A few days ago I posted an article with my answers to some of the questions I asked Joe from Allplay and Nick from Bitewing on their podcast (The Bits), and today I’m back with a few more responses. Also, the podcast is now available–check it out to hear their fascinating answers!

4. What’s a recent piece of constructive criticism you heard from a customer, coworker, or contractor that made you rethink your position?

I think there’s great courage in listening, learning, and evolving, and I think it’s important that I give others the grace to do the same. It’s okay to change your mind or a process.

Here’s a little thing, but I heard it and will act on it: I recently wrote a post about our announcement trailers (Braided Skies and Namiji), and a reader–Tom–commented that they found it a little jarring that the text for each “scene” was in a different position on the screen. So in future trailers, I’ll request that the text always be in the same position.

Here’s one more, as that first example isn’t really about me changing my mind. I had a plan to print on the inside of our box lids small images from all of our games and a QR code to learn more, as I thought that’s a place that would ensure the information is always in the game (even if it passes hands over time). A coworker said that people really don’t like promotional content printed on their game boxes–their theory is that people like the choice to keep or recycle such content. So I changed it to a loose sheet of paper that will start to appear in some games in 2027.

5. What’s a game by another publisher you recently played from which you learned something about product design?

I can’t possibly narrow this down to one game, so I’ll mention some quick observations from recent plays:

• Jisogi: I love how different tile shapes fit together to form each anime.
• Hellas: The box lid folds out to become the board, and the bottom of the box is the score track.
• Sky 5: A different quantity of cards is used for each player count, but instead of requiring that you count out that exact amount, you hold up a card like a ruler to determine the approximate height of the deck.
• Kano: I love the use of a canvas material for the board and the resin paint jar tokens.
• Torchlit: Certain special cards are foil-embossed, which really makes them stand out.
• Aqua Garden: The sheer volume and beauty of the fish meeples in this game is staggering.
• Eldur: Another game that uses the box as a board; the box also acts as a tug-of-war track and a place to display active ability cards.
• Falling: I love that Falling only has a 10-VP track, and when you reach 10, you gain a random card valued at 10 VP with a small surprise bonus on the back.
• Askalotl: This adorable game uses multiple lidless boxes to speed up setup, make cards easy to pass around, and to conceal information on cards.

6. What’s an experiment you tried recently? What about it went well, and how would you adjust it if you did it again?

A little over a month ago I had a chat with a friend in which I expressed a desire to engage more often with our customers. I do this publicly on many platforms, but gone are the 2012 Viticulture Kickstarter days when I thanked every backer individually in a private, personal message. Due to the scale of our webstore sales, this is no longer possible, but it also didn’t feel true to send customers a generic, fill-in-the-blank message.

The friend pointed out that this doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Sending a few notes is better than sending none. So for the last 6 weeks, every week I pick a few random customers who recently placed orders, and I send them a message thanking them for the order. I often share something I love about the product they bought, a short design story, or a recommendation for the first time they get it to the table. I’ve been delighted by the responses, and it’s a great reminder of the power of something real, genuine, and personal in an era of AI slop. Honestly, there isn’t really anything I’d adjust about it at this time, but I’m curious to see how it evolves.

I’ll be back next week for my final answers. In the meantime, here’s the video with Joe and Nick’s perspectives!

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