According to game designer Dominic Crapuchettes, everyone should play games. Not just writers. Crapuchettes is the founding president of North Star Games, which produces the games Cruzzle, Wits & Wagers, and Say Anything. Crapuchettes contributed an essay on Apples to Apples to Family Games: The 100 Best, the anthology by James Lowder that inspired this Booklifenow.com series on gaming and writing.
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Are designing games and writing similar?
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Dominic Crapuchettes: My approach to writing, composition, and designing games are all very similar. I think about the first time someone experiences my work. My goal is to make my work as easily accessible as possible, and with as much depth as possible. Depth creates a long term relationship with the person and accessibility means the work is more likely to touch a lot of people.
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Is there a game every writer should try?
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Dominic Crapuchettes: I wouldn’t say that it is more important for a writer to try a game over any other person, but here are some games that I think everyone should try: Celebrities, Wits & Wagers, and Apples to Apples.
I suppose if there were a game that writers in specific should try, it would be Werewolf. You will need to play the game about five times with roughly the same players in order to get a great experience. This game is in the genre of what I call “psychological thrillers”. This means the players will experience an emotionally charged drama. It’s cool to see how different people react in different circumstances.
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In what ways does playing games enhance your creativity?
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Dominic Crapuchettes: Games can enhance many different aspects of a person’s humanity from their intellect, to their social skills, to their emotions, to their dexterity. Playing games can enhance a person’s creativity as well. Say Anything and Eat Poop You Cat are probably two of the best games on the market for helping the creative juices flow.
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Jeremy L. C. Jones is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher. He is the staff Interviewer for Clarkesworld Magazine and a frequent contributor to Kobold Quarterly. He teaches at Wofford College and Montessori Academy in Spartanburg, SC. He is also the director of Shared Worlds, a creative writing and world-building camp for teenagers that he and Jeff VanderMeer designed in 2006.
