Was it Monopoly, Scrabble, backgammon or chess?
According to Fun.com the board game market grew by 20% in 2020 (the Covid lockdown era), and revenue from board games sales was expected to hit $12 billion in 2023. Chess “is the best-selling board game of all time, having been born in India during the Gupta dynasty in the 6th century, with more than three million sets being sold annually in the United States,” the report notes.
Andrew DiLullo, who attended Los Gatos High School and West Valley Community College, is a game designer and game writer. Last week he was kind enough to sit down with me over lunch for an interview on board games in general, and to show me one of the board games that he has designed.
From a young age
“I started playing video games when I was about four years old,” DiLullo said. “I was given a hand-me-down system from my Uncle Dan (Daniel DiCaprio). He would also pass down his games to me too.” Note: some advantages of playing video games is that they can be played over and over, can be played instantly with no set up and can be played alone or with headset enmeshment with reality boundaries that are nonresistant. So, from video games at a very young age, DiLullo has gone onto designing his own style of board games. Over lunch DiLullo showed me his latest “Every Last Crumb” board game. which is available at Game Kastle in Santa Clara (GameKastle.com).
How to design a new game
DiLullo revealed the secrets behind game creation. It began with a large family meal. “I had a thought: There were lots of leftovers that every last crumb was not being applied at this meal,” he explained. “That was the secondary idea. The primary idea was just trying to make a game that was based on something that people could very easily relate to, a game that would be a very easy experience to get across to people. What better way than a large family meal?” So, from a large family meal the thought began to take shape. After this inspiration, he developed a game prototype, which would be tested many times prior to general public presentation.
From prototype to product
“Game designers meet up to test out prototypes,” DiLullo went on. “This way you can see how people are actually playing and sometimes there is an, ‘Oh no, this is all wrong, this is a terrible thing, maybe the rules are too confusing or not clear enough.’” DiLullo said he brought Every Last Crumb to test at meetings for about 4-5 months, getting feedback and making prototype adjustments.
Did you eat every last crumb?
DiLullo explained his new board game is meant for people nine and up—“although a younger person could play if they play with a partner or on a team with an older person,” he said. “This is a fully cooperative experience, yet as some families like to be competitive I put in an alternative rule set so the players can play against one another.” The game can be tailored to players’ desired experience. It’s “a game with a sliding scale of rules to suit family needs,” he said. “I do not think that chess allows you to do that.”
Within the fascinating world
Every other Saturday at Game Kastle in Redwood City, DiLullo hosts the Golden Gate Game Makers, Bay Area group from 1-6pm. This is where the designers test their games as folks come to play. Game tables are changed up every few hours, and most of the events are free, though sometimes there’s a small fee. (Visit GoldenGateGameMakers.com for more info.)
This somewhat underground movement gained momentum with all of the Covid lockdowns, deaths, isolation and just awful times. Board games to keep the grey matter moving and with lessons, ecological lessons, how to make a sandwich, good stories crafted into a game sound better than staring at a screen, and allows snacking when it’s not your turn.
Perhaps it was the Covid isolation that kick-started our interest again in board games. Maybe this is a speck of good out of the past few years. Oh, and by the way, you may wish to re-read those Monopoly game rules again; you just might be surprised. I have it on good authority from game designer Andrew DiLullo.
