Hey, Good Game

Episode 24: In this episode, explores the journey of Mark and Jeff Rogers, creators of Canuckle and Canoku games, inspired by Wordle. It delves into their background, game development process, hiatus, renewal with added features, community engagement strategies, collaborations with other game creators and notable organizations, partnerships for sponsorships and merchandise, future plans, and potential partnerships with entities like the New York Times' Wordle. The discussion also includes their use of AI, philanthropic endeavors, and lessons learned in promoting their games. Check out Mark and Jeff Rogers' Games and Resources: Canuckle: www.canucklegame.ca Canoku: www.canoku.ca X/Twitter: x.com/canucklegame FB: www.facebook.com/CanuckleGame IG: www.instagram.com/canucklegame Merch: merch.canucklegame.ca Collaborations: Waffle: waffle.canucklegame.ca Squaredle: squaredle.canucklegame.ca Nerdle: nerdle.canucklegame.ca Reach out: info@canucklegame.ca -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 23: In this episode, we dive deep into the creative process behind the game WordPeaks with its creator, Devin Spikowski. Discover the inspirations, design decisions, and the unique journey from concept to a game enjoyed by thousands. Check out Davin's Games and Resources: https://vegeta897.github.io/word-peaks/ https://twitter.com/vegeta897 https://github.com/vegeta897 https://cohost.org/vegeta897 https://vegeta897.carrd.co/ https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@vegeta897 -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 22: This conversation features a deep and insightful discussion with Frank Lantz, the director of the New York University Game Center and an award-winning game designer. Throughout the interview, Lantz explores the intricate relationship between games, culture, and education, highlighting how games can serve as a potent medium for both artistic expression and intellectual challenge. Check out Frank's Games and Resources: “The Beauty of Games” - A book by Frank Lantz Universal Paperclips - A game by Frank Lantz https://twitter.com/flantz https://www.franklantz.net/ https://www.franklantz.net/work https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklantz/ Resources Mentioned: Balatro - Mentioned as a current favorite game of Frank Lantz. Portal - Highlighted as possibly the funniest and one of the greatest games, with contributions from Eric Wolpaw. Disco Elysium - Cited as an example of excellent narrative in games. Kentucky Route Zero - Mentioned for its narrative focus. The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide GeoGuessr -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 21: David Turner created Semantle.com, a unique word-guessing game focusing on semantic relationships. Turner shares insights on his journey from ideation to acquisition, his creative process, and upcoming projects like a graphical adventure game. We also chat about game design challenges, user testing, creativity in game development, and effective marketing strategies. Check out David's games and links: https://semantle.com/ https://twitter.com/SemantleGame https://games.novalis.org/ https://middlesgame.com/ novalis@novalis.org -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 20: Grant Warman, the creator of Polygonle and Quadragonal word games, discussing the game mechanics, user feedback, collaboration with other games, and plans for future projects. Check out Grant's games and links: https://polygonle.com/ https://quadragonle.com/ https://www.reddit.com/r/polygonle/ https://discord.gg/ https://www.facebook.com/people/Polygonle https://twitter.com/PolygonleGame -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 19: James Robinson runs the ever-popular game, Wafflegame.net. In his first-ever podcast, he shares the history of Waffle, where it is headed, and how it has reached 500,000 daily players. James discusses the game's design, user feedback, and the human-centric approach to game creation. Themes include his accidental success, and the future plans for Waffle Studio. Check out James's games and links: https://wafflegame.net https://www.facebook.com/wafflegame https://www.threads.net/@thatwafflegame https://twitter.com/thatwafflegame -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 18: Today's episode join me and lets explore the fascinating journey of Minesweeper through an interview with Damien Moore, the visionary behind MinesweeperGame.com. Delve into the origins of Minesweeper, the celebrities who played this game, its evolution, strategic gameplay, online community, and the intricate mathematics that define this beloved game. Check out Damien's games and links: https://minesweepergame.com/ https://minesweepergame.com/forum/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Hey, Good Game podcast hosts Nate Kadlac and Aaron Kardell attend the GDC conference in San Francisco for the first time. They share their experiences at the event, interactions with different booths, and their plans for potential future participation. Check out Hey GG's games and links: https://www.hey.gg/ https://lilsnack.co/ https://poki.com/ https://www.coolmathgames.com/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 16: Today's episode features an interview with Jeff Chen, the creator of the new game Squeezy, discussing his journey in creating the game, his experience in puzzle making and writing, including the challenges and successes. Jeff also shares his writing experience and the upcoming puzzle book collaboration with Stuart Gibbs. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, listening to feedback, and living with frustration for aspiring game creators. Check out the games and resources from this episode: https://imsqueezy.com/ https://www.jeffchenwrites.com/ https://www.xwordinfo.com/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Episode 15: In today's episode features an interview with Jeff Widderich, the president of Syndicated Puzzles, who discusses his background, experience on Dragon's Den, game creation, the challenges faced in the puzzle industry, and the future of game design. Widderich shares insights on the importance of spatial thinking, the necessity for new and innovative puzzles, the competitive nature of puzzles, and the potential for multi-solution puzzles. He emphasizes the need for game designers to remain independent and the significance of creativity in puzzle design. Additionally, he addresses the influence of trends, the struggle to break through in the game industry, and his perspectives on the Sudoku industry. Widderich also discusses geographic influences on his business and expresses his desire for new energy and innovation in the puzzle market. Check out the games and resources from this episode: http://syndicatedpuzzles.com/ https://www.str8ts.com/ https://sudokuwiki.org/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Today we're excited to sit down with Richard Mann, the CEO and founder of Nerdle, a math game similar to Wordle. Richard discusses the development of Nerdle, the challenges of creating math games that are fun for kids, the game's advertising model, the launch of a new game called 2D Nerdle, and the importance of user feedback. We also dive into how Nerdle is run as a family operation, and why many of the ideas for the game happen over dinner. Check out Richard's website: https://nerdlegame.com/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

We're back with Joseph, Nate, and Aaron! They discuss the past 12 episodes of the podcasts, what stood out from our conversations, how game creators earn a living from their games, and the differences between creators. The conversation ends with reflections on the progress of their business, Hey Good Game, and its growth strategy in buying and building games. Check out Hey GG's games and links: https://www.hey.gg/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Lil Snack is a new daily game platform created by Eric Berman and Travis Chen. They talk about their approach to creating a new game every day with the desire to be an app recommended by friends in text messages. They credit AI for their ability to be nimble, noting that the technology helps with the middle part of their creative process such as research and creating the specific puzzle format. The conversation reveals the journey of Eric and Travis from building games to launching Lilsnack and highlights various aspects of their startup like maintaining low friction in game access, leveraging ephemeral gaming experiences, incorporating user feedback, and their strategy for monetization. Check out Lil Snack's games and links: www.lilsnack.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilsnackdaily/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilsnackdaily -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Our recent chat with the creators of ChessWorld pushes the edges on what you might know about correspondence-style Chess as a game. Tryfon (aka Kingscrusher) and his brother Nick share how maintaining ChessWorld allows them to pursue a passion for playing chess while also earning a living. They talk about how Tryfon’s enjoyment of chess guided the development of the platform, his approach to running Chessworld.net on an ad-free, subscription-based model, and how his experiences in online gaming have influenced his strategies and learning in chess. Check out Tryfon's Website and Socials: Chessworld.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/kingscrusher Twitch: https://twitch.tv/kingscrusher Challenge me for a game: https://kingscrusher.tv -- -- Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Join us as we delve into Jim Bumgardner's fascinating odyssey within the realms of coding and brainteasers. We explore his profound insights on the convergence of computers, music, and puzzle creation, alongside his clever utilization of Foursquare's capabilities which paved the way for his brainchild—the acclaimed puzzle hub—KrazyDad. Our chat also touches upon his confidence in AI's revolutionary impact across sectors, reflections on past revenue models via advertising, and the aspiration to draft a definitive guide on crafting puzzles. Amid the depth, we find moments of levity with tributes to "Star Battle" puzzles and entertaining tales from Jim's adventures in the music world. Check out Jim's Website: https://krazydad.com/ -- -- Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

The Wiki Game is a fun, web-based game that connects two random Wikipedia article links. Alex shares his journey of how he started out, using concepts like six degrees of separation to create a game involving Wikipedia articles, and how it has steadily grown over the years to around 60,000 - 80,000 unique users a month. Despite challenges like hacking incidents and handling various user complaints, for Alex, the game remains a labor of love. He also talks about his ideas for the future of the game — a freemium model targeting larger private groups, the forthcoming launch of version 3, and how he has resisted using ads to fund the project. Play The Wiki Game: www.thewikigame.com -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

In this episode, hosts Aaron Kardell and Joseph Rueter of the 'Hey, Good Game' podcast sit down with game developer Sven Neumann. They discuss the creation and development of Sven's SudokuPad, used by Cracking the Cryptic, his early interest in technology and gaming, as well as his vision for the platform's future. Neumann also discusses the considerations of building a social platform for Sudoku, which would include features like subscribing to channels and categorizing puzzles. Play Sven's Games: Sven's SudokuPad Sven's Website -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

You’d be surprised how a well-established corporate worker like Abe Train started creating games for a living! From big-name companies like Tesla, General Motors and Hello Fresh, to creating his own brand and entering a niche that he loves, Abe has a great story to share behind his success. This is how a corporate worker traded his stable life to venture out into the industry of game development and created the hit game, Globle. Nate Kadlac (https://twitter.com/kadlac) and Aaron Kardell (https://twitter.com/akardell) chat with Abe Train from Trainwreck Labs, the creator of popular online games including Globle and Globle Capitals. Play Abe's Games: https://trainwrecklabs.com/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Unlock the secrets of Scrabble with Woogles creators César Del Solar and Jesse Day, who join us to discuss the power of two-letter words and parallel plays that can transform your word game skills. As we chat with these Scrabble aficionados, we uncover not only their journeys into the world of competitive Scrabble but also how their diverse backgrounds and love for the game led to the inception of Woogles. Their friendly banter on topics from condiments to the platform's chess-inspired beginnings gives a glimpse into the camaraderie and passion fueling their successful, polished online presence, crafted when the world went virtual. Play Woogles: https://woogles.io/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com

Robert Fuhrer explores his years-long journey in the toy and game industry in this interview. He reminisces about the many experiences that shaped his career from early exposure to the toy industry, his first creation, his various partnerships and ventures and how he ended up being the owner of the popular puzzle game, KenKen. His journey reflects the crucial importance of relationships in business, being outspoken about opportunities, and taking on ventures with undefined outcomes. Fuhrer also talks about his experience with marketing and fiercely competitive business models and gives some sage advice to aspiring game developers. Play KenKen: https://www.kenkenpuzzle.com/ -- --Check out our brainy games: Sumplete - https://sumplete.com Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com Mathler - https://mathler.com Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com Wordga - https://wordga.com