BROTHERWISE GAMES

We take it to the top with Boss Monster’s bosses

Perhaps when you think of siblings and games, your first thought is rivalry – well that’s not the case with Chris and Johnny O’Neal, the founders of Brotherwise Games. The pair have gone from a small but incredibly popular game in Boss Monster, to foster a community of gamers who enjoy the same game nostalgia, fandoms, and fantasy tales, and to release games such as Call To Adventure, Unearth, and Overboss. With five new games in the pipeline this year alone, we settled down to speak to them about how Brotherwise Games became what it is today.

“In 2009, we found ourselves living within a few miles of each after a couple decades apart due to school and work,” said Chris O’Neal, “gaming had always been a shared passion, so despite being busy with work and family, we made it a point to find time to get together and game. From that came the inevitable gamer thoughts of ‘we could make this game better’. And a few years later, we followed up on that, staking a wager on who could create the first working game prototype. I won the bet, but it was Johnny’s design that went on to become the hit card game Boss Monster.”

Despite finally living locally, it wasn’t until 2012 that Brotherwise Games was established, almost under the name Chrome Cricket Games. “There were a couple other names that were real contenders, but ultimately the Brothers went with Brotherwise, and we’re glad we did. It’s hard to imagine another name working better at this point,” says O’Neal. After its creation, they immediately began the Kickstarter project for the aforementioned Boss Monster. With a target of $12,000, it raised $215,056, an incredible amount especially considering it was a first game from a new studio. It would be easy to shrug this off as the intended path, but it wasn’t.

“Honestly, we had no plans to found a studio or make this into an actual career. We expected the Boss Monster Kickstarter to sell a few hundred units and more or less pay for itself, at which point we planned to return to our day jobs and consider it a rousing adventure. When that Kickstarter took off, we still expected the success to be short-lived. It was only when the game was in stores and we were selling out that we realized we had something more than a flash in the pan. Even then it was years before we realized we actually had some talent at crafting games people wanted to play. We’re naturally conservative decision makers, so it took us both a lot of convincing to jump in with both feet.”

O’Neal goes on to describe Brotherwise Games as growing slowly – adding only a handful of titles from 2013 to 2017 – before working for the company full time, where his brother followed in 2019. Now, the company has been adding its first non-founder employees, with further expansion planned.

PUTTING FANDOMS FIRST

“We strive to design and publish games that put fun first,” O’Neal says, when asked about a manifesto for game design, “we admire elegant mechanics and careful balancing, but we also want those surprises and comebacks that make everyone at the table go “ohhh!” We care a lot about theme and we design every game around the kind of emotions we want players to be feeling.” Which of course, feeds in to the style of game that Brotherwise Games seem to have a keen interest in, from the pixel style art of Boss Monster that’s reminiscent of retro video games, to the Brandon Sanderson fantasy themed Call to Adventure: The Stormlight Archive, where their own fun and enthusiasm is just as important in authenticity.

“It’s no accident that many of our games have deep roots in fandoms that have been around since we were kids,” O’Neal says, “both of us were big gamers in the golden age of video games. Even at eight years apart, we spent many an afternoon in the late ‘80s huddled around an NES plugged into the crappy 10 inch black and white TV. And when

we weren’t playing video games we were reading fantasy and sci fi pretty voraciously. Now, it’s not just those genres that attract us, it’s the communities that love them. Retrogamers, fantasy readers, tabletop gamers, all of these fandoms are powered by shared passion. We love being a part of that, and we love making games that hook into those passions.”

“We really love geeky fan communities, and we think it’s critical that those communities embrace inclusivity and openness,” He goes on to say, explaining that the Brotherwise Game motto is “Games that bring everyone to the table”.

“For us, this means making games that are approachable for players of all skill levels and experiences with gaming. It also means trying to represent the diversity of our players in the art and story of our games. This isn’t just a moral stance – although it is that – it’s a strategic one. We think the community of gamers will be bigger, better, and more stable if it’s more open and welcoming.”

This ethos is clear too with Brotherwise Games, for those working within it, as we asked what they felt was their biggest triumph so far. The brothers responded they were unable to claim a triumph for themselves, clarifying “most of what we do depends on a lot of people

pitching in to make it happen. Game stores were critical for getting the word out on our early games. Our distribution partners have consistently gone to bat for us in promoting new games. And there is a huge group of influencers, reviewers, and game promoters who carry the heavy lifting marketing for us. This doesn’t even get into the fantastic team of graphic artists, artists, and designers creating our content. Having said that, it’s the little triumphs that make the job great. Getting a nice note from a fan. Getting to work with your brother on something you both love. Getting a game submission from a kid who wants us to help bring their passion project to life. It’s awesome.”

HEADING THROUGH THE DUNGEON

Whilst the Brotherwise Games line up may not be huge, the games have been well received. Starting with Boss Monster, which launched them into full time design, and more recently the release of Overboss, a new adventure set in the world of Boss Monster, it also includes the popular Call to Adventure series. These see you crafting your character and telling their stories using cards and runes, in an attempt to gain the highest destiny score – but the story you tell along the way being key. It’s no surprise therefore that the first franchised dips for Brotherwise Games were firstly with an expansion called Name of the Wind, exploring The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, and then as a standalone version with prolific fantasy author Branden Sanderson, in Call to Adventure: The Stormlight Archive, allowing you to play as a Windrunner, or Edgedancer, and more.

Then there’s Unearth, a dice placement game for 2-4 players, where you’re heading out into the world in search of great but lost cities, and Night of the Ninja, anticipated in Fall 2021, utilising some fantasy themes in new ways, as the first social deduction game from the studio.

Whilst at first glance, it seems to be an eclectic mix of game styles, there’s a consistent fantasy or otherworld theme as first referred to. These games appeal to the explorers, the wonderers, those who can easily lose themselves in a video game narrative, or fantasy novel, being brought to tabletop in enough different ways that suit all styles of gaming.

Given the different gameplay styles, we asked Brotherwise Games the advice they’d give someone pitching their game to them, and surprisingly the advice was quite simple.

“Play our games before you submit a game to us,” says O’Neal, “that’s the cliché answer you’re going to get from most publishers, but it’s completely true. We review one or two game submissions each week, on average. Of those 100 or so games we review in a year, probably 90 of them are rejected not because they aren’t good games, but because they aren’t good games for us. Indie publishers, like Brotherwise Games, can be a bit caged in by what their fans expect of them. We might personally love your six hour miniatures space combat strategy table monster, but we’re not going to do as good a job of selling it as another company.”

BOSS OF ALL

So, with the six hour miniatures space combat strategy table monster off of the pitching table, we asked which of the games published so far does Brotherwise Games think represents where the studio is now?

“Overboss, which just came out, is actually a great pick for this one,” O’Neal says, of the game available in the last week of February after incredible Kickstarter success. “Overboss is an all-new tile drafting/set collection game, but the theme is classic Brotherwise: it’s set in the world of Boss Monster, our very first game. Unlike most of our games, Overboss was designed by an outside pair of designers in Aaron Mesburne and Kevin Russ, and they brought a completely different design perspective to the game than we would have. We took their original submission, and rethemed it to feel right to us. It’s a great example of how we as a company are looking to expand, but also stay true to our roots.”

From there, there’s no sign of slowing down, with the newly announced The Dragon Prince: Battlecharged. “We’re announcing a game set in the world of our favourite animated show” said O’Neal of the new venture. “It’s a big step for us. We’ve done licensed games before (last year’s Call to Adventure: The Name of the Wind and The Stormlight Archive), but this one is particularly special to us. Both of us immediately resonated to this show when it came out, and both of us spent a lot of time bonding over it with our respective kids. The game is a taste of what’s to come for Brotherwise as we look to meaningfully tie together all of the things we’re passionate about.”

Remaining within the fantasy realm, this will be a tactical miniatures combat game, of which “our goal is to give fans a premium board game that’s a total blast whether you’re a seasoned gamer, or a tabletop novice”, said O’Neal of the new game. Not only that, but it’s designed to grow further with additional expansions, including more fan favourite characters. The initial game will be available for pre-order from Brotherwise directly in June, ahead of an autumn release.

“2021 will be a big year for us.” O’Neal says, of the landscape ahead. “Overboss

and a Boss Monster

mini-expansion called Vault of Villains.

Later this year we’ll release an amazing social deduction game called Night of the Ninja. That one was designed by one of our favourite designers, Justin Gary of Ascension

fame. And The Dragon Prince: Battlecharged, a licensed game based on a hit animated series. We’re also starting to look at ways to impact other geeky communities; video gaming, television, comic books; there are whole other worlds of passionate fandom out there that we want to connect to and create in.”

Plenty to look forward to then, and if the games continue as they have before, we can expect a quality future. Speaking of which, our final question to Brotherwise Games was for any advice they’d like to impart, and it was FLGS at the forefront.

“Support your local gaming store. Now more than ever. We’ve managed to survive as a publisher during Covid, but we’re fearful for the gaming stores that form the foundational layer of our gaming ecosystem. Get vaccinated, stay safe, but as soon as you feel comfortable, find ways to support your friendly local game store. They enrich our community and provide a safe space for gamers to practice their passion”. Within those friendly local game stores, you’ll be able to pick up a copy of Overboss, available now.