New Designer Ian Hutchinson Joins Gaming Innovator For First Title

John D. Clair is a big deal in the board game world.  He has created/designed popular titles like Space Base, Mystic Vale, Cubitos, and Ready Set Bet, among others. His latest creation, Electrify, is on Kickstarter, closing in on 1,500 backers.

New Designer Ian Hutchinson helped create the game

Clair got some unexpected help on Electrify from Alderac Entertainment Group's (AEG) Ian Hutchinson.  Hutchinson joined William Pankratz and me on Table Talk to discuss how he got involved and the development of the game.

Ian Hutchinson

We started out talking about the game.  Hutchinson filled us in on the river-style mechanic made famous by Ark Nova and what it was like to be a first-time designer working with John D. Clair:

Electrify is a big puzzle with trying to figure out timing to get the biggest combo on your engine as possible while deciding when to activate each part.  Hutchinson says once you figure out the symbols of the game, it is not too difficult to get to the table, and some younger game players may even be able to tackle it.

Hutchinson had great stories about the journey of designing Electrify

He shared a lot of great stories about the game's development, including playing it at GenCon this summer:

Hutchinson shared so many great stories with us on Table Talk. It was a blast having him on and listening to his tales of the development of Electrify.  You can catch Table Talk every other Saturday on WJON in the 8 am hour.

Our next show is on October 17th: Emily Vincent will join us to talk about her latest design, Perennial, which is live on Kickstarter now.  Gaming Expert William Pankratz from Games By James will be on as well, as always, to talk about new games hitting the shelves.  You can check out the entire Table Talk show with Ian Hutchinson below.

Ian Hutchinson

Ian Hutchinson

Ian Hutchinson