Q&A met Mark Chaplin, auteur van o.a. Revolver

[markchaplin]

Hello, everyone!

I send you all greetings from Nottingham, England.
Thank you so much for all these fascinating questions - I will try to answer them in a timely fashion - it is also very flattering that so many of you are interested in my answers.

Okay, so here are some answers:

1 - On what aspect in the Revolver series are you most proud?

1. I'm most proud of the fact that the game became a reality. Starting with a rough prototype constructed on index cards and blank plastic credit cards, and then two years later it went on sale in shops around the world. It was a terrific experience. It continues to be so.

2 - Is there a Revolver 3 in your head?

2. Quite a bit of discussion and planning went into producing a Revolver #3 fixed into a real historical event. The main candidate was a game based on the siege of The Alamo. The idea was to shift the gunfights into an American Civil War setting. As of writing, this project is on hold.

3 - Do you plan to attend upcoming Spiel in Essen?

3. Yes. I look forward to meeting some of you there.

4 - What about a Revolver board game for more than two?

4. This has also been discussed. I'm not sure of the appetite people have for a 4-player Revolver game. If I was to design the game, it would have to play very fast to keep all four players interest peaked, I think.

[markchaplin]

5 - Where did you get your inspiration to do a western based game?

5. I sent White Goblin Games a proposal for about six themes that my game could run with. It was a mutual decision to set the game in the Old West.

6 - If any, what is your favourite western movie?

6. For a Few Dollars More - but it was extremely hard to choose just one.

7 - You've designed games games with many themes. From the Wild West (Revolver) to Science Fiction (Star Wars) and from Jack the Ripper to Persues & Medusa. Which theme(s) do you like most?

7. I really do have a broad spectrum of themes I worship. I prefer games of conflict and war. I prefer science fiction, fantasy, and horror themed games - far above designs about auctioning art or painting frescos or keeping livestock, for instance. But I have been known to enjoy such games.

8 - Do you still have time to play games yourself next to designing the games?

8. Oh yes. I usually try to play other people's games on three occasions over a two week period. I would imagine a designer might go a teeny bit stale (or mad) only playing their own designs. I'm a player of games, first and foremost.

9 What is your favorite food?

9. Sunday roast with all the trimmings.

10 Are you a Full Time designer or do you have other occupations?

10. I work part time. Before I started making games, I was a senior manager for a grocery retailer here in the UK.

11. What do you personally have with the wild west?

11. Do you mean a connection to the Wild West? If so, then only as far as having been a HUGE fan of Western films for 30-odd years.

[RebelMage]

Great choice, For a few dollars more is my favourite too!
Love the chimes in the watch.

Thanks for your answers!

[markchaplin]

More answers:

12 - Are there many characters in Revolver based on real persons?

12. Difficult question to answer. The histories in the rulebooks are 99% fiction, with the smallest smattering of truth. Some of the faces on the cards (maybe 6?) are people I know - Chechu is a terrific artist, and expertly captures the appearance of the real faces he paints.

13 What's your favourite boardgame?

13. Put it this way, if I was stranded on a desert island and could only take one boardgame it would probably be *Command & Colours: Napoleonics* - due to my absolute love of the system (and theme), and the fact it has many different historical scenarios to play.

14. Revolver started out as a print-and-play version with an Aliens theme. Did you drop the Aliens theme because of copyright reasons or did you feel you had more possibilities with a western setting?

14. 'Aliens' as a theme was dropped, as you rightly suggest, because of the cost involved in buying the licence. A space-marine type re-theme was discussed, but because the Wild West is an underdeveloped genre in gaming, it was agreed upon to style it to the gunfights of dirty pistoleros.

15. Did you play magic the gathering in the past, and is Revolver maybe based or inspired by this game?

15. Yes, I played in an immense number of MTG tournaments over many years. I won maybe a dozen or more local tourneys during my Magic 'career'. Magic: The Gathering's influence on card games cannot be understated, and Revolver is no exception to that truth.

16. Do you have any designer whose work you really love in the boardgaming industry?

16. I will give you six I admire a great deal: Richard Borg, Reiner Knizia, Richard Garfield, Corey Konieczka, Martin Wallace, and Andy Chambers.

17. Do you have a ratling gun at home?

17. No, but I have some inert bullets I use as game tokens!

18. Are you a sheriff or a bandit?

18. Bandit. If you mean playing Revolver, then I really don't mind.

19. What is your biggest dream as a game designer?

19. To work on a game based on an established franchise of global cultural significance. This list might include: Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Fighting Fantasy (or Sorcery!), Star Wars, the Alien series (including Prometheus), The Hobbit. Or even a game based on a single film or book: Coraline, Labyrinth, Legend, Blade Runner, and many others.

20. Are you again going to dress-up as an cowboy at the fair in Essen?

20. Not this year. This time I'm wearing a Hawaiian theme!

21. Are there other games in the planning for next year? If yes, can you elaborate on them?

21. Yes. One of them is a 2-player alien invasion game, that if the artwork is as good as it is in my mind's eye, could be spectacular to look at.

[Davio]

28. If you would be around in the old west, what sort of profession would you have, what would be your role in the community?

[Aras]

Hello Mark,

Welcome to our forum.

29) Wil the next game be a boardgame?

[MattiasD]

Hello Mark,

Here are my questions:

30. What is your favorite game published by White Goblin Games?
31. Have you already been able to play some of the new games that White Goblin Games will be releasing at Spiel 2012?
32. How big is your boardgame collection?

Thanks for taking the time to anwer our questions
Mattias

[markchaplin]

More answers:

There are now three question 22s on the forum!

22. What are the biggest differences between both revolvers?

22. The two biggest differences between the games are the Poker tournament you play at the game's beginning, and the fact that most of the game's cards feature either a gunpowder or ammo icon - that means you have to start loosely planning your end-game strategy to utilise them best. Many other differences are discussed in an interview of sorts, here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/1 ... at-malpaso

23. Which one of both do you like most?

23. That's like asking me which child I like best!

24. There are also some small expansions like Revolver 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3. Which differences does every expansion bring to the game?

24. Each of the first four expansions adds a new element, rather than just being a booster pack of deck building cards.

Ambush on Gunshot Trail: Adds an ambush system that allows McReady to place secret ambushes for his opponent.

Hunt the Man Down: Includes a tough Texas prison which holds an old pal of Colty's - it is up to the player if he wants to try and free this desperado. I wanted very much to include a jailbreak in the game, since it was first decided to expand Revolver. Cards used to enhance this aspect are included in #1.3 and #1.4 - 'Pull the bars out with a horse' and 'Double the Guard' are examples of such upcoming cards.

Vengeance on the Frontier: Adds a new *Frontier* deck to the game. Both players may buy cards from this neutral deck - this element really adds some spice to the game, and definitely increases the game-narrative and replayability. More Frontier cards are added in #1.4.

The Tarnished Star: Includes a very fast gunfight at a saloon in Rattlesnake Creek, and the chance for Cortez (of Colty's gang) to take a hostage. We also have a new card type: Open Range - kind of like an area effect card. Also, there's a few 'scenery' cards (these I particularly like), such as 'Upturned Wagon' and 'Rock-strewn Vantage Point' that allow the deputies and bandits to effectively 'hide' behind during a gunfight.

25. You've written great biographies of all characters in the Revolver universe. Which one do you like most?

25. To be fair, the biographies and histories are a joint effort between myself and one of the play-testers. The newspaper article in Revolver #1.3 was wonderfully written by Andrew Davis - the co-designer of that expansion. We deliberately kept the main crime (the bank robbery) in Revolver vague - if you re-read the rulebook histories, you may notice that it hints that Colonel Ned McReady might have actually robbed the bank himself, framing Colty for the crime, because Jack's stealing his daughter away from him. The culprit is not explicit - not even on the back of the box; you can read it two ways. The players can decide in their minds, who is more the villain: Jack 'The Crow' Colty, or Ned McReady?

26. Which one would you like to be yourself?

26. Jack! He gets the girl - though he has to fight tooth and nail for her.

27. Which bandit in Revolver does almost die first (most of the times) when you're playing Jack Colty?

27. Bullet the dog. Then you can call out to your opponent, 'You shot my dawg!'

[markchaplin]

Please note folks: I'm answering questions as I get the time. The last numbered question I answer may not be the last question asked.

[Dierik]

Please note folks: I'm answering questions as I get the time. The last numbered question I answer may not be the last question asked.

Good point, I corrected the numbers in the questions above.

[Enrico]

33. As you live in Nottingham, you never doubted to make a game about Robin Hood?

34. Sometimes I try to design a game too, but after I wrote down the first idea, the basic rules and had the first testing I usually wonder: what now to make the game better? Do you recognise this from your own games? If so, how do you solve this usually?

35. How many time is usually between the first ideas of your games en finishing it?

[Wyckyd]

How great of you to visit us! Always great to talk to a designer.

36. How does your design process work - do you start with theme, or mechanics?

37. Which game would love to redesign?

38. Which theme has too many games already? And which theme needs to be implemented in more games?

39. Do you design games with particular players in mind? Would you design games that weren't 'your kind of game'?

40. What do like best about being at a fair like Spiel? And what do you like least?

[SKABRAM]

41 - Revolver is a 2 player game. Is it possible to make it a team game to make is playable with a larger group? Lets say 2 bandits vs. 2 sherrifs or even 1 bandit vs. 2 sherrifs and so on? And do you have any concrete ideas for this?

[Elsje07]

42. Revolver is a 2-player game, would this mean that you also have a preference for 2 person games? Whether you prefer to play in larger groups?

[Bartjes!]

Mark, good to see you here too

43. As you of course already know, Revolver is nominated for the Gouden Ludo 2012 in Belgium. If Revolver would win this award, what would be the first line of your speech?

44. If Revolver would win the Gouden Ludo Award: can we expect a reference to Belgium in a future expansion as a way of saying 'thank you' to the Belgian fans of the game? Dirty pistolero's / Belgian icons like Eddy Wally and especially Bobbejaan Schoepen would have the right faces for a cameo in the game