USD ($)
EUR (€)
1. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way: Zombies are coming up the street. You have no choice but to abandon your home. Which five items do you take, and why?
Torch – need to see in the dark with lack of lighting around, helps to navigate tricky dark passages without accidently running into Zombies.
Katana – sharp and easy to maneuver for killing hordes of Zombies.
Knife – for combat in limited spaces, good for melee kills.
Flint – for creating a fire to keep warm in the winter months and for food prep.
Pan – for water, food, but also to use a blunt weapon.
2. Give us some background. Is this your first board game? If so, what did you do before this?
I like to put as this is my first board game that has made it this far. I have some other projects in the pipeline, but I chose this game as my first as I love survival games and wanted this to be the first in the works.
In my day job I currently work as a sports therapist in a sixth form and football club, which I have done for the past 16 years since leaving Uni. I love the job that I do, but I also love gaming.
3. What's the first board game you remember playing? And what's the first one you fell in love with, and why?
The first board game I can remember playing was Payday. My mum’s side of the family are Dutch, and when they came over to visit, it was one of the games that we all played together, and it still brings back good memories.
I only started playing (more strategic) board games around 8 years ago, and when I started, the one that got me hooked was Catan. Me and my gaming group played it that much that we wore out the cards.
4. Who’s on the team? How well does the team interweave together?
It’s just me on the team at the moment, although I have had family in to test the game, share and post things on socials for me plus other administrative tasks. I also need to give a mention to Geeky Meeples UK as they have helped with the printing of components for other games I have in the pipeline and for their advice when playtesting the game countless times.
5. How long has it taken to develop Survive Alive? Did development fit comfortably into your daily life?
It has taken 3 years so far. I have managed to just about fit this in, but at the expense of missing certain family trips, days out and daughters dance shows etc. I regularly playtest at two venues, both Leeds and Sheffield every month and with my gaming group.
6. Now, I’ve said this before, Survive Alive puts me in mind of a draw and write version of State of Decay, but what’s the main inspiration behind Survive Alive? Which board games it’s similar to? What kind of gamer would you recommend Survive Alive to?
So, my inspiration came from a dream about defending a base. The dream did have military as its theme. However, I didn’t want to use the military theme just in case of any politics etc that may arise.
Therefore, I chose a post-apocalyptic theme, which I know there’s a lot in this Genre, however, the type of game I have created I feel is different to anything out there. I got other inspiration from State of Decay, which you can probably tell by the base map.
Also, I drew some inspiration from Hadrian’s wall, when you build certain things, you get extra resources and the direction of where the attacks and their strength come from.
I would recommend Survive Alive to anyone who loves tower defence style, survival themed resource management board games.
7. Have there been any major hiccups during development, and if so how were they overcome? How has playtesting helped in this area?
I wouldn’t say I’ve had any major hiccups during development, but there have been certain areas where I’ve spent money that I could have saved if I wasn’t too eager to get the game out.
I’ve been trying to come up with a lot of different ideas to grow the community and paid for certain things I’ve never used.
Playtesting has been an unbelievable experience and so key to getting my game out. Like I said previously, I regularly playtest at Leeds and Sheffield venues, but I have also play tested up and down the country to get different ideas from different groups to try make the best game possible. The game wouldn’t be where it is today without playtesting, hence why I have credited every play tester in the rulebook.
8. Which is your favourite mechanic within the game?
My favourite mechanic has to be going scavenging. I like scavenging in real life (although not to the extent of killing Zeds). I like finding things that I can re-purpose. Also, with scavenging in the game there’s no way you can peak to have a look at the strength or the reward, so it’s a total mystery as to what you may get.
9. This is becoming a bit of a hot topic. What’s your thoughts on AI in game design? This doesn’t apply directly to your game as you have an artist with a distinct human style, but there are games out there which are heading to crowdfunding that seem to rely on it heavily. Is there room for AI in game design? Is there a limit to its acceptable use?
I think there maybe a place for AI, such as placeholder art whilst developing the game. But I do feel it is important to support the industry and with some great artists out there like Steel Pheonix Studios make it worth paying for the look it gives to the game.
There possibly may be a place for AI, if legalities can be solved. But at the minute I feel working with humans is a little better to get the exact detail that you are after.
10. Survive Alive is a competitive game. Was this borne out of the apocolyptic theme, or was it always your intention to go competitive over cooperative?
It was always the intention to go competitive. I do like coop games, but more with a campaign such as roll player adventures and LOTR middle earth. When playtesting the game, there was defiantly more of people wanting a competitive experience, so we kept it that way.
We have introduced some solo/coop scenarios for those who would like to work together to defend a base as I feel having a few elements, coop and competitive in any game caters to a lot more gamers.
11. What do you play in your spare time between sessions?
At the minute, I have been playing Nucleum solo. However, I meet up every week with my gaming group and over the last few weeks we have played Merlin, Concordia, Mystic Vale, dice miners and a few others.
12. Which one game do you wish you'd designed yourself?
Brass or Terra Mystica. Both are fantastic games that I enjoy playing time after time. And having a look what both games offers, makes me wish I have designed them.
13. What advice would you give to other prospective designers? What advice would you give to yourself after a spot of time traveling?
Prepare to tell yourself that you game isn’t going to be liked by everyone and have strong shoulders to accept criticism and not lash out. Your game will be loved by some, but loathed by others. Focus the game on those who love the game, make super fans out of them so they also shout about the game for you.
14. How has the support been from the board gaming community?
Really good. I am in a lot of the designer Facebook groups such as Board Game Design Lab and crowdfunding nerds, and the feedback you get from posting art, game layouts etc is very helpful.
The UK Indie publisher and designer discord group has been so key to everything not just the game development side, but the business side of things such as shipping, IOSS, VAT etc. So, a big should out to all the designers in that group.
15. How does it feel to finally launch?
Nerve wracking. I have pretty much been ready for 8 months now, but now that the launch date is only 2 weeks ago adds a little stress to make sure I’ve got all the marketing in place, ensuring that I can show the game in the best possible light to get funded.
16. We'll finish on another vital question. Which zombie movie would you use as a survival guide? I would pick the original Dawn of the Dead because it’s a catalogue of what not to do.
Ha, I like that. For me, it would be 28 days later. Hunker down in a big house, booby trap the lawn and only have a close and small community that you can rely on to back you up in the hour of need.
Survive Alive launched on Gamefound on 23rd July, so you still have plenty of time to make a pledge: Survive Alive by Schnarf Games - Gamefound.
You can also find the team on their website right here: Schnarf Games | Survive Alive Board Game It’s worth a look, because there’s an introductory Print and Play version of the game that should sway you towards nabbing yourself a copy of the full game.