I had a boyfriend. His name was Chris. We played games. Lots of them. Anytime we got together, it was practically all we did. I was competitive and he was more so, between rages of defeat and glorious victories, we’d battle till a winner was had.

One day I brought something different on the table, it was a fishing game I recently made.  It centered on picking up the right pole to catch the fish you needed. Pure luck, no strategy. He wasn’t crazy about it, but I kept at it. Progress was slow until months in I showed him a variation that included a new market mechanic. Now there was strategy and he liked it. However, it played slow and felt heavy. One day, after racking my brain to come up with ideas to make the game punchier and fun, he casually threw out an idea of adding dice to the game. So, I did a what a good girlfriend does: Listen to your gamer boyfriend’s advice. I added dice to collect fish alongside a bust mechanic and that was it…Something Fishy was born.

Chris passed away at the beginning of this year from cardiac arrest. I dedicate my game and blog to him. A most devoted boyfriend and most competitive player I’ve ever had.