First, could you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into board games.
Games have always been a part of my life. I can even remember making up playground games and board games as a kid. I played cards and old school games with my parents for a long time. I guess I started getting into more modern games with Magic: The Gathering and HeroQuest. Eventually that led to the West End Star Wars RPG, then D&D, then Warhammer and hobby games.
I started working in educational video games in 2012, and I started Absurdist Productions with Dave Thomas in 2017. Since then, we’ve been slowly growing the company. So far, we’ve published two board games, two solo RPGs, and a few other small things.
Your company, Absurdist Productions, seems to place creativity and freedom in game design as high priorities. Can you give us a little more insight into the philosophy of your company?
Dave and I have really been developing the Absurdist Productions philosophy as we go. We started with just the idea of publishing the kinds of games we wanted to make, whatever they happened to be. Moving through each project, we established this ethos of unique art, well-research themes, and absurd premises. Absurdist games may not bear much resemblance to each other, but they also shouldn’t look like anything else on the market.
Your first designed game, PaleoVet, published last year. What was it like to see your game go from dream to the table?
Is it weird to say my first reaction was relief? We crossed the finish line, and I could finally rest for a bit. My greatest joy comes from all the positive feedback we’ve gotten about the game. It’s really validating to see people enjoy my work.
You’ve got another game, Winter Rabbit, that was on Kickstarter. How has the development of that game been different?
I actually started designing Winter Rabbit long before PaleoVet. Winter Rabbit has been a very long journey, for sure. This game has been very close to my heart, and it’s a much more ambitious project than PaleoVet. I’ve set it down and picked it back up several times. Entering the Zenobia Awards really motivated me to finish.
With Winter Rabbit, I’m really trying a lot of things that I haven’t seen in games before, from the mechanics to the theme. Winter Rabbit has undergone a lot of revision to get it where it is today, and I have say that I’m very proud of the result.
This game’s roots are in Cherokee culture, which is not very common in board gaming. What made you want to explore this relatively unvisited realm?
I’m an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, so when I say the theme of this game is personal, I really mean it. Even so, I didn’t expect to delve into indigenous themes when I started in game design. I was really inspired by other indigenous designers and writers who were bringing indigenous ideas to art and literature in really modern ways. So, I started thinking, “How can I craft game mechanics that reflect Cherokee values and a Cherokee worldview?” That was the premise, and eventually it developed into Winter Rabbit.
Cultural accuracy was a priority. I wanted the theme, art, and mechanics to come together in a way that supported that. So, we hired Cherokee artists for the illustrations and graphic design. I created mechanisms that I feel align with cultural values. Every card and character in the game was designed to be culturally accurate. We are even working with a translator to ensure that Winter Rabbit is playable in the Cherokee language as well as in English.
How do you think that these types of games will change the board gaming landscape? What steps do you think the industry needs to take so that we can see more types of games like this?
I think the landscape is already changing. There are a lot of diverse creators with different perspectives entering the industry all the time. With Winter Rabbit, I’m just adding one more voice to that chorus. If my game inspires people to think about games or indigenous cultures differently, great, but that’s really not the goal. I’d be much more excited if I were able to inspire other Cherokee or more broadly indigenous tabletop game designers to enter the space.
How has collaborating with others helped you with the development of this game?
Collaboration has been absolutely essential. I first have to mention my business partner and developer, Dave, whose been indispensable through this whole process. It’s great having someone who can double check everything, question my bad decisions, remind me of my design goals, and make sure I haven’t missed anything. I also need to shout out Harley, who’s done a lot of work for Absurdist Productions and helped me push through a lot of design blocks with this.
I think one of the most interesting collaborations has been with our artists Kindra and Jonni. Both are Cherokee, so they know the stories and styles behind Winter Rabbit. They’ve both been extremely passionate about the accuracy of everything. We’ve had several design meetings where we figured out that some card wasn’t historically accurate, or an illustration wasn’t cultural appropriate. They’ve helped me find new ways to make the game richer by bringing in elements that I hadn’t previously considered. You can only get those insights from people who are invested in the culture.
Finally, I’ll mention our cultural consultant JW. Even though I grew up on Cherokee Reservation, I thought it was important to have everything reviewed by an expert. JW helped me identify several revisions to the thematic elements of the game, making them more culturally appropriate. He’s also working to translate everything into the Cherokee language. Incidentally, I think Winter Rabbit will be the first game on BoardGameGeek that is playable in Cherokee.
I’m sure you’re very focused on this campaign right now, but have you thought about what’s next for you or your company?
Oh, definitely. We’ve got several projects planned out. Our next game will most likely be one of Dave’s designs: a two-player, dual hidden movement game about competing spies. The design is basically done and I can’t wait to get started on the art direction.
I’m also working on another larger RPG project set in an indigenous fantasy world. As soon as I get a break from the Winter Rabbit campaign, I’ll dive back into writing that.
You can pre-order Winter Rabbit through the successful Kickstarter campaign today.
