Sponsored.  As a developmental studio, Office Dog Games works with community designers to take their games from concept to production, helping bridge the gap between a cool idea and an actual physical game on the market.  That partnership isn't possible without the amazing, creative minds behind the games, and we wanted to take a moment to shine a spotlight on some of the designers behind our beloved games!

Starting off with Crafting the Cosmos, the brand-new nature game that just became available for purchase (read all about it in this article), we have designers David Gordon and TAM.  David and TAM met through a local designer playtesting group in 2019, started designing together in 2020, and have worked on over 25 games together!  Some examples of their other titles include LEGO® Monkey Palace, Floristry (a 2-player game with a dutch auction, published by their new company, UP Games), and Push Push Penguin.  If you'd like to read a full interview with them and hear about some design choices for Crafting the Cosmos, advice for aspiring designers, and the evolution of a game over the course of going from original design to production, you can find that interview here!

Next up, we've got Keith Piggot, designer of River of Gold, a mid-weight Eurogame that has earned a spot as a finalist for the Origin Award in the gateway category!  Keith's concept for the game originally involved going down Route 66 and stopping at diners and service stations, but with the switch to the world of Legend of the Five Rings, he changed the design to immersively fit into that world.  Read a full interview with him here where he talks about implementing feedback from playtesters, bringing the theme and setting to life through mechanics and components, advice for upcoming designers, and more!  Other titles by Keith include Drawn to Adventure and The Great Barrier Reef Card Game.

Bryan Bormueller is the designer behind The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game™ (and also Office Dog's Creative Sourcing and Development Manager, responsible for working with fellow designers to publish great games).  This is his first game on the market as a designer, and he had the tall order of crafting a game for a much-beloved property of which he is a self-described fanboy.  You can find an interview with him here and read his thoughts on second breakfast, advice for designers looking to publish, and "Easter eggs" in the game. While Bryan talks about the challenges of making a trick-taking game feel thematic, the public reception—including making the finalist list in the Origin Awards solo/co-op category—seems to suggest that he succeeded!

Last but not least, we have Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, the designer of Word Traveler!  His other designs include the very popular Decrypto, Islet, and Wayfinders.  For Word Traveler, he drew inspiration from his own experiences traveling and finding himself in an amazing city, but only able to ask for directions through pointing and using precious few phrases in the local language.  Get a glimpse at his travel dreams as well as a Word Traveler-style hint at his favorite spot in his hometown of Montreal here!

A huge thank you to all of our community designers, without whom, none of this would be possible.  We've had a great time bringing these games to fruition, and we look forward to many more to come!

If you have a design and want to work with Office Dog, find details for submissions here.

Click on Gallery below for full-sized images.