Let me take you back in time. I grew up playing Magic: The Gathering, Blood Bowl, and a ton of video games. But then, life happened, and games became a background activity.

Ten years ago, going through a rough patch, I randomly decided to make a game called It's Mine as a release valve. It eventually spiraled, leading to me becoming a board game author? Oh dear.

After releasing It's Mine, I moved to Munich and then to Madrid. Life was busy with all the settling in, and I didn't play much during that period. But that whole board game endeavor was still lurking in the corner, waiting.

Occasionally, I was fiddling with designs here and there—because, well, I was supposed to be a board game author, after all. I tried making multiplayer games, games people seemed to enjoy, but I couldn't find anything that truly felt like mine to put out there. Don’t get me wrong, I played a fair share of Scythe, The Gallerist, and Deus in those days and loved them. But in a way I couldn't explain, they weren't quite me, you know? Then, on a particularly relaxed day, I fell down a rabbit hole and decided to play Android: Netrunner on Jinteki. Things finally clicked.

Why Two-Player Games Are the Best

Granted, I may be biased because almost every game I loved growing up was a two-player game. And because I don't maintain gaming groups, playing isn't a regular, large-scale hobby for me. A bit of an outsider if you may.

But the truth is, there’s a certain perfection in two-player games. Something about the zero-sum, head-to-head confrontation is incredibly appealing. They are a true duel of wits in a way that gets diluted and entangled with social dynamics at higher player counts. And they must be highly interactive, at least in my view.

So, what about Netrunner? It blew my mind. Yes, it’s obscure, overly complex, and would likely scare off most people instantly. But it's also one of the best games ever made, and it lit up all my synapses like a Christmas tree. It is also the biggest and clearest inspiration for my next game, The Idles - the one we are launching our own publisher with.

I want to tell you guys the story of why you definitely DON’T want to make a TCG as a designer. And why I did it anyway.

I’m increidibly proud to announce my next major big game The Idles, a very unusual TCG. Here’s a sexy trailer for you guys, but I promise I’ll be back with tons and tons more information over the coming weeks.

See you guys soon!