I first met Ryan Courtney as I volunteered to playtest an upcoming city-building game he had designed. We formally met on his Discord server, and I arranged for a time to try the game out and it was a blast! It was very Tetris-like — combining various shapes was both addictive and fun but it was simple enough for casual players to grasp its rules.
Having noticed his active involvement in both the board game design and mentoring spaces, I decided to chat with him about his journey as a game designer and how he’s making a change in tutoring up-and-coming designers.
Most of your games (Pipeline, Trailblazers, and Curious Cargo) involve route-building — what appeal does this style of gameplay have for you?
Routes have a certain flow to them, and there’s an appeal to connecting the dots in a route. I started my game-making journey with mobile applications, and I was part of a group called NYC Playtest that did weekly playtesting sessions.
Most of the time, folks would bring in board games. I decided to try it out with my own paper prototype. There, I met Emerson Matsuchi, Gil Hova, and Daniel Newman amongst others —they really helped me get my foot in the board game designer door, so to speak. Not to mention how invaluable their advice and contacts were.
What are three video games or board games that define you?
They can all be defined by one word: challenging. Games like cryptic crosswords and word games — I spent time watching videos on how to play such games and I consider myself someone who is reasonably good at them now. I also enjoy games with a timer element to them — not only does it keep me thinking on my feet, but the pressure keeps me in a flow state and challenges me to obtain a good time. Arkwright is an economics board game that is both heavy and based on optimization of your actions and how you use that to tip the scales in your favor.
Can you walk us through the prototype phase when creating a new game?
Most of my ideas come from non-fiction books that I read. I pick up an interesting element or concept and try to distill that experience into a board game. Of course, there’s some abstraction and artistic liberty taken, but my design remains true to the source. For example, take the concept of walkability — walking or biking in an area that isn’t dominated by cars. How would I translate that into a board game?
With my background in computer science, I enjoy borrowing from both my field of study and that of mathematics. Two of my favorite areas to draw interesting ideas from are computational geometry and machine learning.
Tying games to aspects of people’s identity and lifestyle is another route I explore when coming up with ideas. Something that can be done in a group, like building and racing cars
In November 2022, you opened up monthly mentorship slots as a form of paying it forward. You also regularly post game design tips on your social media. Who has inspired you to begin your journey and improve your craft?
Both Gil Hova and Emerson Masuchi have been of great inspiration to me — I’ve helped at their booths before, and we chat on drives to conventions where they will exhibit their games. They were both pushing me to get my stuff published, and they had a wealth of connections that made it easier. I watched them push forward in their design journey, and that very tenacity is the reason why I want to do the same.
I’ve given my time in mentorships, on boardgamelab, and less so on Twitter now. Since no two designers are the same, I prefer one-on-one video chats so I can tailor my advice to the person I am speaking to.
I tend to avoid generic advice where possible, regardless of whether it’s a professional designer or a casual designer with a passion project. I am able to go more in-depth with professionals, as they have more experience.
By offering these bite-sized mentorship sessions (usually one-time, one-on-one chats), I help connect people with publishing options, among other areas I assist with.
Your latest playtest game is described as “casual city-building game that blends Tetris and Uno”, can you give us a hint at what players can expect in the full game?
This is a game that’s approachable by people who enjoy gaming but are not considered board game hobbyists. It comes with top-notch components and clean product design — a premium experience for more casual gamers.
Party games tend to be very surface level in terms of thinky-ness, so I wanted to design a game that included elements of strategy and to introduce a sense of puzzly-ness to players.
Nowadays, many people use mobile and computer applications as the benchmark of how quickly a game should be played. There is less patience overall in learning the rules of a board game, so think of this game as a thinky experience that is short and sweet.
What are some words of advice that you’d like to give to budding game designers feeling lost?
Get your game in front of folks as soon as possible. Delaying your game to perfect it can cause trouble — you won’t know if your target audience likes the game or not, and they will have differing opinions in regards to certain aspects of your game.
You might not even consider that aspect particularly fascinating, but players may love it a lot — and vice-versa. That helps you put things into perspective. Until you get feedback, you simply won’t know if your game is good. I personally try to keep it under a week when creating a new prototype before playtesting.
Lastly, enjoy the process. The board game industry is a tough one, but keeping your passion alive and being steadfast in your work will see you through.
You can keep up to date with Ryan Courtney's work on social media, and check out his previous work over on BoardGameGeek. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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