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For your information, I love pirates with all my Heart-ies!! I really like the look of British vs Pirates and I just had to reach out to Apollo Randall, the designer, to find out more about this project and the man behind it.
Below you will see how conversation went and who knows you may find some information that’s worth its weight in gold…
Hey Apollo can you tell my readers a bit about yourself and how you came to be a board game designer?
Thank you Martyn for taking the time to chat with me. Here we go, about me huh. I live on the sunny California coast, temperatures tend to range from 70 degrees Fahrenheit to perfect throughout the year. It is fairly close to paradise here; however I would like to give Florida a shot. There is a lot more history especially on the topic of Pirates there, some day.
Aside from board games I do a lot of photo shoot's for "models" in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I like to think I am fairly good at it. And, I've spent eight years in the Army Reserves, seven of which honing my war gaming skills.
What is British Vs Pirates, and what was the journey of making this game?
British vs Pirates has been one heck of a journey. To be accurate, I started making this game when I was 10 (24 years ago), with cardboard cut-outs and drawings of little pirate ships on one side and a sunken ship on the other. What is even more amazing is my mom found one of my early renditions of the game in a crusty old box in the attic.
As I aged I realised that being a big kid is far more fun because I can buy better arts and craft supplies to make a proper game. I started doing that and the current version of British Vs Pirates began as a game for my nephew and I to play in 2010. In 2012 a co-worker told me about Kickstarter and that I should see if there is a market for British vs Pirates.
Roughly five years in the works and endless nights sitting in front of the computer applying game mechanics, balancing stats and finding the right illustrator, I finally did it. To this day I thank my friend for telling me about Kickstarter! Thank you SGT Mardones.
The kickstarter made a healthy $55,000. What do you put this success down to?
Raising 55k on Kickstarter for a first-time creator is fairly impressive if I may say so my self.
I am very proud of my achievement but must acknowledge James Mathe and his endless supply of knowledge he shells out on his Facebook groups. If you are a game designer, read up on James Mathe. Just do it. Do research.
Many "board game industry folks" suggest that first time creators start with a small game. I definitely agree however I didn't start small.
I swung for the fences with a high price point, awesome miniatures and a lot of components board game and It worked out. I did a lot of research on game design, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and the countless other things.
All of it is paramount to be successful and I did my homework. I am still learning and I am grateful to be a small fish in the pond but I will continue to put forth great effort to do more, do better and create great games for future backers.
I noticed that you were very active in the comments section with the backers. This is an area I really like to see the designer and publisher commit to, were you aware of the importance this can have on a project?
I had no clue how much of an impact the comment section would have. Perhaps it was/is, that I am so genuinely excited about my own game it comes intuitively to answer every single question backers ask. It is not a chore, It is awesome. Even if it is the same question is asked five times, I love it. British Vs Pirates backers I am looking at you, you're awesome!
So, since the Kickstarter has ended what has been going on behind the scenes?
Since we've wrapped up on Kickstarter it has been incredibly boring. *Chuckles* I mean really what is there to say? I have been working with the manufacture to make sure the cards, file size and format are correct.
It is not that compelling. It is a lot of boring but necessary work. Fortunately I am proficient with Photoshop and graphic design I do most of this myself. So, everything is on schedule for us to beat or December 2017 delivery date.
What future ideas do you have for this game and your future?
Future plans! Here we go, British vs Pirates Volume 2! Yes, we can all thank my wife for naming the game.
However Vol 2 will incorporate three new factions. France, Buccaneers and the Add On faction, SSA (South Sea Alliance) - Think Sao Feng from Pirates of the Caribbean.
We have some new ship miniatures in this one and so much more. I am actually working on Vol 2 Skill Cards after this interview.
Can you give our readers any exclusive information you may be holding on to?
Exclusive info? Sure why not. Check out this render photo. A Buccaneer only miniature ship, the "Carrack". I haven't shared any of the new miniatures so you're the first to see this. It is one of five new miniatures we will have in Vol 2. I am very excited for the added flavour these factions will bring to the British vs Pirates world so stay tuned for that Kickstarter date.
Thank you for the interview Martyn. For your readers If you would like to stay up to date with everything BvP check out our Facebook page! Additionally, we are still taking late backers for a short time, go to our kickstarter page and click on the Late Backer button. Thanks again I really appreciate it!
I would like to thank Apollo for this interview. Not only did he share great details on his game but also gave great advice to aspiring game designers. Go check out his game on Kickstarter and keep your eyes peeled for Volume 2 coming soon.