Hey Reader!

Emily Vincent here.

With every Protospiel Online that passes, we get the opportunity to watch our favorite games evolve and to catch up on the journeys that designers in our community are taking. Many of us have built friendships and collaborations that extend beyond the time boundaries of each weekend that we share. The Protospiel Online community can have a profound impact not just on our games, but on us as individuals.

Today's featured designer, Joakim Engfors, has been a regular at Protospiel Online since 2020, both as a playtester and as a designer. He graciously shared what Protospiel Online has meant to him on his journey to launching his first game on Kickstarter. I'm excited to share Joakim's journey with you all. I find it inspiring and I hope you do too!

Feud: the Seer's Prophecy

Joakim Engfors, of Mindgate Games, has recently launched "Feud: the Seer's Prophecy" on Kickstarter. Feud is an engine building Viking duel game for 2 players that plays in about 40 minutes. His design goal was to create a duel game where the players are in full control of their turn. Specifically, Joakim wanted to capture the feeling of drawing exactly the right card, but to do it on every single turn. Joakim recently shared his journey with me and specifically how Protospiel Online impacted him as a designer.

From Joakim:

I joined Protospiel Online for the first time in July 2020 and it changed how I saw myself. It sounds dramatic, but it is true. I was so nervous, I remember having to apologize to my playtesters often because I struggled with the teach because I was so nervous. "These people have paid to be playtesting here, and now they have to put up with this" went through my head, over and over as I showed them my game. But everyone was so friendly, so understanding, and so patient. I made many friends that weekend, some very close ones, and we have had weekly playtest meetings since. Next Protospiel Online came around in January 2021. And there was a Coffee-talk topic about Tackling Imposter Syndrome. Protospiel has helped me tremendously with my confidence as a designer, which nowadays is a large part of my identity, and I will be forever grateful. After hundreds of hours of talking to other designers and getting their feedback and help, I finally launched my first Kickstarter campaign on August 30th.

My goal is not to make a lot of money with this, but to get my creation into the hands of others. Juliet Smith (from Bright Beetle Games), a friend I made at Protospiel Online, ran a campaign that really inspired me. They had a pledge level that allowed the backers to donate games to foster children, and I wanted to do something similar. I don't have any experience with foster care, but I have worked at many different youth centers over the last decade, so I came up with my "Local Support Pledge", which gives the backer one game for themselves, and helps us donate games to youth centers and libraries.

Back Feud on Kickstarter!

It's inspiring to see Protospiel Online designers getting their games out into the world. It's also incredible to see how we affect each other, like how Juliet's campaign inspired Joakim's. As our community continues to grow, and grow together, I'm betting we'll get to see a lot more cross pollination and collaboration!

📣Announcements Announcements Annooouuuncements!

Our giveaway livestream to draw winners from all the entries earned during our August 2023 convention weekend is happening on Twitch this Sunday, September 10 at 3pm EDT. We'll also play some games with Your Moderator Chris to give away prizes for live viewers. Stop by and say hello!

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more awesome events, community opportunities, and updates about games tested at Protospiel!

~Emily

David Kessler, Game Designer and community newssletter editor

P.S. If you have something you'd like to see featured in our Community Newsletter, you have 3 options -- either submit an official feature request, reply to this message, or post in the #🙌share-your-wins channel in the Protospiel Online Discord server to let us know the details. We'd love to celebrate you!

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Feud: the Seer's Prophecy

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