Amazon.com Widgets

Interview: Alexander Argyropoulous

0

box

A couple weeks ago, we previewed Raid & Trade which is seeking funds on Kickstarter.  The prototype I had wasn’t final, and the game has developed a lot since the stuff I played with.

So, I sat down with Alexander Argyropoulous to talk about the game and convince you to become a backer!

So without further ado…

Tell us a little bit about the game, Raid & Trade.

Raid and Trade is a post-apocalyptic board game. The main mechanics are Action Points and Negotiation. Players can choose between 5 different characters which each have unique items and combat skills.

Turns are based on action points, so you can do different actions that cost different amounts of action points. You can move along the city, raid buildings to get resources, attack other players and much more. With the resources you can craft items to get different advantages during the game. Also, crafting items gives you skill points. To get 20 skill points is one of the 3 ways to win. You can also win by getting a good character or by fulfilling quests which require resources and others.

In Raid and Trade you have lots of interaction due to the combats and because you can trade with other players. There is also some luck involved since you have combat dice and a raid die. The theme is very strong in this game so this is a good choice for all the apocalyptic game fans 🙂

A mock-up of the final, post-apocalyptic board of doom!
A mock-up of the final, post-apocalyptic board of doom!

Did you have any goals in mind with the design of this game? Do you feel like you accomplished those goals?

My main goal was to have a high replayability. The next goal was reducing downtime. And I wanted to keep the theme strong in the game. I think I did quite well with all of the three goals 😉

Downtime is very low because you always only do 1 action at a time. Replayability is very high: You have a modular board, different characters, randomly placed houses and many different cards. The theme is strong and perfectly supported by the awesome graphics, where Anthony did a great job!

Where did the idea for the theme of the game come in?

I got the idea from Charalampos who designed the first prototypes of the game! He likes a lost post-apocalyptic movies like Resident Evil or something like Mad Max and he thought to make such a game.

Custom dice are always cool
Custom dice are always cool

What is your favorite element of Raid and Trade?

I think is not something specific or maybe yes. I like the continuing pressure the game creates through its mechanics and the interaction between the players.

Did anything suprisingly (cool or terrible) come up during the design of the game?

The only thing we had to face was the downtime  of each players. It was taking centuries to complete your turn. But not any more 🙂

What kind of people will enjoy Raid and Trade?

That’s a tough questions. I think casual gamers, parent geeks, people who like interaction or post apocalyptic themed games, people who like to do many actions in the game or who like racing games against other players.

What sets Raid and Trade apart from other games?

I think the artwork cause is not heavy but not light too, we made it this way so everyone can enjoy it. The other things I really really love is that in this game you use ALL the components, all the effects, all the cards, the entire game is 100% active and challenges you all the time.

One of the characters you might play
One of the characters you might play

Any final thoughts you’d like to leave with our readers? Perhaps, one last pitch on why they should back Raid & Trade on Kickstarter?

a)  we have created some exclusive items on kickstarter. i know people had some issues on KS with other campaigns from other companies but I know what MAGE does and we do not make very often exclusive items.

b) the art combined with the theme is absolute perfect for the specific game

c) you use all the components in this games, all the cards, all the mechanics, you can feel all the time the intense of this game. 🙂

 

Hopefully that gives you a little more insight into the game.  It certainly looks like an action-packed game, so go check out the kickstarter page and consider becoming a backer!

This article is a paid promotion.

Futurewolfie loves epic games, space, and epic games set in space. You'll find him rolling fistfuls of dice, reveling in thematic goodness, and giving Farmerlenny a hard time for liking boring stuff.

Leave A Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: