Podcast Guy 0:01
Welcome to design thinking games the podcast where game design meets player experience and every game is a chance to support the community. Celebrate this fifth season of the design thinking games podcast by not just talking about how games play, but diving into how they’re made, how they’re tested, and how communities keep them alive. All types of games are on the table, from table top to digital solo journaling to massive multiplayer. Come explore all forms of gaming and the design thinking behind them with your host, Tim Broadwater. Find every episode, including this one, wherever you get your podcasts or jump in at design thinking games.com now roll up your sleeves, open the play test notes and celebrate the power of play.
Tim Broadwater 0:53
I walk inside the origins Game Fair exhibitor Hall, and all the way to the far right is the smaller indie shops and Dame designers and studios. I see a couple individuals at a booth promoting a lot of ttrpgs. So I head up to them and ask them who they are.
Josh Rosing 1:15
I’m Josh. I am the founder of Lone Colossus Games and Lone Colossus Games the sort of goal of my publishing is to provide inspiring content for your games, whether that’s 4 or 5e or other systems. I’ve designed my own system Wyrmlings, which is a fantastic adventure for all ages and Injuries and Vile Deeds, sort of a dark, dark fantasy supplement for 5e and then Tome of Intangible Treasures is sort of a more role play character development oriented supplement for 5e.
Tim Broadwater 1:44
I asked how big the studio was and how long it’s been around.
Josh Rosing 1:47
Lone Colossus Games has been around for four years. A little over four years. I founded it in January of 2021, to sort of work toward the release of my first supplement of Injuries and Vile Deeds. Lone Colossus Games is run solely by me, but I work with a ton of fantastic freelancers to get every get everything done. My general motto is to make sure that everyone I work with gets paid before I do, and so almost all of the funding from my crowdfunding projects goes towards paying for freelancers, paying for production and manufacturing and all that stuff.
Tim Broadwater 2:16
I asked Josh what all he has available at origins, and if there’s anything else coming out soon.
Josh Rosing 2:22
I have three sort of product lines here at origins, Wyrmlings, Injuries and VIle Deeds, and Tome of Intangible Treasures. I also have another system that’s just digitally available online, called Cyber//Core; HACK. It’s a caltrop core system, which means it’s uses d4s, and that’s a fun little hacking mini game. You could sort of splice it onto any existing Cyberpunk game or just run it on its own. But really quick, fast paced mini game, you can sort of get a fun hacking vibe out of. And then I have a second crowdfunding campaign for Tom, or I should say, another, a new crowdfunding campaign for Tome of Intangible Treasures 2 that just finished up. So that will be, we’ll be looking at that sometime next year for release. So I also offer bundles for Injuries and Vile Deeds, and Tome and Intangible treasures products. So if you want to get the book for Tome of Intangible Treasures, along with the card reference cards for it.
Tim Broadwater 3:14
I then asked how people could get in contact with loan Colossus or find out more about their offerings and games.
Josh Rosing 3:22
I’ve always got new projects coming down the pipeline. I don’t exactly know what the next one is yet, but you can sign up for my mailing list. You can find that link on my website, https://www.lonecolossusgames.com/ and you’ll hear the first time I have anything to say about that Discord channel for people who have any questions about products or just want to chat about RPGs, I’m on threads and Bluesky at long plus games on threads, Facebook and Instagram, and then blue sky, long plus games,
Moe Poplar 4:02
Dark Heist is a game of supernatural heists and larceny in a haunted Victorian city, recruit crooked monsters and monstrous crooks into your gang to do crimes and become the most notorious in the city. Dark Heist is a strategic deck building game for one to four players, full of evocative missions and plenty of player versus player backstabbing, inspired by Gothic Horror pulp crime novels and the role playing game blades in the dark. This mid weight board game plays from 60 to 90 minutes and is rated M for Mature. Find out more about Dark Heist at https://ashyfeet.com/.
Tim Broadwater 4:46
It’s time for a break at origins, so I head over to one of the many cafeteria areas outside the main exhibitor hall, and I see a man sitting there at a table play testing games with a couple individuals. I approach him and ask him who he is.
Andrew Looney 5:10
Hi, I’m Andrew Looney, a game designer, and I’m here at the origins game festival where we’re playing games with people wandering by. 1000s of gamers are here. We’re playing games all weekend. I’m with Looney Labs. Is a game company my wife and I founded in 1999. So we published the Flux series. And there are 46 versions of Flux, with M ystery Flux having just come out. And we also have a whole bunch of other games. We make, brainy board games that use these pyramids, my very favorite of which is called Homeworlds, an epic interstellar space battle game that if you can beat me at, I will give you a medal.
Tim Broadwater 5:10
I’m curious, and I wonder if he’s play testing new games. So I asked Andrew, what is he doing, and what games he’s play testing?
Andrew Looney 5:59
Yeah, I’ve got several options available to play test right now. I’ve got Dog Flux, which is the new one I’m developing. So we’re play testing that. I’ve got my pyramids for Homeworld or Zendo or various other games, and then I’ve got another game, completely new thing down here on the end. It’s kind of secret, but I’m play testing that as well.
Tim Broadwater 6:20
I have played flux before, especially the Monster Flux and the Monty Python Flux. So I asked Andrew, which is the most popular of all the flux games
Andrew Looney 6:30
You mentioned, Monty Python. Monty Python flux is definitely one of our long time best sellers. People really love it. But the original basic Flux, the plain Flux actually still is our best seller, even though at any given time, a new one might come along and steal the crown for a quarter or a little while, but then it always goes back to the original flux being hit.
Tim Broadwater 6:54
I wanted to know about the vibe of Looney labs, and what the feel is of all the types of games they create.
Andrew Looney 7:00
So Looney Labs makes easy fun, family board games and card games that are are simple to jump into. They’re they’re often called Gateway games or starter games because they have a very broad appeal. Flux is a card game of change that everybody loves. It’s our biggest hit. And it’s very easy because it’s, it starts out very simple, so there’s not a lot of rules you got to learn. And it’s the perfect game to play at the beginning of a game night when you’re just kind of starting up, or at the end of a game night when you’re winding down. A lot of other companies make these big, heavy board games that take three hours or something, and we’re not about that. We’re about light, easy games you can carry in your pocket and pull out and play at the restaurant while you’re waiting for your food.
Tim Broadwater 7:47
I asked Andrew from Looney Labs to tell me what he could say about anything upcoming or launching soon.
Andrew Looney 7:53
Our next release we’ll be having coming out in September, is Cat Flux. Everybody loves cats, and we’re following that up in the fall next year that’s coming out this fall, and the next year, we’re following that up with Dog Flux, because people love dogs too, and the two can live together, because cats and dogs often do get along.
Tim Broadwater 8:13
I didn’t know that you could mix multiple flux games together, so I asked about that, and the best way to find out more information about Looney labs.
Andrew Looney 8:22
Yeah, yeah. You can mix them up. You can mix them together. All the fluxes have the same card back. So you can mix and match favorite cards from one deck to another. Some of them don’t combine as well as others, but dogs and cats should combine very nicely. https://store.looneylabs.com/ I mean, we’re all over the various social medias. Any do any search for Looney Labs, and you’ll find us, but our website, https://store.looneylabs.com/ is the best place to go to for info about our company.
Michael Schofield 8:57
Thirst is a two to four player vampire vs vampire, Game of Dominion in which players become powerful, monstrous and bloodthirsty vampires. Rise from the graveyard, hungry to find that you are not the only creature of darkness in town. Fight other vampires for dominion over neighborhoods and for influence, hunt, but hunt wisely. The first vampire to accrue an influence score of 10 wins and can finally slake their thirst. Thirst is on Kickstarter. Sign up to get notified of its launch at https://thirstboardgame.com. Find thirst and other things we’re working on at https:/designthinkinggames.com.
Tim Broadwater 9:47
As I walk through the Columbus Convention Center, north towards the escalators, I see a man dressed in fantasy garb, and I approach him under the sign True Dungeon, and ask him about what it is.
Andrew Suber 10:06
I’m Andrew (Surber). I’m at origins 2025 here with true dungeon. I’m a volunteer for true dungeon, and I do a lot of NPC acting with them in person, and I also do some epilogue for their virtual events. So True Dungeon is an interactive dungeon crawl. Experience is a live action dungeon brought to life in front of you with interactive puzzles, NPCs that you can actually converse with and monsters that you can fight. We do combat through a shuffleboard system, similar to how you would see people play actual shuffleboard. There’s a butcher’s diagram of the monster with different to hit numbers for each of the sections that 20 corresponds to a NAT 20 on a die roll.
Tim Broadwater 10:56
I then asked Andrew how long he’s been working with true dungeon and how big the group is.
Andrew Suber 11:03
So I’m a volunteer with true dungeon. I’ve been doing things with them since 2019, Origins, and I I felt like I belonged. They sort of welcomed me with open arms and brought me in as part of the family. And it’s been a blast ever since. It depends. It fluctuates based on convention. Sometimes with origins, it’s a smaller crew. We only have one full size dungeon here at origins this year. Last year, it was a four room, so there were fewer volunteers needed for Origins last year than there were this year. When we do a full size event at Gen Con, it can be several 100 volunteers that work together to put that dungeon together and make those experiences happen. We have two shifts at Gen Con, morning and evening shift, and so getting all of that staff can be a nightmare. I’m sure
Tim Broadwater 11:53
I wanted to know more about what the experience was like for true dungeon at Gen Con versus origins.
Andrew Suber 12:00
So multiple events happen at Gen Con. I think this year we’re planning to do three separate dungeons, maybe other events as well. I’m not 100% sure what’s on the schedule. I just know what I have the dungeon here at origins will also be seen at Gen Con, as well as two other dungeons in the same event series. So all of them will have a through line story that sort of helps to flesh out the world of Runheim, which is our Viking themed world.
Tim Broadwater 12:30
I wanted to know more about the people that are attracted to True Dungeon and keep coming back to play.
Andrew Suber 12:35
I think part of it is the immersive sets and costumes that the NPCs wear. It really brings the story to life in a way that lets you participate at your level. If you’re the type of player that wants to have full conversations with NPCs in character, that opportunity is available to you. And if you’re more than one that wants to tinker with the puzzle, you can do that too. If you just want to slash and dash the monster. There’s an opportunity for that as well, and so it’s a really well rounded experience that appeals to different things for different people.
Tim Broadwater 13:09
I found it interesting how many years True Dungeon has been around, and how the organized play works from convention to convention.
Andrew Suber 13:17
We are still celebrating our 20th anniversary, big accomplishment. I think we are on year 22 at this point. So every year there’s a different theme of tokens that we release, and then from there, all of the adventures sort of fall into place in that world where those tokens exist. So players can use the same tokens that they get at origins at Gen Con, they can use the same tokens that they get at Gen Con next year’s Gen Con, the Gen Con after that, the Gen Con after that, as long as the event allows for it. Occasionally, we’ll do a shorter, four, four Room event, where it’s a sealed pack run. And those events would have you just use what you get in your 10 pack at the start. If you don’t have any tokens to your name and you want to play true dungeon, you can also buy a ticket and get everything that you need to play to start all of that is included in your ticket price. You’ll get a starter pack of tokens that has everything you would need. And I think that for those people that maybe not maybe are uncertain of how they can exist inside the world of true dungeon, whatever our theme is for that year, give it a chance come in and say, You know what I’m going to do. I’m going to just be here to play the game. And if I interact in character, I do, and if I don’t, that’s okay too, because we’ll meet you where you come, and we’re not going to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do. It’s giving you the option. If you’re a bard, do you want to sing? Do you want to dance? If you’re a druid and you want to talk to an animal, talk to an animal, see if they can help you. But we’re not going to make you do those things.
Tim Broadwater 14:53
So now that I know people can role play to their level of comfort, I was curious to learn more about bards that sing the whole time.
Andrew Suber 15:00
Some of our bards will sing for the entire adventure, much to the NPCs chagrin, if it’s one of those, you know, Baby shark or something like that. But sometimes, sometimes the NPCs will have a sing along with the Bard, and they’ll, you know, we will, we will rock you. And they’ll, they’ll get into it too.
Tim Broadwater 15:19
This area seems pretty active, and there’s even a demo table set up to show people how combat works in true dungeon.
Andrew Suber 15:26
So we have a demo table set up to show people what combat is like, to get people interested in true dungeon, to get them understanding how they’re going to interact with the world. Because some people come at this thinking it is a LARP, thinking that they’ll bring in foam swords or whatever, and we’re like, no, no, you’re completely safe. Nobody’s going to hit you. We actually have a rule against volunteers touching players and players touching volunteers, so no physical contact is going to be allowed at all between players and volunteers.
Tim Broadwater 15:52
This looks really cool. I’m actually thinking about volunteering, and I kind of wanted to know how people get involved, or where they find out how to attend a true dungeon event.
Andrew Suber 16:04
We went to Momo con. We’ve been to DreamHack, we’ve been to PAX West. We’ve also been to the late PAX South. A moment of silence for PAX South, but we are still in San Antonio at San Japan, the anime convention there. So https://www.truedungeon.com/ is a great place to find out basically anything you need to about true dungeon, there are links from there to all of the other places that we have our information. So we have our ticketing site, https://td.events, where you can get tickets for our in person events, except for Gen Con, because we use Gen cons ticketing system, and then our virtual events are also available at https://td.events. And then our volunteering link is also available on https://www.truedungeon.com/ and that will get you the ability to join our crew and help out during events, earn swag, and, you know, maybe get a little bit of pay. Gen Con is a truly ambitious show, three to four events every year, with two shifts day and night. We tend to need a lot of people, so it’s always good to have fresh faces come in and really own it and take it and make it their own.
Podcast Guy 17:18
So thank you for listening to Design Thinking Games. Your time is valuable, and it means a lot that you spend it here in season five. Stay connected on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube. DMs are always open, and don’t forget to visit https://www.designthinkinggames.com/ to request topics, ask questions or see what else is going on. If indie vampire board games sound like your thing, check out thirst, where vampires and minions fight for influence in a dark city. Head to https://thirstboardgame.com/ to follow the journey and get updates when it launches on Kickstarter, October 1, until next time game on!