Chris Chan
Today we are featuring Chris Chan. Chris started designing games after got hired at a chess shop right after college. But he got tired of idly trying to improve chess 8 or 9 years later, entered hobby world around 2017, and now game design is a much bigger part of his life. in 2020 his first published design, The Night Cage, hit kickstarter and entered retail in 2021. When he's not designing games, Chris works as an art director in the advertising industry and spends his free time gardening or running too much.
THREE RANDOM FACTS ABOUT CHRIS:
Stella Octangulas are my favorite polyhedron.
Both of my cats are named after cheese. Any further pets will also have to have names that make good additions to a nice charcuterie.
I am currently as excited about applying the compost I made last year to my garden as I am for the daffodils I planted this fall to sprout.
THREE BOARD GAME DESIGN QUESTIONS:
Have you ever let go of a design or idea? Explain what it was and why you let go or why you have not.
I have so many dead ideas. One of my core principles as a designer is that a game needs to have a point of view that can be expressed in as few rules as possible. If a design starts to lose that clarity or (worse) becomes daunting to work on, I generally take it as a sign that this game will not grow into a game I want to play enough to bring to fruition.
What pushes you to the end of a design, what motivates you to finish?
As easy as it is for games to die, finding motivation to finish them is easy. When I want to start making art for it, that's a good sign. A good laugh goes a long way. If I want to playtest it again just for fun, I want to finish it. Contests and deadlines are great motivators. Publication is addictive, I enjoy the pitching process. The list goes on.
Who are some of your favorite designers and their games?
I really admire Cole Wehrle's historical games (Pax Pamir, an Infamous Trade, etc.) for their nuance and provocative questions. Conversely, Susan McKinley Ross has brought me a lot of joy with Qwirkle, even though I'm terrible at it. Lately I've been getting into cube rails games because of Amabel Holland. And I will also literally never turn down a game of Fantasy Realms by Bruce Glassco.
THREE QUESTIONS JUST FOR FUN:
What does a perfect gaming session look like for you?
At the end of every game they play both the winner(s) and loser(s) are cackling.
If you could meet one person (whether they are alive or not), who would it be and why?
Not to answer a question with a question, but are any of the designers I mentioned in that earlier question about favorite designers going to be there? I won't pick favorites. I want to buy them all a coffee and chat.
Besides Granite Game Summit (or its companion events) what is your favorite convention and why?
Pax Unplugged is very near and dear to my heart. It was my first gaming convention and in many ways my entry to the hobby. It strikes a strong balance of good energy and industry collisions.
Chris will be showing off his game Capetalism in Designer Alley at #G2S2022
Capetalism is a gateway-focused stock speculation and tile laying game set in a community garden. The players are members of a community hedge fund. To win, they must grow the value of the flowers in their secret Stalk Portfolio by planting and harvesting flowers from the garden. When the market crashes the player with the most valuable Stalk Portfolio wins! Every turn, players plant flowers and/or trade stalks in an explosive combination of Go-like surrounding and Acquire-like investment.
