S12.E09 :: O' Fear? Oh, fir? Ophir!
Feb 6, 2016
Ophir, designed by Jason Kingsley and Charles Wright, is a resource management, pick-up-and-deliver game that uses dice in a really neat way. Players are merchants trying to trade good for money to buy silver and gold in order to build the temple of Ophir. Players move around a small 7-hex map that offers lots of replayability through the use of walls that give the map a lot of possible combinations. One of the coolest features of the game is the 3-D temple that players construct. While it serves more as a piece of chrome, it helps to really bring the game to life and make the players feel like they are building something.
Our discussion focused on the cleverness of the map and boards as well as the roles that Jason and Charles undertook for the designing of this game. I learned that Charles found more comfort in the role of developer while Jason came up with the initial idea for the game. Jason and Charles seem like a good duo for designing games, and it will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes from the two of them in the future.
If you wish to learn more about Ophir, check out Terra Nova games or Jason Kingsley on Twitter.