#242 Molly Johnson Talks Point Salad

Molly Johnson of Flatout Games joins Dirk and David to talk about designing light thematic games. Molly goes over Point Salad, published by AEG, and how the name and game came together. Later, she discusses some other games she’s been involved with (including Public Market, Calico, Cascadia, and Dollars to Donuts) and how theme helped complete or even spark these puzzle-y games. As part of the discussion on Calico and Cascadia, Molly explains how the collaborative publishing end of Flatout Games CoLab works.

Episode Outline

01:12 An overview of Point Salad, and a discussion about its name, theme, and origin

08:26 Molly talks about the challenge and process of “shelving” different prototypes

14:10 A discussion about Calico and how its theme and mechanics coalesced

20:57 A conversation about Dollars to Donuts and balancing thematic choices with mechanical needs

25:15 Molly talks about the Flatout Games CoLab: how it came to be and how it works

36:08 Why Molly and Flatout Games lean towards lighter weight games and certain themes

45:23 Advice for designers who want to create light, thematic games

In this Episode

Molly Johnson - @flatoutgames, flatout.games
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer