James Emmerson, Adam Hocherman and Tristam Rossin on what to expect from Wayfarer Games

Guys, it’s great to catch up. Wayfarer Games’ first title is coming to Kickstarter next Tuesday. Before we dive into the origins of this new studio, I wanted to ask about your path into the board game space. James, let’s start with you. How did you get into it?
James Emmerson: I’ve been designing games for four or five years. My first release was Tranquility with Board Game Hub, which got picked up by Lucky Duck. It was nominated for the 2023 A la Carte award and it’s done really well. I worked with Tris on that too – he did all the illustrations. That’s how I met Tris, in fact. I then did a sequel to Tranquility and that’s also been picked up by Lucky Duck; it should launch later this year.

So with a couple of successes under our belt, Tris and I got together and did a print-and-play game, called A Wayfarer’s Tale. That was really successful and was named runner up for “Print-and-Play of the Year” at the Golden Geek Awards.

Great. And Tris, how did you find your way into board game illustration?
Tristam Rossin: Completely by fluke! I’ve always worked as an illustrator and graphic designer. My last job out in the real world was as Head of Marketing Design for an education company. My background is in illustration and graphic design within the education industry. It segued beautifully into board game design because it’s all about getting the right information across in a visual manner – exactly what games need to do too.

I was made redundant seven years ago and spent some time in the wilderness thinking about what to do next … At the same time, I was illustrating a children’s book called Pebble Rock: Delivery Service. That was in danger of going nowhere, and one day my daughter had started playing a game using the illustrations. That was the epiphany! Why not turn this book into a board game?

And you did?
Tristam: I did! And it garnered lots of interest online, until Skybound Games reached out and a year later it was published. Since then, I’ve worked on 30 or so published games. I wake up in the morning and design worlds for people – I’m a happy boy!

Understandably so! And Adam, I’ll include a link to our last conversation here, but can you talk us through the past year or so and how you came to connect with Tris and James?
Adam Hocherman: Absolutely. In my previous work as head of product at Fat Brain Toys, I enlisted Tris on a couple of board game projects. We didn’t know each other at the time, but we worked really well together. This was back at the end of 2022. At that time, Tris and James – who I did not know at all – were launching the original print-and-play A Wayfarer’s Tale and I backed it. I play a lot of games, I back a lot of Kickstarters and I wanted to support Tris.

I printed the game out at home, and we played it quite a bit – to the point that I laminated it! I travel a lot for work and I came home from a trip one day and discovered that – independent of me – my wife and children had been playing A Wayfarer’s Tale. It’s a very unique and visually appealing game but this was a special indication to me that something exciting was happening here. We have a lot of alternative games to choose from in my household, as you may imagine!

So, fast-forward one year and I was thinking about what I’d like to do next with my career – I wanted to enter deeper into the strategy games space, which is where my passion is. I reached out to Tris to enquire about licensing A Wayfarer’s Tale – I was really impressed with the game, and I had the skillset required to bring it to market as a physical title. Tris then told me about a broader vision that he and James had discussed… He said: “I have a better idea. Why don’t we start a games studio and the three of us can launch it together?”

Amazing! Was there anything about the combination of skill sets between you three that also made this an easy ‘yes’?
Adam: Absolutely. It’s a perfect circle of skill sets and interests when it comes to designing, producing and publishing games. The full set of skills required are honestly hard to find across only three people, so it makes for an efficient machine – also critical in a highly competitive space.

For anyone new to A Wayfarer’s Tale, how did the game come about?
James: It’s Tris’ fault really! Tris had moved into the world of print-and-play games, and he’d asked for submissions. I saw his post and started thinking about creating something, and he also messaged me directly, asking me to design something.

Tris: There was also a loose brief for it to focus on exploring lands.

James: Yes, and I find it easier to work with those kinds of constraints so that was helpful. So, I was at my gran’s house thinking about the game, and within two days I had mapped out the foundation of A Wayfarer’s Tale.

Two days! Designers everywhere will be flocking to your gran’s house to finish their games! And how would you pitch the game?
James: If you’ve played Ganz Schön Clever, where there are different places to write your dice values, it borrows from that concept – but each of those places is a character. And each character lets you traverse a map. It’s a combination of playing these mini-games, while traversing the map as efficiently as possible. It’s a mash-up of route-building, optimization, and dice rolling.

Adam: Right, this game has two separate and distinct components. There’s the map and then the characters – or companions, as we call them – and you really have to combine the two. It’s a very interesting take on a roll-and-write that feels fresh and different.

And Tris, what guided you to design the world and the look of the game in this way?
Tristam: I always start with an emotional response. The whole idea of going on a journey and engaging with characters that help you on your way … That threw me back to The Goonies and reference points like that. Some characters look like they’ve been plucked out of the 1800s, others fit the 1500s. It’s a real steampunk mix of genres that complement each other as a whole.

For me, as a designer, there’s nothing worse than pigeonholing something in a specific era. I like to keep things open-ended and have that freedom.

How indicative is A Wayfarer’s Tale of the types of games your studio will be publishing further down the line?
James: I’d like to do more games in the Wayfarer’s world. Beyond that, we’re looking to do more in the family strategy games market. All three of us have experience in that space. Within that, we’re very open.

Tristam: I completely agree. We’re starting with an IP we want to continue with.

Adam: I’ve always been impressed by studios that stay really focused – take Gamelyn Games’s Tiny Epic series. “Tiny” is the hook and the games are consistent for the audience they target. Our new version of A Wayfarer’s Tale is positioned as a big box game with a roll-and-write engine. We might make a run of games that work along those lines or simply focus on the audience we have and try to bring other interesting, similar-weight, highly thematic titles to that audience.

One idea that we’ve been kicking around is to do smaller, spin-off titles for each of the main characters in this game. For example, James already has a working prototype of a game we’re currently calling The Merchant’s Tale – the Merchant being one of the five main companions in our new title.

How do you walk that tightrope of crafting an accessible family game that also boasts some strategic depth?
Tristam: From a visual perspective, it comes down to that emotional approach. All the pieces should feel right and feel approachable.

James: From a games design point of view, my secret is that I always playtest with my mum. She’s my chief developer! I’ll know when I’m pushing the weight of a game too far because she won’t be happy about it. She’s not into heavy euros or massive civ builders. She likes what she likes, and she’s a great test for how approachable a concept is. At the same time, I need to be enjoying myself. And I’m a little bit more seriously into games, so if we’re both engaged and finding it interesting, then we’re onto a good thing.

Tristam: That’s so sweet!

James: It’s true! I don’t make anything without her.

Designers from across the land will be sending your mum prototypes from now on! Guys, before we start to wrap up, I have a few final questions. There’s a lot of games being published at the moment. As a new studio, how do you approach getting eyeballs on A Wayfarer’s Tale?
Adam: It’s not the easiest thing to do. In the Gen Con/Kickstarter universe, it feels like the more complex your game is, the more successful it tends to be. When you dial it down a little to unlock a broader audience there are some challenges there.

With A Wayfarer’s Tale: The Journey Begins, we’ve got a clever game with a lot of replayability, and we’re trying to open this game up to an audience of gamer families. The demographic that grew up with Catan now has children of their own and there’s a sweet spot in terms of crafting games with that audience in mind. It would almost be easier to do a big heavy game with lots of miniatures, but we enjoy the space we’re catering to and will make it our focus.

James: The games world is getting bigger and bigger. Suddenly, people like my mum are playing games on a regular basis. It’s a crowded market, but if you get it right with an accessible ‘family+’ title like Flamme Rouge or Azul or Kingdomino, a game can explode. And that’s the space we’re looking to play in.

This all sound amazing. What’s the schedule for launch and where can readers learn more?
Adam: Our Kickstarter for A Wayfarer’s Tale: The Journey Begins, will go live on September 10th, which is Tuesday of next week. In the meantime you can learn more about the game at www.wayfarergames.co where you can join our mailing list and get a taste of our offering by downloading a free PDF copy of A Wayfarer’s Tale: The Lonely Isle – a lite print-and-play “taster”.

Alternatively, if you are already on Kickstarter and wish to skip a step, please sign up for the launch reminder and we’ll see you on September 10th!

Guys, this has been fun. Thanks again and congrats on the launch of Wayfarer Games!

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