Episode 16: Today's episode features an interview with Jeff Chen, the creator of the new game Squeezy, discussing his journey in creating the game, his experience in puzzle making and writing, including the challenges and successes. Jeff also shares his writing experience and the upcoming puzzle book collaboration with Stuart Gibbs. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, listening to feedback, and living with frustration for aspiring game creators.

Check out the games and resources from this episode:

https://imsqueezy.com/
https://www.jeffchenwrites.com/
https://www.xwordinfo.com/
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• (00:00) - The Journey of a Game Developer: From Ideas to Reality

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 15: In today's episode features an interview with Jeff Widderich, the president of Syndicated Puzzles, who discusses his background, experience on Dragon's Den, game creation, the challenges faced in the puzzle industry, and the future of game design. Widderich shares insights on the importance of spatial thinking, the necessity for new and innovative puzzles, the competitive nature of puzzles, and the potential for multi-solution puzzles. He emphasizes the need for game designers to remain independent and the significance of creativity in puzzle design. Additionally, he addresses the influence of trends, the struggle to break through in the game industry, and his perspectives on the Sudoku industry. Widderich also discusses geographic influences on his business and expresses his desire for new energy and innovation in the puzzle market.

Check out the games and resources from this episode:

http://syndicatedpuzzles.com/
https://www.str8ts.com/
https://sudokuwiki.org/

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• (00:00) - The Art of Negotiation and Podcast Introduction

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

Today we're excited to sit down with Richard Mann, the CEO and founder of Nerdle, a math game similar to Wordle. Richard discusses the development of Nerdle, the challenges of creating math games that are fun for kids, the game's advertising model, the launch of a new game called 2D Nerdle, and the importance of user feedback.

We also dive into how Nerdle is run as a family operation, and why many of the ideas for the game happen over dinner.

Check out Richard's website:

https://nerdlegame.com/
https://www.leaderboardle.com/
https://x.com/nerdlegame

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• (02:02) - Introducing Richard Mann, the CEO and Founder of Nerdle

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

We're back with Joseph, Nate, and Aaron! They discuss the past 12 episodes of the podcasts, what stood out from our conversations, how game creators earn a living from their games, and the differences between creators.

The conversation ends with reflections on the progress of their business, Hey Good Game, and its growth strategy in buying and building games.

Check out Hey GG's games and links:

https://www.hey.gg/

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• (00:00) - Introduction and Podcast Improvements

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

Lil Snack is a new daily game platform created by Eric Berman and Travis Chen. They talk about their approach to creating a new game every day with the desire to be an app recommended by friends in text messages. They credit AI for their ability to be nimble, noting that the technology helps with the middle part of their creative process such as research and creating the specific puzzle format. The conversation reveals the journey of Eric and Travis from building games to launching Lilsnack and highlights various aspects of their startup like maintaining low friction in game access, leveraging ephemeral gaming experiences, incorporating user feedback, and their strategy for monetization.

Check out Lil Snack's games and links:

www.lilsnack.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilsnackdaily/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilsnackdaily

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• (00:00) - Introduction and Overview

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

Our recent chat with the creators of ChessWorld pushes the edges on what you might know about correspondence-style Chess as a game. Tryfon (aka Kingscrusher) and his brother Nick share how maintaining ChessWorld allows them to pursue a passion for playing chess while also earning a living.  They talk about how Tryfon’s enjoyment of chess guided the development of the platform, his approach to running Chessworld.net on an ad-free, subscription-based model, and how his experiences in online gaming have influenced his strategies and learning in chess.

Check out Tryfon's Website and Socials:

Chessworld.net
Youtube: https://youtube.com/kingscrusher
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/kingscrusher
Challenge me for a game: https://kingscrusher.tv

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Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

Join us as we delve into Jim Bumgardner's fascinating odyssey within the realms of coding and brainteasers. We explore his profound insights on the convergence of computers, music, and puzzle creation, alongside his clever utilization of Foursquare's capabilities which paved the way for his brainchild—the acclaimed puzzle hub—KrazyDad. Our chat also touches upon his confidence in AI's revolutionary impact across sectors, reflections on past revenue models via advertising, and the aspiration to draft a definitive guide on crafting puzzles. Amid the depth, we find moments of levity with tributes to "Star Battle" puzzles and entertaining tales from Jim's adventures in the music world.

Check out Jim's Website:

https://krazydad.com/
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Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

The Wiki Game is a fun, web-based game that connects two random Wikipedia article links. Alex shares his journey of how he started out, using concepts like six degrees of separation to create a game involving Wikipedia articles, and how it has steadily grown over the years to around 60,000 - 80,000 unique users a month. Despite challenges like hacking incidents and handling various user complaints, for Alex, the game remains a labor of love. He also talks about his ideas for the future of the game — a freemium model targeting larger private groups, the forthcoming launch of version 3, and how he has resisted using ads to fund the project.

Play The Wiki Game:

www.thewikigame.com

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• (00:00) - Intro

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

In this episode, hosts Aaron Kardell and Joseph Rueter of the 'Hey, Good Game' podcast sit down with game developer Sven Neumann. They discuss the creation and development of Sven's SudokuPad, used by Cracking the Cryptic, his early interest in technology and gaming, as well as his vision for the platform's future. Neumann also discusses the considerations of building a social platform for Sudoku, which would include features like subscribing to channels and categorizing puzzles.

Play Sven's Games:

Sven's SudokuPad

Sven's Website

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• (00:00) - Intro

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

You’d be surprised how a well-established corporate worker like Abe Train started creating games for a living! From big-name companies like Tesla, General Motors and Hello Fresh, to creating his own brand and entering a niche that he loves, Abe has a great story to share behind his success.

This is how a corporate worker traded his stable life to venture out into the industry of game development and created the hit game, Globle.

Nate Kadlac (https://twitter.com/kadlac) and Aaron Kardell (https://twitter.com/akardell) chat with Abe Train from Trainwreck Labs, the creator of popular online games including Globle and Globle Capitals. 

 
Play Abe's Games:

https://trainwrecklabs.com/

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• (00:00) - Intro

Check out our brainy games:

Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com