Phil has certainly received acclaim for his first game; Archaeology: The Card Game was recently shortlisted as the Best Australian Game Award by Boardgames Australia. Phil was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions about his game and his company Adventureland Games.
Jason (Gamesizing): Phil, congratulations on Archaeology: The Card Game being named one of the top 10 games of 2007 by reviewer Tom Vasel. Can you talk about the inspiration that led to the development of your game?
Phil (Adventureland Games): Well it’s a bit of a long story! In 2006 I somehow caught the bug to start designing games again (it was something I did a lot when I was very young). My first project was a pirate themed game, where rival pirates traveled around an island digging up treasure, fighting each other and sailing off before a storm struck. After a few playtests, I realised that the most fun part of the game was collecting the various treasures. The rules here meant that the more of one type of treasure you collected, the more valuable that treasure became. I think this idea struck me from playing Knizia’s Lost Cities, where the value of each suit changes dramatically based on what cards you and your opponent have played. Anyway, I soon decided to do away with the huge board and most of the rules to focus on just the treasure collecting. As soon as I did this, the theme of Archaeology struck me. The Indiana Jones films are some of my favourites, and I have also always had a casual interest in archaeology (watching The Mysterious Cities of Gold cartoon as a kid and more recently the BBC’s Time Team show). So I developed the game from this point, and released Archaeology in May 2007. This version had a board, money tokens, different cards and quite a few different rules. Faced with the time and cost drain of self-producing a full board game, I decided to re-work the game into Archaeology – The Card Game, which was released in September.
Jason: What led to your decision to self-publish as opposed to seeking a licensing agreement?
Phil: I suppose I like to dive right in to creative things, so for me it was fun to try and get a short run of the game produced myself. I also knew it would take some time to become familiar with the world of game publishers and distributors if I wanted to have a proper shot at getting into the industry. So I thought I might as well start by self-publishing and learn about these things as I develop as a designer.
Jason: What steps did you take to become knowledgeable about how the game industry worked? Did you talk to insiders, read books, or search online?
Phil: I researched quite a bit on the web. BoardGameGeek is of course a great resource for learning about games, and The Board Game Designers Forum has a few really helpful articles that pointed me in the right direction. Attending the Australian Games Expo also allowed me to meet a few key people in the Australian scene. Chatting to people with experience (often over email) has proven to be the biggest help.
Jason: There’s no substituion for being able to ask a direct question, is there? (says the interviewer) What advice or suggestions have you found to be the most helpful so far?
Phil: I think the advice to attend conventions was very valuable. I did not realise how great the benefits of meeting other gamers, store owners and publishers would be. Many hobby designers also point out that there is little money to be made in game design, and this also I think is a good thing to take to heart. If you are not designing and self-publishing simply for the love of it, you probably are going to end up disappointed.
Jason: Is Adventureland Games something you do on the side or is it your full-time career?
Phil: Definitely just a hobby. I would say I have basically broken even from sales of my games. Of course sometimes it can be as busy as having a job, but really I am doing it for the fun of creating games!
Jason: It’s refreshing to know that you are creating games because you enjoy the process. Do you have another game in the works?
Phil: Plenty! I keep a notebook of ideas, and I have a whole pile that I’d love to get a chance to develop. In terms of games that are well into playtesting at the moment, I have a pirate themed tile placement game about digging up treasure, a fantasy themed combat game and another called Cannonball Colony which I have written about a bit on BoardGameGeek. This game is about competing nations trying to take control of an island, and has quite a lot of direct conflict.
Jason: Given your experience, what do you consider to be your best advice to a game inventor considering the self-publishing route?
Phil: I suppose I would say firstly, make sure you are passionate about your game. It will be a tiring process with little monetary reward, so you really have to want the game to be out there. Secondly, playtesting can’t be stressed enough. Playtesting widely and being honest about the flaws in your game will ensure that what you put out will be the best it can be. Also I believe the presentation of a game is hugely important to people being interested in it. I don’t just mean the artwork (although this of course is very important and worth spending time and money on), but also the game’s title, box cover, and its entire visual presentation. You want people to hear the game’s title, maybe see one image or read one paragraph and be hooked. Because you have no track record yet, people will only try your game if the idea of it captures them immediately, and usually the only way you can capture them from a distance is the way the game ‘feels’ visually and conceptually.
Oh and finally, get involved in BGG and BGDF - two excellent communities who are very supportive of new designers.
Jason: Phil, thanks for your time.
Update: Archaeology: The Card Game has won the 2008 Best Australian Game Award by Boardgames Australia. Congratulations, Phil!
