June 25, 2018: Where Do I Get My Ideas?

. . . is a question that comes up occasionally. I rarely give anything like a straight answer. But now the truth can be told:

I get some of them at the Farmers' Market in Madison, Wisconsin.

Really.

A few years ago, we were at the ACD distributor show in Madison. We had been repeatedly told by John Kovalic (a long-time Madisonian) that the Farmers' Market was amazing, wonderful, etc., etc. So early in the morning – WAY too early for my tastes – there was an expedition to the street of the market.

So, as we walked, Ross Jepson and I were talking about games. Dice games, in particular. We had been talking about quick, simple games since PAX 2009, the weekend before, when we saw Mayfair's Le Boomb. And it was during that walking brainstorm that the ideas for both Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice came up. (Obligatory plug: the Zombie Dice Horde Edition has just been reprinted and if you don't already have the game, we'd love to sell it to you.)

And a lot of the actual design of Cthulhu Dice was done while I was stuck in the Madison airport on the way home, but, literally and actually, the Farmers' Market is where I got those ideas.

Oh, yes, we also bought some cheese curds, and they were delicious.

-- Steve Jackson

PS – I will be back in Madison late in the year for Gamehole Con. Clearly, a visit to the Farmers' Market is in order. Maybe I can get more than cheese curds.