We were lucky enough to be invited by Game Lab Oregon to the Mini Maker Fair at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). We ran a table showing of some of the dice towers and dice trays we have made, but also sharing games from people we know. Well, that we know via the internets. We brought Verdun 1916, Dice Crawl, and Gem Packed Cards. We also wandered around a bit. Watch the video to learn more about Game Lab Oregon, indie game designers, and see us play a dice game with pirates!
by 
Posted in Blog
Tagged Dice Crawl, Game Lab Oregon, Gem Packed Cards, maker, mini maker fair, OMSI, PDX Yar, pirates, Verdun 1916
So far we have been able to fund operations for our site all by ourselves. We are currently in a bit of a transition. Brandon is in grad school. Thanks, Brandon! We need to renew the webhosting for Spaghetti and Meeples and need your help. Please visit the Go Gund Me we have set up and donate what you can and please share this. We are only asking for exactly what we need to keep the site up. Thank you for your time! The link is below.
https://www.gofundme.com/2pmvarus
by Posted in Blog
Tagged board games, Go Fund Me, help me Obi Wan, tabletop, webhosting
We looked at PWNs originally here. Their first Kickstarter didn’t fund, but they are back and ready to move forward. It was a game that Brandon didn’t really want to like at first, but he wound up really enjoying it. Take a look at their new Kickstarter.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/awrygames/pwns-a-game-of-strategic-mayhem-0
by Brandon: We’ve linked to Runeslinger before in our review of Leviathans. He covers a lot about RPGs and also does some unboxing videos. One of the things I like most about his videos is that he is incredibly thoughtful and finds ways to talk about our relationships to each other and how games facilitate and enhance, or change, those relationships. Below is one of the more recent videos that impressed me. I am also including the link to his blog.
https://castingshadowsblog.com/
by Brandon: I turned on OPB as I was headed to pick up my wallet that I had left at a friend’s house two nights before. I was treated to this great piece about Jane Austin and Game Theory. Fun and informative, and it talks about why Game Theory never actually became the big deal we were all told it would be.
by So glad that this package finally made it to our loving home. The first one went on quite the adventure.
by Posted in Unboxing
Tagged Bogota, Columbia, customs, Runica Art Games, unboxing, Verdun 1916
Brandon: Today we are joined by Levi Schneidewent of Trollworks. If you missed my review of two of his dice towers that I purchased you can read that here and then read the following interview, or read this interview first and then read the dice tower review. Either way. Enjoy!
First, tell me about where the name Trollworks comes from?
Levi: When I was a kid my brother used to call me the little “Troll”. My workspace is in basement of a 1923 firehouse which happens to be a Fallout shelter; sort of a cave. It’s the home of Rockhead’s Comics and Games, it occupies the ground floor and the second story (9000 sq ft) (owned by my brother). When I was just starting the business my brother was kidding around and said, “Go to your cave little troll and get to work.”—Trollworks
How did you get started making game accessories?
Levi: I would like to tell you a happy story of how it all began, but I lost my job of 23 years due to the economy and I didn’t want to go back into daily grind; so, I took the opportunity to create a job just for myself.
What is your design process like? How do you come up with the pieces you make?
Levi: Many of my designs come from customer requests. If I feel the finished product is marketable I do a cost/time study, then a product offer.
What is your best seller?
Levi: The marketplace is flickered, at times I get lots of requests for Dice Towers or Movement Trays or Storage Systems. I don’t have enough market history yet to do any trend mapping. I sell a lot of dice towers during the Holidays, a lot of trays during Regional’s, and then storage system sales increase after the Holidays.
What is your favorite accessory that you make?
Levi: Design is what I like to do best; so my favorite accessory is coming up with new projects. In fact, that’s a weakness of mine. I have designed and built many more projects where only one gets built.
Do you do custom work or take requests for something to stock?
Levi: Yes, I do custom skins on many of my products (dice-towers, movement trays, storage units, movement markers, dice) and I also do custom scratch work. My rates are driven by the usual factors such as design time, material cost, amd product time, but I give discounts on the marketability of the project.
I make an FMTG storage case that was a customer request. The project should have been close to $100, but it had marketability, so I did the project for $50.00. I currently set said item for $50 on my Etsy shop.
How often do you design and add new items?
Levi: As needed/requested or when orders are slow. I build everything on demand, my turn around time is 3-5 order to ship
What tools and equipment do you use?
Levi: I am currently running 2 Universal Lasers, but I have a large compliment of support equipment (woodworking, paint booth, sandblaster, 3d printer). I have invested a lot into my equipment.
What games have you been playing lately?
Levi: Since I work in a game shop and live over a game shop I have plenty of opportunity for gaming:
RPG– Deadlands, D&D 5th ed, Shadowrun, Hackmaster online w20d
Miniature– 40K, Flames of War, Airdrome 1.0, D&D, Imperial Assault
BoardGames– we have 1200 library games.
Electronic– Civilization, Galactic Civilization, X-Com, Windward
What do you do when you aren’t making amazing dice towers?
Levi: I’m a lone wolf, coupled with the fact that I’m the boss/owner; I can come and go as I please. So, I travel in my Kia Soul conversion camper (kayak, bicycle, 5’8’” bed, attached canopy, off grid solar power, 12v refrigerator, lights, fans, low voltage charging station). So, travel, camping, cycling, and kayaking.
Levi is currently on a well deserved break after hitting GenCon, but can be found
at this fine location:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Trollmanufacturing
by Posted in Interviews
Tagged board games, boardgames, dice towers, dice trays, etsy, storage systems, tabletop, Trollworks
Brandon: We have featured Jim Pinto a few times and one of the things I really enjoy about his Kickstarters is that they always have something different and exciting to offer. The $1 RPG campaign was completely open and none of us backers knew where it would end up. Well, Jim has a new Kickstarter up and it’s centered around the Praxis game system. Praxis is a GMless system where the players tell the story and are semi-competitive. It has already reached its funding, but the more funding it gets the more stretch goals open and the more games that get opened.
You can listen to Jim and myself talk about Praxis and King of Storms in the podcast below. Go check out this Kickstarter now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218255739/king-of-storms/description
by You may remember that we interviewed Dan Smith about his Battle of the Bands game. If you missed it or want to reread it you can do that here. Then you should go check out the Kickstarter. It has already funded so you are good to go there. As of the posting of this…post, there are 13 days left.
Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/150522358/battle-of-the-bands-the-deluxe-edition-card-game
by Brandon comes out in favor of the new Ghostbusters movie and Jim tries to hug a Millennial, oh, and we talk about games too!
GMS Podcasts: www.gmsmagazine.com/podcasts
Gondola: www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigkidgames/gondola
Pinto Central: postworldgames.com/
by Posted in Podcast
Tagged 100 A.D., Ghostbusters, Gondola, Hugs, Jim Pinto, Kickstarter, Millenials
