Test Coast Games

We speak to Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin and Shawn Stankewich, all tabletop game designers in their own right. Together they are Flatout Games, a board game design collaborative based in Seattle WA, and Winnipeg MB. The three tell us how Flatout Games started as a game review team, and naturally developed into the design collaborative we know today. We discuss their smash hit 'Point Salad' and how it came to be. We learn about the Flatout Games Colab, how it works and about the titles coming from the Colab in the future including 'Calico', and 'Cascadia'. The three tell us about their design philosophy and the spirit of collaboration that has lead to their success.

TestCoastGames-020-flatout-games.mp3
http://twitter.com/FlatoutGames

We bring you a Virtual Events Report with content accessible from wherever you are.   Tabletop.Events is hosting a digital protospiel con. The Vancouver BC game store, Magic Stronghold is taking their Magic the Gathering events online. Find out more at their Facebook page.  Past TestCoast guest Scott Rogers is sharing daily challenges for "Pantone the Game on Facebook and Twitter. Storm Chaser Games is sharing daily challenges of their game "Medium" on Twitter. Asmodee has made some of their more family friendly games available as Print and Play files. Titles include games and demo from popular series such as Spot-It, Timeline and Unlock. This is on top of the Love Letter variant "Sender" that they released a few days ago.  ButtonShy games has added a number of their titles to the dozens of free games available at pnparcade.com. Days of Wonder is offering a Print and Play version of their roll and write Corinth at their website. Osprey Games is giving away a number of…

We speak to Andrea Driedger, owner of Adventure Dice and Communications lead for the Terminal City Tabletop Convention. We learn how Andrea started Adventure Dice from a place of adversity, and developed it into a successful business and an outlet for her creativity. We discuss how games can be used in the age of Covid-19 and how they must change to meet our current needs. Andrea recounts how difficult it was to cancel TCTC. But rather than succumbing to her own disappointment, she channeled it into the first ever, virtual TCTC on Twitch.
TestCoastGames-019-andrea-driedger-of-adventure-dice.mp3 https://twitter.com/terminalcitycon https://roll20.net/ http://holdthefort.ca/

A panel of friends comes together to discuss how best to stay connected during this global pandemic. Featuring Nick Angiers, Mark Ellis, Marcel Perro and Mark Yuasa.
TestCoastGames-panel-001-stay-connected.mp3 We discuss a number of tools and topics including: BoardGameArena Tabletop Simulator Tabletopia Tilt 5 Vorpal Board Teburu Twitch.tv TCTC Virtual Convention Discord GenCon / GenCan’t Origins / Norigins

We speak to Ken Nishidate and Dan Szukalow of The Raving Gamer Bistro in Langley, BC. In addition to being Langley's first board game restaurant, the Raving Gamer is a retail game space with a full-service bar. Ken is the master of the Kitchen and Dan is the Master of Games. We learn about the struggles they faced in getting their family-run business off the ground. Our own Mark Ellis gives his perspective from his recent visit to the bistro. Ken tells us about the unique culinary creations he crafts with help from local bakeries, cheese-mongers and distilleries. Dan tells us about the joy of introducing new games to skeptical patrons and the challenges of finding the right games to please a big crowd. https://theravinggamer.ca/the-games/

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In "Indie Spotlight" we speak to designers who are taking the first steps towards publication. Chris Morris is a Kelowna, B.C. based designer of Victorian Gardens, City of Glass, and DinoPark (coming soon). 
IS-003-chris-morris.mp3 https://twitter.com/SpyderMo