Designer Oussama Khelifati on the origins of Duck & Cover – and the power of a fun theme

Oussama, it’s great to connect. Before we dive into Duck & Cover, can I ask what set you on a path into designing games?
Hi, it’s nice to connect! Well, I’ve been designing games for five or six years now – and it all started with a dream of my girlfriend! About six months earlier I had discovered the new era of board games… Titles like 7 Wonders, Kingdomino, Five Tribes… One morning, my girlfriend woke up and told me she had a dream about finding a lost temple in the forest – something like that! I told her it was a great idea for a board game – so I designed it!

Amazing! And did that idea go anywhere?
No! It wasn’t very good! But I continued with that idea, and then with another one, and another one, and another – and here we are!

Here we are! Now, I found Duck & Cover at Essen and think it’s terrific. How did the idea come about? Another dream?
Ha! I don’t know where the exact spark for the idea came from, but I know it has a link with mountain goats.

Ha! Dreams, mountain goats – I’m enjoying this!
I know it sounds weird! My first goal was to do a push your luck game with the lightest possible rule. Even adding dice was something I didn’t want to… So that was the starting point, and my first prototype was playable in the next 10 minutes.

Wow!
I asked my friend right at that moment to come play it. He say: “Yeah, why not”. The game didn’t work at that moment, but I knew I had something and it evolved quickly, in one day or two.

My next step was asking Gaetan Beaujannot from Forgenext – the board game agency I am with – to come and test it with me online. He felt the same as me; that it was good, even though it wasn’t finished. Then I continued to test it and change it and the more I did that the more people thought it was good!

We’ve included the short rules video there so people can get familiar with the game and how it plays, but did it evolve much during development?
The game changed lots during different stages development. If you saw the early prototype and the final product, it might feel like there were no changes – or just a little bit – but even the smallest changes had a major impact on the feeling of the game. I am really happy about the process. It was exciting to see how every small change affected the game

There are genuine thrills – and peril – in hearing people quack in this game! Especially as more and more cards head to the discard pile. Theme-wise, was it always ducks?
Actually, at first there was no theme! I included a random mountains image I found on internet, but the game was totally abstract. The duck idea came from Captain Games and it was a really smooth idea – it fits perfectly. Especially the “quack”! It brings the game into a space where it belongs – a party-game. If you try to make it something of a clever game, you can – but you will miss a big part of fun of the game.

Agreed – and kudos to Captain Games! What made them a good fit for Duck & Cover?
Captain Games were the perfect choice for Duck & Cover for many reasons but one in particular – the capacity to ensure the game is played by many! I am quite confident the game is cool, but it needs to be played for that to come across. If you just listen to the pitch, you might say : “Hmmm, yeah no thanks”… If you play it, then you feel the emotions!

Absolutely.
In discussions with Gaetan, my agent, and other game designers from the agency – like Olivier Civière, designer of Vaalbara, or Bernard Cabarrou, designer of Discat – everybody came to the same conclusions… The game needs to be played, a lot. It needs a big push and Captain Games have managed to get many people playing it – at festivals, special events… That’s why they are the perfect publisher for Duck & Cover.

Your previous game – the excellent Pengo Jump – featured penguins… This features ducks… Are you drawn to concepts that involved animals with beaks!? Or has this come about by chance?
Ha, nice question! If I can’t wear a costume at a convention, I won’t make the game!

Ha! You and team did go to town with the ‘duckwear’ at Essen.
We did! But seriously, I don’t know why but I love these kinds of themes… Animals, weird stuff… I talk with publishers about themes, but I’m not difficult. If they have a great idea, I will follow it.

What helps you have ideas for games? What fuels your creativity?
My creativity comes by playing games. I love to play everything… Small games, big games, Eurogames, light party games, goofy fun ones… The more I play, the more I have ideas to make something different. And after that, I need to do something totally different, to get my mind away from thinking about board games… Sports, cooking, manual work.

I have one last question Oussama – what kills creativity for you?
Pushing an idea in a bad way. By that I mean keeping the same idea without being open to change… Or staying alone and not listening to other people’s thoughts on the game.

Good advice. Thanks again – and congrats again on Duck & Cover!
Thank you so much for your interest about me and your love for the game. I really appreciate it. Hope to see you soon to chat and maybe share a Duck-in Donuts.

We did well to get as far as we did without a duck pun! Thanks Oussama.

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