I have always found joy in designing and self-publishing my own board games. But beyond just the fun and games, I have also used this hobby as an opportunity to grow my skills.
I have a team called No Loading Required, where I am the lead game designer. Over the years, I have honed my design skills and have won awards for my creations.
Through the process of conceptualising, prototyping, and bringing my games to life, I have gained invaluable experience in project management, games design, and user experience. I have had to manage timelines, budgets, and resources to bring my games to fruition. Additionally, I have sharpened my communication skills, as I have had to collaborate with artists, playtesters, and other stakeholders to ensure that my games are well-designed and enjoyable. I have also learned to be more adaptable and resourceful, as I have had to find creative solutions to design challenges that have arisen during the game development process. Overall, my experience in designing and self-publishing board games has helped me to become a more well-rounded designer.
My team, No Loading Required, winning the Moray Game Jam 2023 award for Board Game and People’s Choice with “The Monster After Midnight”
My Board Games
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Trellis
A competitive engine building game where everyone is trying to grow the tallest and best plant with help from their compost bag. Made for the Moray Game Jam 2024 where the theme was “Up, Up and Away“. This won the board game category.
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The Monster After Midnight
A cooperative resource management game about protecting your hamlet from a great monster in the night. Made for the Moray Game Jam 2023, where the theme was “the first line of a book”. We chose the first line of “A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness; “The monster arrived just after midnight.” The game won the board game category and people’s choice award.
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Tableshop
A competitive deckbuilding card game where players are the proud owners of shops selling fantastical items to adventurers. Tableshop was made as part of a board game jam over 72 hours. During this project I learnt how to build games in Tabletop Simulator for more effective prototyping, and as a result there is a Tabletop Simulator mod for Tableshop.
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Communicat
A communication-based board game that challenges players to communicate their cat needs to their team of owners using our visual cat language! CommuniCat was developed for the Purrposeful Game Jam presented by Cats Protection and Tentacle Zone Workspace, and includes an online companion app to assist gameplay and reduce paper.
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The Path
A cooperative dice-rolling game about a group of wildlife helping their bear friend to find enlightenment through a peaceful journey. This game was made for the Moray Game Jam 2019 and features a companion app that worked on iOS and Android. The Path won runner up at the Moray Game Jam, but was left unpublished.
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The Tour of Murder House
The Tour of Murder House is a dice rolling game where you play as ghosts trying to scare to death as many tourists as you can before your home becomes a tourism hotspot! The game was developed at the Spook Jam 2018, hosted by Abertay Game Development Society. The game was designed, tested and produced in 48 hours.
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Devoid
Devoid is a strategic narrative-building game where each player takes on the role of a different emotion and helps to build the story of a characters journey! The game was developed for the Moray Game Jam 2018 in 48 hours. It won Runner Up in the Board Games Category.
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Summit
Summit is a two player competitive tile-laying game about two bubbles traversing a mountain. The game was developed in 48 hours for the Midsummer Jam 2018 run by Abertay Game Development Society.
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Lantern: Lost in the Dark
Lantern is a cooperative Lovecraft-inspired horror board game that was developed for the Moray Game Jam 2016 and won the board game category. It was subsequently exhibited at the UK Games Expo 2016 and Dare Protoplay 2016.