It was sometime back in mid-September, and I was starting to think about how I was going to tackle the refinement of the rules in Distilled. I knew that what I currently had was just fine for the time being, much like an architect’s sketch on a napkin is fine until the structure actually has to be built.
For a few months, I had been participating in a great service that Lucas Gerlach runs on Facebook, which features a monthly “rules exchange”, where designers review each other’s rules. It definitely helps to clarify and refine, but not necessarily prepare something for public consumption. I had one fantastic experience via that exchange with a fellow designer named Nicolas Fournier of Orion Games, who really spent some time with my rules, essentially tearing them down and rebuilding them from scratch. Although that was when Distilled was a completely different game, it still really helped me respect and understand the importance of a good set of rules.
Fast forward to early September, and I saw this tweet pop-up in my feed:
I can’t remember how I had started following Sam Hillier, but this tweet caught my attention. The conversation went on to talk about Unforgiven, an authentic and historical revisioning of the Lincoln Assassination Trial. With me being a sucker for all things history and authenticity – especially when connected to games – I started reading on, and following Sam (and I promptly backed Unforgiven!).
Sam’s twitter handle, @Philosocopter, kept on tweeting along with the millions of others in the Twitterverse, but it was this blog post about rule book writing that caught my attention, and helped me remember where I had seen Sam’s name before. Doing a bit more research, I was reminded about Unforgiven, as well as some of the other games he has worked on as an editor. By this point, I knew he was not only a boardgamer, but also a former professor and a fellow whisky drinker, so I knew I simply had to reach out to him. I connected with him over email, which then led to a video chat, and I’m now happy to report that Sam is Distilled’s official rules editor!
I asked Sam to send me some info, so that I could introduce him to y’all and give you a bit of background on him – both from the professional and personal side. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Sam on Distilled, and am really excited to welcome him to the Paverson Games and Distilled team! Read on for a bit about Sam, through his bio:
Sam has been in the business of writing and editing rulebooks for over two years now. He has always enjoyed teaching and explaining things, whether that’s teaching philosophy (in a previous life) or teaching new games to his family. Writing rulebooks lets him put that passion to work, helping players discover the joys of new and exciting games.
Games that Sam has worked on include:
He is an avid gamer, playing regularly with his wife and two kids. His favourite games include Race for the Galaxy, Seasons and Ginkgopolis, and his kids’ favourite games include Wreck Raiders, Strike, and Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle. His favourite drinks include an Old Fashioned, a Rye and Ginger, and a classic Caesar (extra spicy).
He can be found on Twitter at @Philosocopter, and at www.philosocopter.com
PS. he was recently featured on Rahdo, concerning his approach to rules – nice work and welcome to the team, Sam!