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A podcast about topics in game design featuring the many people who come together to make games possible.

May 6, 2016

Volt, designed by Emerson Matsuuchi, is like robo-gladiators fighting in an arena to see who can be the first to score 5 points. The game is simple. There are 3 dice: red, white, and blue. Players use these dice to assign actions to their robot (shoot and move). The dice are resolved from lowest to highest in red, white, and blue order, which adds an excellent level of unpredictability to the game. While players might be able to plan their moves, they cannot know how their opponents will mess up their plans. Volt is being reprinted by a German company with new artwork, new layout, and some new features.

Our discussion focused on how and why Emerson designed Volt. We also discussed what it was like having a game reprinted into a 2nd edition, which will likely be very different from the first. If the game does well, does Emerson create an expansion for the 2nd but the leave the 1st in the lurch? Questions, questions, question.

If you would like to learn more about Volt, ask your local retailer or listen to this wonderful podcast. Emerson can be found on Twitter @nazcagames.