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On each trip there has been at least one new game from the StrataMax Games team offered for sale or, when production problems arose, to at least pre-order. We may have moved from making desktop published games to professional print runs, but we get the same thrill when we see someone enjoy our games, and that's what keeps us going.
For 2011, our game is Let's Take a Hike and it started to come to life immediately after Spiel 2010. In fact, the designer Aaron Lauster and I had the same flight and the same long layover in Atlanta on our return journeys. A meal and a few coffees later and the theme and the rough mechanisms were hashed out. Then the fun was over and the real work began.
Over the next several months, rules were outlined, drafted, edited and re-written several times. Aaron put together a prototype using artwork supplied by his daughter Emily. Aaron was in town over the Christmas holidays to visit family, so we invaded his mother's place and took over the dining room table for playtesting. (She's used to it by now and always has great cookies at hand.) Doug Eckhart (Tammany Hall) saw the game for the first time and gave it his blessing for being mean enough, but not overly so. Aaron invited his friend Troy Cummings, an illustrator, over to playtest as well. Troy loved the game and agreed to do the artwork. Emily approved. More excellent cookies were brought out. Then the real work began.
Blind beta-testing was graciously provided by the Indy Gamers in the U.S. and by a trio of Cockitt lads in the U.K. (Be sure to check out Tim Cockitt's credit in Tammany Hall.) Then the real work began.
Nothing like blind beta-testing to teach you once again that you know nothing about rules writing. More re-writes. Then the deadlines begin to approach in the spring: artwork approvals, card counts, layout approvals, rule re-writes. German language translation where I learn Ferdi Kother knows English grammar better than I do – or is it "better than me"? It all starts to add up and around about every May or June I begin complaining to Aaron and Doug that, even with all of the fabulous production management assistance we get from Martin Wallace, it's just too much trouble after working at our day jobs and spending time with our families. Think of all of the reality TV we are missing! Just look at this stack of books I want read. I really would like to get some more sleep.
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Max Michael (right) playing Let's Take A Hike at The Game Preserve Indy (Image: Jack Geisler)
Then they remind me how much fun it is to see a finished product on the shelf, the sense of accomplishment of seeing people play the game and enjoy it – and I have to agree the process is all worth it.
Then Aaron decides to post the skunk card from Let's Take a Hike on the StrataMax Facebook page with his own special caption:
Max is a stinker!
Hmmmm...
Let's just say that if you like Aaron Lauster designs, you'd better buy Let's Take a Hike as something tells me it may be the last one you see for quite a while.
I hope to see you in Essen at booth 5-26 when the real fun begins...
Max Michael
StrataMax Games
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