Kickstarter is frequently a place for big-box, miniature-laden tabletop glory, but it’s also been a venue to showcase some truly awesome family-friendly and gamer-oriented titles from Kids Table Board Gaming, a publisher for games that are friendly to kids and still enjoyable and engaging for adults.

Helaina and Josh Cappel have teamed with some creative and talented designers (and artists!) in the hobby to create games that everyone will love.

Devon: A very warm welcome to Josh and Helaina Cappel, as well as Sean Jacquemain, the team behind Kids Table Board Gaming (and Burnt Island Games, but we’ll get to that some over time). So, hello, you three!

KTBG: Hey, Devon! Thanks for thinking of us. 

Devon: It’s so good to get some time to chat and I’m excited to discuss what you all are doing with KTBG and what that publishing company is all about.

KTBG: We’re fans of yours so it’s great to be a part of this.

Devon: And I’m definitely a fan of yours! And with that mutual fandom, let’s just jump right in.

Devon: I want to know more about the beginning of your journey with KTBG. How did the idea for the kid-friendly board game publisher come about?

KTBG: Well, the real motivating experience was playing games with young kids and finding that most of them require the adult to set aside their own satisfaction for the duration of the game. 

Devon: As a father with a now seven-year-old, I definitely agree with that sentiment!

KTBG: Yeah, and while there’s benefit to a lot of pure children’s games of course—kids need to learn the fundamentals of counting, turn-taking, winning and losing, the mechanics of dice-rolling and pawn-pushing and all that—we figured that you could probably create a game that adults would enjoy playing and buy for themselves that they could also play with their kids.

Devon: Seems so simple looking at it now, but that’s not something that you saw much until recently.

KTBG: And that was the spark of the idea behind the brand: what if you could buy games that serve your game group and also your family game time?

Devon: I can’t let you guys keep talking without a plug, though, because the most recent example of that dual-purpose game is Creature Comforts, which is coming off a massively successful Kickstarter campaign. Congratulations!

KTBG: Haha, thank you! Yes, Roberta did such a great job building that game, and Shawna knocked it out of the park with her artwork. We were very happy with how the campaign went, and it was such a pleasure to be the publisher for it.

Devon: I bet! Thinking of Creature Comforts, and the other games that you’ve published, what is your mission that carries through every game development and publication process?

KTBG: The overarching mission is to create a game that is unmistakably a KTBG title, but each game has its own mission, I think. Helaina has a motto for us, which is “we don’t need to make every game”. We are extremely selective about which titles to pursue. There’s a very high proportion of “I would absolutely play this, and I think it would be great, but it’s not right for us” in our assessments of games.

Devon: Interesting. I think that motto could be used by many gamers on the side of playing, especially reviewers like me. I feel the need to play as many games as possible in order to create content for them, but it can sometimes be exhausting. I imagine that selective process keeps you all laser-focused on the games that you do ultimately decide to work on.

KTBG: Exactly.

Devon: So, what metrics do you use to decide on a new game, other than being selective? What are you looking for and what kind of people do you connect with?

KTBG: It is mostly a “when you see it you know it” kind of thing. We get pitches from all sorts of places, and we keep an eye open for designs-in-progress on social media. When one of us has a feeling about a potential project, we present it to the team and ask what they think, then if there’s shared enthusiasm, we move to getting more information from the designer. Generally, we are looking for games that walk that fine kid/adult line I’ve been talking about of course, but also we are looking for games that integrate their themes with their gameplay, good potential kickstartability (which is its whole own conversation), and most especially games with a standout “thing”.

Devon: I think about that idea of a “thing” when I’m approaching games for review, and for personal enjoyment. What is it that’s being done differently than other games I’ve played?

KTBG: Yes, what’s the “thing” about this game? Why would someone play it? Why would they play it again? Why would someone buy it? Why would someone say “Hey, you’ve got to play this!” to their friend? As for what kind of people, it is very important to us that we can work well with our designers, and that means good friendly reliable communication and openness to our development team making changes.

Devon: When these designers are making pitches to you, do they come to you with the same vision you have or do you find games that happen to work?

KTBG: Honestly, we get a ton of designer submissions that aren’t quite on target. Understandably, a lot of folks think that we publish children’s games. So, we see a lot of designs that a game group of adults would simply never play. We try to make it clear that we don’t make kids’ games… we make games that kids can play.

Devon: An important distinction.

KTBG: For sure. Artists we go out and hunt for, although with KTBG we’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have found Apolline Etienne and Shawna JC Tenney who have provided the art for 5 of our 7 games between them. And then we’re the development team; we choose games that we feel fit with our brand vision, or that have something special about them that would be worth spending the development time to get them there.

Devon: I love that. You as a team, though, are not just focused on Kids Table Board Gaming. Beyond the internal motto that Helaina devised, the KTBG motto is "Making casual games for serious gamers and serious games for casual gamers." How do you think your design and development process is different from Burnt Island Games, your other publishing company?

KTBG: Well, we know that we are aiming at a drastically different player base than Burnt Island, so the development process is geared towards serving this other demographic. A Kids Table game needs to be robust enough for an adult game group to enjoy it, but simple enough (or able to be easily modified to be simple enough) that it can be enjoyed with children playing as well.

Devon: Seems like it creates a lot of intentionality in parts of the design that other publishers might not be considering or dwelling on as much.

KTBG: Again, we are trying to make a game that children can enjoy but not a kids’ game. It’s a tricky balancing act sometimes.

Devon: That balancing act has resulted in some great games, however! Do you all have a favorite KTBG game that has been released? If so, why? 

KTBG: Well, naturally we always like the game we most recently worked on. Right now, we just absolutely adore Creature Comforts even though it’s not “released” yet so I’m not sure that counts. There is so much that’s special about Roberta’s game. Of our released games we would play any of them any time, but right now Fossilis might win over the others because it’s still so fresh and there’s a lot left to explore with all of the mini-expansions we added.

Devon: I haven’t been able to try Fossilis yet! I’m excited to get it and play sometime. I think my son would really enjoy it.  

KTBG: David Diaz, the designer, would love to have more people enjoy it! And we’re immensely proud of it.

Devon: It’s been getting a lot of praise recently, so I have no doubt that it’s good. Thinking of what you have to keep in mind as developers and publishers, has your experience with KTBG changed your mindset as a gamer at all?

KTBG: The approach is much more analytical. It’s probably similar to how a filmmaker feels when they go to the movies. You understand and dissect games on a much deeper level. You wonder about the process the designers had to go through to make certain mechanical choices in the game. We still just really enjoy games as hobbyists, but there is certainly more appreciation for everything that has to go into making a successful gaming experience.

Devon: I can only imagine that it’s an even deeper love whenever you play a game that just gets it right. But we’ve talked a lot about the games and development side of Kids Table Board Gaming. One thing that I’ve really appreciated is the warm and growing community of gamers who have rallied around your team as you’ve been building KTBG’s catalog and reputation. What is your favorite part of the community that you've noticed as your team and publishing slate have grown?

KTBG: We are a very Kickstarter-facing operation since we have the two brands that we leapfrog between from campaign to campaign. The result is that a ton of our direct interaction is through the campaigns and our updates. One thing we’ve noticed is that the KTBG backer base in particular is remarkably supportive and friendly. We do our best to make all of our campaigns interactive and positive; the backers have really rewarded us with their enthusiasm, conversation, cheerleading, ideas, and participation in the little contests, polls and challenges that we run during our campaigns.

Devon: Yes, I’ve noticed how positive and uplifting the majority of the comments and conversations are on your campaigns. Everyone seems so supportive of the mission and I think what KTBG is aiming for is something that gamers can truly appreciate, especially those who are looking to share their love for games with their children.

KTBG: We’ve truly been blessed with some great fans and a lot of community support. 

Devon: Well I’m biased, obviously. I love what you all do with Burnt Island, which is how we met. And now I’m doubling down on that fandom with the work that you three do at KTBG. For other publishers, though, what is some advice you'd share, drawn from something you've realized through your work with KTBG?

KTBG: Don’t try to follow in the footsteps of other companies. You can certainly learn from successful publishers, but carve your own path. Decide what kind of games you want to create and then do that better than anyone else out there. Having faith in your vision and the ability to execute it will go a long way towards maintaining your passion and dedication to your company.

Devon: I love that sentiment. That makes me think of Rose Gauntlet Entertainment, from Isaac Vega and Lindsey Rode, which was just announced. I hope other publishers take that idea to heart in creating what they love better than anyone else around them. Wise words!

KTBG: They’ve certainly helped us on our own path.

Devon: I wouldn’t be doing my job, though, if I didn’t try to end the interview by extracting some juicy tidbits. What comes after Creature Comforts?!

KTBG: We can’t say too much just yet, but we will share a few details. Our next game introduces an all-new mechanism to KTBG. Fans can look forward to an accessible set of rules, with tons of challenging, strategic decisions to make.

Devon: Awesome! Well, thank you once again for sitting down to talk with me. I appreciate your time and I’m so thankful to be able to share you with more people!

KTBG: Thanks for having us!

Devon: That’s Kids Table Board Gaming, folks. Be sure to check out their publishing website for a look at all the kid-friendly, adult-happy games. And if you want some more crunchy strategy fun, their other company Burnt Island Games has great options to look through as well!

For more information on Creature Comforts, please visit the Kickstarter, and to hear more from Kids Table Board Gaming, be sure to follow them on Twitter or check out their BGG Profile.