4 Brilliant Endeavors by Other Creators

Today I have 4 recent examples of ingenuity and initiative from IV Studios, Garphill Games, Rebel Studio, and Board Game Garden.

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Fractured Sky (IV Studios): What Does It Feel Like?

I always love looking through the project pages created by IV Studios. On their current campaign for Fractured Sky, they’ve added a new graphic labeled “What Does It Feel Like”?

I think this is a really interesting addition to the standard “What’s In the Box?” or “How Does It Play?” images. The best tabletop games make us feel something, and it’s neat to see IV Studios build part of their marketing around emotions. It’s tricky copy to write, because you want to avoid telling people how they feel, focusing instead on the feelings the game is designed to evoke.

Legacy of Yu (Garphill Games): Clear Insert Organization

On a recent livecast, Dusty (The Mill Show) mentioned that he was impressed by the insert in Legacy of Yu. He shared a link to this image, which shows a clever combination of components from Shem and his team at Garphill: A clear insert and organizational labels printed at the base of the box bottom. This is brilliant!

Meadow (Rebel Studio): Seasonal and Motivational Envelopes

Last week I wrote about seasonal menus at restaurants and seasonal modes in video games, and several alert readers mentioned a few tabletop games that feature a seasonal twist. I wanted to mention Meadow specifically because in the game it includes envelopes to unlock both at certain times of the year and after going on specific outdoor adventures.

I think that’s a really clever way to connect the mechanisms of the game to its theme of taking a stroll through nature, and it gives you something fun to look forward to at certain times of the year.

The Board Game Garden: Taking the Initiative

On a recent Facebook livecast (I share Stonemaier Games news, answer questions, and discuss random topics for an hour every Wednesday at 10:00 am Central here), a listener mentioned that she was looking for a solo playthrough video for Viticulture with Tuscany. I told her that I would reach out to some content creators to see if they might be willing to do that.

After the livecast, I found a few older videos that fit the bill, and I was literally composing an email to the Automa team to see if they had any other recommendations when I received an email from Jenna at The Board Game Garden. She was watching the livestream (possibly the version I post on our YouTube channel), and she offered to make a solo playthrough on her Twitch channel. I was happy to sponsor the stream, and it’s now on Twitch here (it’s also now on her YouTube channel).

We all have limited hours in the day to consume content, but I thought it was a great reminder that sometimes we’re able to make our own opportunities. To be in the right place at the right time, you have to show up somewhere, sometimes. The listener chose to tune into the livestream and mention a video she is hoping to see, and Jenna chose to watch and then contact me. I’m sure there are many stories like this that don’t have positive results, but sometimes they do, and I’m glad it worked out in this case for all parties involved.

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What do you think about these endeavors? Have you seen any creators do something particularly brilliant recently? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

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