Interview with Brotherwise Games

In my early ventures into table top gaming last year I was introduced to Boss Monster; a dungeon-building card game that oozes references to 8-bit video games and other pop culture gems. Boss Monster was created by Brotherwise Games; an independent game publishers that was founded and brought to life by two brothers in the US, Chris and Johnny O'Neal. It was their mutual love of games that spurred them to their company and Boss Monster, perfecting it over time and then releasing it to be kickstarted back in 2013. I was fortunate enough to get my first interview for Tabletop Stop with the lovely guys at Brotherwise Games, and here it is! 

What were some of your first favourite board games?

We have very varied tastes, but we both got our start in gaming with D&D and some of the more fantasy-focused board games. Most of Chris's formative years were spent playing strategy games like Risk and Axis and Allies. Johnny was a big fan of HeroQuest and started playing Magic when he was in middle school.

What are some of your favourite games now?
 
Now we're quite partial to games like Seven Wonders, War of the Rings, Smallworld, and Ascension. But really we'll play just about anything. A friend recently introduced us to micro-games like Deep Sea Adventure. Loved 'em!


Your love of board games and video games led you both to creating Boss Monster. What things inspired you the most to create it?

Boss Monster evolved out of a very different game idea than what it currently looks like, so it had a LOT of influences. Originally a bidding game focused on popularity, it merged with another idea that used cards to build classic D&D-looking dungeon maps - thus the fantasy theme. After lots of play testing, and numerous failed attempts, Johnny finally hit on the bidding mechanic that currently drives the game: the construction of a dungeon with rooms that lure in particular heroes. As that game took form, Chris noticed the visual similarity to the old side-scrolling video games that we had loved so much as kids. After some more failed attempts at nailing the theme, Boss Monster morphed into its final form, a mix of retro gaming nostalgia and popular nerd culture. We could write a book listing all the nods and easter eggs in the game, but really it's more fun for our fans to find them on their own.

What did you find most challenging when setting up Brotherwise Games?

Setting up a gaming company is pretty easy, you just file with the Secretary of State and off you go. Getting a gaming company up and running is tough. The hardest thing was probably getting those first distributors to agree to carry Boss Monster and sell it to their retail customers. There was a lot of mistrust of Kickstarted games, and we had to offer a lot of reassurances and data suggesting that we were a good bet. After those first distributors got on board, the rest followed very quickly as stores began asking for Boss Monster.

The Kickstarter campaign for Boss Monster was a massive success, did you anticipate that it would be so popular?

Nope! We were very hopeful we'd make enough to produce a tiny print run of the game and be able to cross that particular goal off our bucket lists. We knew the game was fun and compelling, but we had no idea how big it would be, either on Kickstarter or in stores. We're so happy it was, however!


How important is Kickstarter in your business?

It's very possible that Boss Monster expansions going forward won't be launched on Kickstarter, but we absolutely have Kickstarter to thank for where we currently are as a business. Boss Monster NEVER would have happened without Kickstarter, and the same goes for Brotherwise Games. As family men who both had full-time jobs, we had put as much development money into Boss Monster as were able. We needed those Kickstarter backers to make our idea a reality. But the value of Kickstarter goes beyond those original starter funds. We also see the publicity boost that Kickstarter gives as a real boon to any game trying to get noticed on the market. For the new, non-Boss Monster titles that Brotherwise launches, Kickstarter (or some form of crowdfunding) is likely to be important tool in our toolkit.

Do you guys have a favourite Boss character in the game?

Chris is pretty partial to Cerebellus. Johnny loves the "cover" Bosses, King Croak and Porkus.

Brotherwise Games gives off the family unity vibe, do you believe that board games help bring families and friends together?

Without a doubt. In fact, we have to think that the huge growth that tabletop games have seen of the last five years reflects an overall tightness and comfort with the family unit. Families are playing together more than ever before. Different generations are hanging out more than they have in the last 20 years. Tabletop games offer a social experience like none other, certainly it's a far cry from the more anonymous virtual networks that video games create (not that that's bad, mind you). We LOVE hearing that families, partners, and friends are coming together over a night of Boss Monster.

Brotherwise Games

Torrance, CA

Thanks, guys! You can check out Brotherwise Games by clicking here

Thanks for reading!

Marisa xx