Why I Want to Ride My Bicycle Over 3500 Miles to Play Unpublished Board Games

The more I think of it, the more I’m wondering why someone wouldn’t want to do this. But here are my reasons anyway!

I want to connect with people

I want to connect with people in the board game world – specifically people who like to design games.  When I think about the people in the design community, I think of people who are overwhelmingly kind, accepting, and generous with their time.  Put aside the fact that we have something in common, and already these are people I enjoy hanging out with.

I want to help foster creative communities

There is an energy and excitement around spending time with people who are passionate about creating the same kinds of things that you want to create: whether that be craft beers, the next great American novel, music, and yes, board games.  I feel engaged, alive and in “flow” while I’m surrounded by people who are playtesting and/or working out new prototype ideas.  

I also want to encourage that in others.  If you’re reading this, I urge you to get involved with a group in your hobby: join a writing group, sign up for tennis lessons, get out there with a running club, volunteer at an art gallery, etc.  If you’re a board game designer, getting involved in a design group is the single most important thing you can do to become a better designer.

I joined the Boston Game Makers Guild about 5 years ago, and it has had a profoundly positive impact on my life.

I want to champion innovative ideas and new experiences

When I think back to the most interesting and/or exciting board game moments I’ve had over the last 2 years, an overwhelming majority of them have come from games that aren’t published. I want to promote new and innovative ideas that push the board game industry.  By writing about and filming these adventures, I have a platform in which I can highlight what’s fresh in board game design before it comes out. 

Boba Boss, by Alec Fairbanks. My favorite Unpub game from PAX East 2020.

I want to advocate the benefits of bicycle riding

This includes benefits to yourself (your health and wallet will thank you), and to the environment (which needs all the help it can get right now).  

I’ll leave it to Mr. Money Mustache to detail the insane costs of commuting via car.

For myself, I can say that I certainly don’t miss spending money on gas all the time.  And I have often just smiled and laughed while commuting on my bicycle - a joy that is sorely lacking while stuck in traffic behind the wheel of a car. 

I mean seriously, my plan is to commute on my bike (ride across the country) to the office (game design communities) so I can work (playtest their games and put together videos/blogs about them).  My commute is insane, and insanely fun.

I want to encourage people to “go”

When I bought a bike in July,, I hadn’t ridden one in an entire decade.  While I am passionate about running, I am far from any kind of elite athlete.  But one day I just started pedaling and pedaling, and here I am.  I just decided to “go.” 

The same can be applied to anything you want to accomplish.  For game design, our “go” often means putting together some kind of prototype – ANY prototype – and getting it to the table to see how it works.  Maybe you’re already at that stage and you feel stuck?  Then your “go” could be to join a game design group like The Game Makers’ Guild, and get involved in a community like that, or maybe your “go” is to finally start to reach out to publishers with a sell sheet to see if you could pitch your game to them.  Everyone’s “go” is going to be slightly different, but they all have one thing in common – just keep pushing the pedals, and you’ll get to where you want to be.

I want to show how small and accessible the world can be

If you can ride your bike across an entire continent, is the world really all that big? 

Since the start of quarantine, several design communities have moved their playtesting online.  This has shrunk not only the country, but also the world.  I’ve been able to regularly playtest games with designers all the way from Boston to Seattle, with a lot of stops in between.  

So why not actually make those stops?