began what I imagined would become a regular series of guides called "The Name on the Box Top." Here's how I introduced the series:
I am almost certain that those who participate in the board gaming hobby who have tried to tell others about it have been met, at one point or another, with a response of, "Oh, is that like Clue and Monopoly?"
What separates hobby board games from the majority of mass-market titles, aside (arguably) from fun, is the name on the box top. Like the byline on books or the signature in the corner of a painting, hobby board games typically bear the name of their creator. But more than their name, hobby board games typically bear the style of their creator as well. Just as you might expect different things from a book by Kurt Vonnegut than you would from Graham Greene, you can expect different things of a game depending on whose name is on the box top.
Alas, I wrote but one entry, on Reiner Knizia. But now it's time to consider another name you might find on a box top, a name that belongs to one of my favorite designers: Carl Chudyk.
What is the Chudykian style? Find out below!