This item combines the Designing Miniature Wargames (abridged) and Developing Miniature Wargames (abridged) items.

In early 2021, James ran a pair of online seminars about creating miniature wargames. He has plenty to say in this regard - among other things, he designed Adeptus Titanicus (2018) and Necromunda (2017), and worked extensively on Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar.

This ticket gives you access to abridged recordings of both seminars, each one clocking in at just over an hour. The first, Designing Miniature Wargames, covers:

• Setting yourself up for success with a wargame design project

• The hobby element of wargames, and why it matters.

• The difference between simulation and abstraction.

• The myth(!) of game balance.

• How to design games mindfully.

The second seminar, Developing Miniature Wargames, covers:

• Developing a skilled, active crew of playtesters.

• Writing good rulebooks: what goes into them, and how they’re structured.

• Expanding your game’s ecosystem and shifting the meta.

• Running great demos of your game, whether at shows or during pitch meetings.

Needy Cat Games has a track record of running fun, informative courses that teach fundamental principles of tabletop game design. We aim to do it in a way that empowers attendees, and encourages them to stop theorising and start designing!

Throughout both seminars, James gives real-world examples from games he’s designed, breaking down his process and offering tips based on years of trial and error. If you have any questions or want to discuss things further, this ticket also gives you access to the Needy Cat Games Discord server, where you can chat to other attendees and seek advice.

Game Design Online

If you’d like a broader introduction to the process of creating tabletop games, why not check out Game Design Online? It’s a perfect primer for these seminars, and gives a lot more detail on playtesting, rules writing and staying on target to get your games finished.

Testimonials

Here’s what attendees have said about our previous sessions:

“I really wasn’t sure what to expect but you made it really fun and engaging. I came away buzzing with ideas and plans for games. You’ve really helped crystallise a process in my head and one of the ideas I’ve had floating around is going to have some work put into it now.”

“It was a great afternoon and I got a lot of useful ideas for how to structure my game designing out of it!”

“You guys are really good at it and extremely personable. I learned about things I didn’t know, and got validated on stances I already had.”