Talking With Samuel Bailey, Co-Designer of FORBIDDEN STARS

Samuel Baily is a freelance game designer who has worked on a lot of projects over the years, some of which are favorite games of mine, and he’s involved with several games that GameTyrant is connected to. He has joined the development team for Vampire: The Masquerade - Chapters, worked with Mike Gnade on Lawyer Up, and plans to remake Forbidden Stars, a beloved strategy game from Fantasy Flight Games and Game’s Workshop.

I had the opportunity to talk with him about his work designing games and we had a lengthy conversation about board games and about his experience.

It was a wonderful chat, and I learned some new things about the industry.

Here’s what we discussed.

You’ve worked on some fabulous games over the years, and you’re involved with a lot of upcoming projects. How did you get into game design as a profession and as a passion?

Games have always been a passion of mine. Growing up, I was homeschooled by my mom, and she sold Ravensburger games and puzzles. So I was exposed to games from a young age, and I enjoyed that. When I got older I was introduced to Magic: The Gathering and that really opened up my eyes to the possibilities of design. I started creating binders filled with hundreds of my own cards for Magic.

The creativity involved with that was something I responded to, and that impulse to design my own ideas carried on into high school. I crafted a lot of house rules for games, like Risk, that my friends and I preferred to the original versions. In college, I made a prototype Dune board game that I played only once, on literally the last night before everyone went home for summer. I also was a partner in a LAN center and worked at a board game store for years. So I’ve always been close to gaming in some way.

In 2010, I decided on game design as a profession. I went to a lot of conventions and talked to a lot of game designers, asking how I could break into the industry. They all said the same thing: Just make games and connect with people. So I made my own card game, Last Exodus. It’s Magic-esque, but the game is set in a sci-fi world with four different alien races doing battle with each other in these massive motherships. It was my first time through the whole design and development process. I did the graphic design, sourced art, everything with the game.

Then I applied to Fantasy Flight five times in the space of a year. I finally got a callback, flew out for an interview, and received a job offer before I even got back on the plane. And for three years I was involved with just about every project at FFG, trying to contribute in any way I could. I have a lot of energy so I tried to channel it toward every game that I was interested in and I was pretty much interested in everything!

From my perspective, there are two distinct eras in your design career: your time working at FFG and your work now as a freelance game designer and writer. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both of those scenarios?

The advantage of working with a studio is the volume of published games you have contact with. Almost every project you work on will be published. Very few fizzle out or get canceled. And you have a lot of support. From the other designers, from the established system, and from dedicated playtesters. There is a lot of opportunity for playtesting at a studio, both internal and external. This is a lot more difficult with freelance.

And the advantages of freelance work is greater creative control and the freedom to choose projects that might not fit with the genres of games published by a studio. I’ve been involved with a larger variety of games since I left FFG. I’ve worked on party games, video games, and really broadened my horizons.

What was your favorite game that you helped design while working at FFG?

It would definitely have to be Forbidden Stars. I would consider it my crowning achievement, so far. All of the mechanics and it’s overall gameplay. Though, I’m proud of a lot of my work. Talisman was a big one for me since I used to play it when I was younger. Being able to design something that you have a connection to is pretty cool.

One of my favorite games ever is Forbidden Stars. What can you say about the split between Game’s Workshop and FFG?

The two companies had worked together for a while, but when FFG was bought by Asmodee, Game’s Workshop was maybe more hesitant about the partnership? Game’s Workshop wanted to do more board games, and FFG and Asmodee wanted to do more miniatures games. The agreement between the two of them made it difficult for both parties to do what they wanted. Star Wars was a bigger license than Game’s Workshop so that business relationship had more sway or influence on the direction of FFG’s projects, I think.

It was a mutual parting but a sad one. There were a lot of projects that didn’t go any further. Forbidden Stars didn’t get any expansions. Future plans for Talisman, 40K Conquest LCG, Warhammer Quest, and other games were dropped. There were a few casualties from that split.

What are your plans for the Forbidden Stars remake with PSC?

I’ve got the four basic factions created and pretty close to testing. PSC has some other projects right now, so I’m waiting for the momentum to shift back toward the remake. The game will launch on Kickstarter when it’s ready. We had been hoping by the end of the year, but with COVID-19 disrupting a lot of things, it may be difficult. 

Why PSC for the collaboration?

When I posted the redux thread on BGG, there was a lot of traction. More than I was really expecting. Several publishers reached out about the game, but after much deliberation, I went with PSC. They’re engaged with the idea of the game, and the company makes good miniatures, so I thought they were the right fit. Also, PSC is based in England and has connections with Game’s Workshop, so there was always the possibility of a connection there.

How do you decide on projects as a freelance designer? What criteria do you consider to choose co-designers and partners in your work?

It really depends on my availability. I try to find a lot of projects and to strike a balance between designing and development work. Designing takes a lot of time and effort and there isn’t always the guarantee that anything will happen with it since payment is often royalty based. With development work, though, you can usually get work paid hourly, so it’s more stable and consistent. For example, the work I’m doing on Vampire: The Masquerade – Chapters is development stuff, where I’m polishing systems and doing other fine-tuning.

Lawyer Up has successfully finished its Kickstarter campaign and is moving forward with production and fulfillment. What excites you about that kind of card game and what is your favorite mechanic in the game?

I really like card games. Even though I didn’t officially work on LCG games at FFG, I helped a lot with Netrunner and many of the other LCG lines. One of my favorites was helping with Star Wars Destiny, though the version I helped come up with wasn’t the version that was printed in the end.

One of the first things I did after leaving FFG was design a drafting card game called Dreamweavers.In the game players were fae creatures manipulating the dreams of mortals for power and influence. Players drafted dream figments and then wove them together for powerful effects. It was some of the mechanisms in Dreamweavers that eventually led to Lawyer Up.

It started when I met Mike Gnade (owner of Rock Manor Games and my co-designer on Lawyer Up) via BGG. He needed help with his booth at Origins, and I volunteered. We got along well and I showed him Dreamweavers. He liked it and then we kept seeing each other at conventions and staying in touch. He thought the mechanics would transfer well to an idea of his for a game about lawyers.

The game brewed in my head for about a year until I went ahead and designed the entire prototype in the night before GenCon. I was still cutting out cards and sleeving them on the plane there. Mike and I played it multiple times at the convention. There were things that needed to be fixed but we were both surprised with how well it worked as a game. So we decided to move forward with it.

As we continued to play it and introduce it to other people, we got a lot of good feedback. For example, we found that it could be a little too long or complex with new players, so we came up with different cases that improve the replay value and can be played at varying levels of complexity. Like we have an Art Forgery case that serves as a demo case, but thanks to stretch goals from the Kickstarter campaign, you can add more cards after those first few playthroughs to transform it into a more in-depth experience.

You’ve recently started working with Flyos Games on the Vampire: The Masquerade – Chapters tabletop game. What do you think are the benefits of an RPG-in-a-box game?

I think Gloomhaven and other games have shown the benefits of an RPG in a box. People enjoy the roleplaying aspect. D&D and other TTRPGS used to be looked down on but roleplaying has risen above that stereotype for the most part. It’s bigger now. As fans of RPGs get older though, they often find it difficult to get together for traditional roleplaying experiences, but this type of board game can provide a similar experience with a bit more ease. It takes less effort when it’s all right there in a box for you. It provides a structured setting and gameplay that’s easier for players. No DM required. So you get a lot of the advantages without many of the disadvantages and you still get to have that weekly shared narrative with your friends.

What’s a board game that you love that you wish you’d helped design?

Spirit Island. It’s a really good cooperative game, but also, I like the theme and the different spirits with their unique mechanisms. There are cool powers and cards. I enjoy making content for games, so that would have been an exciting project to be a part of.

What is your advice for aspiring board game designers? Are there any mistakes you’ve made along the way that you’d encourage them to avoid?

The industry is a small one. There can be a lot of politics involved. It’s sometimes a matter of who you know, who likes you, or who doesn’t like you. You have to find a balance between making your mark in the industry and trying to keep humble and please other people. 

I can be stubborn sometimes, and I wish I had been less so. Even though I felt like I was fighting for the game rather than compromising, I should have been more acquiescing. You need to be humble and tactful, which can be difficult when you are an impassioned nerd!

If one person gets mad at you, that can spread. But keep in mind that as much as it seems that a relationship is good, it doesn’t always protect you. So have a good contract and choose your projects carefully. Good relationships are important, but in the end business is business for most publishers and that comes first for them. 

Development work is a good place to start. It’s hourly and you start to get your name on things. Having your name on games is worth everything. I don’t think I would be able to freelance without my time at FFG, especially my work on Forbidden Stars.

But being an aspiring game designer myself when I was younger, and working as a freelancer now, has made me more open to helping and to assisting on ideas.

What are your top three favorite games?

Battlestar Galactica

Spirit Island

Netrunner

Are there any other upcoming projects that you’re excited about and want to share with us?

There is a lot of stuff brewing on the horizon that I am excited about. There’s one big epic game using a popular video game franchise that I have been working on for over a year now. The Forbidden Stars redux is trucking along. Lots of expansion cases for Lawyer Up in the works, as well as another game with Rock Manor. And I’m very excited to be on Vampire: The Masquerade - Chapters team. Maybe you’ll hear more from me later when things get announced!

I want to thank Samuel for taking the time to talk with me and GameTyrant, and I’m very excited about future tabletop news that might release.

If we get the chance to talk again, I’ll be sure to share all of the announcements and teasers that I can.

Stay tuned for more gaming news, and give a shoutout in the comments for the game developers and companies that you want me to interview next.