MassGammon, the interview
Can you give us a small description of MassGammon?
MassGammon is a risk/reward strategic dexterity game based on physics & math. I like to think of it as a mixture of a sport and a boardgame. A player has to figure out and choose which move to make but then has to use their dexterity skill to execute the manoeuver.
It is not common to see an abstract game getting success in prototype contests. How do you explain this success?
It could be because you see a plethora of card-based strategy games
being invented on a daily basis for many years now. They are all strictly an exercise of the mind with a change in the theme from game to game to excite the imagination. MassGammon brings physicality along with strategy to boardgaming which is a breath of fresh air to the boardgaming world IMHO.
What were your creation process for this game and how did you come with the innovative way of building it (3D printing, high precision calibration..)?
It all started about 5 years ago at the Just For Laughs Festival.
There was a 4’ dia. wood disc balanced on a road cone and softball.
You simply had to place randomly sized wood blocks onto the disc without it falling over. It was fun and scary at the same time but it was all guess-work and intuition. I wanted to downsize it to a tabletop game, add more to the requirement of skill and add a calculated risk to the strategy. After many tests and versions I created game pieces called “Stacktoids” that have specific weight, size and friction…a game board with a specific weight, size and friction along with a printed scale of torque and graphically defined risk/reward zones. If any of those specific characteristics are changed the game will not play as well as it does today.
Custom made weights can be bought but would be far too expensive for a boardgame. In order to get the idea out of my head and onto a tabletop I had to buy and learn how to use a 3D printer. It was the only way of economically making pieces that could be accurately calibrated to the specific weights needed. I weigh each piece and fill them with standard off-the-shelf metal pieces to get the accuracy needed to within .05 gm. It’s tedious work but I don’t cost too much. lol
For now, you and Joanne Collar are creating all the boxes for the designer edition but what do you see for the future of MassGammon?
By attending Boardgame Conventions and Events, I hope to get MassGammon noticed by the boardgame industry so as to either licence it to a publisher or get funding to mass produce in high enough quantities to be able to economically put it on the shelves of toy stores and game shops. In the meantime Joanne and I will continue craftingMassGammon games so we can sell to individuals, give them to Boardgame Bistros and “gig” the game at various events. I hope to organize a MassGammon Tournament once it gains some public awareness and earns some boardgame “Street Cred”.
Finally, you told me on the phone that the jury at the Plateau d’Or gave you some advice to improve your game. Would you be kind enough to share it with us or is it top secret?
The version of MassGammon that was entered at last year’s Plateau d’Or had two tiers of weights…light 1,2 & 3’s and heavy 1,2 & 3’s along with the 4,5 & 6 weights. There were bonus & penalty cards and the game board was unforgiving for players with limited dexterity. It was complicated and a tough game to play. The knowledgeable and patient jury recommended to “let the players just play and make it easier to win”.
The current version is without cards and 2-tiered weights. The maximum tilt of the game board has been increased which adds intensity without adding difficulty and players are enabled to play more pieces during one turn.
Thanks a lot Herb and see you at the next Proto Zone day.
