After a steep learning curve designing High Rise Hustle, I knew I wanted to try my hand at designing a lighter game. Like most months, I went to my local game design meet up in December, where several designers were testing games for the Button Shy 18-card holiday challenge. I was so intrigued by the idea of a small game so I thought I'd give it a go, even though the submission deadline was in 6 days!
So, the idea for Wildcrafters - a puzzle-y 18-card engine building, pattern matching and set collection game - was born!
This time around, my process was definitely much more efficient. It was also a new learning experience to be restricted by components instead of theme. Even though the game didn't place, designing a small game with specific parameters was a really fun experience!
We also submitted the game to the 2024 Cardboard Edison Contest, which is such a great competition with extremely constructive feedback from the judges! Again, we didn't place but we were so happy to have gotten really positive, helpful feedback and also scored a 6.5/7.0 for originality of mechanics! We're very excited to be moving in the right direction with this game so more to come on this front!