Category: Interviews, News

Jackson Pope is the person behind the board games publishing company Reiver Games. Reiver Games started in 2006 by publishing a couple of DYI board games in small runs. In 2008 Mr Pope quit his job to publish board games as a full-time job. Until this day Reiver Games has published four games (Borfer Reivers, Carpe Astra, It’s Alive, Sumeria).

Info:
Jackson Pope blog
Reiver Games
Boardgamegeek Reiver Games

CB: Tell us a little bit about you self. How you end up quitting your job to start Reiver Games?
JP: I trained as a computer programmer, and had spent many years making bits of computer games in my spare time. The problem was computer games were turning into such huge projects involving so many people that what I could knock up in my spare time was a tiny part of a computer game. I was also a keen tabletop gamer, and so after playing a game that lasted a whole weekend I figured I could create a board game from start to finish, and make one that played in an hour or so – not a whole weekend. That spark of an idea turned into Border Reivers, my first game, over a period of several years. Once I’d finished Border Reivers, I put it in a box on my shelf for a couple of years before finally getting the impetus to manufacture and sell it. I made Border Reivers almost entirely by hand, each copy taking three hours to assemble. I made one hundred copies and sold them all across the world in eleven months. During that year Yehuda Berlinger approached me with a game that would eventually become It’s Alive! I liked the game (though I changed the theme to building Frankenstein’s monster), so I made 300 of those by hand the next year. These also sold out within a year, at which point I decided it would be worth trying to do this professionally.

CB: Tell us about the process of designing a game.
JP: I don’t actually do a huge amount of design any more, mostly just testing the ideas that have been submitted to me by other designers. Designing a game is definitely an iterative process. You have an idea, try it out and it doesn’t work. So you change a few things, try it again and it still doesn’t work – but it’s slightly better. So you change a few more things, this time it’s worse. You carry on like this for a long time, slowly getting to the point where you have a game that is fun to play and an interesting challenge. Then it needs proper playtesting and feedback from other gamers.

CB: How long does it take you to develop the first version of a game?
JP:The very first version can be very quick. Knock up a few components very quickly with pen and paper. It won’t work, but it will give you some ideas to try out next. To get to a ‘finished’ product can be anything from several months to several years work, depending upon the complexity of the game.

CB: What’s the most difficult part in the design process?
JP: Stopping! When you work on a design you keep making these incremental changes that affect the game. At the beginning those changes are huge and can break or fix the game. Later on the changes get smaller and smaller as you near a finished game. Each change will please some people and upset others. When do you draw the line and say this game is finished? It’s a difficult call.                                      

CB: Who play tests your game designs? And how important is the play testing process?
JP: It’s a mixture of people. Initially I play test with a bunch of friends who are keen gamers. Once I’ve got a good feeling about a game I send it off to a bunch of gamers around the world, most of whom I’ve never met. This way you get good feedback without any personal bias. Play testing is the most important stage, it will help you find problems with the game, inconsistencies and holes in the rulebook and give you an idea how popular the game will be.

CB: Have you ever scrapped a game after play testing?
JP: Yes! Several times. A lot of the submissions I receive from other designers I pass on, but some of my own designs I’ve scrapped or put on semi-permanent hold.

CB: I read on your blog that you are willing to publish games from other authors.
a) Are you covering all the expenses of the production?
b) Does the author get paid for his game?
JP: Yes & yes! As a publisher I only publish games that I really like and I’m convinced will do well. Sure I’ll get it wrong some times, but that can’t be helped. I choose which games I want to publish, them choose an artist and get the manufacturing done. I fund all of this and pay the design a royalty based on the sales I make. If the game doesn’t sell well I lose a lot of money and the designer doesn’t make much, but the designer is never out of pocket

CB: You have already published 4 games (Border Reivers, It’s Alive, Carpe Astra, Sumeria). What is the feedback you received so far?
JP: When I play my games face-to-face with people at clubs and conventions feedback is generally very good. The majority of online feedback has been positive too, but as always there are some detractors

CB: What’s your opinion about Board game geek? Do you think that actually helps publishers & designers to promote their games?
JP: Without BGG I’d never have started my company or sold out of my first two runs. It’s been an invaluable resource for me to promote my games.

CB: From your perspective, what’s the status of board games today?
JP: I think it’s enjoying a renaissance in the UK and US, and probably plateauing in Germany. I think the wealth of great games coming out each year is a great thing for the industry, and I hope board gaming as a hobby will continue to grow in English-speaking markets.

CB: What can we expect from Reiver Games in the future?JP: I’m hoping to release two more games next year, and then go from strength to strength! Of course, being a fledging company I’m still in the early days, so I’m still very susceptible to picking a dud game or not getting enough return on my investment. Hopefully things will continue to do well…

CB: What are some of your favorite games, other than your own designs?
JP: My favorite game is Carcassonne – so simple and quick and yet great fun and challenging against a good opponent. I also love Puerto Rico, Battlestar Galactica, PitchCar and Race for the Galaxy – all great games.

CB: Thank you very much for your time.
JP: No problem – thanks for interviewing me

Interview by -manoc-

An Interview with Jackson Pope (Reiver Games), 7.2 out of 10 based on 5 ratings

About the Author: CnB