The Misplay

Try not to let the clickbait title fool you—we’re definitely not in panic mode. Nope. Not even close. Couldn’t be further from panicking. Not us. Never ever. Instead, we’re diving into Tuckman’s Group Theory and breaking down how our team is formin’, stormin’, normin’, and performin’. See? Totally chill. No panic here.

We pitch fresh themes for "Succession", reimagining the game’s world and setting to create new dynamics and depth. From the political landscapes to gang wars to dating games, we're on a mission to find a theme to build mechanics that match.

We recap each board game pitch from our team and put them to the test in a round of 'Hit or Miss.' Join us to find out which ideas scored big and which ones are still in the prototype phase.

We realized we need way more game ideas, so we hit the reset button! The team is hard at work crafting pitches that we’ll dive into on the next show. Mark walks us through a pitch example for "Climb On", a climbing game where players race to the top.

We dive into Nightmare Smashers, a game where bluffing is the key to victory. Jason, who still hesitates to call himself a game designer, walks us through the game he helped create, along with contributions from the Misplay team. We're also testing out Mark Katz's 7 Step Playtest Protocol to see how it holds up in action.

'The Notes' because it's a more concise alternative to Mark Katz's Easy-to-Remember Seven-Step Design Protocol. We talk about and apply the easy to remember steps to Jason's version of Nightmare Smashers.

We revisit The Misplay as The Misplay Inc., a company. Our focus is on defining our mission statement and goals, and on creating the systems within the company to achieve them. And, of course, we’re throwing out more buzzwords!

Peter, Mark, and Jason each pitch their unique spin on "Nightmare Smasher," a game concept that could be a dark atmosphere horror game or wacky family-friendly card game. Tune in to see if one of the pitches resonates with you.

In this live episode, we broadcast from the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium at Gen Con 2024. We share our awe at the massive crowds and the incredible selection of games. This experience makes us question our readiness to create our own game.

We talk about our plans for attending Gen Con next week. You know, Gen Con, the General Managers convention. We share our goals, our schedule, and what we're hoping to take away from "the best four days in gaming."